Recently added articles from The Ledger (Lakeland, FL):
Mosaic Co. profit rises to $305.5 million in first quarter.(Financial report)
Oct 10, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Oct. 10--LAKELAND -- The Mosaic Co. posted a $305.5 million first-quarter profit Tuesday, the highest quarterly total since the company began three years ago. The Minnesota-based company's profit (69 cents per share) for the first quarter that ...
New chamber aims to link mainland, Puerto Rican economies.
Oct 01, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Oct. 1--LAKELAND -- Polk County's Hispanic population is on the rise. And while the Latino population is one of the fastest growing groups in the county, it has had a minor voice in the business community. That's changing. ...
Church plans to move into former theater.
Sep 29, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Sep. 29--WINTER HAVEN -- The Bridge Community Church is getting a new home. The Winter Haven-based church recently bought the former Boulevard Triple Theater at 2701 Havendale Blvd. Bridge Community, which is meeting at Lake Region ...
Video e-mails add new dimension to real-estate marketing.
Sep 29, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Sep. 29--WINTER HAVEN -- Getting a customer's attention is one of the hardest aspects of a business. And in Polk County's buyers market, attention spans are short and competition is widespread for a home sale. To help, Kevin Tison, ...
Deal to keep PIP likely faces opposition.
Sep 28, 2007 ... Byline: Joe Follick Sep. 28--A deal to keep the state's "no fault" auto insurance requirement may face bipartisan opposition if lawmakers try to revive the controversial mandate next week. "It's about taking our system from (one) that has zero personal responsibility ...
Polk's August jobless rate rises to 4.9 percent.
Sep 28, 2007 ... Byline: Kyle Kennedy Sep. 28--A familiar story played out last month as unemployment rose and the housing market continued to see annual declines, according to The Ledger's monthly Polk County Business Barometer. Tourism revenue was the only indicator to show an increase. ...
Polk County, Fla., housing market keeps sliding in August.
Sep 26, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Sep. 26--Marred by inflated prices, a glut of new home inventory and indecisive buyers, Polk County's housing market continued its decline last month. Existing home sales dropped nearly 32 percent from 499 in August 2006 to 340 last month. It ...
A&G Restaurant to expand Greek cuisine to second location.
Sep 26, 2007 ... Byline: Kevin Bouffard Sep. 26--Restaurant veterans Markos Hirakis and George Paragios plan to open a second location of their popular Winter Haven eatery, A&G Restaurant, next week at 1520 S. Combee Road in Lakeland. The 90-seat Lakeland A&G (for "American & Greek") ...
Wholesale plant business began with three teens and a lawn-care service.
Sep 25, 2007 ... Byline: Kyle Kennedy Sep. 25--Imagine being a teenager just out of high school, trying to get your fledgling nursery business off the ground. Your fellow executives are your younger brother and a friend from school. The three of you used to have a lawn-care service and are on ...
Banker shares secrets of rise to success.
Sep 25, 2007 ... Byline: Rachel Pleasant Sep. 25--Today, John Santarpia is "the guy" at Community First Credit Union in Mulberry. But way before the title president/CEO followed his name, Santarpia was a newspaper boy entrusted with collecting money from his customers. QUESTION: What ...
Water plentiful in Polk County, Fla., but restrictions sure to stay.
Sep 25, 2007 ... Byline: Mike Grogan Sep. 25--It's no surprise that water would be a major part of any discussion about growth in Polk County. What is something of a surprise to many is that there is no lack of it. "There's really plenty of water in Polk County," Jeff Spence told the ...
Gamers Anticipate Launch of Microsoft's Latest Version of Popular Series.
Sep 24, 2007 ... Byline: Kyle Kennedy Sep. 24--Plenty of video games have cyborgs and aliens. Intergalactic warfare? Been there, played that -- hundreds of times. So why is the gaming world breathlessly awaiting yet another title that revolves around shooting aliens and blowing things ...
Polk's unemployment rate edges up.
Sep 22, 2007 ... Byline: Kyle Kennedy Sep. 22--LAKELAND -- Job growth continued to slow in August and Polk County's unemployment rate inched up to 4.9 percent, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. August's rate was up from 4.1 percent a year ago and 4.8 percent ...
East Polk President: Election year brings opportunities for realtors.
Sep 22, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Sep. 22--Carol Platt understands the coming year will be anything but easy for the members of the East Polk County Association of Realtors. Platt, 50, was inducted as EPCAR's president last week at the association's annual luncheon at the Lake ...
LAR's New Board Ready for Work.
Sep 22, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Sep. 22--The ballots have been cast and the results are in for the Lakeland Association of Realtors board of directors election. Last week, the association held a three-day online election for 10 of its board members. About 438, or ...
TV venture marks 10 years.
Sep 22, 2007 ... Byline: Kevin Bouffard Sep. 22--Get the candles ready: Bay News 9 marks its 10th anniversary at 6:59 p.m. Monday. The seven-day, 24-hour local news channel went on the air at that time 10 years ago with a lot of optimism among the staff but considerable skepticism ...
Battery USA adding new Lakeland warehouse.
Sep 22, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Sep. 22--Battery USA Inc. is building a new warehouse and expanding another. The Lakeland-based company is adding more than 10,000 square feet to its facility at 1840 S. Combee Road. The first phase of the project, a ...
Polk is still on top in citrus production.
Sep 21, 2007 ... Sep. 21--LAKELAND -- Polk County continued for another season as the state's top citrus-producing county with almost 22.4 million boxes of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and specialty citrus fruit, according to the preliminary 2006-07 Citrus Summary released Thursday by the U.S ....
Greening found in Polk County.
Sep 21, 2007 ... Byline: Kevin Bouffard Sep. 21--The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has confirmed four cases of citrus greening in Polk County. Greening was found on a single orange tree at its own Citrus Arboretum on U.S. 17 North just south of U.S. 92 in ...
Building permits are up in some cities.
Sep 20, 2007 ... Byline: Jeremy Maready Sep. 20--LAKELAND -- Better news could be on the horizon for Polk County's new home builders. While the total number of building permits pulled in August is 21 percent lower than the year before, several cities marked significant increases from ...