Page 16 - Neil Combee News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

KATHLEEN — Craig and Linda Karppe live in what might be called the middle of nowhere. The couple’s family property occupies 50 acres in an area that is closer to Colt Creek State Park than to a grocery store. Their home lies in extreme northwest Polk County, roughly halfway between Lakeland and Dade City and about five miles east of Zephyrhills. To the east of their home is an undeveloped tract of 1,132 acres that appears on satellite photos as a verdant region near the headwaters of the Hillsborough River. Idyllic? Not quite. Linda Karppe says there is no such thing as a quiet or tranqu...

It’s back. Again. Of course. Legislation to prohibit counties and cities from monitoring and controlling the impact of short-term rentals in their communities has been a high priority for huge

LAKELAND — If one Florida senator gets his way, local governments may soon lose control over one ever-expanding industry: short-term rentals.  Florida Senate Bill 522 was filed by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah Gardens, in January and has been referred to the regulated industries, commerce and tourism and rules committees.  The bill essentially turns over the regulation, licensing and inspection of the short-term rental industry to the state, removing layers of control that currently exist at the city and county level.  An identical bill was filed in the House in January. The regular...

Polk County will offer a new wave of rent and utility assistance to residents who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Stacy Butterfield, Polk's comptroller and clerk of courts, announced Tuesday the county received an additional $21.8 million in federal funding to provide rental and utility assistance.  "It's always nice to get that in, then help the people of the county," Commission Chairman Rick Wilson said. When will the funds be available?  County Manager Bill Beasley said the funds will become available in the upcoming weeks once the county has had a chance...

More than 19,000 people had registered for vaccinations as of Friday morning through phone lines and the website, a number that swelled to nearly 30,000 by the afternoon.