http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/floriduh/ en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 20:51:22 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3022210/posts A US teacher has returned to work after a three-day suspension for allegedly touching a girl with a banana during a class on Freudian psychology. A discipline letter said Florida teacher Jonathan Hampton was suspended without pay last week after he "rubbed a student's head and neck area with a banana" during a lecture about "cylinder objects, phalluses and/or sex symbols", Click Orlando reported. A school district spokesman said the Freudian topic of the class was district approved but using the prop to touch a student was inappropriate. He said the girl's parents complained because she felt embarrassed and many... Nine News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3022210/posts#comment Tue, 21 May 2013 20:51:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3021293/posts A thief grabbed the purse of an off-duty Polk County deputy Saturday evening, but also got the officer’s weapon. The deputy was entering the Publix, 884 Cypress Gardens Blvd., in Winter Haven, about 6:55 p.m. when a black man took the purse, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect fled in a bright silver small size SUV, possibly a Mazda or Toyota hatchback-style vehicle, and headed south on 8th Street S.E. The thief also got the deputy's department badge and credentials, along with a .38-caliber Ruger that was in its holster, according to the sheriff’s office. Tampa Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3021293/posts#comment Sun, 19 May 2013 14:11:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3019892/posts A Florida man accidentally shot himself in the leg while bowling Tuesday night. The man was at the bowling lanes in Jupiter, Fla., and witnesses told WPBF the ball likely hit the man's leg during his back swing. At first, some people at the bowling alley thought it was a firecracker going off. Witnesses say the man limped back to his seat clutching his leg. He was taken to hospital as a precaution, but his injuries weren't expected to be life-threatening. The man's identity wasn't released. Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3019892/posts#comment Wed, 15 May 2013 19:19:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018264/posts It's a good bet the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has never investigated such a bizarre air accident. On Friday, an airborne car crashed near Ellison Elementary School in Vernon, B.C., after the parachute it uses to stay afloat collapsed. The pilot and a passenger were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the RCMP told Global News. The Maverick LSA Flying Car was made in the Florida by I-TEC and is certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. On its site, I-TEC says the powered parachute's "design has been developed as an easy-to-operate – air, land, and snow craft.... Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018264/posts#comment Sat, 11 May 2013 19:07:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3017740/posts Bryan Zuniga took great pains to get away from a Pinellas deputy who tried to pull him over early Thursday. Instead, he ended up in great pain. After Zuniga stopped his 1995 Nissan SUV in the 7100 block of 78th Avenue, he jumped out and started running away, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. TAMPABAY http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3017740/posts#comment Fri, 10 May 2013 09:23:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3015227/posts The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating after a Volusia County deputy shot a woman in the shoulder outside her Volusia County home Thursday evening. The deputy was dispatched to the home on Eloise Circle near Ormond Beach about 6:10 when a woman called and reported that someone was trying to break into her house, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said. When deputies arrived, a woman was outside pointing something that "appeared to be a weapon" at them, sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. Deputy Omar Bello, 28, fired a single shot. Deputies think the woman who was shot is... Orlando Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3015227/posts#comment Fri, 3 May 2013 06:59:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3015034/posts DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A man in Daytona Beach called police from a 7-Eleven convenience store, and when an officer arrived at the scene, Daylen Holloman, 20, would not explain why he called authorities, according to an arrest report. The report states that Holloman was taken outside and the officer asked him several questions, including "What's going on?" "Who are you?" "Where are you from?" He replied, "I don't know" to all of the questions, except one. When the officer asked Holloman, "What do you know?" he replied, "I know I'm a monkey." The officer then said Holloman removed his... WFTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3015034/posts#comment Thu, 2 May 2013 20:13:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3014749/posts On Saturday deputies responded to reports of shots fired east of the City of Williston large annual gathering of people labeled as "Crab Festival," according to a news release from the Levy County Sheriff's Office. Five people were shot, including a 36-year-old man who died. But it really wasn't a "Crab Festival," even though that's how this annual gathering-- which attracted 10,000 people this year -- is labeled, deputies said. South Florida Sun-Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3014749/posts#comment Thu, 2 May 2013 02:58:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3014567/posts Jarvis Sutton said he wanted three things Sunday: food, drink, and drugs. He asked the wrong people for help getting those items, though. Police said Sutton, 34, of St. Petersburg, called 911 approximately 80 times on Sunday. "The defendant admitted to calling 911 because he 'wanted Kool-Aid, burgers and weed to be delivered to him,' " an officer wrote in an affidavit. Sutton never got those things. Instead, he was booked into the Pinellas County Jail. On the way there, he started chewing foam attached to the metal caging in the back of the police cruiser, an officer wrote. Sutton... Tampa Bay Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3014567/posts#comment Wed, 1 May 2013 18:21:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3014507/posts Kiera Wilmot got good grades and had a perfect behavior record. She wasn't the kind of kid you'd expect to find hauled away in handcuffs and expelled from school, but that's exactly what happened after an attempt at a science project went horribly wrong. On 7 a.m. on Monday, the 16 year-old mixed some common household chemicals in a small 8 oz water bottle on the grounds of Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida. The reaction caused a small explosion that caused the top to pop up and produced some smoke. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. Miami Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3014507/posts#comment Wed, 1 May 2013 16:12:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3013501/posts Vincent Valvo Arrested For Calling 9-1-1 to Complain About His Mom http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3013501/posts#comment Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:20:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3013129/posts A Florida woman is accused of intentionally setting her car on fire at a gas station and then sitting in the middle of a Daytona Beach highway, claiming to be God. All that's left of 29-year-old Alexandra Barnes' Scion is charred remains. "She came behind the counter and grabbed the yellow lighter and ran out the door," clerk Edna Sandrus said. The clerk ran and then tussled with Barnes to get the lighter, police said. "I could smell gas on my hand from wrestling with her," Sandrus said. "At that point, she had already sprayed her car with gasoline." "All... WPTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3013129/posts#comment Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:15:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013120/posts University of Florida student Michael Joseph Silecchia was wandering around campus apartments when Gainesville police responded to a reports of a suspicious person. When police arrived, Silecchia took his clothes off and said he was “God” and “straight,” according to The Independent Florida Alligator. The student told officers, “Don’t cut my penis off,” then changed his mind and said, “Cut my penis off,” according to the police report. Officers say he also yelled that he had taken acid, the hallucinogenic drug LSD, though police haven't confirmed if Silecchia was under the influence at the time. Silecchia was told several times... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013120/posts#comment Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:40:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3008848/posts A year ago Feb. 26, neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., and within a month every sentient person on the planet knew “Trayvon” by name. What they did not know was Martin’s background. Sanford Police Department (SPD) investigator Chris Serino, for instance, said publicly of Martin, “This child has no criminal record whatsoever.” He called Martin “a good kid, a mild-mannered kid.” The media almost universally sustained this tragically false narrative. Martin had the seeming good fortune of attending school in the Miami-Dade School District, the fourth-largest district in the country and... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3008848/posts#comment Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:12:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3005250/posts Most people don’t look their best when having their photo taken after being arrested – but Meagan Simmons has won admirers who’ve even gone so far as to propose to her from her police mugshot alone. When Ms Simmons was detained for driving under the influence she could never have imagined a photo of her would go viral and, as a result, she would receive dozens of marriage proposals. But that’s what’s happened to the separated mother-of-four from Florida, USA, when a police picture from 2010 ended up online. One man from Ireland wrote on Reddit: ‘What’s up with that... Metro [UK] http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3005250/posts#comment Mon, 8 Apr 2013 03:37:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3003649/posts A Wilton Manors woman got painkillers for herself by forging prescriptions for her dead dog, deputies said. Suzanne Lee Kraus, 41, stole a veterinarian's prescription sheets from the Floresta Animal Hospital in Boynton Beach, where she worked from September 2010 to September 2012, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest report. Kraus used the sheets – stolen from Floresta's vet, Dr. Jean Burns – to obtain 240 Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen pills between July and November 2012, deputies said. South Florida Sun-Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3003649/posts#comment Wed, 3 Apr 2013 14:11:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3003319/posts These DJs are in hot water after telling their listeners on April 1st that 'dihydrogen monoxide' was coming out of their taps. Dihydrogen monoxide is water, but listeners who didn't know that grew very concerned 7 news WHDH http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3003319/posts#comment Tue, 2 Apr 2013 15:48:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3001295/posts I missed this incident of Academia Gone Wild when it happened, as I was in Rome covering the papal conclave, but it has all the hallmarks of cluelessness and faux “tolerance” that we’ve come to expect from higher education. It started with a professor of intercultural communications (no, seriously) at state-run Florida Atlantic University requiring students to write the name Jesus in large block letters on a piece of paper, and then stomp on it. One student — one? — refused to comply and told the professor that he would file a complaint over the assignment, which offended his religious... Hotair http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3001295/posts#comment Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:09:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3001300/posts PALM BAY, Fla. - Palm Bay police arrested a grandmother they say was chaperoning an elementary school field trip at Wonder Works while intoxicated. Kathryn Wright, 58, has been charged with disorderly intoxication and battery. Another chaperone told police that while on a Lockmar Elementary School field trip on Thursday, Wright was using profane language and was falling down on the bus with children present. Wright then shoved and shouted profanities at the other chaperone as she tried to help keep Wright calm, according to the report. The other chaperones said the incident scared the other children on the bus.... Click on Orlando http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3001300/posts#comment Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:22:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2996388/posts TALLAHASSEE -- Lieutenant Gov. Jennifer Carroll has turned in her resignation to Gov. Rick Scott. The governor's office confirmed Carroll submitted her resignation Tuesday. Scott will hold a presser on the resignation this afternoon. Carroll was the first female elected as lieutenant governor in Florida and the first African-American elected statewide. BayNews9 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2996388/posts#comment Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:59:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2991122/posts The case of the phantom ballots: an electoral whodunit By Patricia Mazzei pmazzei@MiamiHerald.com TIM CHAPMAN / MIAMI HERALD STAFF About 2,000 rejected absentee ballots at Miami-Dade Elections Department, mostly for lack of signatures or review of signatures from the last election. The first phantom absentee ballot request hit the Miami-Dade elections website at 9:11 p.m. Saturday, July 7. The next one came at 9:14. Then 9:17. 9:22. 9:24. 9:25. Within 2½ weeks, 2,552 online requests arrived from voters who had not applied for absentee ballots. They streamed in much too quickly for real people to be filling them out. They... The Miami Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2991122/posts#comment Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:23:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2990125/posts ST. PETERSBURG — A man walking his dog was shot in the leg by a disgruntled motorist after the animal lurched into the road, forcing a pickup to stop. St. Petersburg police are searching for a man who shot Peter Harbachuk, 46, on Friday after his dog got off her leash. "Some dude hopped out and he pointed a gun toward my head," Harbachuk said. "I said, 'Hey, this doesn't have to go down like this.' " The man lowered the gun a bit, closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger, he said. Tampabay http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2990125/posts#comment Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:19:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2986440/posts A 51-year-old man who told deputies the was "The Sun" after he was caught burglarizing was arrested Jan. 31 and charged with larceny, obstructing justice and unarmed burglary to a dwelling. Brett Eric Drachenburg of Panama City Beach went into a private home without permission while the homeowner was at the residence. While inside, Drachenburg took an Alys Beach logo towel, according to Walton County Sheriff's arrest report. When deputies were investigating the theft, Drachenburg obstructed justice by disguising himself as "The Sun," the report does not go into further detail as to how Drachenburg took on "The Sun" identity. nwfdailynews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2986440/posts#comment Fri, 8 Feb 2013 04:16:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2985663/posts Penelope Soto finds out what happens when you flip the bird to the judge. Penelope Soto, who was arrested for possession of Xanax, got 30 days in jail after she gave the finger to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2985663/posts#comment Wed, 6 Feb 2013 01:10:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2985476/posts LEHIGH ACRES, FL - A 23-year-old man was taken to the hospital with multiple burn wounds after he accidentally shot himself in the genitals with a flare gun, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to a home in Lehigh Acres Sunday in reference to a medical assistance call. Upon arrival, 23-year-old Jorge Perez was found with multiple burn wounds and lacerations to his genital area. Perez told deputies he was playing with a flare gun that was unloaded. After dry firing the gun a few times, Perez says he then loaded the gun and put it down.... ABC 7 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2985476/posts#comment Tue, 5 Feb 2013 16:13:33 GMT