Will Ernesto be visiting us in Polk County or not? That is the big question today. The latest track has the storm coming right up the center of the state, with Polk County seeing the eye on Wednesday night/early Thursday morning.

If the storm does come up the center of the peninsula then it is sure to lose quite a bit of steam over land, but we'll see.

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The Lakeland Dreadnaughts are ranked number two in the Sports Illustrated preseason listing of the Top 20 high school football teams. The top 20 list is part of the August 28th issue which will appear on newstands shortly. The list is also available at SI.com.

Similar to the USAToday rankings released earlier today, Hoover, AL is ranked #1. Lakeland and Glades Central, both ranked by USAToday, are joined by another Florida team in the SI list. St. Augustine, FL is ranked #16 by SI..

The main focus of the high school football preview in SI is Hoover, AL, but Lakeland is mentioned again in the 10 Games to Watch sidebar. Lakeland's Sept 16th game against St. Xavier of Cincinnati, OH is one of ten that made the list.

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The Lakeland Senior High School football team was ranked #3 in the USAToday 2006 Super 25 Football Ranking. The first preseason rankings were published today as part of a USAToday focus on high school football. The only other Florida school in the top five was Glades Central, Belle Glades, FL.

1. Hoover, Ala. (14-1)
Returning starters: 17. Opens: Saturday vs. UMS-Wright (Mobile) in Montgomery.

2. Byrnes, Duncan, S.C. (15-0)
Returning starters: 12. Outlook: Offense that averaged 51.8 points guided by QB Willy Korn (4,164 yards, state-record 53 TDs), who throws to Randall Hawkins and Antonio Snoddy. LB Stanley Hunter is top defender. Beat Hartsville 55-20 in opener Aug. 18 for 26th win in row. Next: Saturday vs. No. 5 Glades Central (Belle Glade, Fla.) (ESPN, noon ET).

3. Lakeland, Fla. (15-0)
Returning starters: 11. Outlook: RBs Chris Rainey (1,571 rushing yards, 20 TDs) and Jamar Taylor (1,217 yards, 27 TDs) in powerful backfield for Super 25's final No. 1 in 2005. The 6-5, 300-pound Pouncey twins, G Markice and T Michael, are left side of OL. Pounceys and four others say they'll sign with Florida. Opens: Friday at Venice.

4. Lufkin, Texas (14-1)
Returning starters: 15. Outlook: Returns nine offensive starters, including QB Jeremy Clayborn (2,448 passing yards, 24 TDs) and WR Dez Bryant (16 TDs). Jaime Fernandez 16-for-21 on FGs in '05. LB A.J. Penson (98 tackles, five sacks) tops defense. Opens: Sept. 1 at Evangel Christian (Shreveport, La.).

5. Glades Central, Belle Glade, Fla. (12-1)
Returning starters: 17. Oulook: No-huddle offense set in motion by QB Bryan Mann (28 TDs) and quartet of receivers, Taurus McKinley, Deonte Thompson, Travis Benjamin and junior Eddie Poole. Offensive line, which averages 320 pounds, includes Maurice Bynes (6-4, 335) and Ernest McCoy (6-5, 330). Johnnie Lee Dixon and Damien Berry anchor secondary. Opens: Saturday at No. 2 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.).

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Update: Here are some additional details on the Town Center project.

There are currently two new retail shopping plazas under construction very close to Cypress Gardens. Long planned and known is the Town Center at Cypress Gardens project by Century Retail.

It's located in the old Cypress Gardens overflow parking area. Land clearing has begun on that project.

The next project, Cypress Station made a big splash by recently posting some fencing around the block. Visiting the web site: Cypress-Station.com provides some basic details about the project.

It's being developed by MainSail Development Group, LLC, which has offices in Tampa and Orlando. MainSail has developed other retail projects in the Central Florida area, including Alafaya Village in East Orlando. The tentative timeline for that project is a June 2007 opening.

Growth like this is a mixed blessing. While it's sure to bring a Moe's (we hope) and perhaps the inevitable Starbucks. it will also increase traffic on Cypress Gardens Blvd and the clog up the intersection of Cypress Gardens Blvd and Cypress Gardens Rd.

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Nothing like a little primary to fill your mailbox with mail. It seems that everyday it gets worse. Here's a snapshot of today's haul.

As a designer I always shriek when I see the pamphlets and signs....none of them are ever designed well.

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Bob O'Malley has been tracking the web sites for local candidates including those over here in Polk County.

Just recently though he put out an invitation for candidates to respond to some basic interview questions. So far two candidates have taken him up on the offer: Rob Siedlecki and Elizabeth Doran. (Those are both Orlando-area races...so you can quit scratching your head)

I know in the Polk County area The Ledger was thinking of offering blogs on PolkVoice to any candidate that wanted one, on the condition that they would need to leave comments open. Jean Read (running for County Commission District 2) did create an account, but has yet to post anything.

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Update: Eric left a comment and said he now lives in Brevard County. According to the State DOE his address was still registered in Davie, FL as of June, 30, 2006.

You gotta love political campaign blog fun. This morning over at the Jim Davis blog they posted about voting via absentee ballot. They even posted a photo:

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, it looks like Rod Smith campaign blogger Eric Jotkoff posted a comment that he voted as well. Eric even posted a photo in the comment:

The only problem is that Eric lives in Eric's most recently registered address is in Davie, FL which is in Broward County, FL...so he shouldn't be voting with a Brevard County ballot.

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We all know that Publix gives an overwhelming amount of support to the local communities they're located it, but just how much? I don't have a dollar figure, but last week at the Florida Public Relations Association's Annual Conference during a panel on working with not-for-profits, Jennifer Bush, Director of Special Projects for Publix gave some interesting stats.

During a 'slow' month Publix will receive 2,000 requests, while during a busy month they will receive 10,000 requests. Of course requests can be something as simple as, "Can we get 5 dozen hamburger buns for our charity cook-off" to requests for operating funds by non-profits. Obviously they can't fulfill all the requests, but the numbers are staggering.

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In The Ledger this morning Kyle Kennedy reported that Moe's Southwest Grill will be opening another location in North Lakeland. Hey Moe, we're still waiting for our Winter Haven location.

Perhaps the new shopping center that is being built in front of Cypress Gardens will have a Moe's....we can only wish.

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This probably isn't the headline that the Polk County School Board wanted to read this morning: Polk's Schools Run Out of Classroom Space on 1st Day.

Polk County schools had another record-breaking school start Monday when 81,168 students in kindergarten through 12th grade showed up for the first day of class.

That's a 3.5 percent increase -- 2,725 more students than the first day last year.

Did somebody say growth?

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The former first free-standing Publix (not the first actual Publix) has seen some rain damage recently to the awning in front. The church in Winter Haven that now owns the property had a crew out this Saturday morning fixing the damage.

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The kids are back in school. So what does that mean? Plenty of angst-ridden MySpace posts about Polk County Schools :-)

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Billy Townsend left a comment to let us know about the new Polk County News Blog that's up over at TBO.com. Currently the URL is a very cryptic: http://news.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/related/C450/

The blog is written by Billy Townsend (formerly with The Ledger) and Jennifer Leigh of Channel 8. For quite a while the Tampa Tribune has paid little attention to Polk County, but perhaps things are changing.

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Orange County, FL (Orlando) is looking to switch from an appointed school superintendent to an elected one. Polk County recently made the opposite move, and allowed the school board to choose the superintendent (currently Gail McKinzie).

What do you think? Good idea? Bad Idea? Over at the How Shall We Grow blog they're asking that question. Perhaps some Polk County folks can share their views on how the elected/appointed thing has worked out here.

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The City of Lakeland plays host to the fall season of Lakeland Electric’s Music on the Promenade starting Friday, August 18, 2006 when renowned jazz saxophonist Eric Darius and his band take the stage from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. during the FREE music series.

The monthly music series takes place at the Lake Mirror amphitheater which is in-between Hollis Garden and the Lake Mirror Center. The event is free to the public and families are encouraged to attend. There will be food and drink vendors on site so bring a blanket and enjoy the lake setting with music under the stars.

Music on the Promenade Fall Schedule
• August 18, 2006 – Eric Darius (Jazz)
• September 15, 2006 – Azwon (Reggae)
• October 20, 2006 – Michael Bell & the Boogalizers (Rock)

Eric “Smooth Breeze” Darius will start the fall series in support of his newest recording entitled Just Getting Started. Darius took the contemporary jazz world by storm with his 2004 Jazz debut, Night on the Town. The critics raved! Fans clamored! His awesome talent and unjaded enthusiasm make him an instant favorite everywhere he performs.

His current release is a bold statement by a jazz star well on his way to the top. Darius said, “I have to admit this was by far the most incredible recording experience I’ve ever had.” He added, “Throughout the past year, I have progressed as a songwriter and a player, and in my opinion, this new CD clearly reflects that.”

Darius quotes his influences as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Kenny G and David Sanborn. He plays the saxophone, flute and the piano. This young star is fast becoming a regular on jazz radio and his current CD is climbing the jazz charts. Eric Darius is an exciting emerging saxophonist whose versatility will be demonstrated as he hits the Music on the Promenade stage on August 18th.

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Earlier this year Publix announced that they would be installing generators at many of their stores in case of hurricanes.

Publix Super Markets plans to install 400 stationary and mobile generators to hurricane-prone store locations as well as 175 quick-connecting docking stations to stores in lower-probability hurricane areas.

The installs, currently in progress, focus on stores in the southeast and southwest coasts of Florida, the Florida panhandle, coastal Georgia and South Carolina and will occur in two waves: Wave one, to be completed by July 1, 2006, encompasses approximately 1/3 of the generators, and wave two is anticipated to conclude in July 2007. This massive generator project is expected to protect Publix stores in approximately 575 communities at an estimated investment of $100 million.

Driving by the Publix headquarters on Sunday I snapped this shot of mobile generators sitting in the parking lot.

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