BARTOW, Florida -- "We're being singled out."

USF PolyTechnic's interim regional chancellor, David Touchton, and students are turning to the Polk County Board of Commissioners for support. Touchton says, "Recent legislation would leave us dead in the water. We would not be able to...more recruit faculty if we do not know if we will exist."

"If this bill is signed, it will create educational refugees displaced due to some political head butting," says Damon Dennis, 21, student body president at USF Poly.

PolyTechnic students say their education is in limbo. "They keep telling us it's going to be OK. We don't feel it will be OK," says Cecilia Rodriguez, 21, student.

Touchton warns commissioners $103 million in cuts would cripple the university and Polytech's immediate independence as the 12th university would come at a steep price.

"That would trickle down the I-4 corridor with a negative $700 million economic impact," he says.

He

Lakeland, Florida -- Polk deputies say nothing suspicious was found after a bomb threat was called in at the USF PolyTech/Polk State College campus in Lakeland on Wednesday.

The schools -- which share the same campus -- were evacuated for nearly two hours after the threat was called...more in.  Classes have since resumed.

Polk deputies say they received a bomb threat on campus several weeks ago, but nothing was found that time, either. Even though the threats are usually fake, officials must take the precautions needed and search the area every time.

Polk deputies say a person who calls in a hoax bomb threat can be charged with a second degree felony.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Attending classes at USF Polytechnic in Lakeland is a family affair for Sage Stevens, his wife, and baby girl. Stevens says, "Me and my wife both are studying business. We're both marketing majors and we already have to juggle child care."

He adds, "Sometimes in...more between class I push the kid around the campus and she comes out of class and we switch off. That will be impossible for us to do going to Tampa."

Sage is set to graduate in the summer after completing one summer school course. He says he worries whether or not summer school courses will even be offered at USF Polytechnic.

Senator JD Alexander has pushed for independence for University of South Florida Polytechnic, which has 4,400 students. He wants to make it the state's 12th university, but the University of South Florida opposes the idea which if approved would split USF Polytechnic off from USF immediately.

Polytechnic students feel that their education is in

Lakeland, Fla. -- The weekend weather was mostly overcast and humid as the Raiders began their 2012 Championship Mission. On Feb. 18, Bonny Park hosted the Raiders opening days of training camp where 40 men vied for a spot on the 2012 Lakeland Raiders Arena Football roster. Many of them...more preparing months in advance for the chance.
Under the watchful eye of Head Coach Michael Mink and his coaching staff, the men were put through conditioning drills, team drills, and a variety on in game scenarios to see where physically and mentally these athletes were in comparison to others. All of them coming from various experiences ranging from playing college football to professional football.  
Florida State, Iowa, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, South Florida, North Dakota State, Missouri Valley College and many others are just a few of the colleges some of these aspiring athletes previously attended. Many players are also local Polk County products, as well as Hillsborough

Lakeland, Fla. -- The 17-year-old Lakeland teen who was shot in the head Saturday night died of his injuries Monday afternoon, according to the Lakeland Police Department.

On Monday, police interviewed those who were at the home at the time of the incident on Jewel Avenue, but have...more not released any information yet at this time.

An autopsy has been scheduled and police say the final investigation is pending based on the results.

LAKELAND, Florida (AP) - A Florida pastor was found dead in his home five months after a shooting at a central Florida church that also wounded another pastor.

Polk County Sheriff's officials say a friend became worried last week after he hadn't heard from 65-year-old Rev. Carl...more Stewart. He found Stewart dead.

The Ledger of Lakeland reports prosecutors are waiting on autopsy results to decide whether to file murder charges against 57-year-old Jeremiah Fogle. The medical examiner's office said Monday that an official cause of Stewart's death hasn't been determined.

Photo Gallery: Lakeland Church Shooting

Stewart and Rev. William Ross were injured in a Sept. 18 shooting at a Lakeland church. Authorities say another minister disarmed Fogle, who was arrested. Deputies found Fogle's wife dead in their home.

Stewart was shot in the head, shoulder and back.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - After holding their first face-to-face meeting since a falling out last fall, USF President Judy Genshaft and State Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, then held their tongues in speaking to the press.

Genshaft, flanked by USF Trustee Brian Lamb and USF's Director...more of Community Relations and Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller, said the meeting was "productive" and the two sides agreed to share new numbers this week.

USF faces a proposed 58% cut to its 2012-2013 budget, the steepest cut of any university.  But Alexander, who proposed the Senate's budget, says Genshaft was helping him come to a better "understanding" of the university's needs.

Several legislators tell 10 News it's the first step to a compromise where USF's proposed funding would be partially restored and Alexander could get help in making USF-Polytechnic in Lakeland the state's 12th university ahead of the Board of Governor's 3-to-5-year

SARASOTA, Florida -- The proposal to cut the University of South Florida's budget by 58% has shocked a lot of people in the Tampa Bay area, including community leaders.

But not one particular student.

In some ways, Michael Long, a sophomore at the New College of Florida, saw...more this coming months ago.

"I knew it was going to get spicy," he said Monday.

Long, the lone student on the Florida Board of Governors, called out Sen. JD Alexander (R-Lake Wales) during a November meeting, where the board was debating whether to make USF-Polytech an independent school.

Long warned Alexander might play a drastic card.

"I do not feel very well represented by JD," he said, "he told me personally that he would quit fighting for higher education if he didn't get what he wanted on this issue."

Long says he had no idea a massive budget cut would be put on the table, but he could tell the senator may use his power.

"I did feel

Lakeland, Fla.-- Lakeland Police are trying to identify the man who robbed a person at gunpoint at an outside ATM on Jan. 27. 
According to police, the robbery occurred at the Bank of America at 2301 S Florida Ave., around 4:50 a.m. Police say he approached the victim from behind and...more robbed him at gunpoint. 
He is described as a Hispanic male, 5'9" and was seen wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap with all black stitching. He fled in a compact, black-colored vehicle.
He should be considered armed and dangerous. If you believe you can identify him, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Lakeland Police are investigating the shooting of a 17-year-old boy on Feb. 18. 
According to police, deputies arrived at the home at 1202 Jewel Avenue around 11:23 p.m. and found Daylon Oshae Easton on the living room couch with a gunshot wound to the head.  Deputies...more interviewed several people who were at the home during the time of the shooting, but no one could provide any information on what happened.
Easton remains in very critical condition at Lakeland Regional Medical Center.
The investigation is ongoing at this time.

BARTOW, Florida -- A Lakeland mother made her second court appearance this weekend to face charges in the death of her 1-year-old son.

Neha Patel told detectives she killed the boy because she hated him. She says she left her son, Ishan, alone in a bathtub half filled with water....more

When she later found him drowning, she chose not to perform CPR and instead told her husband what had happened. She reportedly threatened to kill herself before she fled the home.

Police searched for her all day Friday and caught up with her at Tampa International Airport, where she had planned to kill herself by jumping off the parking garage.

Authorities say the pharmacist had been suffering from post partum depression and blamed her son for her state of mind.

She's being held in the infirmary of the Polk County jail after a judge denied bond Sunday morning.

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - An autopsy has determined that a 1-year-old Florida boy police say was killed by his mother drowned and suffered blunt force trauma.

The Ledger is reporting that the medical examiner determined Saturday that Ishan Patel drowned and was the victim of a homicide....more The autopsy also found they boy had blunt force trauma to his face.

The boy's 32-year-old mother faces a charge of first-degree murder. Neha Patel was scheduled to make her first court appearance Sunday in Bartow.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has said Patel suffers from postpartum depression but had not been taking her medicine when she disappeared Thursday with her son. Authorities say Patel returned to her Lakeland home Friday and told her husband she had killed the boy.

Polk County, Fla. -- On Feb. 21, Feed The Children will provide backpacks and supplies to Pasco County Public Schools and Polk County Schools.
A shipment of 960 backpacks will be delivered to the Distribution Warehouse for Pasco County, 7301 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes at 8 a.m. A...more second shipment of 960 backpacks will be delivered to the Jim Miles Professional Building in Lakeland, 5204 U.S. Hwy. 98 South at approximately 11 a.m.
The backpacks will be distributed at a later date to students experiencing homelessness in 15 regional counties.The total distribution includes 1,920 backpacks filled with:• school supplies • non-perishable food • essentials (items such as toothpaste, deodorant and combs) • children’s books 
H.E.L.P., Homeless Education and Literacy Program, an outreach program of Feed The Children, has partnered with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) to distribute backpacks to children in

Polk County, Fla. -- In observance of the President’s Day Holiday, bus service on the Winter Haven Area Transit, Citrus Connection and Polk County Transit Services routes will not be operating Monday, Feb. 20.
Service will resume normal operations on Tuesday, Feb. 21.