Last August, I posted that I needed a new view. After years of sitting at home cranking out news, reviews, and (insert your favorite description here) I was bored with the view.

I received three offers almost immediately. (Obviously, they weren’t all that familiar with the sites.) One didn’t work out, but I accepted the proposals from two Lakeland concerns. I figured I’d spend a little time at each. Nothing too much or I’d drive them crazy. One came from the wonderful folks at NFocus. A spot to call my own and all the filmmaking I could stand. You’ve no doubt noticed I’ve mentioned their film, Endure, a time or two. It’s great learning the film marketing process after a film is finished. I also accepted their request that I put together the film’s “electronic press kit.” It has made it difficult from the news standpoint, as I’ve had to not print some information. A couple of times I felt I was out of the loop enough I could write a news story, but I added a note about helping out the team.

The second proposal was as quick, but it’s taken this long to actually move into the space. USF Polytechnic CEO and President Marshall Goodman asked me to take a space at Blue Sky West. At the time, it was just an office space in need of serious rehab, but I really liked the idea to bring a little Silicon Valley sideways thinking into downtown Lakeland. It seemed a good fit with Lakeland Local. Especially since I’ve started focusing on City Hall and downtown Lakeland activities.

To quash a couple of rumors — I am not employed by USFP, nor am I a volunteer. I will sit independent inside Blue Sky West, neither as a client nor staff. I will interact with both groups and with the general public, limited to offering my thoughts, mentoring and occasional advice. I’ll do what I can to help because I think such an incubator as Blue Sky West can work, and work well, for Lakeland. Working in the midst of it, especially under these conditions, is not something any hyperlocal reporter should pass up. You could say I’m embedded, but not beholden. I’ll praise Blue Sky when it deserves it, and criticize when that is called for.

I trust my independence has never been an issue. My wife is an employee of USFP. When the idea for USF Polytechnic was floated, she was all for it and I wasn’t convinced. Many liked the new name. Guess where I stood? Though I had hoped for a liberal arts college, I’m not against the idea of “polytechnic.” When an old media newspaper did a particulaly bad job with an editorial on USFP, I responded.

(And if you’re wondering…I still prefer the name USF Lakeland.)

This was cross posted at our sister publication: Lakeland Local

In a session not too long ago, a woman shared with me that when she was a child, her father told her that one of the reasons he and her mother were getting a divorce was how bad she had been as a child. Though we had some time to talk about her feelings regarding her father, the session was actually built around the hyper activity and oppositional defiant behaviors of her son. The two were in my office because of the little boy’s low grades in school and his constant fights on the playground. To be exact, the mother’s first words to me when she sat down was, “fix him”! Yet in truth the anger in the room that needed fixing was hers. Ironically, it was in sharing stories about her son’s behavior that this mother found space to share her own broken childhood story.

Last week my column focused on the myths and stories that we share in our communities of faith. The article centered around my frustration around that the stories communities hold on to the tightest are often ones that separate people’s beliefs rather than unite them.

This week I want to talk about how our individual and family stories have the power to shape the worldviews and self-image we have about ourselves. When we use words like “that’s the way life is” or “I’m not cut out for that”, we are speaking out of the our interpretation of stories we have observed and lived throughout our life. Last week I quoted one of my favorite books Black Elk Speaks, “…whether it happened so or not I do not know; but if you think about it, you see that it is true.” The truth that Black Elk is speaking about is built on stories that had shaped his worldview and tribal community for generations.

There is a school of thought in therapy circles which says most people organize their thoughts, relationships and opinions about the world around the role they believe they play in social stories or myths. It is often these same roles which interpret the narrative which outlines their life experiences. I believe more often than not the families and children which come to the shelter find themselves inwardly and outwardly homeless, first and foremost, because of the roles which they feel life or their families have placed them in.

Jesus used imagery in his parable about people who were inwardly and outwardly lost. Stories about lost sheep being searched out by a loving Shepard, a lost coin which reflects God search for the rarity of who we are. There is a Buddhist saying from Bhaddekaratta Sutta which could be translated, “Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has not yet come. Look deeply at the story that is.”

Myths and parables not only shape communities’ understandings and beliefs around faith; they also shape family and individual beliefs as well. Good counseling, case management and ministry must be built around developing gateways to and from the story’s which separate us from God’s love. There are religious myths which seek to untie people with God’s love and ones that are meant to separate the wheat from the chaff. We must keep the stories which teach inclusion of all people no matter their race, sex, gender or socioeconomic status. The challenge is to restructure our communal myths and subsequently our worldviews by shifting roles and stories to free people rather than bind them.

Last week I had coffee with a good friend who was telling me about her stepmother. “It does not matter how old I get, how successful my co-workers and friends see me, I will always be the nerdy, lazy child in the family!” My friend could reach all the professional goals she wanted, but when it came to her family, all she felt she had to work with was the role and stories which her stepmother had defined her as playing. In truth these childhood roles had affected her relationships, in essence her whole own self-esteem.

I am always amazed by the power that defined role-play has in the shaping of who people allow themselves to be. The roles parents place their children in, have the power to shape their self image and ultimately their religious and worldviews. This friend could teach classes, speak to groups and care for her family, but because of the role she had allowed her stepmother to enslave her in, she still sees herself as inadequate, selfish and lazy.

Family Systems Theory depicts four dysfunctional family roles that children are placed into. The first role is, responsible child, this child is made the hero in the family, they can do no wrong. The second role would be that of scapegoat. This is the child that is blamed for the problems in a dysfunctional family structure. The next role, mascot, makes a child the caretaker who is set up to constantly fix and placate the dysfunction in their family. Finally, most dysfunctional families have a lost child role where the child is left to constantly search for the meaning they have in either the world or the family they were raised in.

The good news I had to share with my friend is that the scapegoat role which her stepmother had placed her in did not have to be the story that defined her life. One of the powers of a good story is that it can be retold from several perspectives. Though it might feel important to a child to remain in the family role they were placed in, to keep the illusion of a family’s homeostasis, there is great power in claiming why a role was placed on one’s self and then subsequently claiming a view or version of one’s story which can redefine their life. With understanding and love, the inner child has the power to take hold of the stories which have defined their lives and depict who they want to be, rather than who they had been told they are.

One question a Pastoral Counselor often starts their counseling with is “what do you think God looks like”? The answer to that question usually outlines the role they feel they play in the lives of their parents. If someone depicts God as an old, judgmental man waiting to catch them in sin, that information can open up all kinds of doors into the stories which define who they feel they are. I once had a five year-old in a session tell me that he thought God looked like the moon. When I asked why the moon, he told me the moon, God and his dad always seemed to show up at night but seemed to be gone or not care during the day. The child in people first seeks to understand their creator through the images of their first known creator, their parents.

Which leaves me with a couple questions for you this week, first what roles do you play in your family? And secondly, what do you think God looks like and how do you think He/She/It defines your role in the world?

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

That will also be true of our coverage of the Polk Neighborhood Stabilization Program (Polk NSP). Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to give $4.92 billion dollars to local communities to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties. Approximately $14.5 million was given to Polk County to purchase and rehab at least 61 homes in the county. That program became Polk NSP. This week the organization announced they were open for business. Familiar with the process to this point, we met with the two principles to discuss the project.

The Goal

The goal of Polk NSP is to remove foreclosed, empty, or blighted homes from the market and place these homes in the hands of homebuyers who can afford to live in them. No one can purchase the inexpensive homes and flip them. The homebuyers must agree to live in the homes for a set number of years. Polk NSP will target 10 areas of the county that are in greatest need of help. These are low to moderate income communities hit hardest be the recent recession.

The Companies

The county commissioners chose not to implement Polk NSP on their own, but instead brought in development experts to manage and implement the program. They allowed various organizations to apply to manage the funds. In the end, they chose the process offered by a team of two Polk County organizations.

Swan Development Advisors will manage the program. The company, headed by Bruce Lyon, will undertake all of the paperwork needed to satisfy U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The company managing home rehabilitation, and handling training prospective home owners will be the Keystone Challenge Fund. Since 1991, Jeff Bagwell, President and Executive Director of the Fund, has worked in Polk County to provide education and affordable financing to low and moderate income homeowners.

To insure proper management of the funds, the two organizations proposed a unique method. HUD sets strict limits on how much of the money is used for administration and how much for home purchase and rehabilitation. Rather than mix the two amounts, Swan will simply get the administration funds, and Keystone the rest. The company will use a third-party, Baylis & Company CPA, to manage fund distribution.

The Homes

Polk NSP has already started the home buying process. They are bidding on the purchase of homes in 10 targeted areas in Polk County. Those areas were chosen as they exhibit a greater than average number of foreclosures, financed through a higher numbers of subprime loans, and are likely to face further foreclosures through loan defaults.

Homes can be purchased only if they meet certain criteria of location, condition, and price. Polk NSP hopes to demolish only a few “blighted” homes. The rest will be rehabbed to specific standards. Lyon mentioned they will replace roofing and appliances if the items have only a few years of life left. He and Bagwell emphasized they want to make sure new homeowners aren’t faced with such large replacement expenses in their new homes.

In addition to selling homes, Polk NSP will purchase and rehab a certain number of dwellings to be offered as rentals. The cost of the rentals will be based on the Fair Market Rents (FMR) index. Currently, Polk County FMR for a two-bedroom dwelling is $720.

The Polk NSP goals for the dwellings are:

Acquisition/Rehabilitation/Financing/Resale for Homeowners (Activity 1):
20 units for moderate-income households (≤ 80% Area Median Income — AMI)
41 units for middle-income households (≤ 120% AMI)
Timeline is January 2009 through July 2013.

Acquisition/Rehabilitation/Financing/Resale for Single- or Multi-family Housing (Rentals) (Activity 2):
50 units for low-income households (≤ to 50% AMI)
Timeline is January 2009 through July 2013

Demolition of Acquired Foreclosed Upon Homes and Redevelopment (Activity 3) (Includes demolition and redevelopment strategies)
22 units for low-, moderate-, and middle-income households (≤ to 120% AMI)
Timeline is January 2009 through July 2013

When a home is sold, the purchase price is returned to the Polk NSP coffer and used to purchase and rehab another home for sale. Lyons said that the lower-than-expected prices of the homes will enable Polk NSP to purchase, rehab, and sell more than the expected 61 homes.

The Targeted Areas

The following 10 communities are the target areas for Polk NSP. The links lead to PDF maps of the areas.

Auburndale, Combee / Eaton Park, Inwood / Jan Phyl Village, Kathleen, South Lake Wales, Poinciana, Wabash, Wahneta

The Financing

Homebuyers who meet income eligibility requirements are given considerable help by the program. First, the homes are sold at the lower of the appraised value or amount Polk NSP has put into the home (purchase price plus rehabilitation costs). Lyon mentioned they are bidding for homes that are far below the normal costs. This enables Polk NSP to sell the houses are a greatly reduced price.

Bagwell also mentioned that the program allows Polk NSP to help homeowners with funds for principle reduction. This gets the lower income buyers in with little personal up-front funds. This doesn’t mean the program is placing people in homes they can’t afford. Polk NSP will target low (<%50 of AMI) to moderate (<%80 of AMI) income households, but will use standards to place people with home payments that are affordable for their inclome level.

It also doesn't mean anyone can buy a home and flip it for more than they paid. According to Lyons, the County will maintain a second mortgage on each home to forestall that option.

In addition, Bagwell said the prospective homeowners must attend education classes that cover every aspect of home purchase and loan repayment.

The Sellers and the Vendors

In addition to helping the low-to-moderate income families, Polk NSP is geared to help area banks and contractors. Banks are able to move forclosed homes off their books, and area contractors will be given the opportunity to bid on rehabbing the Polk NSP homes.

Conclusion

Polk NSP is just beginning. Their proposal looks strong, and the goals are lofty, but achievable. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to follow Lyon, Bagwell, and the Polk NSP staff to report on the progress of the project. Longer articles on the details of the home purchase and rehab process will follow. Expect a detailed article on the numbers of Polk NSP. What income levels are needed for approval. We’ll sit in on the education program for home buyers. Like the red light camera story, we’ll see Polk NSP evolve over the next few months.

We’re starting coverage at both Lakeland Local and Metro I4 News, but expect the majority of the articles to publish at Mi4.

April 11, 2009: Religion in the City
April 18, 2009: The Routine
April 25, 2009: Sacred Spaces

May 2, 2009: The Dance
May 9, 2009: Wu Wei – Friend
May 16, 2009: By Their Fruit
May 23, 2009: Defeatist Faith
May 30, 2009: Integrity of the Word

June 6, 2009: Mythos
June 13, 2009: The Stories We Hold
June 20, 2009: Abba Father
June 27, 2009: Choose a Box

July 4, 2009: Perspective

(Ed. note: Chris Craig’s columns are easily bookmarked at: http://bit.ly/CafeChaplain and you can find him on Twitter @cafechaplain )

Until now.

For the next three weekends we’re going to publish our favorite Hagerty Black & White photos from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. None of them are of famous or infamous Central Florida locations. Hagerty wasn’t living here then, but no matter where they were shot they’re still artistic, compelling, and sometimes, fun.

There are 74 photos in the 1970s set, Check out the full set after these four…

And, for you That 70s Show: viewers who wondered if Hyde’s hairstyle is historically accurate:

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Metro I4 News

In this economy, CSX will not lightly walk away from more than $600 million in cash and system improvements, liability or no. FDOT probably still wants to hand that money over to the company. In fact, it’s already done so to some degree in the form of ongoing overpass improvements in north central Florida. Buddy Dyer is out begging for $20,000 in legal expense money so lawyers can try to figure out a way around the senate. Democracy in action. (Funny that with all the money spent on John Thrasher and other uber lobbyists during the session, Dyer is reduced to panhandling for this. You would think GrayRobinson would just pick it up for him.) Anyway, this isn’t over. But it’s worth taking a moment for some post mortem thoughts before this deal reveals itself as the undead zombie vampire that we fear it might be.

1) First and foremost, this plan, it seems to me, represents the apotheosis of the Florida land boom mirage of the middle of this decade. Everything about it screams early 2005. It’s the product of 2005 land values, hammered out by an imperial, sunshine-be-damned Republican governor who got rich through the classic “conservative” paths of inheritance and developer welfare and by John Mica, a corporate socialist Republican congressman who raised tons of campaign cash from Big Freight Rail and later was against stimulus spending before he was for it. It relied upon perpetual 45 degree upward growth projections for Florida’s population and international shipping container traffic, not to mention contributions from local governments that signed on when they were artificially flush with property boom tax money. CSX and company dressed up all of this in the language of progressive priorities like transit and emissions reduction – “greenwashing,” it’s called. The crash of the housing bubble, and all that ensued, eviscerated much of the underlying logic of the plan. The deal would have committed itself — and our money — to a model of Florida that no longer exists. The shape of the next plan will depend largely on the type of Florida that emerges over the next few years.

2) The politics and future of Florida rail: Fascinatingly, opposition to this deal did not break down along party lines. As Dan Tracy wrote recently in the Orlando Sentinel, senators had many and various reasons for opposing the deal. But I would suggest that grassroots opposition broke down into roughly two camps – those who like rail and transit, but hated this specific deal, and those who just generally consider rail a waste of money. I’m in the former camp. I always considered this plan harmful to the long-term prospects of rail throughout Florida because of its cost, geographical patterns, and commitment to use CSX’s lines on CSX’s usurious terms. Those people who claimed it was a stepping stone for other rail systems never, ever explained how that could be.

Many props to the St. Pete Times editorial page for recognizing this in a recent editorial:

The political and business leadership in Tampa Bay can learn a few things from the failed effort — one they foolishly embraced in hopes of securing support from Central Florida for bay area rail down the road. Tampa Bay sent the wrong message to CSX about how much this community would be willing to pay for similar use of the freight corridor. The trick for Tampa Bay was not necessarily to see SunRail succeed at any cost, but to have its terms be reasonable enough to sell the public on rail in Tampa Bay. That is going to be difficult enough under the most favorable terms to the public.

Precisely.

Indeed, TBARTA has put together what seems to me a reasonable, well-conceived plan that lays out a series of multi-modal projects and projected costs – starting with light rail [as Orlando should have] – and making it clear that it all requires publicly approved funding. Tampa and Hillsborough County may place a sales tax referendum on the ballot in 2010 to fund a light rail program. The Orlando plan had no such ongoing funding base, just a commitment from local county governments to cough up money they don’t have, forever.

Those, like me, who opposed this deal more or less from the left, recognize that transit does not pay for itself any more than roads do. We, the citizens, must decide to pay for it. I personally would vote for the Tampa rail tax in a heartbeat. I would also support some sort of statewide gas tax or sales tax dedicated solely to mass transit, with an appointed board to disperse money to projects designed with public value in mind. Hell, I would support placing a ban on construction of new road capacity for 10 years and channeling all state capacity spending into bus, rail, and car-sharing service. I’d spend much more money on rail and integrated transit plans, if the plans make sense and are designed with public benefit in mind. I’d even support kicking in money to CSX if the company acted like a partner, rather than a dictator. For me, it’s a question of value, not cost. I saw very little value, and much active harm, in this deal.

All of this will require reform of FDOT, an organization that basically functions right now as a risk free, interest free investment bank for development and business interests. On top of that, it is, in the words of one Tallahassee reporter I spoke to, “institutionally opaque.” Opaqueness and billions of dollars almost without exception make a bad mix. Someone, hopefully with a title that sounds like inspector general or St. Pete Times reporter, will now crawl down DOT’s throat over this deal and identify just how much money it may have already spent and how legal its behavior in this deal may or may not have been.

A reformed DOT, backed by a new passenger rail friendly Obama administration, could begin to challenge CSX rather than treat the company as a senior arm of the government. I voted against high speed rail twice (Sorry, Doc) because I didn’t think it belonged in the constitution. I still don’t. I remain agnostic, but convinceable, on the actual idea. But one major potential benefit would be the construction of a new, publicly-owned rail corridor along I-4, which CSX could not control. There’s a reason why CSX fiercely backed Jeb Bush’s effort to repeal HSR in 2004. Once the state commits to using I-4 to connect Orlando and Tampa, rather than the A/S line, CSX begins to lose its lucrative grip on the future of rail policy in the state. Depending on engineering realities, I’d like to see a freight line accompany the passenger line. Tie it into the A and S-line. Railroad law is complex, but I think CSX would have to allow the state to do that because of anti-trust rules. I also think it would have to allow rival Norfolk Southern to access that line through the A and S lines. [I could be wrong on this, though.] In any event, think of rail line as oil. It’s a scarce commodity that becomes more valuable the less of it there is. With the right carrots and sticks, maybe CSX could be enticed/bullied into using I-4 and freeing up the A/S line for true commuter rail for Orlando, Lakeland, and Tampa.

Of course, any plan of that sort would certainly run into opposition from the “Axe-the-Tax” type folks, who acted as enemies of our enemies in this deal. And their objections are legitimate. Building true transit infrastructure would cost an enormous amount of money and would certainly require some kind statewide -and probably local – transit tax. That means referenda – or political leaders who are willing to get unelected over such a deal because its long-term benefits are so good. It would take guts. Supporting the current CSX deal brought that same level of political risk, but with no long term benefit. Thus you have the result.

3) Lakeland’s issues: I took a shot recently at Lakeland city government – minus Justin Troller and Howard Wiggs – over the letter it sent urging state senators to dismiss any communication from Lakeland-area folks who opposed the deal. The “official” position was that the city supports the deal, as long as rerouting language accompanied the final bill.

Anyway, it’s one thing to write a letter saying that people in our community have strong feelings about this deal, which we respect, but think are best addressed by supporting this deal. I have no problem with that. But don’t say – without any public discussion in advance of the letter – that some of your citizens “have conveyed the erroneous impression that the City of Lakeland is opposed to the passage of Senate Bill 1212″ – and please contact the city government only for the real scoop. That’s insulting and anti-democratic. It suggests that government doesn’t care what the people have to say and discourages public participation. Coupled with the Chamber’s literal begs for CSX deal support, this whole process has not been official/aristocratic Lakeland’s finest hour.

While I don’t have any real gripe – in concept – with the city government trying to build rerouting into the deal, it’s worth noting that this approach didn’t yield any tangible results for the city to lose.

If the rerouting – and the billion or so dollar price tag accompanying it – had been added to the deal contract, and thus enforceable in court, the city would have stood on firmer ground in warning that opposition to this deal might cost us. Likewise, if the city or DOT had secured any public hint that CSX was willing to use the Van Fleet line, they could argue that Lakeland deal opponents are taking a risk. But neither of those things happened. Instead we got meaningless legislation and a taxpayer-funded study which was then ripped away because it was only a bargaining chip.

Whatever happens in this deal, freight traffic through Lakeland will only be rerouted if the big regional powers to our east and west realize it benefits them to change the flow of freight in the state. (See the I-4 freight line idea.) No one in an executive position of power in state government cares what happens to Lakeland, per se. I think a number of people in such capacity care about I-4 corridor connectivity and development. In the best case scenario, by staking this deal in its ghoulish heart, we have kept the state and regional powers from committing to a flawed and anti-transit model and given them space to come up with something much better. Worst case scenario, they do this anyway in an underhanded end run around the senate. In that case, we’ve lost absolutely nothing and have hung a political risk around the necks of supporters.

4) My goodness, it is quiet over in Haven blog land. Surely Bob Gernert wants to insult/sic the authorities on us some more. But he’ll have to step up his game if he wants to match the “forces of evil” / “knuckledragging Neanderthals” smack coming out of Orlando.

And there you have it – for now. I look forward to writing about new subjects, though probably not as much as you look forward to reading about new subjects. But thanks for following this.

Gov. Charlie Crist’s embrace of the federal stimulus package could reduce that 15 percent cut roughly in half over the next two years – if Crist and other Florida officials can convince the federal government not to enforce rules requiring states receiving stimulus money to be funding schools at 2005-06 levels.

All this was the focus of last night’s school funding meeting at Harrison School of the Arts (where my daugher is a sophomore and I am a parent board member). Mark Grey, the district’s top bean counter, laid out what $95 million translates into for Polk schools.

Here are some highlights from his list:

– 19 percent salary reduction
– a roughly 40-day furlough for all staff
– 1,730 teaching positions

The district would also consider cutting career academies and further reducing support services it has already cut. In the end, the ditstrict will probably use some combination of cuts to make up the deficit. Noting that the district is by far Polk’s largest employer, with 13,000 employees, Grey and Superintendent Gail McKinzie said they want to avoid adding to the county’s economic woes by laying people off. Instead, expect the emphasis to fall on salary cuts.

Let this discussion settle in for those of you think the stimulus package does too much to aid states and not enough to build useless roads. The fact is that public education is, with few exceptions, the prime economic driver of virtually every community. And that doesn’t even consider the actual service it performs.

The purpose of last night’s meeting was to encourage parents to protest these cuts to their state legislators, and I fully endorse that. But beyond that, we all need to ask ourselves what we are willing to pay for. Because there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Here’s John Chambliss’ account of the meeting in The Ledger.

Cross posted on Lakeland Local

With all the new contributors at Lakeland Local I let my focus drift.

MI4 has been carrying everything from select bloggers. As a central repository it let you have one feed instead of five. But I stopped making it easy to scan.

That’s going to change. I need to trim, prune, and focus.

First, I’m going to stop reprinting everything from Lakeland Local.

Yes, my own site.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll just publish select Lakeland Local columns that are more regional in nature.

Then a few days of looking at better arranging the front page.

After BlogOrlando, I’m going to add an every other day column on the best of Central Florida blogs, columnists, twits, and facebookers. Basically, where ever I find something interesting online.

Then we start weight training.

Polk Community College has many activities in September and October for the celebration of Hispanic Heritage including a Hispanic Art themed exhibition.

Vilas Tonape, PCC’s new art instructor, painted a students portrait in less than one hour at the opening of the Students Art exhibition. It was an awesome experience watching him paint (video to come soon). Many students showed up for the opening, which included food from Guava Berry Bakery. The gallery is on the Lakeland PCC Campus in the Technology Building (LTB) and open Monday to Thursday at various times.

photo credit: Darby Critendon

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

“In July, Graham Packaging disclosed an agreement to be acquired by Texas Rangers owner Thomas O. Hicks for $700 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.” — Tradingmarkets.com

They should all work now. I won’t bore you with details.

Please let me know in comments if you find any other broken links.

Thanks.

Now back to posts on traffic cones, buses, breakfast, and socialists.

And isn’t it time for another look at local main stream media?

For the 6pm to 8 pm meeting Citrus Connection will change three bus routes:

• Rt. 42, West Memorial, will have extended hours until 8:45 (route pdf)
• Rt. 41, Central Avenue, will have extended hours until 9:45 (route pdf)
• Rt. 50, Kathleen/Providence, will have extended hours until 9:45 (route pdf)

The affected routes serve those traveling to the Downtown terminal to make a connection with Rt. 42, W. Memorial, on to Kathleen High School. Routes 41 and 50 will be extended to 9:45 PM to allow those attending the meeting to travel on Route 42 back to the Downtown terminal and continue on one of the extended routes. No other routes are extended.

According to Danny Ours, executive director of Lakeland Area Mass Transit District, ADA eligible Handy Bus riders attending the event can make a reservation on any of the three routes, but must do so no later than Saturday, September 20th.

“From the beginning, we have hoped for the broadest possible involvement in these idea gathering meetings. Thanks to the flexibility of our friends at Citrus Connection, more people will have a chance to ‘make their mark’ in our planning process.” — Shannon Lanier, executive director of Lakeland Vision

Additional Information

For an article on the Idea Gathering process: Plan the Trip

For more information on Lakeland Vision

For more information about Citrus Connection mass transit RideCitrus or call at 688-RIDE (7433)

photo credit: Tom Hagerty