Florida News Blog

Ecuadorean Sentenced to Death in Florida

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

BARTOW, Fla.—A former Ecuadorean businessman was sentenced to death Tuesday for killing four people in a business dispute, despite pleas from his native country to spare his life.

Nelson Ivan Serrano, 68, was convicted last year on four counts of first-degree murder for the Dec. 3, 1997, shootings of George Gonsalves, 69; Frank Dosso, 35; Diane Patisso, 28; and George Patisso Jr., 26.

Serrano, Gonsalves and Dosso's father were business partners at a garment conveyor factory until a dispute over finances led to Serrano's firing as company president in 1997.

Griles faces sentencing in Abramoff case

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The former No. 2 official at the Interior Department says he does not deserve prison time in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles faces sentencing Tuesday for obstruction of justice. He has admitted lying to a Senate committee investigating his relationship with the disgraced lobbyist. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors recommended that Griles serve no more than a 10-month sentence, but only half of it in prison. The othe...

Golfer survives chomp by 11-foot alligator in Venice

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

VENICE, Fla. (AP) -- A Tennessee man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when an 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in, authorities said. Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball from a pond on the sixth hole Monday at the Lake Venice Golf Club. The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He used his left arm to beat on...

Florida Soldier Killed by Explosive in Iraq

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

A Florida soldier was among a group of people killed in an explosion in Baghdad, military officials said.

Pfc. Daniel J. Agami, 25, of Coconut Creek, died June 21 from injuries he sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, the Department of Defense said Monday.

The other soldiers killed in the explosion were: Sgt. Alphonso J. Montenegro II, 22, of Far Rockaway, N.Y.; Sgt. Ryan M. Wood, 22, of Oklahoma City; Pfc. Anthony D. Hebert, 19, of Lake City, Minn.; Pfc. Thomas R. Leemhuis, 23, of Binger, Okla.

Drunken driving suspect charged with killing Alabama girl

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- A man suspected of driving drunk is charged with killing a 7-month-old girl when he hit the car of an Alabama family headed to Florida for a beach vacation. Gary Andrew White, 40, of Pensacola, was charged Monday with DUI manslaughter in Saturday's death of Chloe Collar. Two breath tests showed he had a blood alcohol content of .094 percent and .086 percent, according to a police report. The legal limit for a driver is .08 percent in Florida. Christopher and Danielle ...

Former Bush official faces sentencing

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

Nelson County scientist has made butterflies his business

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) -- Every year, billions of honey-orange monarch butterflies across North America begin a thousands-mile-long journey. The phenomenon fascinates scientists worldwide, including Nelson County scientist Lincoln Brower, who has dedicated more than half a century to studying monarchs. Next week, hundreds of the world's top butterfly experts will recognize Brower's lifetime of research and activism at a symposium in his honor. The July 2-7 symposium in Rome will kick off the fi...

Crist: Florida murders, gun crimes jumped in 2006; laws may help

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Murders and other violent crimes rose at a "disconcerting" rate in Florida last year, Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday, but he hopes new laws he helped pass will help. Annual statistics on crime in Florida were expected to be released later Tuesday, but preliminary numbers that leaked also showed a surprisingly large jump in gun crimes, including murders, armed robberies and assaults. Overall, the state's crime rate continued a downward trend that has been going on f...

Golfer Survives Alligator Attack In Florida

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

A man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when a nearly 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in the water, authorities said.

Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball Monday from a pond on the sixth hole at the Lake Venice Golf Club.

The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Burger used his left arm to beat the reptile until it freed him.

Blue Jays take Stairs to beat Twins

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS -- Matt Stairs looked every bit his 39 years old when he slumped into a chair with an ice pack on one leg and the grimace that most 15-year veterans have after a game. "Gotta sit down guys," he told a group of reporters standing at his locker. "I'm a little tired." On the field, however, he's hitting as though he's 10 years younger.

Stairs hit Toronto's third homer of the game in the eighth inning, a two-run shot that broke a tie and sent the Blue Jays to an 8-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Roy Halladay won his fifth straight decision and the Blue Jays got consecutive homers from Vernon Wells and Alex Rios in extending their winning streak to a season-high four games.

FDLE: No criminal wrongdoing in private prison contracts

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Investigators found no fraud, bribery or other criminal wrongdoing related to contracts with two private companies that run five state prisons in Florida and soon a sixth, according to a report released Monday.

The results were presented to Gov. Charlie Crist who had asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate more than $4.2 million in alleged overpayments to GEO Group of Boca Raton and Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA.

"The governor concurs with the report and believes no further action is necessary," said Crist spokesman Thomas Philpot.

Jays Power Past Twins

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

Vernon Wells and Alex Rios each had three hits, and hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning for Toronto, which won its fourth straight.Tuesday, June 26, 2007

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Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Matt Stairs' two-run homer in the eighth put the Blue Jays on top, and Toronto held on for an 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins in the first of a four-game set.

Exxon, ConocoPhillips Refuse Chavez Deal

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips refused to sign deals Tuesday that would enable them to keep pumping oil under tougher terms in Venezuela, the government's oil company said. Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said Tuesday it would sign with only four of the six major oil companies involved in lucrative oil ventures in the Orinoco River region - U.S.-based Chevron Corp.; Britain's BP PLC, France's Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA. PDVSA said it was taking ow...

Golfer survives chomp by 11-foot alligator in Florida

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

VENICE, Fla. (AP) - For a Tennessee man, trying to fetch his golf ball from a Florida pond cost him more than an extra stroke on his score. It nearly cost him his arm.

Bruce Burger went to get his ball out of the sixth hole pond when a nearly-eleven-foot, one-eyed alligator latched onto his right forearm and dragged him into the water.

Burger battered the reptile with his free arm until the gator let go.

Golfer survives gator attack in Florida

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:46:11 +0000

VENICE, Fla. --A man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when a nearly 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in the water, authorities said.

Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball Monday from a pond on the sixth hole at the Lake Venice Golf Club.

Gay captures sprint double by winning 200 in 19.62

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS - Tyson Gay could've sworn he heard heavy breathing coming up on him as he flew down the home stretch.So Gay's fear mode kicked in and he moved even faster. Turns out, the heavy breathing was only coming from himself.No one else was even close as Gay completed an impressive sprint double by running the second-fastest 200 meters ever Sunday on the final day of the U.S. track and field championships. He finished in 19.62 seconds, breaking Michael Johnson's U.S. meet record of 19.66 se...

Former governor Claude Kirk's home burglarized

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

The home of former governor Claude Kirk was burglarized Sunday afternoon; his wife's wedding and engagement rings were among the stolen items, he said.

Kirk, who became Florida's first Republican governor of the 20th century, said he and his wife, Erika, left their home in a gated community around noon and returned two hours later to shambles.

The robbers entered through a back door and took "anything they could find in a hurry," but mostly jewelry and a computer, Kirk said.

Drought persists at the edge of rainy season

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

In a section of Babcock Ranch, the bases of the cypress trees shone such a deep ebony that some appeared silver. An underground fire in the mulch that made up the soil in the swamp -- called a muck fire -- had carved pits and hollows into the bases of the trees, many of which had fallen down as a result. Some acres away, a muck fire that began with a lightning strike on May 3 continued to burn 7,100 acres within the fire lines carved out by tractors. The Florida Division of Forestry calls it the Middle of Nowhere Fire.

Patrick Mahoney, a wildfire mitigation specialist for the DOF, pointed out that the trees were crackling -- they were regenerating themselves inside their soot-covered trunks. Then, he picked up a small, vacant tortoise shell.

"This is a little victim of the fire," he said, holding it delicately between two fingers.

Bee aware of the role of pollinators

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

Insects pollinate more than 95 crops grown in the United States. These crops are worth more than $19 billion, and they could not be grown without their pollinators. Worldwide, approximately 1,000 different plants need to be pollinated by insects and other animals in order to produce goods on which we depend.

Pollinator Week is June 24-30. It's a time to emphasize the importance of pollinators and the obstacles facing our most important pollinator, the honey bee.

The honey bee is the most important bee to Florida agriculture and to the United States as a whole, credited with about 85 percent of the pollinating activity necessary to supply about a third of the food supply.

Big retail center navigating the regulatory rapids

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

The developer of The Loop -- the mammoth shopping center planned for a 100-acre tract on Jones Loop Road -- is at least contemplating eventual annexation by Punta Gorda.

"We have been approached by the city and have agreed to explore the feasibility of annexation but have made no commitments at this time," said Tom Wilder, a principal of The Wilder Companies, of Boston.

In any case, Wilder said he wants to resolve all of his plan review and permitting issues with Charlotte County before making a decision on annexation.

Bribe doesn?t pay for man who failed driver?s license test nine times

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

Sebastian Mendoza Mejia had failed his driver?s license written test nine times, so when he failed again early this year, he offered an examiner in Collier County $150 to pass him and give him a license.

The bribe ? common in Mexico, Central and South America, including Guatemala, where the Bonita Springs man is from ? resulted in Mendoza?s arrest on Jan. 4 on a second-degree bribery charge after he was videotaped handing over a $20 downpayment, a $60 Seiko watch as collateral for more money, and accepting his license.

On Tuesday, Mendoza, 55, of 11368 Tangerine Road, pleaded no contest to third-degree attempted bribery as part of a plea agreement negotiated by Assistant State Attorney Robert Denny and Assistant State Public Defender John Walsh. Under the agreement, Collier Circuit Judge Frank Baker, who adjudicated him guilty, sentenced him to one year of community control ? house arrest ? and two years of probation, and said he?d face deportation if he?s not a legal citizen.

Baseball draftees ponder future

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

One can't wait to get out of the house, one isn't sure if he's ready to leave it.

Florida Tech graduate Steve Condotta was chosen in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the team he grew up rooting for -- the Toronto Blue Jays.

But the Mississauga, Canada, native can't report to Dunedin just yet. He's awaiting a work visa, which is required for him to play professional baseball.

At times FAMU's woes start at the top

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

After her first year as interim president, Castell Bryant published "300 Days into the Light," a book of her accomplishments.

One of her bright spots: turning down the Legislature's offer of $430,000 for five accountants to help fix Florida A&M's money-management problems.

ATAC comes together for title

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

Terry Maul, head coach of the Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club, didn't say a lot to Brittany Allen just before she got into the pool for her biggest race Sunday. Mainly, he wanted her to limit her anxiety.

Allen was glad to hear every word before the 1,500-meter freestyle race at the Trousdell Aquatic Center, though.

American League Standings

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:28:50 +0000

Texas (Padilla 3-8) at Detroit (Robertson 4-6), 7:05 p.m.

Oakland (Haren 9-2) at Cleveland (Lee 4-4), 7:05 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 4-5) at Ba