Florida photographer Drew Brass recently set up at Renningers, right down the road from Tangerine. He lives in Apopka, Florida. Drew is known for his creative nautical photography and stenciled frames. His work is available at Artemis Gallery.

Click to view slideshow.

Local shop Heart Vintage Design is moving in June. Go ahead and make plans to check it out. You know you want to. You can plop husbands and boyfriends in the Mantique booth while you ooh and ahh over everything else.

Adjectives is located on SR 436 between Honeybaked Hams and McDonalds on the left as you heard toward 17-92.

The 2012 annual LOLHOA party was a smashing success mostly due to the Blackwater Creek Bluegrass Band. The picnic didn’t seem too overcrowded as people came and left all day depending upon their schedules.

The aggravating rooster at last year’s party was gone [in the cook pot a long time ago] but there were chickens feasting on the Zellwood corn cobs and baby turkeys which are surprisingly cute and sweet. Everyone feasted on hamburgers and brats along with all of the fixins.

A little improvisation along the way added to the fun. Rick was drilling the umbrella stand in place on the “stage” as  the band played. Steve kept them so “hydrated” that they said they wanted to take him on their next world tour. That is to the “Dam Smoker” in Eustis next week.

Corky and Lynn had so much fun they think it should be an semi-annual event. We’ll have to see if we can that one through the administration committee. Who knows, maybe we can?

Ballots for the Norton Awards are handed out at many Tampa Bay theaters. The annual awards for excellence in theater are named for Jeff Norton, the actor who was a murder victim in St. Petersburg in July 2010. Thomas J. Lafoe, accused of murdering Norton, is scheduled to go on trial June 12 in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court. The trial will be held in the Division T courtroom at the Pinellas Criminal Justice Center.

Here is a link for information on the 2011 awards posted on American Stages’s website.

According to WFTV News:

According to Wikipedia,

Brady disclosure consists of exculpatory or impeaching information and evidence that is material to the guilt or innocence or to the punishment of a defendant. The term comes from the U.S. Supreme Court case, Brady v. Maryland,^[1] in which the Supreme Court ruled that suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to a defendant who has requested it violates due process. Following Brady, the prosecutor must disclose evidence or information that would prove the innocence of the defendant or would enable the defense to more effectively impeach the credibility of government witnesses. Evidence that would serve to reduce the defendant’s sentence must also be disclosed by the prosecution.

This request is standard operating procedure. Brady Disclosure is also explained here.

Seminole County public school teachers plan to hold a rally outside the Educational Administration Building today to draw public attention to the fact the school board got a 4.57% raise and says there’s nothing left to give any of the thousands of other employees a raise.

Teachers are hurting since they effectively got a 3% salary cut this year after years of minimal or no raises. All surrounding districts were able to at least restore the salaries to pre 2011 levels. The rally will start at 4:30 pm. All major local media outlets will be there.

“Teacher Appreciation Week now is like having Deer Appreciation Week during hunting season”

]]> http://tangerineflorida.com/2012/05/08/seminole-county-teachers-rally/feed/ 3 5redherrings http://tangerineflorida.com/2012/05/06/bend-over/ http://tangerineflorida.com/2012/05/06/bend-over/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 02:12:05 +0000 5redherrings http://tangerineflorida.com/?p=5553 ]]> On March 9, 2012, a major Personal Injury Protection law was changed due to rampant fraud in the Tampa and Miami areas. ”This law shifts the burden of accidents to the victims, limits consumer choices and leaves insurance companies with more ways to avoid paying legitimate claims,” according to Bill Newton, the executive director of the Consumer Action Network.

According to the Sun Sentinel:

Here are the details on the new law and how it affects Florida motorists:

Q: What are the major changes in the PIP law?

A: Drivers will still have to carry personal-injury-protection insurance, but there will now be limits on treatment in the event of an accident. They must seek treatment within a 14-day window, and only emergency medical conditions warrant the full $10,000 worth of treatment reimbursed by PIP. The law also tightens licensing requirements for medical clinics that seek to have their services paid for by PIP.

Q: Can I still go see a chiropractor if I’m hurt in an accident?

A: Yes, but nonemergency care will be reimbursed only up to $2,500. Consumer advocates and trial lawyers have said they fear $2,500 is too low of a maximum payment and will not adequately cover care for physical problems such as back pain that might not qualify as emergency conditions.

Q: What does the law classify as an emergency condition?

A: That is still unclear and may be the subject of future lawsuits. The measure defines an emergency medical condition as something that seriously jeopardizes a patient’s health, impairs bodily functions or causes dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. Broken bones or internal bleeding obviously fall under emergency medical conditions, but something such as herniated discs might be debatable. The state Office of Insurance Regulation is working with insurers and the medical community to help reduce the gray areas.

Q: Are massages and acupuncture still entitled to reimbursement?

A: No. A report issued by state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater’s office last year identified massage therapy for treatment of “soft-tissue” injuries such as sprains and whiplash as one of the top costs pushing up PIP rates. It was one of the first services that lawmakers decided to ax from the coverage.

Q: How much have PIP costs risen?

A: From 2008 to 2010, the amount insurers paid out rose from $1.45 billion to $2.45 billion. According to the Office of Insurance Regulation, in 2008, an unmarried 25-year-old man in West Palm Beach paid a $376 PIP premium. For 2013, that amount is projected to rise to $992.50. In Orlando, the increase was roughly from $239 to $594 for the same period, and in Tampa, $392 to $1,176.

In the spirit of Jimmy Fallon, thank you, fraudsters in Miami and Tampa for making life after a car accident even worse for honest, hard-working people.

May 04 – (Orlando, FL) - Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, and Robert E. O’Neill, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, announced that U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway sentenced Brandon Denard Smith, 27, of Zellwood, to 123 months in federal prison for possession of firearms by a convicted felon, distribution of cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Smith pled guilty on February 2, 2012.

Smith was charged in September 2011 as part of “Operation Woodchop,” an investigation into two neighborhood-based street gangs in the Orange and Lake County areas. This joint federal, state, and local effort targeted firearms offenders, drug dealers, and violent criminals in the Zellwood and Tangerine communities. To date, this multi-agency investigation has led to the arrest of approximately 60 individuals who have been charged in federal and state court.

According to court documents, during the summer of 2010, Smith sold firearms and cocaine on multiple occasions. Four of the seven firearms sold by Smith were stolen. The weapons sold included assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Smith is a previously convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mount Dora Police Department.

Link to online press release