Author Archives: bwmerritt

Top Five February Events in Polk

Posted on February 2, 2013 by bwmerritt

February is a full month in Polk County. There are a ton of exciting events in our community this month. As I was glancing at my own calendar of things that I want to attend, I realized it’s really too … Continue reading →

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Streamsong Resort Has Promise, But Still Seems Risky

Posted on January 28, 2013 by bwmerritt

I’m an avid golfer, but I’ll admit that I’m not totally up on the status of the resort golfing industry. That aside, I see great potential in the new Streamsong Resort, which officially opened this weekend in southwestern Polk County. … Continue reading →

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Lakeland Electric/City Charter Saga Over … For Now

Posted on September 7, 2012 by bwmerritt

Like many Lakeland residents, I was relieved Wednesday to see that the businessmen who had been reportedly pushing behind the scenes to change the city charter in regards to selling Lakeland Electric were ending their efforts. Steve Scruggs, executive director … Continue reading →

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Florida Poly and USF Developing a New Normal?

Posted on August 25, 2012 by bwmerritt

I have to say I was impressed reading the brief but informative story by Mary Toothman in The Ledger today recapping a recent meeting between Florida Poly, USF, UF, and Board of Governors officials. The gist of the article, which … Continue reading →

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Lake Gibson Leads Polk in FNF Preseason Player Ranks

Posted on August 8, 2012 by bwmerritt

One of the other great features of the FNF Florida preseason magazine is all the player rankings and recruiting notes from around the state. It’s always interesting to see where Polk County athletes rank among the best in the state, … Continue reading →

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Lakeland, Lake Wales in FNF Football Preseason Top 25

Posted on July 30, 2012 by bwmerritt

One of my favorite annual purchases for the past few years has been the Friday Night Football Florida preseason magazine for high school football in the state. There are overviews of each team in Florida, rankings, recruiting notes, predictions, etc. … Continue reading →

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Polk County High School Coaches Had Rough 2011-2012

Posted on May 29, 2012 by bwmerritt

There are quite a few things I miss since I left The Ledger about a 18 months ago. I miss the people that I worked with in the newsroom and the people that I had the privilege to cover and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Sports | 1 Comment

CSX Job Creation Numbers: Is 6,000 a Safe Estimate?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by bwmerritt

So I got on a CSX fix over the weekend. The CSX/Sunrail battle of the past few years drew a lot of attention, and I tried to follow it as closely as possible. Of course, being a native of Lakeland, … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Government | 1 Comment

Top 10 Polk Storylines for 2012

Posted on January 5, 2012 by bwmerritt

I’m looking forward to 2012 as much as I have any year in my lifetime. A lot of that has to do with some exciting things going on in my own life, but I’m also eagerly watching things happening around … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Government, Sports, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Anxious Times at The Ledger, News Chief With New Owners

Posted on December 28, 2011 by bwmerritt

It’s times like this that I really don’t miss the newspaper business. If you haven’t already heard, the New York Times Co. has sold its Regional Media Group, which includes The Ledger and the News Chief, to Halifax Media Holdings … Continue reading →

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