NewsTalk 730

Despite the nationwide housing boom, a new report by Stressa shows the Avon Park-Sebring metro area experienced only a two-percent increase in housing. Over the past decade we added just short of 1100 new homes. The local numbers are dwarfed by the 6.5-percent increase in new home construction nationwide. Locally, Highlands showed just a 5.8-percent…

The Highlands County Canvassing Board got together this morning to start the process of wrapping up this year’s primary election. They checked both provisional ballots and referred ballots and cured all of the outstanding tallies. Those were processed and now will be sent to the State of Florida who then will certify the final results.…

A new report by MoveBudda puts Avon Park in the top tier for those looking for a place to live in Florida. The City of Charm joins Sarasota and Ocala for those migrating here from other places. The survey says 229 people are moving in, for every 100 residents who are moving out. MoveBudda is…

It was a wide span of election victories for local candidates in yesterday’s primary elections. The biggest margin was in the District 5 School Board race. Nicole Radonski cruised to a win over incumbent Jill Compton-Twist with 60-percent of the vote total. Challenger Reece Martin also won his District four School Board race with a…

It’s Primary Election Day. it’s a time Republicans and Democrats will pick their standard bearers for the November General Election. However, there also are races that will be decided on today’s ballots. Republican incumbent Highlands County Commissioner Kathy Rapp is facing a challenge from former commissioner Don Elwell for a seat on the commission. Highlands…

It’s the calm before the storm. Tomorrow is Election Day for the primaries. That being said, better than 15-percent of Highlands County voters already have cast their ballots. Highlands County Supervisor of Elections Karen Healy says she has recieved some 7,232 votes by mail, with another 3,457 people coming to the polls for early voting.…

Quite the thunderstorm we had last night about dinner hour. All the louder because it was right over our heads. Public reports have at least two homes in Sebring hit by lightning when the thunderstorm cell passed through a little after 5pm. Early Voting for next Tuesday’s primary election continues through Saturday for Highlands County…

The wheels of justice are starting to move for the accused January 2019 Sun Trust bank shooter. Circuit Judge Peter Estrada Monday set a target of early next year to begin the trial of Zephen Xaver with a January date possible, pending clearance by the Chief Judge for the Circuit. Estrada gave attorney a date…

Little traffic tieup on Highway 98 near Spring Lake yesterday morning. An overturned semi trailer dumped about 5,000 gallons of liquid fertilizer on the road after a head-on collision with an SUV driven by a 75 year old Sebring man at the intersection with Lakeview Boulevard. The highway was closed about four hours while Hazmat…

If you’ve missed using Heron Street as a north-south route down Sebring’s west side for most of this year, relief is on the way – the County’s Road and Bridge Department says the rebuilding project that’s had the road closed since spring will be finished ahead of schedule – this week. Finishing up the striping…