LAKELAND HAS YET ANOTHER SOURCE OF PRIDE...BUT WILL YOU READ ABOUT IT IN THE LEDGER?

Congratulations to Lakeland native Kara Monaco, also known as "Karebear", who was named this week as Playboy magazine's 2006 Playmate of the Year.

The 23-year-young former Disney dancer was originally featured in the world's premier men's magazine as Miss June 2005. She received a check of $100,000, a car, and a sports motorbike for being selected. And, of course, she'll be spending a lot of time at the Playboy Mansion with Hef and the crowd.

Miss Monaco attended Lakeland's Santa Fe Catholic High School, and a picture from the SFCHS 1997 yearbook was provided to fellow Polk County blog Empirical Polk. That would have been her eighth or ninth grade picture, and when you compare it with her Playboy photos it shows this woman has come a long way, baby.

She lived in Orlando for a few years, and recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling and acting career. "Karebear" already has a bio, albeit very brief, on the movie database IMDb, as she has appeared in episodes of the E! cable television channel reality series The Girls Next Door.

I don't know if it will get any play in the local newspaper, since it is rather conservative and she's been away from the area for awhile. But having been born and raised here in Polk County, it's just another feather in the caps for the hometown folks.

Best of luck, "Karebear"!