Nassau News Blog

Eleven Schools in Duval County Failing

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:14:46 +0000

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The list of school grades is out.

Duval County has nine schools and two charter schools that did not make the grade this year, compared to two last year.

Raines and Ribault are repeat failing schools. Ribault's F is the fifth in six years.

Lindsay Lohan Extends Rehab Stint

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:14:46 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) - Lindsay Lohan, who checked into rehab after a wild Memorial Day weekend, plans to extend her stay, says her mother, Dina Lohan.

"She's going to be doing extended care," Dina Lohan said in Tuesday's editions of the Daily News. "It was her choice."

The "Mean Girls" actress, who turns 21 on July 2, checked into rehab in Malibu, Calif., after she crashed her Mercedes Benz into a curb and was photographed slumped in the passenger seat of a friend's car.

NASSAU TOP COP

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:14:46 +0000

June 29, 2007 -- A 28-year veteran of the Nassau County Police Department is coming out of retirement to be the next commissioner of the 2,600-member force, County Executive Tom Suozzi announced yesterday.

Lawrence Mulvey, 56, who retired in 2001, will take the post pending approval of the county Legislature, Suozzi said in a statement.

Mulvey has worked as deputy project and security site manager of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations since leaving the department.

State Flunks 11 Duval County Schools

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:14:46 +0000

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Schools across Florida got their grades Friday, and the report card was not good for Duval County and dozens of other school districts.

The Department of Education said the number of failing schools nearly quadrupled in 2007 while the number of schools that earned A or B grades fell more than 6 percent.

Four Jacksonville high schools were given F's in grades based largely on scores from their students' Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests: Forrest, Andrew Jackson, Raines and Ribault. For Ribault, this is the second F in a row and the fifth in the past six years.

Duval has 11 failing schools

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:14:46 +0000

About half of Florida's schools netted an A from the state but changes in the grading formula contributed to a four-fold increase in the number of failing schools statewide, according to school grade information released today.

The school grades are based on students' performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, given every spring. Schools are assessed letter grades from A to F.

Explosive Growth Since 2000 in States Hasidic Enclaves

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:14:46 +0000

Kiryas Joel, an Orthodox Jewish enclave in southern Orange County, grew faster than any other community in New York State from 2000 through 2006, according to census data released yesterday.

Kiryas Joel grew by 51 percent, to 20,071 residents from 13,273, over the six-year period. The village was incorporated in 1977 as an offshoot of the Satmar Hasidic sect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It has had an unusually high rate of natural growth, largely because under the communitys religious beliefs, birth control is banned and women tend to marry young and stay in the village.

The Census Bureau provided population estimates for 615 incorporated places in New York State; The New York Times calculated the rate of growth for each community from 2000 through 2006.

Feds say bar owner ordered store bombed

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:54:55 +0000

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) -- A bar owner once accused of having mob ties ordered the firebombing of his neighbor's stationery store because the owners had complained about noise and underage drinking at his establishment, authorities said.

Carmine Graziano, 45, was arraigned Thursday on federal arson charges. He pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court and was ordered held without bail.

Prosecutors say Graziano boasted that he was ''connected and protected'' and later threatened to ''hurt your business the way you hurt mine.'' One prosecutor has said Graziano has ties to the Gambino crime family.

FHP asks for help in case of hit-run

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:54:55 +0000

The Florida Highway Patrol is asking for help in finding a suspect in a fatal hit-and-run accident.

On April 29, John Leonard Burnett, 31, was crossing Lane Avenue at Hyde Grove Avenue about 2:35 a.m. when he was hit by a vehicle traveling south, according to the Highway Patrol. Burnett died at the scene.

Modernisme Gallery will look at ?American Landscape?

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:54:55 +0000

The Modernisme Gallery in West Ashley will be featuring Charleston artist Seth Curcio in his first solo show, "American Landscape," with an opening from 6 to 9 p.m. today. Gallery owner Kristy Cifuentes says the body of work "investigates contemporary American culture through iconic images from daily life. By manipulating imagery from economic, technological, political and cultural sources, Curcio constructs current societal icons saturated with double meaning and irony. Social optimism and soci...

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