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Renningers is open rain or shine Saturday and Sunday from 8 until the last person leaves, usually around 4-5 pm. The Antique Market is located on US 441 in Mount Dora, Florida. With over 1,000 dealers, you’re sure to find something!

Robert Waterhouse, on Florida’s Death Row for more than 30 years, is scheduled for execution today at 6 pm. I first became aware of this case when I was researching out Thomas Lafoe’s new Regional Attorney in the case of Jeff Norton’s murder. Here is a link from the Associated Press describing the case.

If you are feeling particularly brave, read the case details according to the Commission on Capital Cases. Just remember you can’t un-see the ugly details. When I read them the first time, I remember writing that I don’t know how John Thor White [also Thomas Lafoe's attorney] can sleep at night.

Thor White [as he is known] is not currently Waterhouse’s attorney. Nevertheless, it brings me a small measure of comfort that the legal system can only go so far to defend monsters. My only regret in this case is that Waterhouse will not suffer as his victim did.

After an annoying eternity during which Mildred Fernandez discussed the birth of her son, going into a coma, having a tumor, all televised, none of which was connected to her current situation of being accused of taking bribes to fund her political campaign, Mildred Fernandez was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

She pleaded “No Contest” although she claims she’s innocent. The judge explained his reasoning for his sentence and basically stated that there was no way that could be true. Let’s hope this case goes away for now.

For background on the case, see this post.

Leon Russell will play at the 3 day Mount Dora Blues and Wine Fest in May on Saturday the 19th. Tickets are available at a discounted rate of $21 each through the month of February.

A dear friend Jinques Photography has an entry in Nude Nite, an exclusive artistic celebration of the human form. Performance art, gallery displays and strolling musicians create a bohemian atmosphere in a spacious warehouse setting in downtown Orlando. Are you up to supporting your local arts community?

Nude Nite  – Orlando 
Feb 9, 10, 11 - 2012
Church St. Exchange
101 S. Garland Avenue  Orlando, Florida 32801 (Entrance right by I-4)
6pm – 12am every nite
Tickets Available online or at door
21 and Over, ID Required

]]> http://tangerineflorida.com/2012/02/08/nude-nite-art-expose-this-weekend/feed/ 0 5redherrings 420453_379301892083742_168993593114574_1755343_336607337_n http://tangerineflorida.com/2012/02/06/educational-bill-tracking/ http://tangerineflorida.com/2012/02/06/educational-bill-tracking/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:28:05 +0000 5redherrings http://tangerineflorida.com/?p=5243 ]]> • HB 1191 Parent Empowerment in Education (aka Parent Trigger) passed the House Rulemaking and Regulation Committee by a vote of 8 to 6 — ALMOST along party lines. The committee heard and passed the “delete everything” (aka strike-all) amendment. There are significant problems with this version.
The bill in its current form would:

- Allow parents to petition the school district requesting the implementation of a parent-selected turnaround option when a school does not sufficiently improve in the initial year of implementing a district-selected turnaround option.

- Prohibit districts from assigning a student to a teacher with an annual performance evaluation rating of unsatisfactory or needs improvement in consecutive school years regardless of reason

- Authorize a parent to request the performance evaluation of any classroom teacher assigned to his/her child

- Require the district to inform a parent of a student assigned to an out-of-field or low-performing teacher that a highly effective or effective in-field virtual teacher is available.

The bill also outlines the petition process (acquisition of parent signatures) for districts and schools.

Voting YES were Republicans: Artiles, Brandes, Dorworth, Drake, Gaetz, Patronis, Ray and Rooney.
Voting NO were Democrats Randolph, Rehwinkel Vasilinda, Rogers, Sands, and Watson; and Republican Goodson. Not voting was Republican Hudson.

• SB 144 Seclusion & Restraint on Students with Disabilities by Flores (R-Miami) passed the Senate Education PreK-12 Committee by a vote of 5 to 0. The bill requires that manual physical restraint be used only in an emergency when there is an imminent risk of serious injury or death to the student or others.

The bill also:

- provides restrictions on the use of manual physical restraint

- prohibits the use of manual physical restraint by school personnel who are not certified to use district-approved methods for applying restraint techniques

- requires that each school medically evaluate student after the student is manually physically restrained

- prohibits school personnel from placing a student in seclusion

- provides requirements for the use of time-out.

The next stop for this bill is in Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs. The House version, HB 1467 by Gonzalez has not yet been heard in committee.

• SB 122 Driver Improvement Schools & Education Programs by Sen. Sobel (D-Hollywood) passed the Senate Education Committee by a vote of 4 to 1. This bill will require that driver improvement schools and education programs include instruction on the risks of using cell phones while driving.

The bill’s next committee hearing will be in Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities. The House version, HB 957 by Rep. Rouson (St. Petersburg), has not been heard in committee.

• SB 1704 High School Athletics by Sen. Wise (R-Jacksonville) passed the Senate Education Committee by a vote of 4 to 1. This bill expands the eligibility of certain students in private schools to participate in sports programs in public schools. It also designated the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association as the governing nonprofit organization of athletics in private schools in this state.

The House version, HB 1403 by Rep. Stargel (R-Lakeland), was heard in the House K-20 Competitiveness Subcommittee passing by a vote of 11 to 4. Its next stop will be in the full House Education Committee. The Senate version has gone to the Rules Committee for review.

• SB 98 Education/Prayer by Sen. Siplin (R-Orlando) passed the full Senate after much debate by a vote of 31 to 8. The staff analysis indicated that the final version of the bill has potential constitutional issues. The House version, HB 317 by Rep. Van Zant, has not been heard in committee.

At the request of Florida Education Association members, Senator Audrey Gibson has proposed Senate Bill 1380 and Representative Dwayne Taylor has proposed House Bill 1067. These bills would repeal an unfair requirement in SB 736 that impacts teacher evaluations, pay and job security.

The bills would remove provisions in the law that require that non-FCAT teachers’ and non-classroom instructional personnel performance evaluations be based in part on upon the FCAT scores.

More than half of Florida’s teachers do not have students who take the FCAT. This includes kindergarten, art, music, physical education, social studies, science, computer technology and ESE teachers.

According to SB 736, non-FCAT teacher, will receive a performance evaluation based on test scores of students they never taught. They will be assessed in areas that have nothing to do with what they teach. Most districts do not have end of course exams or appropriate measures to determine student learning growth in these areas.

Senate Bill 1380 and House Bill 1067 will ensure that non-FCAT teachers are fairly evaluated and remove one of the punitive one-size fits all impacts of SB-736.

CALL AND EMAIL SENATOR STEPHEN WISE TODAY AND TELL HIM TO ALLOW SB 1380 TO BE HEARD IN HIS EDUCATION COMMITTEE. HELP US KEEP OUR BEST TEACHERS!

District Office: 904-381-6000

Tallahassee Office: 850-487-5027

Email Address: wise.stephen.web@flsenate.gov