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Politics

For most of its history, Polk County, like most other southern counties, was dominated nominally by the Democratic Party a result of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The party's dominance in presidential races began to decline during the 1950s, although Polk County continued to vote reliably for Conservative DemocratsRepublican Party candidate for local office, which under then current Florida law, meant the race was decided by Democrats in their primary. in state and local races. Often, there would be no

What in fact existed was a non-partisan Florida political culture, best described by V.O. Key, Jr., in the classic, "Southern Politics," (Knopf, 1950) as "every man for himself." Coalitions gravitated around special economic interests. Polk County's role was magnified by the presence of two big-money industries, phosphate and citrus. Park Trammell, Spessard Holland, and Lawton Chiles each served in the legislature, as governor, as a U.S. senator. The county's political style, when not satisfying local industry, was small-town economic populist: building roads, schools, and parks, but wary of social liberalism.

A watershed moment in Polk County politics came with the election of Andy Ireland to Congress. Ireland was the first modern Polk politician without local roots, an outsider culturally and personally from a wealthy Ohio family and with an upper-class education at Andover and Yale. He moved to Winter Haven as a bank executive. His election reflected the growing factor of in-migrants, who were slowly weakening the deeply rooted local populist traditions. It was Ireland who set off a wave of party switching by moving from the Democratic party to the Republican party in 1984, taking career advantage of Ronald Reagan's popularity and grassroots distrust of national Democrats as the perceived party of racial integration and sexual license. Within a few years, there was a rapid switch of parties, both by many prominent political figures in the county and by the white public at large. By the early 1990s, Polk County had become one of the most reliably Republican counties in state. Native son Lawton Chiles continued to win U.S. Senate races from 1970 to 1982, and in the 90s was elected governor twice ironically without Polk's support.

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Polk's Jobless Rate Hits 11-Year-High
LAKELAND | Polk County's jobless rate swelled to 8.1 percent in October, the highest level in 11 years, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. The county had 5,700 fewer jobs than it did in October 2007 as steep job losses continued to plague nearly every segment of the local economy.
Hillary Clinton to Accept Secretary of State Post
WASHINGTON | Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.

Local

Polk's Jobless Rate Hits 11-Year-High
LAKELAND | Polk County's jobless rate swelled to 8.1 percent in October, the highest level in 11 years, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. The county had 5,700 fewer jobs than it did in October 2007 as steep job losses continued to plague nearly every segment of the local economy.
Polk Felony Cases
The following is a portion of the felony criminal case dispositions filed in Bartow for the month of June, 2008. For a complete explanation refer to the court files because the circumstances of each case vary. If the Judge withheld adjudication the person has not been judged guilty by the Court.

Florida

Weekly Offerings
meetings Plant City Christian Women's Connection Features speaker Joyce Schneider; music by Marge Masek, Susan Gitlin and Lorene Hallberg. 1130 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 2. Walden Lake Golf and Country Club. $13. 746-2541, 813-651-0383, e-mail celicakix92@aol.com for reservations. PERFORMANCES Brian Bracey & "One Reason"
Polk Felony Cases
The following is a portion of the felony criminal case dispositions filed in Bartow for the month of June, 2008. For a complete explanation refer to the court files because the circumstances of each case vary. If the Judge withheld adjudication the person has not been judged guilty by the Court.

East Polk

Protection Sought For Fish Habitat
The federal government is trying to protect critical habitat for the endangered smalltooth sawfish along Florida's southwest coast. The rule, proposed Thursday, seeks to protect areas essential for the conservation and recovery of the sawfish ó their population has declined by 95 percent.
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The State Department has renewed an appeal to Iran for information about a former FBI agent, Floridian Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iranian territory 20 months ago.

Business

Polk's Jobless Rate Hits 11-Year-High
LAKELAND | Polk County's jobless rate swelled to 8.1 percent in October, the highest level in 11 years, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. The county had 5,700 fewer jobs than it did in October 2007 as steep job losses continued to plague nearly every segment of the local economy.
Florida's Budget Deficit Now At $2.1 Bil.
TALLAHASSEE | Florida's budget gap grew to $2.1 billion on Friday as economists said the state's economy has some rough times ahead as it is buffeted by a global recession, but that it should begin a recovery in early 2010.