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Monday, October 23, 2017

Friends say farewell to ‘heart and soul’ of Bartow

BARTOW – Dr. Tom McMicken was too many things to sum him up in any simple way. He was a doctor in Bartow for 50 years, who months before his death, was recertified with one of the highest scores ever. He would make house calls. It would not be unusual … read more.

LATEST LOCAL NEWS

Citrus faces sharp drop; help may be coming
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s struggling orange crop is expected to drop 21 percent this growing season, a percentage some believe could become larger as farmers continue to suffer the effects of … read more.

Mr. Central Florida is Ron Lash
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

LAKELAND — “Every year it keeps getting bigger and better,” said Roxann Bonta, president and CEO of Central Florida Speech & Hearing Center, a not for profit that held its … read more.

Water Coop to sign $23 million contract today
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

AUBURNDALE – Wednesday, mayors and city managers from every municipality in the county except Frostproof will be meeting to discuss $23 million worth of spending over the next five years … read more.

Hospitals donate to Care Centers for Irma recovery
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

LAKE WALES – Leaders with Community Health Systems, the parent corporation that owns Lake Wales Medical Center and Heart of Florida Hospital, donated $30,000 to help Hurricane Irma victims in … read more.

More Local News

Director on the way for Main Street
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

LAKE WALES — After years of having no Main Street director in Lake Wales, the city commission has formed a partnership with Main Street and the Lake Wales CRA to make that happen. A contract designating $100,000 every year for … read more.

Speaker said drive for success must never stop
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

BARTOW – In celebrating its 32nd year, Marjorie Ferrer told Main Street Bartow members at their annual lunch last week they are well on their way to establishing a sociable city. Ferrer, president of downtown Management Consulting LLC, who was … read more.

Merchants set to rock downtown
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

LAKE WALES – Good news is on the horizon for downtown Lake Wales. “Downtown Business Rocks!” has formed, a group of some 29 people including downtown business owners, Webber University students, Chamber of Commerce members and others. “This Downtown Merchants … read more.

Bartoberfest set this Friday downtown
Wed Oct 18 2017 08:30AM

BARTOW – Halloween is making its first call in Bartow this weekend as Friday Fest has its first Bartoberfest. Held every third Friday of the month, Friday Fest at the Oct. 20 party will not only have themed music but will … read more.

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State, National and World News

Cub Scout kicked out of group after asking about gun control
Mon Oct 23 2017 01:19AM

DENVER — A Cub Scout was kicked out of his group after he questioned a Colorado state lawmaker about gun control and previous contentious comments she made about African-Americans. It’s the latest political flashpoint for the Boy Scouts, of which … read more.

New York advances drone industry with testing corridor
Mon Oct 23 2017 01:19AM

ROME, N.Y. — Envisioning a day when millions of drones will buzz around delivering packages, watching crops or inspecting pipelines, a coalition is creating an airspace corridor in upstate New York where traffic management systems will be developed and unmanned … read more.

2010 oil spill funds remain elusive for coastal counties
Mon Oct 23 2017 01:19AM

PANAMA CITY — A weekly report from Bay County’s RESTORE Act coordinator lays out the steps he must follow on the path to securing the county’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill money: Update the status of Pot 1 grant applications, meet … read more.

Puerto Rico drug users get less help after the storm
Sun Oct 22 2017 08:36PM

BC-PUERTORICO-DRUGS:MI - national (1300 words),1367 Puerto Rico drug users get less help after the storm TNS NEWSFEATURES (PHOTOS) By David Ovalle Miami Herald CIDRA, Puerto Rico - The trio of workers on the relief mission drove through the mountains to … read more.

San Juan police struggle to contain crime after Maria
Mon Oct 23 2017 01:19AM

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Maria ripped apart daily life in Puerto Rico but it hasn’t stopped the crime that has long plagued the poverty-stricken island. In the Rio Piedras neighborhood, Jessica Rojas was at work last week making … read more.

Ohio State sued over refusal to let white nationalist speak
Sun Oct 22 2017 08:36PM

AP-US--Ohio-Richard Spencer,129 Ohio State sued over refusal to let white nationalist speak AP Photo NY124 Eds: APNewsNow. Will be updated. With AP Photos. The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An associate and organizer of campus tours for white nationalist … read more.

The fate of room No. 32135
Mon Oct 23 2017 01:19AM

What should be done with the sites of mass shootings? For some grieving families, tearing down a building and replacing it with a memorial feels right. In other cases, people prefer no special marker. MGM Resorts announced Friday that it … read more.

US-backed forces take Syria’s largest oil field from IS
Mon Oct 23 2017 01:19AM

BEIRUT — U.S.-backed fighters captured Syria’s largest oil field from the Islamic State group Sunday, marking a major advance against the extremists in an area coveted by pro-government forces. With IS in retreat, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the … read more.

Two Americans who volunteered to fight Islamic State wait in limbo
Mon Oct 23 2017 01:19AM

BEIRUT — Former Marine Kevin Howard claimed scores of kills as a sniper volunteering this year with a militia fighting Islamic State in Syria. He wanted to help people, Howard had said this summer, especially Christians who were being persecuted … read more.

Study: Pollution kills 9 million a year, costs $4.6 trillion
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

NEW DELHI — Environmental pollution — from filthy air to contaminated water — is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world. More than smoking, hunger or natural disasters. More than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria … read more.

Q&A on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax system
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

WASHINGTON — Divided Republicans in Congress are tackling an ambitious overhaul of the nation’s tax system that would deeply cut levies for corporations and double the standard deduction used by most average Americans. Despite controlling Congress and the White House, … read more.

US stocks end higher
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

Wall Street capped a week with no shortage of milestones with a few more Friday. U.S. stocks closed modestly higher, lifting the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to its fifth record close in a row. The Dow Jones industrial average, … read more.

Spacewalking astronaut copes with frayed tether, bad jetpack
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

CAPE CANAVERAL — A spacewalking astronaut successfully replaced a blurry camera outside the International Space Station on Friday, but had to contend with a balky jetpack and a frayed safety tether. Both jetpacks and safety ties are crucial for saving … read more.

Dems struggle to avoid discord for unified counter to Trump
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

LAS VEGAS — Nine months into the Donald Trump era, Democrats are still searching for a standard-bearer and a crisp message to corral widespread opposition to an unpopular president and a Republican-led Congress. The minority party has put that struggle … read more.

German prosecutors charge former Majdanek death camp guard
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

BERLIN — A former guard at the Majdanek death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland has been charged in Germany with being an accessory to murder for allegedly serving there during a period when at least 17,000 Jews were killed, prosecutors said … read more.

Suicide bombings in Afghanistan hit mosques, killing 63
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

KABUL, Afghanistan — Suicide bombers struck two mosques in Afghanistan during Friday prayers, a Shiite mosque in Kabul and a Sunni mosque in western Ghor province, killing at least 63 people at the end of a particularly deadly week for … read more.

3 arrested after shooting following white nationalist speech
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A man who fired a shot at anti-Nazi protesters following a speech at the University of Florida by a white nationalist has been charged with attempted murder, police in Gainesville said Friday. Two men who allegedly urged … read more.

Police investigate 3rd suspicious death in Florida community
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

TAMPA, Fla. — Police believe the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old autistic man who took the wrong bus home from work on Thursday night is linked to two other suspicious deaths in a Florida neighborhood. The deaths, which took place … read more.

What Puerto Rico is doing to get the power back after storm
Sat Oct 21 2017 01:19AM

BARCELONETA, Puerto Rico — Electrical linemen descend from helicopters, balancing on steel girders 90 feet high on transmission towers in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, far from any road. At the same time, crews fan out across the battered … read more.

Puerto Rico still stumbles in the dark a month after ‘Maria’
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — One man climbs 24 flights of stairs several times a day alongside dormant elevators. Street vendors hawk plastic washboards for $20. And families outstretch their hands as crews in helicopters drop supplies in communities that … read more.

Target sees new smaller Manhattan store as where it’s headed
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

NEW YORK — Target sees its new smaller stores in mainly urban areas as a symbol of its future, hoping that shoppers will step away from online buying for trips to stores tailored to the neighborhood. The two-level store in … read more.

Last-minute rebound lifts S&P 500
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

A last-minute surge nudged U.S. stock indexes mostly higher Thursday, barely extending the market’s winning streak and milestone-setting run. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average closed higher for the fifth straight day, each posting new … read more.

US government: Inspections show Lake Okeechobee’s dike sound
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

CLEWISTON — For the thousands of Floridians who live in the shadow of the 80-year-old dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee, there is always a back-of-the-mind fear that the earthen barrier might fail — a twitch that gets ticked up a … read more.

Senators push for more online transparency in elections
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

WASHINGTON — Senators are moving to boost transparency for online political ads, unveiling on Thursday what could be the first of several pieces of legislation to try to lessen influence from Russia or other foreign actors on U.S. elections. The … read more.

Widow of shooting victim says he feared co-worker
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

WILMINGTON, Del. — The widow of a man killed in a workplace shooting in Maryland said Thursday that her husband was so concerned about the gunman’s explosive temper that he brought it up in church prayer sessions. Bayarsaikhan Tudev was … read more.

Tourist killed by falling masonry in famous Florence church
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

MILAN — A 52-year-old tourist from Spain was killed Thursday by falling masonry in one of Florence’s most famous churches, the Basilica of Santa Croce. The church, a top tourist attraction, is where Italian luminaries Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei and Niccolo … read more.

Taliban attacks kill 58, nearly wipe out Afghan army camp
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban have killed at least 58 Afghan security forces in a wave of attacks across the country overnight, including an assault that nearly wiped out an army camp in southern Kandahar province, officials said Thursday. The … read more.

Freedom of Speech
Fri Oct 20 2017 01:19AM

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Students and other audience members heavily booed white nationalist Richard Spencer on Thursday as he gave a speech at the University of Florida, where the atmosphere was tense but mostly peaceful as police in riot gear kept … read more.

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