Around the Metro, cities are looking to contract with just one waste and recycling company to cover whole communities. Richfield is exploring the idea and Maplewood recelntly implemented it. Some say it reduces trash-trucks on the roads, and saves tax dollars. In Lakeville, the truth is, a total of six waste and recycling haulers are licensed to do business in Lakeville, including: Dick's Sanitation/Lakeville Sanitary Service Waste Management GarbageMan of Lakeville, LLC Randy's Sanitation, Inc. Buckingham Companies Allied Waste Systems/BFI As far as the pros of a single hauler system go…
According to the Huffington Post, President Barack Obama is letting his jobs council expire this week—the same council that was supposed to help find ways to lower enemployment. The Council on Jobs and Competitiveness was formed in January of 2011 when unemployment was hovering above 9 percent. Two years later, the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.8 percent, but the President says it's still too high. A provision in Obama's executive order establishing the council says it sunsets on Thursday. A White House official said the president does not plan to extend it. What do you think about the …
On Jan. 10, Lakeville Patch brought you the heart-warming story of Holly Ryan, a school psychologist at Kenwood Trail Middle School who traveled back to her hometown of Newtown, CT, to help victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. The story proved that those December events will forever resonate with folks, not only in Lakeville, but around the world. So much so, people on the other side of the fence are sharing their voice, and it's causing a whole new host of problems for Newtown victims. Florida Atlantic University Professor James Tracy has vocally questioned whether Sandy Hook…
Last week, Lakeville Patch broke some sensitive news. We were first to report that in December, Lakeville North Athletic Director Bob Ertl pleaded guilty to a DUI charge he received in June. It was his second alcohol-related arrest in less than five years. He's being retained by the district and is undergoing counseling. It's considered sensitive because reporting this kind of news can be life-altering. Obviously we report on murders, shootings, rapes, and robberies. But less intense crimes, such as shoplifting, and in this case DUI, are sometimes considered unfortunate mistakes. And in this …
Time for another Lakeville Patch Poll, and it's simple this time: Do you expect the world to end on Dec. 21, 2012—which is today? Apocalypse in the house ... Seriously though, even NASA is getting in on the action. The agency created a page on its website devoted to debunking the Mayan apocalypse idea—not least because the Mayans never predicted any such thing. The date is simply the end of one time period that simply starts over. Or so they think. “Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with …
Each year, Lakeville has a Holiday Lighting Ceremony in Pioneer Park Plaza. It's a quaint affair with choir singers from Lakeville's high schools singing carols, while residents and business leaders watch as the switch is flipped and downtown Lakeville's quiet park turns into a glittering and glowing ode to the holidays. But by calling it a "Holiday" Lighting Ceremony, some argue this community is engaging in what amounts to a "war on Christmas." Last year, Lakeville Patch reader Terry Elliot, in the comments portion of Patch's holiday lighting story, asked: "Why would we string lights on …
