News Update for 12/20/24
Waste Connections customers in Highlands County are advised that garbage and bulk waste pickup will not occur on Christmas Day, Wednesday, the 25th. Garbage and yard waste will also not be picked up on New Year’s Day, Wednesday January 1st, due to the landfill being closed on both holidays. Curbside collection services are expected to be delayed by one day both weeks. The Landfill will reopen starting Thursday of those weeks.
An expansion is planned of The Highlands County Jail, offering some much-needed space for the Detention Bureau. Official ground breaking commenced yesterday for the new 100 bed facility that will be built to the east of the current facility. Work on the new building is expected to wrap up in early 2026.
A former Polk County teacher is accused of having sex with a student. The sheriff’s office announced yesterday that Lakeland’s Donald Mitchell was arrested Wednesday. The 36-year-old allegedly had a sexual relationship with a student at Kathleen High School, where he taught. The alleged victim, who’s now 19, came forward last week on social media and accused Mitchell of having sex with her last year. Deputies say the relationship lasted a year and ended last month. The 36-year-old Mitchell denies the allegation. He has been placed on administrative leave from his current job with the county school board. The superintendent says Mitchell has submitted his resignation, and he says Mitchell’s behavior was abhorrent and unacceptable.
Four Central Florida men are looking at years behind bars for their roles in a drug distribution conspiracy. The US Justice Department announced yesterday two men from Kissimmee, one from Orlando and one from St. Cloud pled guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine for about a year starting in 2022. Prosecutors say almost half-a-million dollars was seized during the investigation. Orlando 36-year-old Abiezer Laboy-Lozada and Kissimmee 36-year-old Israel Miranda could get life in prison. The other two could get up to 40 years.
A new amenity is coming to a Polk County airport. The Lakeland City Commission this week approved a lease agreement for a new restaurant at Lakeland Linder International Airport. Sora Eatery will offer Asian and American food where Waco Kitchen used to be. It’s expected to open next month. Waco Kitchen closed eight months ago, and the airport hasn’t had a restaurant since then. County Commissioner Stephanie Madden tells The Ledger the county has had some difficulty filling the spot.
A man is dead following a Central Florida investigation that started out as a search for a stolen car. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were helping Osceola County police locate the vehicle yesterday morning when they spotted it in Orlando’s Azalea Park community. Four suspects were seen getting out of the stolen car and jumping into a rideshare vehicle. Authorities tried to pull over the suspects when a man shot himself inside the car. He was rushed to the hospital, where he later died. The three other suspects were arrested.
Two suspected porch pirates are in custody in Manatee County. The sheriff’s office says Joseph Burden and Jessica McNew were arrested this week after deputies tracked them to a home in Bradenton and linked them to multiple thefts around the county, including Lakewood Ranch. Police say doorbell cameras captured the pair stealing packages and their vehicle at various locations, giving detectives enough identifiable information to apprehend them. Both are charged with multiple counts of grand theft.
A federal lawsuit is challenging a new Florida law requiring adult entertainment websites to use age verification to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content. Executive Director of the Free Speech Coalition Alison Boden says the law creates a “substantial burden” on adults who want to access legal sites “without fear of surveillance.” The coalition is challenging similar laws in Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Utah, Indiana and Montana. The age-verification law was passed in Florida as part of a package of restrictions on children having social media accounts. It takes effect on New Year’s Day.
Millions of dollars are going toward major infrastructure improvements along Florida’s Space Coast. The board of directors for Space Florida has agreed to move forward with recommendation to provide up to 50-million dollars in matching grant funds in partnership with the state transportation department. The plan would also put 15-million dollars into a development known as “Project Hinton.” The agency’s president and CEO, Rob Long, says the project will be transformative for the region and America. While few details have been released, the plan is expected to create six-hundred jobs, while increasing the number of payloads going into orbit from Florida.