A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the Living in Poinciana Florida blog. There are no details about who is writing the blog, but it mostly seems to be police blotter activity taken from other sources. For example recent posts include:

- Osceola County Real Estate Broker Linked to Murder
- Arrest Made in Recent Homicide Case
- 3 Suspects Arrested for Lewd Acts in Public Park

Since Poinciana sits on the Polk/Osceola border there is a mix of content, most of it being Osceola-focussed though.

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This was Callie Neslund's first official week in our office and she has made the transition seamlessly. She is doing a phenomenal job minding our local office while the Legislative Session is wrapping up. We are happy to have her on board and I encourage everyone to contact both my local and Tallahassee office if there is ever anything that I can do to help you. As always, our Lakeland office can be contacted at 863-647-4896 and our Tallahassee office can be reached at 850-488-9890.

DOCTOR OF THE DAY

One Lakelander (and our son, Seth's pediatrician), Dr. Robert Eanett was my guest this past Friday. Dr. Eanett was the Florida House of Representatives' Doctor of the Day. He saw to it that everyone was in good health and well taken care of. In the photo, Dr. Eanett is discussing some points with Speaker of the House Marco Rubio and me. It was a pleasure to host Dr. Eanett here at the capitol and give him the chance to see government in action in Tallahassee.

SESSION

Well, we are in the home stretch of this year's Legislative Session and things have been busy. This week we have been tackling some of Florida's biggest issues in the House of Representatives. We've seen issues like Prostitution, Abortion, and health care for Florida's children discussed in their entirety. The House has truly devoted itself to taking the lead in crafting responsible legislation that deals with these pressing issues. Despite the House's focus on the BIG ISSUES this week, there have been a number of other important activities.

LOCAL NEWS

After working through the weekend, The Schools and Learning Council finished working on its appropriations budget this week. I am proud to announce that our final product included $500,000 for Florida Southern College's Masters Degree Nursing Program. This money will be added to private donations already collected to bring a dynamic opportunity to Polk County. In addition to providing support to FSC, Florida has also allocated $10,000,000 for the University of South Florida to improve its campuses and education programs.

MY LEGISLATION

It was my good fortune to have celebrated getting TWO bills voted out of the House this week. My bill regarding Energy and Water conservation (HB271) was voted out unanimously on Tuesday and my pro-business Auto Dealer Franchise bill (HB 815) also passed unanimously yesterday.

GO GATORS

Urban Meyer, Chris Leak, and members of the National Champion UF Football team visited the floor of the Florida House of the Representatives at the invitation of the House Gator Caucus. As you can imagine, I was a "Proud Gator" as the House rolled out the red carpet and gave a fitting honor to the National Champs! Rumor has it we'll honor the National Championship Men's Basketball team this coming week...more in next week's report!!

SUMMER

As I move into the last week of this legislative session I am looking forward to the sprint to the finish line. The past two months have gone by so quickly and With summer approaching I look forward to being back in the district and look forward to visiting community members and organizations as I join the delegation to formally review the session.

As always, it is truly an honor to represent you in Tallahassee and I look forward to seeing you at home very soon.

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Spring training is gone, but there will be plenty of baseball in Winter Haven in early May as the Chain of Lakes Stadium hosts the Florida Community Colleges Athletic Association (FCCAA)/ National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region VIII Baseball Championships May 4-8th. The teams competing are:

Santa Fe Community College
Palm Beach Community College
Chipola College
Manatee Community College
St. Petersburg College
Central Florida Community College
Miami Dade College
Gulf Coast Community College

The game schedule is as follows:

Friday, May 4th: 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, 7 PM
Saturday, May 5th: 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, 7 PM
Sunday, May 6th: 4 PM, 7 PM
Monday, May 7th: 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM (IF), 7 PM (IF)
Tuesday, May 8th: Championship Game at 4 PM

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The Ledger has launched their second podcast, the Polk News Blast. The tagline of the blog says:

Listen to Polk News Blast each weekday afternoon for an audio preview of stories and new content planned for The Ledger and theledger.com.

The first episode is hosted by Lenore Devore who talks a little bit about the initiative on her blog. At 1:18 in length it's just a listing of upcoming stories for the next day's paper, nothing breaking though.

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Some anonymous blogs are fun to read, especially when they are IT focused. Checking in on the 'In the Shadow of the Robot' blog we find some interesting internal tid-bits of a 'Lakeland IT' office:

In the Shadow of the Robot (or ITSOTR, for short) has been created to keep former office occupants abreast of current goings-on at a certain company's Lakeland IT office . . . the Blog will be updated periodically, and parts of the contents may be fictionalized/dramatized/false . . . This blog is not to be taken seriously, and any resemblance to any real-life individuals, events, or animals is completely inadvertant . . . Also, please note that the Killer Robot has never actually killed anything, and in fact, is completely inoperable.

Now there are a few other Lakeland's in the U.S., but chances are this might be Lakeland, FL. A few firms have IT offices in the area. Hmmmmm I wonder who it could be?

A while back there was another anonymous IT blogger in Lakeland. I don't think things ended so well for him though.

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MySpace and Chalet Suzanne are two names you would not expect to hear in the same sentence. However, the times they are a changing. Eric and Dee Hinshaw have a MySpace page that's mostly Chalet Suzanne focussed, at least that's what the blog is all about.

Welcome!

The Hinshaw family has been making guests welcome for over 70 years, whether you come by car or plane .. for a single meal or several ... for one day or more. This enchanting Inn of 30 rooms, nestled on a 100 acre estate, is a gracious oasis amidst the excitement of Central Florida attractions, catering to discriminating guests of all ages.

Each Chalet guestroom greets you with cordial warmth, delightfully different, with the comforts of private entrance, private bath, air conditioning, telephone and television. The sparkling pool, lake and airstrip are only a few steps from your courtyard or patio.

The essence of the Chalet's reputation is its cuisine, food that Gourmet Magazine calls "glorious" ... served in a unique setting of five quaint rooms on many levels, overlooking the lake. Every corner glows with antiques, stained glass and old lamps from far away places.

They've even pimped out their profile :-)

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Brian Wilmer visits baseball stadiums across the U.S. and blogs about them. In his most recent update he reviews Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland. At his previous blog he has reviews of a number of stadiums. How did Joker Marchant do? Here are the grades. You can read his post for all the details.

Concessions: A-
Between-innings entertainment: F
Sight lines: B
Promotions: NA
Parking: A
Quality of baseball: C
Overall grade: B-

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I stopped by Sun 'n Fun twice this weekend and snapped quite a few shots. The entire photo gallery is on Flickr, all 226 shots.

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With only two full weeks remaining in Session, it's easy to see that "crunch time" has arrived. The House and Senate began conferencing on the budget this week (which will keep us all in Tallahassee over the weekend) with the goal of reconciling some fairly large differences between the two budgets. I serve as a conferee on the Schools and Learning Budget and am working hard to continue the funding for the development of the USF-Lakeland Campus, the Florida Southern College nursing program, as well as many other priorities important to our community. As always, it is an honor to serve you in this process and I look forward to being home soon! Below are a few of this weeks' highlights.

HOUSE AND SENATE PROPOSE PROPERTY TAX RELIEF:

After enthusiastic debate this week, I am proud to say that the House of Representatives passed the largest tax cut package in Florida's history. The Senate also proposed a property tax plan this week and a conference will begin next week. As this is likely the most important legislation we will pass all year, I wanted to devote a few lines below to explain the House proposal:

A Cut: Requires all local governments except schools to set property tax rates to where they would have been if tax revenues had grown only in proportion to community growth and inflation since FY 2003-04. Also, the Legislature must exempt hospital districts, fiscally constrained counties and cities therein, independent special districts, and children’s services councils from the required rate roll back by general law. Revenues used for hospital and children’s services programs by counties that provide those services from their general fund are exempt from the cap.

A Cap: Limits future local government revenues to the rolled-back-rate (which allows revenue growth in proportion to community growth) plus changes in the Consumer Price Index.

A Swap: Establishes a formula that provides local control and flexibility to further reduce property taxes on homestead properties:

- Automatic: Abolishes the required local effort (RLE) school board tax on all homestead properties and replaces it with a one cent sales tax. The RLE tax comprises about of 25% of property taxes statewide.

- Optional: By local county referendum, voters may choose to further reduce homestead property taxes by replacing the discretionary millage for school boards with a ½ cent sales tax. The referendum must be held by 2010.

- Optional: By local county referendum, voters may adopt an additional reduction of homestead property taxes by replacing all remaining property tax levies (i.e., county/city, special districts, MSTUs, etc.) with a 1 cent sales tax. The referendum must be held by 2010.

If both referendums pass, all homestead properties in the jurisdiction will be exempt from ad valorem taxes. The new total sales tax will be 2.5%. County governments will distribute sales tax funds within their county based on the existing sales tax distribution model.

Creates a tangible personal property exemption of $25,000 for businesses. This would create $180 million in savings to Florida businesses at current tax rates.

Creates more options for renters’ tax relief by granting the legislature broader authority to create statutory programs that target rental properties.

ENERGY/WATER CONSERVATION BILL CONSIDERED ON FLOOR

House Bill 271 which I have sponsored to encourage local and state government's water and energy conservation through performance contracting was heard on the House Floor this week and is expected to pass on third reading Monday. This is shaping up to be my first bill successfully passed through the process and it looks to be on a similar track in the Senate. This good bill expands an already existing energy efficiency program to include water and wastewater. The existing Guaranteed Energy performance Savings Contracting Act has been extremely successful in improving the efficiency of state, local and other governmental buildings. Rather than taxpayer dollars, retrofit and other conservation and efficiency measures are financed by a private sector contractor who performs the work, assumes all of the risk and who is compensated with a maximum twenty year payout only when actual efficiency savings result from the project.

UNIVERSITY NAMING BILL ADVANCES

Senator Paula Dockery and I are sponsoring House Bill 621 and Senate Bill 1160, which authorize the naming of university buildings and state facilities . SB1160 passed the Senate unanimously on Thursday. The legislation provides for the naming of buildings and facilities at UF, UCF, and USF, as well as the Dept. of Education building in Jacksonville, the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, and the Fla Center for Nursing. Current law requires Legislative approval before naming a state building or other facility for a living person. This bill was originally filed to name the following buildings at the University of Florida:

- Mark Bostick Golf Course
- Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium
- Bispham Turfgrass Support Building - IFAS
- L. Gale Lemerand Football Support Facility
- The bill will now be sent to the House for a vote

Again, it is an honor to serve in this process and I thank you for allowing me the opportunity.I look forward to seeing you when I return home in May.

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Chuck asks why the meeting between CSX and a group of Lakeland business leaders is being held behind closed doors. Good question. Chuck quotes Kathleen Munson from the Lakeland Area Chamber Commerce.

"Initially, we need to learn as much as possible," Munson said. "It's not a question of sharing information with the public. For our purpose, (it's) to get those answers - as much as possible - from CSX. Then, obviously, to look to see how we can mitigate the situation." - Lakeland Ledger

Why should the answers be private for a project of this size? Why would CSX's answers be different if they weren't public? Will they tell the chamber something different than the public?

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Back in January I reported that Madame Christine had moved to a new location in Winter Haven across from St. John's Methodist Church. Driving by that location this weekend I noticed that her sign was gone.

I wonder if she left of her own will or was forced out due to some zoning issue?

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Do you know what Lakeathon is? Lakeathon is the annual convention of Lake owners, pilots, and aficionados held annually in Bartow, FL (Lake is a type of seaplane). Lakeathon 2007 was held the weekend of April 13-14 and was blogged by aviation enthusiast Steve Whitney.

Steve posted 15 items during the course of the two-day event which included lots of planes, flying, lunches and other social activities. Check out the blog, it's an interesting look into a unique group of passionate folks.

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I attended the Winter Haven Sunset Celebration this past Saturday. Needless to say I took a few sunset photos. The complete set can be found here.

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After a short break for Easter, the House was back in session this week. We are beyond the half-way mark and looking forward to the final few weeks, which are marked with fewer committee/council meetings and much more time on the House Floor. Rep. Altman (R-Melbourne) reflected this week on the imposing beauty of the House Chamber and how he never tires of walking onto the Floor. In the sometimes endless grind of floor debate (a combined 21 hours this week), Rep. Altman's reflection was a reminder to me of the privilege it is to serve here. I thank you for the that honor. Below are a few highlights of the week which I hope you find informative:

UF GATOR DAY and USF DAYS at the Capitol

The House was privileged to host dignitaries and honored guests from our own University of South Florida this week. I have joined the balance of the Polk Legislative delegation in support of the USF-Lakeland Campus. Both the House and Senate budgets currently contain important dollars aimed at making this campus' master plan a reality and I look forward to working to ensure that our efforts are enhanced as we move through the budget conference over the coming weeks (more on the budget below).

It was also an honor to host Albert, Alberta and Bob Villa as the House played host to the University of Florida for Gator Day! As a Gator Alum, I'm proud to be working with the University to accomplish some of their legislative priorities. Senator Dockery and I are sponsoring legislation to ensure that important donors to the University are appropriately honored through facility namings. Added attention was brought to our efforts in the House this week as Rep. Rivera sponsored an amendment to my bill to name the School of Education at the University of Florida after former Governor Jeb Bush whose lasting legacy will most certainly be education policy.

HOUSE PASSES BUDGET

The House yesterday passed the 2007-2008 Budget totaling $70.3 billion, which is $1 billion less than last year's budget. The state experienced less than estimated revenues which creates the need for the state to "tighten its belt" to ensure a sound fiscal position well into the future. Despite a tight budget cycle, the House plan includes a total education budget of $28.3 billion, which represents an increase of $395.6 million from last year. I am excited that we were able to put $3.4 million in for the USF Lakeland Campus and that is a number which we expect to increase during the conference with the Senate. The House budget proposes spending more than a billion dollars LESS than the Senate version so I expect a very interesting conference process as we move toward reconciling the differences. You can view the entire House Budget at (http://floridahousebudget.state.fl.us/) or you can view highlights of the budget here.

SENATE PROPOSES TAX REFORM

I was glad this week that the Senate unveiled its version of a comprehensive property tax reform package. There are very large differences between the House and Senate proposals. I am committed to real, meaningful, and comprehensive property tax reform and am looking forward to the conference process on reaching agreement with the Senate on this critical policy.

Again, I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to serve you in the Florida House. I look forward to hearing from you and especially to being back home in a few short weeks!

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Mark Glaser, who writes the PBS Media Shift blog talks about hyperlocal blogs. Specifically he lists eight things that hyperlocal blogs should do:

1. Serve as a model journalist and cheerlead for others to follow.
2. Ask not what the community can do for you; ask what you can do for the community.
3. Journalism is hard work.
4. Collaborate with and link to other local news outlets.
5. Barter and network in the community to save costs.
6. Meet face-to-face with the community to make a real-world impact.
7. You need a real crowd if you want to do crowdsourced journalism.
8. Take a long view on making the site a profitable endeavor.

You can read the full post to get all the details on these items. From my standpoint I agree with all of them except the last one. EP has never been, and probably never will be about making a profit. That's obviously not the best business model in the world...but that's just it. It's not a business :-)

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Mindy McAdams, the Knight Chair - Department of Journalism at the University of Florida has a post reviewing the newspaper industry in Florida. This comes on the heels of the Tampa Tribune's recent layoffs.

Mindy points out that the one shining star in the Florida newspaper world is not part of a major chain, i.e. New York Times, Tribune, Media General, etc. The St. Pete Times is still independently owned. However she says that independence is not the issue:

It's not that independence or private ownership will automatically save newspapers. And I don't think it's impossible for a chain-owned newspaper to be good. But I do believe that excellence will lead to profit. Excellence in content, in journalism, in reporting. Excellence in public service. Excellence in usability -- and utility.

Profit seeking for its own sake can never lead to excellence.

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John Frost from The Disney Blog has a lengthy post up about his visit to Cypress Gardens for the record-setting Easter egg hunt. John obviously is a big Disney fan, but it was nice to see him venturing to Polk County and Florida's first theme park.

Not only is Cypress Gardens a great park for locals looking for a day of fun, but it's well worth the trip for any visitor to Central Florida to see the history and the beauty of the park, plus soak in some old fashioned amusement park fun at the same time. I hope to see you there.

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This is not really the impression we want to make about Winter Haven. Michael, writes about an experience he had at the Winter Haven airport:

Winter Haven Florida is right outside Lake land. My first impression is that it is a retirement community. After what I experianced there today, I will never go there on purpose again....

You can read the full post to see what happened. Michael was offended by a conversation that went on while he was at the airport. At least the management at the airport tried to smooth things over.

The airport manager pulled me aside and apologized for the groups conversation. I told him that i didn't appreciate the groups conversation, and that the experiance probably cost him about $600 because I wasn't going to purchase any fuel from them. He stated he understood and added he didn't blame me if i didn't. He went on and said that he informed all his employees if he finds out that any of them took place in the conversation, that they would be fired.

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Update: This morning's paper has an expanded version of the story.

Billy has been blogging/reporting about it for a while, but the Lakeland Ledger (and the rest of the city of Lakeland) have finally noticed the CSX deal. From the article posted this afternoon:

...the CSX project is expected to double the number of trains running through downtown Lakeland - a byproduct that could put a damper on the city’s multimillion-dollar downtown residential push.

Concerned about what effect more trains will have on businesses and budding housing, representatives from Lakeland, the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce and Lakeland Economic Development Council are scheduled to meet April 19 with CSX to discuss the project.

The meeting, which will not include elected officials, is not open to the public

Funny comparison. You have the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce being very open/transparent about the project, even inviting commentary, while the Lakeland Chamber and LEDC aren't meeting in public :-)

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CSX: It's one of the biggest economic development stories to hit Winter Haven in years. The project has significant long-term effects on the economy, growth, image and environment of Winter Haven. It's a big local story, so where is the News Chief? Remember the News Chief, they're Winter Haven's newspaper. (I suspect many of the folks at the East Polk Ledger would disagree, but that's another post)

The News Chief has done no significant reporting/research about the CSX story that I can find. Sure there have been a few articles covering the announcement and other mundane details, but nothing more. The most in-depth reporting has been done by the Tampa Tribune, with the Ledger coming in a distant second. I think Chuck and I have more posts about the story than the News Chief.

Perhaps it's a sign of the times that the best resource for local information about the project is the Winter Haven Chamber's site. For the News Chief, that's just sad. How can you be a community newspaper and ignore this story? It's also sad for the News Chief's readers since they have no idea what's going on with the biggest development deal to hit their community in a decade.

What's also sad is the insular nature of some media. If I find a great resource for content or news for my readers I'll link to it. I don't care who it is, as long as the content is good. Perhaps the News Chief can just run a story saying: Since we're not going to cover this, here are a few good links for you to read....

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Keeping with some themes here. First off, the last Where in Polk County? segment featured a train, so another train this week. Second, the major news on this and many other blogs is the CSX project...so we have a CSX locomotive.

As for the where and the how many, it depends on where you live. Lakeland residents are more concerned with the how many? As in, how many trains will now run through downtown? The where, is in Winter Haven. Yep that's right we're giving you the week off. The picture was taken here.

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Last night a 'big' group of Polk County bloggers gathered at Richard's Coffee in Winter Haven. I say 'big' because if we held this meeting a year ago it would probably be just two people. It's been great to see the number of local folks using blogs for different reasons, i.e. journalism, community outreach, economic development and personal expression. Present last night were:

Barbara Bassham - Polk City Blog
Barry Friedman - What's New Online at the Ledger
Bob Gernert - Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce Blog
Josh Hallett - Empirical Polk
Bill LePere - INSIDE Lakeland PD
Tom Palmer - Side Table Spectator
Billy Townsend - Polk County News Blog
Chuck Welch - Lakeland Local

Shown below are Chuck and Barry. The 'face-off' pose is not intentional, it's just the way the two photos turned out :-)

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Don't get too excited by the headline, Formula 1 only has one race in the U.S. and it's in June in Indianapolis, IN (I'll be going). No, the headline relates to F1 great Stirling Moss. Ford Heacock has announced that the F1 legend will be the honorary chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival in October.

Way to go Ford.

You can check out the Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival web site, or look at some Flickr images from the event.

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Good job by Chuck finding this blog post detailing some behind-the-scenes info about the recent Operation Cyberhawk. The blog post is by 'Wingman' who worked as a cameraman for Fox 13 in the house the Polk Count Sheriff's office used in the sting.

I spent Thursday and Friday of last week working for Fox 13 Tampa at a sting set up by the Polk County Sheriff's Department. A task force of undercover officers from Polk County as well as the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, Plant City P.D., and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been trolling in chat rooms for the last week posing as young girls and boys and had been talking to a number of sexual predators.

The post is very detailed and contains a number of images. Check it out.

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Publix is planning on debuting an expanded prepared foods offering at their Lake Mary store. A recent press release has all the details:

The Publix at Lake Mary Collection (4195 W. Lake Mary Blvd.), a 51,000-square-foot store, opening April 12, 2007, will pilot a 4,500-square-foot culinary prepared foods experience with over eighty entrees to entice every palate and engage every sense. In addition to the traditional Publix Deli, the stations include:

- Pacific Wok – wok cooking of Asian specialties ranging from Kung Pao Scallops to Mongolian Beef
- The Grill – cooked to order favorites from Curiyaki Salmon to Churrasco Steaks
- The Carvery – choice of meats, slow cooked to perfection, including Cedar Plank Salmon, Hickory & Molasses Crusted Tenderloin of Beef, Slow Cooked Pot Roast
- Chef’s Selections – showcasing the talent of our chefs, this venue features everything from comfort food to gourmet entrees
- Mediterranean Oven – features old world cooking of pizza and roasted entrees inspired by the cuisines of Italy, Greece and Spain
- Handcrafted Sandwiches – Artisan sandwiches crafted to order on Artisan breads, stacked with slow cooked deli meats and gourmet cheeses
- Custom Salads – healthy salad choices made to order with fresh toppings, such as steak, salmon, shrimp and chicken
- Soup Station – featuring six freshly prepared, chef inspired soup creations
- Coffee Bar – offering freshly brewed Van Houtte coffees, hot chocolate and frozen fruit drinks

This is a big step for Publix and puts them on par with the prepared food selection that Whole Foods offers. If you remember I posted about the Whole Foods experience a few months ago and wondered when Publix would match it.

Of course the question now is, when will one of these be coming to Polk County?

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A few months ago I asked about Thai food in Lakeland. Well perhaps my call has been answered. Lemon Grass Thai Kitchen recently opened in Lakeland at 743 E Memorial Blvd (near Steak & Shake and the rest of the restaurants on that row). I tried the restaurant out last Thursday for lunch.

Quick review: Good Thai, very slooooow service.

When you walk into a restaurant and 'Help Wanted' signs are all over the place you know you're in for a wait. It was somewhat busy as I arrived shortly after noon for a leisurely lunch. A man came from out of the kitchen and said I could have a seat, but didn't give me a menu. As I sat and waited a large group next to me discussed the service issue. They had a limited amount of time for lunch and were wondering if they would make it. From the looks of it, Thai Kitchen only had two people working the front of the house.

I eventually got up to get my own menu, which turned out to be a dinner/older menu (I'll get to this in a bit). After about 10 minutes somebody finally approached me to get my order, but they didn't have an abundance of vegetarian items on the menu, which is strange for a Thai restaurant. The gentleman then brought me a new/lunch menu which had a number of veggie items available. I can only assume that since I got my own menu I grabbed the wrong one.

I opted for the lunch portion of Yellow Curry with Tofu. Shortly afterward a salad appeared on my table. I wasn't sure if it was included in my meal, but oh well, it looked good and was good.

From the time I ordered, albeit late, I felt my food arrived in a decent amount of time. However a few other folks in the restaurant had longer waits. One group of nurses had to leave before they could eat, they said they had been their an hour and not received their food yet. The manager quickly apologized and wrapped up their food to go. I had a book to read and my iPod so I wasn't so rushed. I imagine that if I had been pressed for time I would have been stressing a bit over the delays.

The food was worth the wait though. The Yellow Curry had just enough spice to it for taste, but didn't overpower me. As is traditional with Thai food, the main dish was served on one side with a portion of rice on the other side. Patrons then mix the two as they see fit. The lunch portion had a generous amount of tofu, perhaps too much, but I ate all of it.

Lunch, including tip was a little under $10. Was it the best Thai I've ever had? No, but with limited Thai options in Polk County it's a welcome addition. Hopefully they'll get over the initial service issues and stick around for a while. Luckily for me, between Lemon Grass and Cafe Roti my favorite cuisine needs are met within a few miles of each other in Lakeland.

If you like Thai, give Lemon Grass a try, but be prepared to wait....but it's worth it.

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Enough Already is a blog written by 'The Bald Guy'. From his first post the purpose of the blog:

Time to put my thoughts out there about just how rotten we are treated when it comes to what has come to pass for service.

My plans are to tell it like it is about the kind of service I receive as I go about my business.

Since I don't know if anyone will read this besides me I will make a promise to myself to be as honest as I possibly can be. I will also use names so the innocent are protected. If I go someplace and am treated like some sort of dirty tourist I will be sure to post those facts.

So far he has written up a few Polk County locations including Pizza Central and Christy's in Winter Haven. Here's an excerpt from the Pizza Central review:

Service is a little iffy. If you get one of the young ladies who’s boy friend isn’t there you should get pretty good service. The goofy looking guy with the sideways hat can leave you wanting.

The chairs come from the long line of restaurant owners who want you to eat it and beat it. They are not really comfortable. So don’t plan on sitting and chewing the fat with friends, your ass will give out before the conversation does.

Christy's gets a better review:

Our server name was KAREN. This young lady knows her way around a table. We could not have asked for better service. She brought our beverages and inquired if we would like to take our time and enjoy our time before ordering. We never wanted for anything that was not handled by KAREN in a jiff.

Bald Guy reviews a few other places and for the most part I agree with just about everything he has had to say. We'll see if he keeps it up.

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