Metro I-4 News

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“Since January there have been 15 cases, with a total of 28 missing converters — some cars have more than one — the Orlando Police Department said. Between January and July 2007, there were just two cases.” — Thieves want your catalytic converter

“Like countless other Central Floridians, Stofko is hunkering down to ride out the economic crisis rather than taking a risk looking for work elsewhere. Similar decisions to stay put have led to a slowdown in Orange County’s growth, even as Central Florida’s largest county continued to change its complexion and inch toward becoming an area where minorities are the majority.” — Counties’ complexions change with economy

“Florida’s public universities are seeking $65 million from the Legislature to stop the exodus of talented faculty members who are drawn to better opportunities in more financially stable regions.” — Faculty Losses Hurting Florida’s Universities

Bonus:

Value Of Property In State Drops $153 Billion In Year

Lynx needs more money, not misplaced morality

Voters to Decide Tax Break Plan

“Hundreds of houses in Greater Orlando are bought each week for just $100 apiece — even in upscale subdivisions such as Baldwin Park. But don’t run to the ATM just yet. There’s a catch.” — Houses sold for just $100! But banks’ deals short taxes

“About 300,000 students in Florida attend private schools in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to the state Education Department. If all became eligible for tuition reimbursement — or vouchers — districts could lose as much as $2.3 billion in state and local revenue, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association.” — Proposal ties school vouchers to more popular issue

“She is one of 70 volunteers with Hillsborough County’s Citizen Patrol Program and one of 18 who take to Bloomingdale streets to help the sheriff’s office keep the neighborhood safe. Volunteers also patrol in Apollo Beach, Westchase and Town ‘N Country.” — Citizen Patrols

You’re doing your part by washing and recycling all those glass bottles. What part is the county doing? Not all glass makes the cut in Orlando-area recycling I wonder how well it works in the rest of the region?

Lakeland commissioners take a different tack in the long battle with CSX and FDOT: Lakeland to Hire Lawyer To Argue Train Issues

USF has a program for 1st generation college students: Program A Bridge To College Success

Trib editorial writers take on the gambling crisis: Gambling Governor Loses His Deal In High-Stakes Game Over Casinos

Bonus articles for today:

Freelance workers get together in Orlando’s coworking spot aiming to open in September

It seems that county mayor isn’t popular with everyone: Hillsborough County Mayor Ballot Initiative Challenged

State will pay Warren Buffet $224M to assure help in hurricane season and Hurricane Bet May Cost State may not agree on the cost, but both articles partially blame Crist lowering premiums to homeowners. Isn’t it odd that every time we exempt a group for taxes and fees, the money seems to come from someone else?

Speaking of hurricane damage: Free Inspections Coming To An End

The Sentinel staff would like to remind you Don’t get burned dealing with fireworks

Florida Falls Behind In Tech Race With Short-Sighted Investment comes from the same newspaper that seemed against the idea of USF Polytechnic. Remember Tribune, to have a well trained populace, you have to set up schools to train them.

Orlando struggles to go green for both driving and living; the rest of the region worries about taxes, education, and drugs.
Green:
Fancy that: Going green isn’t lap of luxury, Orlando says
Downtown Orlando condos, nearby neighborhoods attract people fighting high gas prices, home-sales slump
Our position: Region’s bus system should do more now to get riders on [...]

Today’s grab bag of articles takes us from budget cuts to budget winners; from suing developers to green builders; from crime prevention to college promotion and the cherry on top is rate hikes for electric customers.

Not everyone felt the impact of budget cuts

Buyers sue Four Corners developer

Our position: Local and state government can fight crime by making prevention a priority

PCC Closer to 4-Year Programs

Tampa Gives Preliminary Approval To Building Green

Tampa Electric, Peoples Gas Plan To Seek Rate Increase

MI4 is a work always in progress. For example, this column was originally “Today’s Must Read Stories.” Then it morphed into “Today’s Top Five Stories.” That still doesn’t sound right. These aren’t always the “above the fold” stories that lead a newspaper. You’ll see the big three papers giving those stories a lot of attention. For example, today it would be the poor tomato, the happy Ken Griffey, and as always, the economy.

I believe you can’t miss those articles. So, this column will focus on the stories that affect the region, but that might be missed by anyone just scanning their favorite paper. Let’s call them “Today’s Don’t Miss Articles.”

To make it easier to scan this column daily I’ll simply lead with a paragraph and finish with the links. Like so:

Today the Sentinel writes that discretionary dollars are the staple of the area’s economy and it may be awhile before they return. The paper’s editorial board is also happy to see work progressing on the Wekiva Parkway. In the Tribune we learn more about the reality of the required 30 minutes of exercise daily for students, and the paper’s editorial board has some comments for John McCain

Discretionary dollars key to Orlando’s economic health

Our position: It’s encouraging to see progress on building Wekiva Parkway

Exhaustion A Fear As Schools Fit In Fitness

McCain Ventures Into Everglades Ill-Prepared For Political Briars

You’ll notice a lot of stories about the economy in these “Must Read” columns. It’s the single most important issue that affects us region wide. Here are today’s economy stories:
Frugal shoppers find saving a few bucks can add up
Grass is often greener, taller when other side of fence is foreclosed
In an editorial in the Orlando [...]

It’s a slow Saturday with regional news. The Tribune’s Metro section led with a story on “God’s Stethoscope” by a 12 year-old. That’s well and good, but it didn’t belong in a newspaper’s Metro section. Editorial…maybe.
Let’s get to today’s articles: Storm blamed for thousands of dead fish in Lake Apopka That happened because the lake [...]

On Good Friday morning, I got out of bed and saw that the High School Senior had slept in late. I woke her up so she could rush to school. “It’s Good Friday,” she said. “We’re going to the beach.” Being the stepdad, I assumed she had worked it out with [...]

Yep…
It’s an epidemic. There is now another one - this one from Pasco County schools. It’s happening so often that this one didn’t even make the front page of Trib’s Metro section.

Just days after reports of sextracurricular activities by a Hillsborough County school teacher, here we go again.
Freedom High School teacher Mary Jo Spack was arrested for engaging in sexual activities with a 17 year old student at the high school. This one is even weirder.
The student victim is nearly 18, so you can almost [...]

Here you go, TJ:
Last week we discussed Tampa Bay’s top ten problems, according to Wayne Garcia:
1. Suburban sprawl
2. Urban density (lacking)
3. Transportation
4. Environment (weak protections)
5. Living green
6. Diversity (racial, ethnic, class)
7. Professional sports (over-subsidized [...]

The teaching of the theory of evolution was made a requirement just last month. But now, Ronda Storms has introduced a bill that will allow teachers to contradict the theory of evolution. If the bill passes, educators will be able to teach anything they want, including pastafarianism:
Florida Sen. Ronda Storms, a Republican from [...]

Tuesday House Representative Seth McKeel introduced HB 1143. Simply entitled University of South Florida Lakeland, HB1143 states:

An act relating to the University of South Florida Lakeland; creating s. 1004.345, F.S.; establishing and designating the University of South Florida Lakeland campus; providing legislative intent; requiring the Board of Trustees to appoint a Campus Board; providing membership, powers, and duties of the Campus Board; providing that the university is administered by a Campus Executive Officer; requiring the President of the University of South Florida to consult with the Campus Board before hiring or terminating the Campus Executive Officer; providing duties and powers of the Campus Executive Officer; providing that students enrolled at a branch campus of the university have the same rights as other students; requiring the University of South Florida to provide for a system of student registration that meets certain conditions; providing an effective date.

That pretty much sums up the bill. You can read a PDF of the full bill here.