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WORDS Barry Friedman/LkldNow.com

BORN & BREAD GETS SWEET RECOGNITION

Somebody at Forbes thinks Jennifer Smurr is onto a recipe for business success. The financial magazine placed Jennifer on its “Next 1,000” list of emerging entrepreneurs for cooking up sweet success at Born & Bread Bakehouse. The 33-yearold founder stirred her passion for gourmet pastries from a stand at the Saturday farmer’s market to a brickand-mortar location in Dixieland and pivoted to a pre-order system for twice-a-week pickup after Covid struck. She hinted at coming changes to a reporter: “I’ll leave it with we want to be more consistent than what we are doing now.”

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM REVEALS NEW NAME BEFORE IT MOVES

The leaders at Explorations V Children’s Museum explored some branding opportunities to accompany their planned move next year to a 47,800-square-foot building at the massive Bonnet Springs Park under development west of downtown. The result: a new name — Florida Children’s Museum — and a colorful new logo. The changes “came out of a desire to visually show the community how we’re evolving,” Executive Director Kerry Falwell said. Attendance is expected to double after the museum moves to the premiere privately funded park, which will have both easy access to I-4 and plenty of parking for school buses.

SEE A CITY PROBLEM? NEW APP LETS YOU REPORT IT

The communications and IT staff at the city of Lakeland gave a new meaning to the phrase “If you see something, say something” when they updated the city’s smartphone app. The app, available for both Apple and Android devices, includes tools that make it easy to report problems such as potholes or streetlights that have gone dark. Users can take a photo and submit it; a form lets you fill in an address, but if you skip that line, the photo’s geotagging will tell city crews where to fix the problem. Users can also submit ideas for improving city services. Citizens whose ideas are implemented will get a free T-shirt and be recognized on the city’s social media channels.

GATOR GROWLERS: FLORIDA HOPS FLAVOR NEW PALE ALE

When Swan Brewing got a proposal from the University of Florida to be part of an agriculture experiment, they hopped right on it. The downtown brewery got free cascade hops grown south of Tampa by UF scientists trying to introduce a new product for Florida agriculture. The brewmasters at the downtown brewery used the hops in a new brew with a UF theme: Gator Pale Ale, also known as GPA. If the new brew were a student, we don’t know what its GPA would be, but we do know its ABV — alcohol by volume — dials in at 5.8%.

CITY PARTNERS WITH SUMMIT BROADBAND ON HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

Look for more competition in highspeed Internet in the coming months as Summit Broadband of Orlando starts rolling out fiber connections to local residents and businesses. The city of Lakeland is partnering with Summit to extend the city’s 330 miles of fiber optics into neighborhoods and more business areas. After city commissioners approved a deal with Summit in early July, the company’s president said they should be ready to serve their first Lakeland customers in four months. We don’t know how much the service will cost yet, but CEO Kevin Coyne said, “When you look at your current service provider, my guess is that it is going to be less than that one.”

20-YEAR DREAM RESULTS IN DUAL-LANGUAGE MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Kelly De La Cruz has dreamed of opening a dual-language Montessori school for two decades. The dream becomes a reality this month when Mi Escuela Montessori opens to full enrollment of 210 students in grades K-4. In four years, she projects to have 450 students in grades K-8. The idea for the charter school grew out of De La Cruz’ desire to provide two-language education for her two children. The idea evolved into creating a school that is accessible to students whose needs are unmet elsewhere. As a result, Mi Escuela Montessori is the first school of its kind in Polk County.

LAKELAND RESIDENTS ARRESTED IN BREACH OF U.S. CAPITOL

Lakeland got the kind of attention it wasn’t seeking — and so did Sheriff Grady Judd — when federal prosecutors charged four local residents in connection with the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. Judd entered the fray when the Polk Sheriff’s Office published a Facebook post saying the FBI had asked it to spread the word that they were still looking for one of the four: Jonathan Pollock, 21. Within a day, the post drew 3,200 comments, most of them critical of law enforcement efforts to make arrests in the case and the Sheriff’s Office’s cooperating with federal agencies in getting the word out.

HOSPITAL EXPANDING TO I-4 AND KATHLEEN ROAD WITH OUTPATIENT CLINIC

Lakeland Regional Health is expanding into northwest Lakeland via an ambulatory care center scheduled to open in 2023. The facility is going onto a vacant 20-acre tract at the northwest corner of the I-4/Kathleen Road interchange. It will provide outpatient care and other services; details about the services offered will be announced later, hospital officials said. It’s not the first time that site was considered for a health facility. It was one of three finalists last year for a large Veterans Administration outpatient clinic; a pasture off Lakeland Highlands Road near the Polk Parkway got the nod for that project.

DOES MUNN PARK NEED A FOCAL POINT AT ITS CENTER?

What should go in the center of Munn Park? Are the pavers there sufficient? (They replaced the Confederate monument when it was moved to Veterans Park in 2019.) Or should there be some centerpiece structure or artwork? The chair of Lakeland’s Historic Preservation Board is a cheerleader for Team Focal Centerpiece and convinced the board to form a committee to explore options for Munn Park. Whatever the committee decides will have to go to the City Commission for a final decision. They’re the ones who have the authority to decide what gets put in the center of Lakeland’s town square and how to pay for it.

POLK SCHOOLS END HYBRID CLASSES FOR STUDENTS, TEACHERS

When Polk County public schools resume classes this month, students will be able to choose between in-person classes and Polk Virtual School but will no longer have an option of hybrid learning or Campus eSchool. Face coverings will be optional but encouraged for unvaccinated people. Those who are vaccinated will not be required to self-isolate if they were in close contact with somebody infected with COVID-19. “The goal has been to get students back into the classroom because there really is no substitute for face-to-face instruction,” Superintendent Frederick Heid said.