On October 22, you’ll want to make your way down to the 14th Annual Hispanic Festival at the Lake Mirror Promenade. Enjoy authentic food, live music, dancing, folklore, games and more.

But, just in case you can’t make it downtown (I can’t imagine how those delicious smells wafting throughout Lakeland could keep you away), we’re live streaming in interactive webcast right here from 1:30 – 8:00 p.m.

For more information, visit ClubHispanodeLakeland.com

<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=0e89792643″ mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=0e89792643″ >14th Annual Hispanic Festival of Polk County</a>

Vacation home rental property owners, prospective homeowners and property managers are invited to login to the latest Tourist Development Tax Academy Webinar, to be held online Wednesday, August 24, from 3:00-4:30 p.m. EDT (which is also 8:00-9:30 p.m. British Summer Time [BST]). Local leaders in Polk County government, along with industry representatives, will interact with webinar participants and share important current information for absentee vacation homeowners and anyone considering buying a vacation home in Polk County.

Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder hosts the interactive webcast, which transmits live from a vacation community home in Davenport and includes the following topics and experts on-site:

• Marsha Faux, Polk County Property Appraiser – Impacts of Vacation Home Ownership
• Alan J. Harding, Harding & Associates – How to Set Up a Rental Home
• Colin Young, CFVRMA – Functions of a Property Management Company
• Jim DeGennaro, Central Florida Development Council – Polk County’s Business Climate

Participate by viewing a live video stream of the presentations and discussions, and submitting your questions and comments via IM (instant message), which will be answered by the panelists via video. It’s convenient, easy – and completely free! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to get the facts necessary to ensure compliance with regulations, directly from Polk County government sources!

The webinar is sponsored by the Polk County Tax Collector, Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association (CFVRMA), Harding & Associates, and Villa4UFlorida.com. For more information, visit www.polktaxes.com.

Polk County Board of County Commissioners and Polk County School Board will host the tenth annual School Summit on Thursday, June 30, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at Davenport School of the Arts, 4751 N CR 547, Davenport. The Board of County Commissioners and School Board hold the event as a forum for local government representatives to discuss and learn about the growth management and educational facilities issues.

As in the past few years, several public school students will emcee the presentations, centered around the theme “Building Up Steam!” The agenda includes discussion on livable communities; legislative, growth management and facilities updates; and features on select school programs. All five county commissioners are expected to attend the summit, as well as city and school board officials.

Those who cannot attend the summit in person can participate below through a live interactive webcast. Online viewers are encouraged to submit comments and questions related to the discussion.

Midflorida Credit Union is sponsoring the event breakfast. For additional information, contact Ana Martinez-Hubert, Polk County Land Development Division, 863-534-6468; or Pam Luce, Polk County School Board, 863-534-0811.

Cover the bases and prepare for hurricane season with family activities at the annual Polk County Hurricane Expo on Saturday, June 4.

Hurricane season begins June 1 and the expo offers the perfect opportunity for families to speak with area experts about products, services, weather and hurricane readiness. The FREE event will take place 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Orange Dome in Winter Haven (210 Cypress Gardens Blvd).

In addition to vendors, Dan Noah with the National Weather Service in Ruskin, Fox 13 Chief Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto, Bay News 9 Meteorologist Josh Linker,  and WTSP 10 News Meteorologist Chris Suchan will be on hand to answer questions.

The International Association of Firefighters (Polk County Fire Rescue, Local Chapter 3531) will be selling hot dogs and hamburgers, with proceeds used to purchase smoke detectors for PCFR’s “Project S.A.F.E.” (Smoke Alarms for Everyone). Each food item purchased at the grill includes one ticket for a chance to win a Brinkmann 5-burner grill with smoker donated by Home Depot

Touch base with vendors for chances to win door prizes consisting of items to include in family disaster supply kits.

Complete and return the event survey at the Information Table for a chance to win the grand prize, a $599 generator, donated by Lowes Home Improvement.

Kids can make new friends with Sparky the Fire Pup, Ace from the Flying Tigers, and fire safety clowns H20 and EMBER. Fire Rescue Explorers will offer fire education safety stations where kids can learn and earn a prize. They can decorate five-gallon buckets and learn what items to include in their own disaster supply kits. Climb in the bounce house before settling down in the K.I.D.s (Kids in Disaster) Korner where Americorps volunteers will share weather-related stories. Paul Davis Restorations will provide face painting.

This year’s expo is sponsored by Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling, Magnify Credit Union, Lowes Home Improvement, Home Depot, A-C-T Environmental & Infrastructure, Regal Automotive Group, and Service Master of Polk County.

For more information about the Hurricane Expo, visit www.polk-county.net/hurricaneexpo.

Can’t attend, participate in the live interactive Webcast below!

Distracted driving has become a problem of national proportions, prompting legislation and increased education. Concern has been raised in particular about distracted driving caused by texting – in fact, a study by the Virginia Tech Driving Institute revealed that those who text while drive are 23 times more likely to have an accident.

This issue hit home in Polk County during a recent highway dedication ceremony in Davenport, where local policymakers and families were brought together by a tragedy involving a texting driver.

In effort to support a public awareness campaign about distracted driving, Polk County Government Television (PGTV) has partnered with Dr. Ronald Tarr, program director and principal investigator at the UCF Institute of Simulation & Training, along with Jason Neufeld, attorney with Neufeld, Kleinberg  Pinkiert, and Dave Walters, Polk County legislative liaison, to conduct an interactive webcast on Tuesday, Feb. 22, from 6:30-8:00 p.m.

The live video online program allows subject matter experts to answer instant-message questions and comments from anyone interested in addressing this problem. Participation in the online chat is easy, free, and requires no pre-registration.  For updated details on the program, visit polk-county.net or call PGTV at (863) 534-5090.

According to distraction.gov, research on distracted driving reveals some surprising facts:

• 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. (NHTSA).
• Of those killed in distracted-driving-related crashed, 995 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (18% of fatalities in distraction-related crashes). (NHTSA)
• In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving. (FARS and GES)
• The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group – 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. (NHTSA)
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
• Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)