photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Metro I4 News

Playing primarily at the Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven and Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale*, the teams also use fields at Henley Field, Polk Community College, Southeastern University, Webber International University, Warner University, Pat Thomas Stadium and some of the area’s top high school fields.

It’s well played Spring baseball without major league prices and Metro I4 News photographer Tom Hagerty has attended many of the games. Here are a few shots…

See the rest of the Central Florida Invitational photos here…

* – Corrected after reader feedback. Originally read “Playing primarily at the Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, the teams also use fields at Lake Myrtle Park, Henley Field….”

photos credit: Tom Hagerty for Metro I4 News

But I just got home from the joint Lakeland Kiwanis Clubs’ Pancake Festival. Winter Haven Kiwanis held theirs as well today, and Bartow Kiwanis held one on Feb 6th. Dozens of Polk charities benefit from these events put on by hundreds of Kiwanis volunteers each year.

And how great is Lakeland’s Pig Fest? Tens of thousands visit from all over the country to this official barbeque chapionship benefitting the Junior League. Kim and I and the children had a ball this year – both Friday night and Saturday offered loads of fun at Pig Fest. You know, it always competes with Tampa’s Gasparilla celebration, but it does just fine thank you very much! In fact, we thought this was the best Pig Fest ever.

What’s more, Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City is right around the corner. We love the strawberry festival. Kim would rather eat strawberries than anything else in the whole wide world and Seth3 makes sure we remember that Dora hosts a Strawberry Festival (Fess-tee-VALL) too! This year I’m particularly excited that Natalie Burgin, the sister of my good friend and fellow Florida House Member Rep. Rachel Burgin, is this year’s Strawberry Queen!

Lake Wales has Mardi Gras this weekend, Davenport hosts an annual Quilt and Tea Festival, Bartow hosts Bloomin’ Arts, Winter Haven has the fantastic Bach Festival , Lakeland loves Mayfaire, Dade City just held the Kumquat Festival and there are dozens more throughout the region.

And my point is this: If you recall from the Op Ed I wrote back in January, I mentioned that in this conversation I hoped to start about regionalism, I thought it pivotal to inculcate our individualism and local culture and to never lose the unique charm that defines each of the communities in our diverse, but connected region. So let‘s keep the festivals!

But, as I see it, we’re on the cusp of killing the goose before we ever get a golden egg. These two stories unfortunately foretell what amounts to a food fight over where a proposed Polk County High Speed Rail stop should be located.

• Officials Differ Over Best Location of Polk County Stop for High-Speed Rail

• Haven Chamber Backs USF For High-Speed Rail Stop

The fact is that we’re lucky we’re even getting a stop. As you know, the Federal government didn’t give us enough money to build the entire system. And California’s application was also partially funded. Already pitching for the next round of funds, Gov. Schwarzenegger touts its system as the only “true” high speed rail. And the trouble is, he’s correct. Ours won’t go as fast as his. Why? There are too many stops for it to achieve speeds over 200 mph on such a short route. But we are fighting with ourselves about where our stop – one that will slow the system down – will be. That just doesn’t seem smart to me.

My perspective: We need to respect and thoughtfully participate in a process with FDOT through which we carefully analyze the available alternatives for the rail stop. We should foster a timely, yet analytical process that details the costs, benefits, advantages and disadvantages of every proposed alternative. We should respect the outcome of a contemplative process and be thankful that we’ll benefit at all from a stop on the region’s bullet train – no matter where it is.

photo credit: SAsqrd

That said, my perception of both traditional and direct media coverage surrounding the announcement is that it contains a hidden message as important as Legoland itself. I encourage you to read this post from The Daily Disney blog “A Mom and the Mouse” by Kristin Ford. The column highlights the Lego Imagination Center at Downtown Disney, which is an existing interactive play area and Lego store to which children flock en masse. The author includes an important paragraph acknowledging the new Polk Legoland and its proximity to the Orlando attractions. And she closes the piece by encouraging financial incentives and other “tie-ins” to entice visitors to venture off the Disney property and try something new.

As I read more about the author, I learned that she is a self-proclaimed Disney enthusiast who’s been given a space on that blog by The Orlando Sentinel specifically to discuss activities at Disney. So “don’t look now,” but here’s another example of a neighbor to our East focused on a big deal in Polk, and encouraging regional ties.

What’s more, news from around the world has been regionally refreshing. Read this post by an on-line British news source titled Legoland Florida Coming 2011 to be World’s Biggest. This London-based piece tells readers how near Legoland will be to the other Orlando theme parks, while acknowledging the prominence it will enjoy among Florida’s best attractions. Here is the writer’s closing argument :
“Florida is already home to the biggest Disney park in the world, as well as Universal Orlando, which features two theme parks – Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Now no one will be able to go wrong with a vacation in the Sunshine State.”

The bottom line is that if you’re from London, Stuttgart or Tokyo, a 40-minute hop isn’t far at all to visit another first-class attraction. And you won’t know, nor will you care, that the local folks there are struggling to develop as a world “Super Region.” To you, it already is, which leads me to my point: It’s happening in spite of ourselves. But if we embrace regionalism by cooperating with our neighbors, I submit that it’ll make all the difference in the world.

Just an aside, but as we contemplate all the folks who’ll now be considering a brand new Central Florida theme park, I can’t help but ponder the question: How should we transport them throughout our region?

photo credit: Amodiovalerio Verde

The sale has the potential to put Polk back on the tourism map and generally to be one of the 2010 game changers for the region. But as a timely teaser, I thought I’d comment on two quick links – the first one is the “traditional media” news story from the Orlando Sentinel. The only point here is that it’s important for Polk Countians to know that our neighbors East and West are watching – which is a good thing. Our game changers make news in their markets too. They acknowledge that Polk is open for business and truly is the “belt buckle” (to borrow a phrase from Mayor Fletcher) of the I-4 corridor.

The second is a very interesting post by Robert Niles in Theme Park Insider blog: It features some interesting insight as to the potential viability of a Legoland park in Polk, and both optimism and Mr. Niles’ pessimism are expressed. Most notably, the pessimistic view that the park list too far away from

Like the rest of the county, I’m looking forward to the announcements today. Candidly, I am also happy for LandSouth. They found a solid buyer in the amusement industry with the potential to preserve the character and use of the regional gem, Cypress Gardens. And I think history will prove they were good stewards of a Polk treasure during unprecedented economic times, the depths of which few predicted.

Bottom line: I know my stated goal is to comment on the unheralded nuggets of news shaping our region, but this one’s too big not to address. And you can bet it’ll be the subject of my musings for a while to come.

photo credit: mliu92

Outdoor water use can account for up to 50 percent of water consumed by households, which means it is where water conservation practices can make the biggest impact. April is Water Conservation Month, so here are a few ways to reduce your outdoor water consumption by inspecting your irrigation system and using a rain sensor.

Inspecting Your Irrigation System

On your irrigation day, manually start your irrigation system for each zone to check for leaks, broken pipes, damaged or tilted sprinkler heads, blocked sprinkler patterns and overspray onto impermeable surfaces such as roads and sidewalks.

Check for soft, wet spots that are around the inground sprinkler head. If consistent, these spots could indicate a leak that is being absorbed into the ground. Contact your irrigation maintenance specialist if repairs are needed.

Look for dry spots. They are a sign of one of the following: the sprinklers may be placed too far apart; the water pressure is low; sprinkler patterns may be blocked by overgrown grass; shrubs or low-hanging limbs may be blocking the sprinklers; or the screens inside the sprinklers are clogged.

Adjust, move or add sprinkler heads if your current sprinklers do not throw water 80 to 100 percent of the distance to the adjacent sprinkler.

A garden hose without a shutoff nozzle can waste 530 gallons of water in an hour. Use a shutoff nozzle on your hose that can be adjusted down to a fine spray so that water flows only as needed. When finished, turn it off at the spigot instead of at the nozzle to avoid leaks.

Inspecting Your Rain Shutoff Device

If you have an automatic sprinkler system, be sure it is equipped with a working rain shutoff device to override the system when enough rain has fallen. As water evaporates from the device, the irrigation system will resume normal operation. Rain shutoff devices, also known as rain sensors, are required by Florida law on all automatic irrigation systems installed since 1991.

Make sure the rain shutoff device is located away from overhead obstructions, with a clear view of the sky and at least five feet away from air-conditioning units or pool heaters.

Check the rain shutoff device regularly to ensure the device is working properly and that the corresponding switch in the control box is set at “on.” Test the device by wetting the sensor to verify the system won’t operate when the controller has received the set amount of water.

Adjust the sensor to interrupt irrigation after one-half to three-quarters of an inch of rain. If there is a vent ring located just below the cap, the vent can be closed or partially closed to restrict air flow through the discs. Make sure the vent is closed so it will allow the disks to dry more slowly, thus keeping the system off for a longer period of time. This adjustment is used to compensate for an “overly sunny” location.

If you need to replace or purchase a new rain shutoff device you can purchase one at home improvement stores for between $17 and $60.

For more information, to register for a workshop, or to request a workshop for your group or neighborhood contact PolkisFF@gmail.com.

Upcoming Workshops:

Rain Barrel Workshop
Audubon Nature Center Native Plant Sale
Saturday, April 25, 9:30-10:30 am
115 Lameraux Road, Winter Haven
This workshop will teach you the basics of water conservation and stormwater runoff prevention using rain barrels. In this hands-on program you will create and take home a 55 gallon rain barrel. Rain barrels are $25-Pre-registration for rain barrels is required by April 20. You are welcome to attend the workshop for free if you do not want to purchase a rain barrels. Call 863-519-8677 ext 121 to register, or register online ( aeyasalonis@ifas.ufl.edu ). You will not receive a confirmation of your registration.

Micro Jet Irrigation Workshop
Thursday, April 30, 5:30-7:30 pm
Winter Haven Public Library
325 Avenue A NW, Winter Haven, FL
Precise Irrigation Design & Consulting will present an interactive workshop on micro jet irrigation for your yard, with an emphasis on the importance of conserving water in our Florida landscapes.
Call 863-298-5470 to register.

Though average home sale values have kept on the decline by about 24% as compared to last year’s numbers, the month of February showed encouraging results with increased home sales and prices since January.

Winter Haven, Florida Homes Sold Data – February 2009

Winter Haven’s median home prices remained unchanged for February at $98,000, but some good news is to be found in that average sales prices increased by 2.38% to $117,026. All told, total of 57 Winter Haven, Florida homes were sold in February – up 13 from the 44 homes sold in January.

It’s no surprise that foreclosures make up the majority of home sales. Currently, about 50% of homes for sale in our area are in foreclosure. With over 1,260 properties currently for sale and pending, we are experiencing a high absorption rate as it has been reported the previous month.

Distressed properties are homes in pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, bank-owned, or going through as short sales. Of the 57 homes sold last month here in Winter Haven, 29 of them were distressed, which sold for an average sales price of $97,762 ($52.49 per sq.ft.). At present, there are 254 distressed homes currently on the market.

Folks – if you’re looking for the right time to buy – NOW is the time. Match these homes up with the USDA Rural Development home loan program, an $8000 tax credit, and wow! You have yourself a pretty sweet deal!

Note: 101 homes are in pending status waiting for bank or lender approval to close.

Take a look at the spreadsheet below. I’ve separated the report by zip code instead of school zones; it gives you a more accurate report in my opinion. The data for this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include “For Sale By Owner.”

Winter Haven, Florida Homes Sold Market Report – February 2009

Winter Haven, Florida Homes Sold – February 2009

Interactive Map

For more information on the location of the Winter Haven, Florida homes sold, along with price and size of each home, click on the interactive Community Walk map below, which was created by Chuck Welch here at MetroI4News.com.

CommunityWalk Map – Winter Haven Homes Sold February 2009

CommunityWalk Map – Winter Haven Homes Sold February 2009

Originally published at the Florida Mortgage Blogger

“And the clock is ticking: The state’s deal with CSX expires in June and so could a promise of an additional $300 million in federal funds to buy rail cars and help build the 17 planned stations.” — SunRail: It may be now or never for Orlando’s grand plan to get commuters off I-4, onto daily train

“While residents of Central Florida have focused on the costs and benefits of providing an alternative to driving to work on Interstate 4, Dockery has been obsessed by a far-larger component of the project: The state is paying nearly $490 million so that CSX can relocate a logistics center to nearby Winter Haven and reroute most of its freight operations to tracks that run down the interior of the state.” – Not all aboard: Lakeland would bear brunt of freight trains rerouted for sake of SunRail

“Yarbrough said SunRail would be responsible for passengers and bystanders — even if CSX were to blame for the accident — because of what’s known as the “but for” argument: “But for” SunRail, they most likely would not have been in the rail corridor.” – Central Florida commuter rail: Who pays if somebody gets hurt?

As a matter of fact, I do mention the News Chief. I promised to count the locally written stories in the same manner as I did for the Ledger. However, I found a mere four local bylines in today’s News Chief. That’s what you get for your quarter.

On to what I wrote about the paper of record for Polk County…and by example…your paper.

Today is “Buy A Newspaper Day.” The effort is an attempt to get readers offline and back to purchasing their local newspaper. The fact the campaign was conducted entirely online doesn’t escape me.

Nevertheless, I bought a newspaper today. In fact, I purchased two. The Ledger and the News Chief. The former, based in Lakeland, covers Imperial Polk county and cost $.75. The News Chief boasts that it is “SERVING EAST POLK COUNTY MORE THAN EVER.” Obviously a Winter Haven operation, it was a mere $.25. Both newspapers are “an affiliate” of the News York Times Company. The News Chief is nice enough to also call the Ledger an “affiliate,” but the Ledger doesn’t return the love.

What did I get for my $1? My true test of a newspaper is: how many articles by their own reporters versus how many articles pulled from wire services and out-of-town affiliates. The Ledger was 36 pages in three section: Main, Polk & Florida, and Sports. In the main section, which tends to cover national and international news, the Ledger had two stories by local reporters, and one of them was really a sports piece. I counted 14 Associated Press and other service stories. That doesn’t count the editorial pages. Other than Letters to the Editor, the rest of the content was written out-of-town. Well, maybe the 11 paragraph editorial on President Obama’s “sea change against secrecy” might have been locally written, but it’s too general to tell.

I turned to the Polk & Florida section with a good feeling I’d find plenty of locally written stories there. I found three written by Ledger staff or local freelance writer, four Ledger-produced columns, and eight out-of-town pieces and columns. One of the local pieces was actually about local fans attending, you guessed it, the Super Bowl. I did also find two reader poems and the obits. Strange thing about the obituary these days. If you want more than seven lines, you have to pay for it. Unless you’re famous or died in a hail of bullets.

Sports were the thing where we found the conscience of the Ledger.(1)There were seven Ledger produced articles; almost all on the Super Bowl. Make it 7.5 as there was a column of Super Bowl tidbits by “Ledger staff.” A page of Super Bowl photos included just one by a Ledger photographer. Add two AP basketball stories and we’re ready for the final tally:

The Ledger falls 16.5 to 24(2). Sorry, I fell into that Sports mode. It’s difficult to even say it was that close as more than half of the Ledger produced pieces were on the Super Bowl and related stories. There can’t been a lot of Super Bowl content special to Imperial Polk county. Most of the Ledger articles focused on the game and the star plays and players. Good sports writing, but considering the Super Bowl is the most covered and watched American sporting of the year, I doubt most readers couldn’t have found similar articles in most any newspaper in the county.

What does this all mean?

Gone are the days when you’d heft the paper onto the breakfast table and learn about your community and how it relates to the state, nation, and the world. The sad fact is that newspapers have become blogs.

Yes, blogs.

You see, blogs started as individually crafted sites that almost exclusively pointed to interesting items found on the Internet. It seems our Ledger is much the same thing as an editor, or editors, finds the best of the other newspapers and wire services and puts it in a easy-to-read format for your breakfast reading.

The daily newspaper most of us remember from our youth is dead. There is no saving it. Readers never really supported newspapers, advertisers did. We were just the eyeballs newspapers needed to convince advertisers to place ads. The economy is hurting, advertisers are pulling back like turtles into their shells, and newspapers are laying off experienced reporters. The future is bleak to black.

But, I’ve come to praise newspapers, not to bury them. (3)

The future of the local newspaper is to return to the Wild West years and focus on the local community. Forget the stories of celebrities smoking bongs, and drop filler such as articles about a Texas family looking to clear the name of a relative(4). Use a local reporter to cover the story of a local Representative deciding to run for Agriculture Commissioner. Find the local angle for every story. If you really want to send reporters to the Super Bowl (party) then find a player that attended a local college, see if there is a cheerleader who once yelled “Give Me an L!.” or a concession vendor who will feed his family for a month on what he made in tips from over-served fans.

The newspaper I purchased today I could have watched on television last night. There was precious little I couldn’t have found online this weekend.

So why buy a newspaper?

Cary McMullen, Rick Rousos, Gary White, the Browns: Lonnie and Rick, Cindy Skop, Rick Runion, Michael Wilson, Scott Wheeler, Sarah Stegall, Suzie Schottelkotte, Tom Palmer(5), Bill Rufty, Jeremy Maready, Rachel Pleasant, John Chambliss, Shoshana Walter, Robin Williams Adams, Glenn Marston, Bill Blocher, Del Milligan, Trent Rowe, Kyle Kennedy, Kevin Bouffard, Heidi DeVries, Merissa Green, Michael Freeman, and Dick Scanlon (6).

Those are (most of) the reporters and photographers you’ll find in the Ledger, with apologies to those I’ve left off the list. All live and work in the area. All have an understanding of our community, our politics, and our history. They’re supported by editors, sales reps, clerks, and other locally based(7) staff. All (8) are the reasons to buy the Ledger.

Maybe we can convince Ledger publisher Jerome Ferson the secret to reversing the readership and advertising loses is to pull back and focus on Polk County talent and stories. It’s fine if that means cutting back to once or twice a week publication. We’d understand. No one reads the paper for breaking news anymore. Take your time to craft stories with insight and community pertinence. We’d buy that newspaper and keep it on the breakfast counter for the weekend. (And wouldn’t you love to tell your advertisers the paper stays around until every page is read by every family member? Who throws away a weekly magazine before it is finished?)

Today wasn’t the last Ledger I’ll buy, but I really hope I’ll get more McMullen,Rousos,White,Brown,Skop,Runion,Wilson,Wheeler,Stegall,Schottelkotte,Palmer,Rufty, Maready,Pleasant,Chambliss,Walter,Adams,Marston,Blocher,Milligan,Rowe,Kennedy,Bouffard,DeVries,Green,Freeman and Scanlon (9) for my money.

(1) Apologies Bard.
(2) I didn’t include the comics at all. There hasn’t been a locally produced comic strip in years.
(3) Sorry Bard. Again.
(4) Both articles were in in today’s newspaper.
(5) Yes, Tom Palmer
(6) Yes, even Dick Scanlon, though he apparently doesn’t think Mark McGwire deserves a Hall of Fame vote.
(7) I do not count the staff for operations the Ledger has outsourced.
(8) See #6 and add Tim Raines
(9) See #6 and add Andre Dawson
(10) What about the News Chief? This is a Lakeland-centric site. You’ll have to read about the News Chief later this afternoon over at Metro i4 News.

photo credit: Chuck Welch for Metro i4 News

What follows is the letter I imagine Winter Haven Chamber Pres. Bob Gernert and City Manager David Greene are crafting right now to set her straight.

Dear Cindy:

We read recently that you are angry about the possibility of rerouting freight traffic in ways that may affect the public spaces you’ve spent lots of money to enhance. That’s understandable. But you have to get over it. In the grand scheme of things, in this economy, public spaces must be sacrificed.

We here in the Winter Haven government and business elite are honest and upstanding about our commitments, and we’ve stated publicly that we want to help Lakeland with the rerouting made necessary partly because of our ILC.

As Bob wrote on Oct. 16, 2008: “Lakeland’s agenda includes rerouting freight traffic away from downtown. The Florida Department of Transportation is currently studying the feasibility for just such rerouting. We support Lakeland’s quest for the best solution possible.”

A map and common sense will tell you that the Van Fleet Trail line is the most efficient way to reroute freight traffic from Lakeland’s core and avoid creating a longterm industrial corridor/freight superhighway leading into the ILC. And you know, none of us – including you and Bobby Green – had any concern about this deal when it was dumping the bad parts in the middle of Lakeland’s public projects. Jack Myers even talked about how much you guys like trains, if we remember correctly. It’s only fair and right that we, who have supported and fought for this plan, embrace its consequences. We must all sacrifice a little for the greater glory of CSX, economic development, and the regional unity embodied by the “One Polk” organization.

And honestly, trains and parks and trails can coexist quite well together. We in Winter Haven have a much greater sacrifice to make. Bob’s already looking for new office space to replace the chamber office that will be demolished to make room for the revitalized line through downtown. But that’s a small price to pay to for 100 jobs or so at the ILC and the big financial boost for Phoenix Industries and Highland Cassidy. So get on board, Cindy.

Yours Truly In Freight,

Bob Gernert and David Greene