Did you know that every $100 spent at a local, independently-owned store generates $45 of secondary local spending, compared to $14 for a big-box chain? This was first tested in 2003 by the Institute for Local Self Reliance and is nearly identical to later results across multiple Civic Economic studies. The Plant City Times & […]
Continue ReadingNovember 2014 Real Estate Transactions
The home at 3206 E. Williams Road was the top sale for November. It sold for $394,000. Built in 1997, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 2,840 square feet of living area on five acres. The price per square foot is $138.73. Alderman The home at 2709 Abbie Aldermans Way sold for $43,500. Built […]
Continue ReadingLocal author publishes her first book of poetry
Becky Knighten sits at the edge of a floral couch cushion throwing herself into the conversation — literally. Her hands firework out in opposite directions, her torso leans in and out to the rhythm of her voice. It’s easy to see why she is calling her first book “Feelings.” She certainly has enough emotion churning […]
Continue ReadingFestival has high concert ticket sales
A line of about 100 customers wound around the front of the Florida Strawberry Festival’s main ticket office Thursday, Dec. 4. It was the opening day for ticket sales to the festival’s many entertaining concerts. For another year, Stephanie Spangler and her mother, Elizabeth Roberts, were the first in line. They had been in line […]
Continue ReadingUPS truck overturns after being t-boned
A UPS truck overturned after bing struck by a car at the intersection of North Alexander Street and the Interstate 4 interchange, Dec. 2. At about 9:40 a.m., a beige Nissan driven by Mary Lott was traveling eastbound on the I-4 ramp and ran a red light. The UPS truck driven by Anthony Auguste had been traveling […]
Continue ReadingMan arrested in P.C., Tampa robberies
A former University of Kentucky walk-on football player was arrested on charges of robbing four businesses, including two Plant City convenience stores. Chad Michael Merida, 22, was arrest on charges of robbing a Tampa PNC Bank branch and Plant City convenience store Circle K Nov. 24. He also confessed to the Nov. 20 robbery of […]
Continue ReadingOne injured in motocycle wreck
One woman was taken to Lakeland Regional Hospital after she wrecked her motorcycle on State Road 39 Dec. 6. Brenda Messick Deese, 50, was driving her 2007 Honda VTX 1300 R northbound on State Road 39 south of Trapnell Road in the inside lane. Approaching the traffic signal at Trapnell Road around noon, she applied brakes in an […]
Continue ReadingPlant City man sentenced for 2013 armed robbery
A 24-year-old Plant City man has been sentenced to 11 years and nine months in federal prison for an armed robbery he committed in 2013. Reginald Lynn Gaines was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington for robbing a Dade City convenience store and using a firearm during that robbery. The court also ordered […]
Continue ReadingColor guard to raise funds with yard sale
Waving their flags in spiraling formations, the graceful Plant City High School color guard is a vision of beauty during competitions. But one thing is not picture perfect when they compete — the team’s aging vinyl floor. The color guard has to provide its own staging floor during its winter guard season starting in January. […]
Continue ReadingActress, authors to do signing
The Plant City Photo Archives & History Center will be hosting some famous names in the entertainment industry for a DVD and book signing from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 106 S. Evers St. Actress Charleene Closshey will be signing “An Evergreen Christmas,” a recently-released holiday movie she stars in. Authors include […]
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