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Saturday, January 31, 2015

Mild or spicy, chili cooked on chilly day

The chili warming up the Stuart Center Wednesday afternoon ranged from a football style to a trip back to the 1960s, and from elderly women cooking to those in hunting garb. The chili cookoff, now in its third year, filled the auditorium at the Youth Fair, with three-person teams in … read more.

LATEST LOCAL NEWS

Check out the new school
Sat Jan 31 2015 08:30AM

There is a new school in Bartow, but it is not just for any kid, only those who have dropped out of school or are in danger of dropping out. … read more.

Adventure Run for sculptures
Sat Jan 31 2015 08:30AM

As if new obstacles aren’t enough, the annual Yellow Jacket Stomp Adventure Run has four new people helping to set it up. They are Bartow High School International Baccalaureate students … read more.

16-month-old drowns
Sat Jan 31 2015 08:30AM

A 16-month-old boy died when he fell into his family’s above-ground pool on Wednesday, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported. Cliff D. Booz, born Sept. 25, 2013, was pulled from … read more.

It’s time to close the ‘gate’
Wed Jan 28 2015 08:31AM

Watergate is a complex of five buildings next to the Kennedy Center in the ritzy Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. In 1972, a sixth-floor Watergate office was the site … read more.

More Local News

67th Annual Youth Fair
Sat Jan 31 2015 08:30AM

Community Redevelopment Agency hires director
Wed Jan 28 2015 08:31AM

On Feb. 9, the Bartow Community Redevelopment Agency will have its first permanent director since the summer of 2012. City Manager George Long and CRA Chairman John Bohde completed their interviews with candidates and hired K. Stephen Cox Jr. Cox, … read more.

Parking garage coming to Bartow
Wed Jan 28 2015 08:31AM

Could a solution to the parking complaints about downtown Bartow go away as the county is prepared to build a 600-plus garage between the Neil Combee building and the Polk County Courthouse? That depends on if paid parking goes down … read more.

Girl follows family tradition
Wed Jan 28 2015 08:31AM

Thousands of people crowded the Polk County Youth Fair grounds on Sunday, filling the arena for the market hog shows. Hogs were lined up row by row in the barn while competitors herded their porcine charges through the show ring, … read more.

CRA exploring changes
Sat Jan 31 2015 08:30AM

In his final meeting as the interim director of the Community Redevelopment Agency, Bob Wiegers outlined to the board Wednesday a couple of things he’s noticed that may make things run more smoothly in the future. In his 10 months … read more.

County going more digital and saving money
Sat Jan 31 2015 08:30AM

A firefighter was recognized by the governor for saving a woman’s life. Free dental care was offered to Polk County’s indigent population. More benefits were brought in to help the county’s veterans. And Polk’s economy was boosted with the openings … read more.

Take a step back to 1840
Sat Jan 24 2015 08:30AM

History often seems an amorphous subject, locked away in books and stored in memory, untouchable and only experienced in a fleeting way through studying artifacts of bygone eras. Not this weekend in Polk County. History is alive at the Alafia … read more.

Maple bridge to be replaced
Sat Jan 24 2015 08:30AM

Since August 2014, the bridge on Maple Avenue over the Bear Creek culvert was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic after structural weaknesses were discovered that had seriously compromised safety. Until its closing, the bridge, built in the early 1960s, … read more.

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State, National and World News

Stocks finish January on weak note
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market capped a rough month Friday, delivering its third loss in five days and extending its declines for the year. All told, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3 percent in January, … read more.

Artillery fire kills at least 12 civilians in Donetsk
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Artillery fire killed at least 12 civilians in the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Friday amid fierce fighting between pro-Russia separatists and government troops as hopes for a break in hostilities were dashed when an … read more.

Milk does a body good? A look at the science
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

NEW YORK — Embattled milk producers launched a social media campaign this week to rebuild public confidence in the health benefits of their product. But how healthy is it? While the government urges milk consumption, some studies have begun to … read more.

Poet, songwriter Rod McKuen, dies at 81
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

NEW YORK (AP) — Rod McKuen, the husky-voiced “King of Kitsch” whose avalanche of music, verse and spoken-word recordings in the 1960s and ’70s overwhelmed critical mockery and made him an Oscar-nominated songwriter and one of the best-selling poets in … read more.

Islamic State shifts tactics
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

BEIRUT — The latest Islamic State hostage drama involving a veteran Japanese war correspondent and a young Jordanian pilot marks the first time the group has publicly demanded prisoner releases. It also signals a change in the extremist group’s propaganda … read more.

France: Boy said, ‘I am with the terrorists’
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

PARIS — It was bad enough when France learned that the minute of silence for victims of the nation’s deadliest terror attacks in decades was not respected by all students. Some children contested it, others walked out. But when an … read more.

Egypt blames Muslim Brotherhood for deadly Sinai attack
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for playing a role in a sophisticated insurgent attack that killed 31 people in Egypt’s volatile northern Sinai Peninsula. El-Sissi, a former army chief, cut short a … read more.

Consumers fuel steady economy
Sat Jan 31 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s a good reason the U.S. economy is impressing the world right now despite a slowdown in the final three months of 2014: In a word, steadiness. Companies have been hiring at healthy rates for the past … read more.

NASA remembering 17 astronauts killed in the line of duty
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Each year around this time, NASA honors fallen astronauts, including the 17 men and women killed in three separate wintertime accidents in the sky and on the earth. For Robert “Hoot” Gibson, it’s a time to … read more.

A sneaky snake: Teams hunt for rock pythons in Everglades
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

MIAMI (AP) — For all the danger posed to Florida’s Everglades by invasive Burmese pythons, there’s one thing researchers don’t want to know: how they would interact with another python species that threatens to move into the same territory. The … read more.

Decision looms over captive orca, but fate of Lolita unclear
Thu Jan 29 2015 10:19PM

SEATTLE (AP) — For years, animal activists have campaigned to free a killer whale that was captured from Puget Sound waters in 1970 and has been performing at Miami Seaquarium in Florida for over four decades. They say the orca … read more.

Survivalist pleads not guilty in ambush killing
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

MILFORD, Pa. (AP) — A survivalist who spent more than a month on the run after authorities say he killed one Pennsylvania State Police trooper and wounded another in a late-night ambush pleaded not guilty Thursday, setting the stage for … read more.

Study: Chances of driver dying in car crash plummets
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chances of a driver dying in a crash in a late-model car or light truck fell by more than a third over three years, and nine car models had zero deaths per million registered vehicles, according … read more.

Hard Rock gets preliminary OK to enter New Jersey market
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The company that has populated the globe with Hard Rock casinos and restaurants received preliminary approval to enter the Atlantic City casino market. And although the approval does not yet extend to other areas of … read more.

Gas blast at Mexico children’s hospital, at least 2 dead
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Injured and bleeding, mothers carrying infants fled from a maternity hospital shattered by a powerful gas explosion on Thursday, and rescuers swung sledgehammers to break through fallen concrete in hunt for others who may have been … read more.

EU to extend existing Russia sanctions over Ukraine
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union extended by six months an existing set of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russia separatist officials because of the continued fighting in eastern Ukraine and was planning further action, officials said Thursday. “We have shown … read more.

Fort Hood gunman says he wants to keep top lawyer
Fri Jan 30 2015 08:30AM

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas (AP) — The gunman who killed 13 people at a Texas military base in 2009 appeared in court Thursday without the beard he had fought to keep and said he wanted to keep his lead appeals lawyer. … read more.

Families plead for lives of IS hostages as swap hopes fade
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The father of a Jordanian fighter pilot and the wife of a Japanese journalist held by the Islamic State group pleaded for their loved ones’ lives after a possible prisoner swap wasn’t carried out by a … read more.

Malaysia officially declares loss of missing Flight MH370 an accident
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

(Los Angeles Times) — Malaysia’s government on Thursday officially declared the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March, an accident. The official declaration by the country’s Department of Civil Aviation should clear the way for the … read more.

Dartmouth instituting changes to eliminate extreme behavior
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — Dartmouth College banned hard liquor on campus Thursday and said all students will have to take part in a sexual violence prevention program all four years they’re enrolled at the Ivy League school. Dartmouth has long … read more.

Chinese officials call attention to baby, gender imbalances
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

BEIJING (AP) — For decades, most urban Chinese families could have only one child. Now, officials in China’s biggest city are telling young couples: Please have more children. Fan Hua of Shanghai’s family planning commission said this week that far … read more.

‘The Thorn Birds’ author, Colleen McCullough, dies at 77
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

SYDNEY (AP) — Best-selling Australian author Colleen McCullough, whose novel “The Thorn Birds” sold 30 million copies worldwide, has died at age 77 after a long illness. McCullough died Thursday in a hospital on remote Norfolk Island, HarperCollins Australia publishing … read more.

Decision looms over captive orca
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

Man who died gets reappointed to county board
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Officials in western Pennsylvania are trying to figure out how a man who’s been dead for more than two years wound up being reappointed to a county industrial authority board. Fayette County officials said Wednesday it … read more.

Panel recommends changes to military health care, benefits
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. leaders and members of Congress reacted cautiously Thursday to the recommendations of an independent panel to change the military’s retirement and health care systems. The proposals, which would save more than $20 billion over the … read more.

Fugitive treasure hunter says in court he is ill
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

WEST PALM BEACH (AP) — A treasure hunter who vanished two years ago while he was in a dispute over one of the greatest deep-sea hauls in American history was in court Thursday, appearing ready to defend himself and saying … read more.

Disney pulls Starbucks mug from Epcot shelves
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

ORLANDO (AP) — Disney officials have pulled an Epcot-themed Starbucks mug from the shelves because it included the purple-striped monorail which was retired after a crash between two trains killed an employee. The Orlando Sentinel reports the Starbucks mug is … read more.

School locked down after bear sighting
Fri Jan 30 2015 01:19AM

MOUNT DORA (AP) — A central Florida high school was placed on a modified lockdown after a black bear was sighted nearby. Officials decided to limit movement around Mount Dora High School on Wednesday after the bear was spotted in … read more.

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