👋 Kathryn here. I recently spent the day in downtown Lakeland and was delighted to find the "little mecca of cool" advertised by the city's Downtown Development Authority.

Why it matters: Lakeland is the fastest-growing metro area in the country, and its location along the ever-developing I-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando makes it uniquely situated for continued growth.

The big picture: The Swan City has exploded from about 97,000 people in 2010 to an estimated 120,000 in 2022, per the most recent census figures. New and under-construction apartment buildings are scattered throughout the city.

• The number of new businesses per year has been on the rise, too, culminating in last year's more than 400 openings, according to data from the city.
• The city has positioned itself as an entrepreneurial hub with resources like Catapult Lakeland, a startup incubator across the street from the historic Frances Langford Promenade surrounding Lake Mirror in the city center.

Zoom in: With Chamber of Commerce president and longtime Lakelander Amy Wiggins as my tour guide, I saw a bustling downtown with plenty of restaurants, coffee shops and bars, including some surprisingly trendy spots:

• COhatch Lakeland, a mural-walled coworking space with a vending machine serving up drinks from Tampa's King State and a copy of the colorful, A24-esque coffee-table book "The People Who Live Here" about residents of the city's historic homes.
• Abbey Caroline, a "salon & experience" recently opened in the city's oldest commercial building, where clients are gifted chocolate caramel financiers from the artisan bakery down the street and can shop Hotel Scents fragrances and birddogs menswear.

If that all sounds outlandish to you, you probably spend less time on Instagram than me, and I commend you for that.

What they're saying: "There's a feeling here, like something is going on," COhatch market lead Adriana Eraso told us when we ran into her at the space. She moved to the city from nearby Winter Haven four years ago.

• Abbey Caroline co-founder Joel Ogburn was skeptical when his daughter suggested relocating from Orlando, especially as a gay man. Eight months later, "I gotta say, I love this town," he said.
• A big reason, they all said, is the kind and welcoming people.

Yes, but: Lakeland's transformation has had to grapple with darker chapters of its history, including a controversy over a Confederate monument that until recently towered over downtown's Munn Park.

• The statue was dismantled and relocated only after a narrow City Commission vote and legal fight.

The bottom line: If you're not considering a move there, Lakeland would be well worth a day trip, or at least a stop-off to catch a break from I-4.

Spread the word

Things to do:

🌳 Take a stroll at Bonnet Springs Park or Hollis Garden.

🏛️ Admire iconic architecture on a Frank Lloyd Wright tour on Florida Southern University's campus.

🪓 Blow off some steam (and sip some locals-favorite milkshakes) at Ax-Caliber.

🎯 Find your inner child at Rec Room LKLD.

🎥 Catch a show or movie at the historic Polk Theatre.

Things to eat and drink:

🍸 Sip craft cocktails at Revival.

😋 Indulge in the Latin-inspired menu at Nineteen61.

☕ Grab breakfast and peruse work from local artists at Lakeland's original coffee shop, Mitchell's Coffee House.

🍺 Drink like a local at Swan Brewing.

🍕 Grab a slice at Palace Pizza.

A man accused of stealing dozens of golf carts around Pinellas County opened up to the Tampa Bay Times about struggling with addiction and wanting another chance to turn his life around.

🏗️ Tampa Bay Rays and St. Petersburg officials are hiring a construction manager for the new ballpark, but redevelopment plans are still up in the air. (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

🍼 A critically endangered orangutan was delivered via C-section at Busch Gardens Tampa last week. (Creative Loafing)

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law this week a flurry of education bills, including a mandate that kids learn the "dangers and evils" of communism starting in kindergarten.

Why it matters: Reshaping the state's public education system — including by directing what can and can't be discussed in classrooms — has defined DeSantis' tenure as governor.

Between the lines: This week's signings indicate the governor continues to push for changes that some say undermine the public school system in favor of charter and private schools.

• But the governor also sought to clean up a mess caused by a law he signed last year.

Case in point: DeSantis signed a bill that limits the number of book titles residents without children in school districts can challenge in libraries and classrooms to one per month.

• It amends a law DeSantis championed that let residents petition for the removal of books that include sexual material.
• He conceded that some school districts had gone too far — though he blamed most of it on "activists."

Zoom in: The sweeping education bill signed Tuesday also boosts "classical learning," a model many conservatives champion, and speeds up the process of converting a struggling traditional public school into a charter.

Go deeper: Some say laws remain too vague

It's the matcha-up you've bean waiting for: Bandit vs. Blind Tiger.

Why it matters: You're about to decide which side of the bay has the best coffee shop, aka the hippest spot in town.

Close call: Bandit beat Kahwa by just three votes yesterday.

Vote here!