Rings Blog
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Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 12:34 am
Gators throttled in road loss at Rupp
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The lobs and dunks kept coming. One after another.
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By the time Kentucky freshman center Anthony Davis got his last alley-oop dunk with 2:10 remaining, the rout was already on. No. 8 Florida struggled for most of the night on offense and put up little resistance on defense in a 78-58 loss to No. 1 Kentucky.
Kentucky (24-1, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) extended its overall winning streak to 16 games and home winning streak to 49 before a screaming, blue-clad crowd of 24,389 at Rupp Arena.
Florida had few answers to stop the Wildcats. The Gators allowed Kentucky to shoot 52.7 percent from the floor and 60 percent (9 for 15) from 3-point range.
Afterward, frustrated Florida freshman guard Bradley Beal vented about his team’s lack of defensive execution.
“We weren’t doing what we were supposed to do the entire game,” Beal said. “We were helping off shooters we shouldn’t have been helping off of. Our whole defensive principles were wrong throughout the whole game.
“That’s not the way we play. We played terrible. They murdered us, basically.”
The Gators also failed to make big shots on offense. Florida, which came into the game the best-shooting team in the Southeastern Conference (40.2 percent), started the game 2 of 16 from the 3-point line and finished the game shooting a season-low 22.2 percent (6 of 27) from 3-point range.
“They knew that we were a 3-point shooting team and they took our best strength away from us,” Beal said. “We had to find other ways to be able to put the ball in the basket, and we didn’t do that.”
Said Kentucky coach John Calipari: “They missed a lot of open 3s that they normally make. Our goal was to try to hold them to eight 3(-pointers). That’s what we were shooting for.”
Florida wasn’t much better converting inside. Kentucky blocked six Florida shots and altered many more inside. On one play, Florida junior forward Erik Murphy had a wide-open path to the basket, but was caught between a dunk and a layup because he had in his head that Davis was coming from the weak side.
The Gators shot just 34.9 pecent from the floor against the SEC’s top field goal percentage defense. Kentucky came into the game holding teams to just 35.8 percent from the floor.
“I don’t know if we necessarily attacked their defense great … with a high level of intelligence there,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said.
Donovan said he felt there were some plays in and around the basket the Gators could have converted in the first half.
“We had pretty clean looks,” Donovan said.
Junior forward Kenny Boynton led three Florida players in double figures with 18 points. Beal added 14 points and 6 rebounds, and sophomore center Patric Young had 12 points and 4 rebounds.
Senior UF point guard Erving Walker was held scoreless for just the second time in his career, finishing 0 for 7 from the floor with no points and 1 assist. Walker was last held scoreless in his freshman season, on Dec. 30, 2008, against Stetson.
Donovan said that Kentucky’s length posed problems for the 5-foot-8 Walker.
“They have great length at the basket and they have very, very good length at the perimeter,” Donovan said.
Doron Lamb led Kentucky with 18 points, going 4 for 5 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-10 Davis added 16 points and 4 blocked shots. Davis scored six of his eight baskets on dunks.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a double-double for Kentucky with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and point guard Marquis Teague had 12 points and 10 assists.
Florida (19-5, 7-2 SEC) had its season-long seven-game winning streak snapped. The Gators actually led 6-0 early, holding the jittery Wildcats to no baskets for the first 4:03 of the game. But that was the best defense the Gators played all game. Kentucky scored the game’s next 9 points in less than two minutes to take a 9-6 lead.
With the score tied at 17, Kentucky took control of the game by outscoring Florida 21-9 in the final nine minutes of the first half. While Florida failed to score in the lane or knock down open 3-pointers, Kentucky went on a roll.
“Our offense took the energy out of us defensively,” Boynton said. “We were trying to drive and take tough shots, and they just kept blocking them. We were coming down, one pass, shot. We never started running our plays.”
Boynton cut Kentucky’s lead to 27-22 with 2:46 left. But the Wildcats closed the half out with three straight 3-pointers on a 9-4 run. Teague started the flurry with a 3-pointer with 1:38 left to put Kentucky up 32-22.
Lamb then followed with two wide-open 3-pointers in the final 50 seconds. The second, with 7 seconds left, put Kentucky up 38-26 at halftime.
Boynton said the open 3-pointers by Lamb came as a result of a miscommunication on zone defense. Donovan said it was tough for the Gators to defend the 3-point line because they had to help in the post guarding Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist and Terrence Jones.
“You are always in a bind personnel-wise with them on the floor,” Donovan said. “The two 3s at the end were probably ones that we could have done a little better job on.”
Florida got the first two baskets of the second half, both on inside baskets from Young. Walker made his prettiest play of the night on a drive and dish in the lane to Young for an open dunk to cut Kentucky’s lead to 38-30.
But Teague answered with a 3-pointer for Kentucky. After a Walker missed 3-pointer, senior forward Darius Miller scored Kentucky’s next five points on a 3-pointer and jumper in the lane to extend UK’s lead to 46-30.
Miller, who scored 24 points against Florida last season, had 9 points off the bench for the Wildcats. Kentucky’s bench outscored UF’s bench 15-7.
“They answered the bell in the second half,” Donovan said.
FREE THROWS: Beal’s parents, Bobby and Besta Beal, made the trip from St. Louis to attend the game. … A reporter from Kentucky asked Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey after the game about speculation that he was the leading candidate to become Western Kentucky’s next head coach. “My focus right now is on doing the best job I can here,” Pelphrey said. … Florida dropped its fifth straight game at Rupp Arena.
THREE QUESTIONS
1. Can Florida generate inside offense and prevent Kentucky from changing the momentum of the game with blocked shots?
Florida tried to establish Patric Young and Erik Murphy inside early. But UF’s inability to make 3-pointers (6 of 27) failed to open up space on the floor and lanes to the basket. Florida finished with just 10 baskets in the paint.
2. Which small forward will emerge in the matchup between Bradley Beal and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist?
Kidd-Gilchrist had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Beal wasn’t intimidated in his first trip to Rupp Arena, finishing with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Beal could have had a bigger day, but was just 1 of 7 from 3-point range.
3. Can sophomore center Patric Young play effectively against a physical Kentucky frontline?
Young was just OK, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. He had two blocks, but just 4 rebounds and had two of UF’s nine turnovers. -
Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 12:26 am
Janoris still among cream of the corner crop in NFL Draft
Click here for the blog:
http://progators.blogs.gatorsports.com/12001/janoris-still-among-cream-of-the-corner-crop/ -
Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 12:17 am
Jubilant Santorum wins Minnesota, leads in Colo.
WASHINGTON — A resurgent Rick Santorum won Minnesota's Republican presidential caucuses with ease Tuesday night and reached for victory in Colorado, raising fresh questions about front-runner Mitt Romney's appeal among the ardent conservatives at the core of the party's political base.
Santorum triumphed, as well, in a nonbinding Missouri primary that was worth bragging rights but no delegates.
"Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota," the jubilant former Pennsylvania senator told cheering supporters in St. Charles, Mo. Challenging both his GOP rival and the Democratic president, he declared that on issues ranging from health care to "Wall Street bailouts, Mitt Romney has the same positions as Barack Obama."
Returns from 74 percent of Minnesota's precincts showed Santorum with 45 percent support, Texas Rep. Ron Paul with 27 percent and Romney — who won the state in his first try for the nomination four years ago — with 17 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich trailed with 11 percent.
Romney prevailed in both Minnesota and Colorado in 2008, the first time he ran for the nomination, but the GOP has become more conservative in both states since then under the influence of tea party activists. Nor was he backed by the overwhelming advantage in television advertising, including fiercely negative attacks on his rivals, that had helped him in other states this year.
In Colorado, with returns counted from 32 percent of the precincts, Santorum had 43 percent support with Romney at 28 percent, Gingrich at 15 and Paul trailing with 13 percent.
Romney showed no sign of disappointment in remarks to supporters.
"This was a good night for Rick Santorum. I want to congratulate Sen. Santorum, but I expect to become the nominee with your help," he told supporters in Denver.
If the night was good for Santorum, it was grim for Gingrich, who made scant effort in any of the states that voted during the day. He ran far off the pace in both caucus states, forced to watch from the sidelines while Santorum boasted of being the candidate with conservative appeal.
There were 37 Republican National Convention delegates at stake in Minnesota and 33 more in Colorado, and together, they accounted for the largest one-day combined total so far in the race for the GOP nomination.
The victories were the first for Santorum since he eked out a 34-vote win in the lead-off Iowa caucuses a month ago, and he reveled in the moment. "I don't stand here to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama," he told his supporters.
He had faded far from the lead in the primaries and caucuses since, and Gingrich seemed to eclipse him as the leading conservative rival to Romney when he won the South Carolina primary late last month.
While Romney throttled back after victories in Florida and Nevada in the past several days, Santorum campaigned aggressively in all three states on the ballot, seeking a breakthrough to revitalize his campaign.
He won Minnesota largely the way he did Iowa, dispatching his organizers from the first state to the second and courting pastors and tea party leaders alike.
Romney's campaign moved swiftly to take the sting out of the Missouri vote. The state's Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, a Romney supporter, congratulated the winner but noted the state's delegates are still up for grabs. He said, "Mitt Romney has the organization and the resources to go the distance in this election, and I believe he'll ultimately win our party's nomination."
And it was not clear where Santorum could exploit his victory. Aides have already said he has little hope in Maine caucuses that end this weekend, the next event on the calendar.
Paul, a Texas lawmaker, has yet to win a primary or caucus. He claimed credit for a strong second-place finish in Minnesota and said he was optimistic about his chances in Maine.
Romney began the day the leader in the delegate chase, with 101 of the 1,144 needed to capture the nomination at the Republican National Convention this summer in Tampa. Gingrich had 32, Santorum 17 and Paul nine.
Though the delegate total on Tuesday was high, the campaigning was a pale comparison to the Iowa caucuses or primaries last month in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.
Television advertising was sparse; neither Colorado nor Minnesota hosted a candidates' debate, and there was relatively little campaigning by the contenders themselves until the past few days.
The same was true in last weekend's Nevada caucuses, which Romney won on the heels of a Florida primary victory days earlier. The same pattern holds in Maine.
Not until primaries in Michigan and Arizona on Feb. 28 is the campaign likely to regain the intensity that characterized the first few weeks of the year.
Then it roars back to life with a 10-state Super Tuesday on March 6 with 416 convention delegates at stake. Georgia, where Gingrich launched his career in Congress, is the biggest prize that night with 76 delegates. Next is Ohio, which has 63 delegates at stake and where early voting has already begun.
Santorum, in particular, was eager to seize the relative lull to redeem the promise of his Iowa victory.
He campaigned more aggressively this week than any of the other contenders, and he spent Tuesday hopscotching from Colorado to Minnesota to Missouri in hopes of nailing down at least one victory. Touting himself as a true conservative — a slap at Gingrich — he sought to undermine Romney's electability claim at the same time by predicting the former Massachusetts governor would lose to Obama.
Romney responded by assailing Santorum as an advocate of congressional earmarks — shifting the criticism he had leveled at Gingrich when the Georgian seemed a more imposing threat.
In the hours before the caucuses convened, the front-runner sought to lower expectations.
"Mitt Romney is not going to win every contest," Rich Beeson, the campaign's political director, wrote in a memo for public consumption.
"John McCain lost 19 states in 2008, and we expect our opponents will notch a few wins, too," Beeson wrote. McCain, the Arizona senator, won the Republican nomination four years ago.
In fact, Colorado and Minnesota were among the states that McCain failed to win, and he lost them to Romney.
In the four years since, the GOP has become more conservative in both. That posed a challenge for Romney, who runs as the Republican most likely to defeat Obama and is still trying to establish his credentials among tea party activists suspicious of a one-time moderate who backed abortion rights.
Two years ago in Minnesota, establishment candidates for governor were swept aside in the primary, and tea party-backed insurgents for governor and the Senate in Colorado won the party nominations.
In all three cases, Democrats won in the general election that fall.
Gingrich spent the day campaigning in Ohio, one of the primary states on March 6.
His campaign went into a downward spiral after he won the South Carolina primary in an upset. The former speaker was routed in the Florida primary to Romney, then finished a distant second in Nevada over the weekend. -
Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 12:14 am
Lafayette boys soccer falls in regional final
The Lafayette boys soccer team fell 4-1 to St. Augustine St. Joseph in the Class 1A, Region 1 final on Tuesday night, ending a breakout season for the Hornets.
Four different St. Joseph players scored to lift the Flashes. With the win St. Joseph earns the first regional championship in school history and advances to the Class 1A state semifinals on Friday.
Anthony Safadi scored less than three minutes into the game with an assist by Mondo Bermudez. The goal was the first first-half goal of the playoffs for the Flashes (12-4-1), who until that point had been a second-half team.
“We knew what we were going to face this game,” said senior defender Blake Benedict. “We knew we’d have a pretty good opponent and we worked on getting things going quicker.”
With just over 21 minutes to go before halftime, Will Jones scored the team’s second goal. And with a little less than four minutes remaining in the half, Kyle Vrban scored on a free kick.
But what began as a relatively uncontested match for the Flashes quickly turned aggressive in the second half. St. Joseph players were falling like dominoes to the vastly more physical Hornets (13-6-2), and the officials weren’t giving the coaches and players the calls they were looking for.
“It was a little frustrating, but at the same time they are human just like everyone else,” Braun said. “But ultimately we won the game."
Lafayette sophomore Julio Moreno scored the Hornets’ lone goal with 23 minutes left in the game. -
Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 12:08 am
Rams routed in regional final
Rams teammates Alexander Alty, left, and Pieter De Wolf leave the field after Eastside’s Region 2-Class 3A final loss to Land O’ Lakes at Citizens Field on Tuesday. (Matt Stamey/Staff photographer)Winners of its last six matches and having given up just one goal during that span, the Eastside boys soccer team entered Tuesday night's Class 3A, Region 2 final with Land O' Lakes with confidence and momentum.
With a nice crowd gathered on the home side of Citizens Field, the Rams were set for their biggest game in 11 years, with a state semifinal berth on the line.
However, Land O' Lakes wasted little time in dashing Eastside's hopes of reaching its first state final four since 1999.
Andrew Garcia scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the match as the Gators never looked back and overwhelmed the Rams, 5-0.
Josh Davis also had a pair of goals for Land O' Lakes, which clinched its first trip to the state semifinals since 2000. The Gators now travel to Fort Walton Beach Choctawhatchee on Friday.
"They are a really good team and they attacked with everybody," said Eastside coach Ron Messick. "The fact that they had so many players on the attack, it was very difficult.
"They do a lot of things very well, but the main things is they know how to finish."
From the opening whistle, the Gators (22-3-2) were quickly and effectively controlling the ball and the match. In the fourth minute, Garcia, a Palm Beach Atlantic signee, lined a shot from just inside the top of the 18-yard box that found the back of the net, inside the far post. Miguel Laliberte assisted on Garcia's 18th goal of the season that gave Land O' Lakes a 1-0 edge. Six minutes later, Garcia struck again as he blasted a shot from about 40 yards straightaway that got past Rams goalkeeper Cody Peterson.
In the 29th minute, Davis netted his 30th goal of the season as the Gators carried a comfortable 3-0 cushion into halftime.
While the deficit proved to be insurmountable, Eastside (19-6-2) kept battling. The Rams did have some chances, but their top scorers T.J. Fillmer (19 goals, 5 assists) and James Davis (17 goals, 6 assists) were held in check.
In the 73rd minute, Josh Davis scored his second goal of the night on a liner from the top of the 18-yard box. Following the goal, the senior held out his arms and stared at the home stands, before doing a throat slash gesture that drew the ire of the Rams crowd.
Pat Lawson tapped in a rebound provided the final margin in the 78th minute. The Gators outshot the Rams 9-1, with Peterson making four saves.
"They are the best team I have seen all year," Messick said. "They are a way faster team, but to our credit, my kids fought hard and I am proud of them for that."
Despite the season-ending loss, the Rams had an exceptional campaign as they won their second straight district title. They also ended their 10-year drought with a playoff win and reached the regional finals for the time since 2001.
"When the dust settles, we can look back and understand the legacy that we built right here," Messick said. "I couldn't ask for a better group of kids, I'll take them all day." -
Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 12:08 am
UF women’s tennis wins 98th straight at home
The top-ranked Florida women’s tennis team defeated South Florida, 7-0, on Tuesday evening and won its 98th consecutive home match at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The Gators, who recorded their 25th straight team victory dating back to last season, won their 23rd straight in the series against South Florida, improving to 50-1 all-time against their fellow Sunshine State program.
The final score wasn’t entirely indicative of how competitive several of the singles matches were.
“Honestly, I thought we overdid things yesterday,” UF coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We had an hour-and-a-half practice yesterday and did some weights, too. We weren’t as sharp with our bodies today as we should have been and that affected our play a little bit. So we’re going to back off tomorrow (Wednesday) and go light on Thursday and play Pepperdine (on Friday in California) hopefully a little fresher.”
Senior Joanna Mather was the first Gator off the singles court, as she powered past Danielle Mills, 6-1, 6-0 and gave Florida a 2-0 lead in the team scoring. Mather recorded her team-leading 13th singles win of the season and the 85th of her career, securing the win in 54 minutes.
“I thought she played fantastic,” Thornqvist said. “Her opponent gave us a lot of problems last year when she played with Miami, so to lose just one game to her is pretty impressive.”
Sophomore Sofie Oyen gave Florida a 3-0 lead in the team scoring 19 minutes later, as she topped Alessandra Bonte, 6-4, 6-1.
Allie Will provided the hard-fought clinching dual match win with a 6-1, 6-3 decision against Lereto Alonso Martinez.
Sophomore Alexandra Cercone won her fifth straight singles match, topping Fanny Fracassi, 7-6 (4), 6-0, and gave Florida a 5-0 lead, one hour and 46 minutes into singles action.
Olivia Janowicz rallied to win her 21st consecutive singles dual match, netting a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory against Lucie Rey and helped Florida to a 6-0 lead.
Lauren Embree downed Ecaterina Vasenina, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 and closed out the Gator team sweep.
Like its done in each of its previous three dual matches this year, Florida took a 1-0 lead in the team scoring after capturing the doubles point for the 24th consecutive time dating back to last season.
The Gators dominated on courts one and two, where the 15th-ranked tandem of Embree and Mather needed just 28 minutes to polish off Fracassi and Rey for the first win of the dual match. Oyen and Will, ranked 10th in the country, followed with a 43-minute victory against Vasenina and Martinez, 8-3.
Cercone and Caroline Hitimana capped off the doubles sweep with an 8-4 decision against Danielle Mills and Paula Montoya, as the Gators headed into the locker room before the start of singles competition with the team lead.
For the team of Embree and Mather, the sweep marked their third 8-0 decision this season, as the pair improved to 33-7 during the pairing, including 7-2 this year.
“I thought they were really sharp,” Thornqvist said of Embree and Mather. “Clearly, they’re as good as any doubles team in the country. It’s going to take a great effort to beat them.”
Oyen and Will improved to 22-5 in their all-time matches, also moving to 4-0 in dual match competition this season.
The Gators next travel to the West Coast, where they play Pepperdine on Friday at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University. Florida then battles the second-ranked Cardinal on Sunday beginning at 3 p.m. ET. -
Wednesday, February 08, 2012, 12:04 am
Buchholz hoops edged in district semis
OCALA — Facing an Ocala Forest team it had lost to by a combined 29 points in two regular season meetings, Buchholz changed its defensive approach for Tuesday's third try in the District 1-7A semifinals.
And it worked. For a while.
The Bobcats effectively imposed their defensive will, slowing the game down to a crawl against an opponent that loves to run. But the very same Buchholz defense that gave Forest fits throughout the game lost track of Wildcats shooting guard Austin Bowman late in the fourth quarter.
And Bowman made the Bobcats pay. The 5-foot-10 senior drilled a pair of huge 3-pointers that gave Forest the lead for good in a 47-40 victory.
“At the end of the day it was a tie game with a couple minutes to go,” Buchholz coach Bob Horodyski said. “We said in one of our last timeouts, whoever makes plays is going to win the game. Give (Bowman) credit. He hit two big bombs, and that really was the difference in the game.”
Buchholz (14-12) led for much of a low-scoring first half, but a DeMonte Harris jumper late in the second quarter for Forest knotted the score at 17-all.
The game was tied for the final time at 33-33 with four minutes left when Bowman first connected from the wing. He struck again almost a minute later, this time from the baseline, to complete a personal 6-0 run.
Forest never trailed after that.
A Chad Milliken 3-pointer with 57 seconds left cut it to one possession, 43-40, but Forest shot 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to ice the game.
Late turnovers cost Buchholz any real chance at a comeback.
“We had kids fundamentally break down,” Horodyski said, “turn the ball over, step over the end line, things that you can't afford to do in a low-scoring, tight game.”
Rex Warner led Buchholz with 16 points, while Milliken finished with 13.
Charles McCall scored 16 to pace Forest, which will play for the 7A-1 title Friday against last-place Tallahassee Chiles, which upset No. 1 Tallahassee Lincoln in Tuesday's other semifinal. -
Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 11:53 pm
Smoke warning for Hawthorne Road, SR 26
The Florida Highway Patrol and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office warned motorists late Tuesday that smoke from a fire at an area business could limit visibility on Southeast Hawthorne Road, State Road 26 and adjoining roads in Alachua County.
A tire fire was burning at Jolo Enterprise Inc., 3530 SE Hawthorne Road, Tuesday night, a FHP press release stated.
The fire, which was set accidentally, was under control, according to Alachua County Fire Rescue. "It is producing an abundance of black smoke that may alarm some citizens," the agency reported in a press release.
Smoke from the fire could impact visibility on the roads throughout the night Tuesday as well as during the day Wednesday, officials warned. -
Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 10:30 pm
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 10:20 pm
UF Student Senate passes resolution honoring victims of recent I-75 crashes
The UF Student Senate Tuesday unanimously passed two resolutions and listened to the emergency contingency plan in place for Spring elections on Feb. 21-22.
The senate passed a resolution honoring the victims of the recent I-75 accident. Eleven people were killed and 22 injured in the Jan. 30 accident on I-75 in Paynes Prairie. The resolution states that the senate mourns the victims and hopes that the families of the victims find closure for their losses.
The senate also passed a resolution supporting the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year marks the arrival of spring in the Eastern calendar and is of great cultural significance to members of the Asian population at the University of Florida.
In other business, supervisor of elections Toni Megna presented the election commission’s contingency plans for the upcoming student government election.
As part of the recent election code revisions, the supervisor must present a plan to the senate two weeks before the elections. Megna said if less than half of the 11 polling locations selected for the two-day election should fail for any reason, poll workers will direct students to the nearest voting location.
If six or more polling locations should fail at one time for less than one hour, voting time will not be made up for those locations. However, if these locations are down longer than one hour but less than six hours, those locations will remain open for an extended period on that day to make up for the time lost.
In the event that six or more locations are down for longer than six hours, polling will made up a week later, Feb, 28 and 29, to make up for the lost voting time. Megna said these dates are reserved beforehand in case a runoff election is needed. -
Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 10:10 pm
Vote against changing spring break dates
The Alachua County School Board Tuesday heard that teachers and staff overwhelmingly voted to keep spring break separate from the University of Florida and Santa Fe College.
The board also approved several lease agreements with the city of Gainesville as part of the stormwater dispute settlement.
The School Board held a public hearing on the proposed 2012-2013 school calendar. School Board Chairwoman April Griffin said she wanted the board to consider aligning spring break with that of UF and Santa Fe on March 2-6.
Teachers and staff members were polled by the Alachua County Education Association on their feelings about aligning the breaks, said President Karen McCann.
Nearly 740 teachers and staff members voted to keep the proposed spring break — now set for the last week in March — while 79 voted to align it with UF and Santa Fe.
McCann said she was “surprised” that the School Board chose to get involved with the calendar issue when usually the spring break date is settled during contract negotiations between the superintendent and ACEA.
She said she hoped the district would take the feelings of its employees into consideration.
“Somebody's going to be happy, and somebody's not going to be happy,” she said.
Bridget Grogan, an instructor at the University of Florida, told the School Board that for the past 14 years, she has missed spring break with her children.
“My kids were left home alone; that was their spring break,” she said.
Many support staff at the university also have children enrolled in public schools, Grogan said, and would like the luxury of spending that week as a family, thus avoiding costly day-care bills.
Under the stormwater agreement with the city, the school district agreed to lease 15 sites at different schools to the city. The city then can build retention ponds and other stormwater management facilities on those sites in lieu of collecting fees from the district.
According to the agreement, the district will charge rent for the land, but the amount, just over $12,000 a month, is equal to what the district has paid in stormwater fees in the past, officials said.
The school sites include: A. Quinn Jones, Howard Bishop Middle, Duval Elementary, Stephen Foster Elementary, Gainesville High, J.J. Finley Elementary, Kirby-Smith Center, Sidney Lanier Center, Lincoln Middle, Littlewood Elementary, Professional Academies Magnet at Loften, Metcalfe Elementary, Rawlings Elementary, Terwilliger Elementary and Williams Elementary.
The lease agreement was a final part of ending an ongoing lawsuit filed by the city against the School Board, which voted unanimously in 2009 to stop paying stormwater fees. The city sued in 2010 after mediation efforts stalled. In January, both governmental agencies developed the leasing plan. The two bodies will now dismiss the lawsuit. -
Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 9:17 pm
Perry makes pitch for warning signs on I-75
State Rep. Keith Perry stopped at Paynes Prairie on the evening of Jan. 28 to look at a fire burning over a few dozen acres of the drought-ridden brush.
Gallery
Hours later, 11 people were killed and 22 hospitalized in a string of crashes that commenced amid the heavy smoke on the south end of the prairie on Interstate 75.
On Tuesday, Perry, R-Gainesville, announced his plan to file legislation to fund two electronic signs on I-75 to warn motorists of the conditions on the prairie, where smoke, fire and fog are common factors.
The signs could be updated with real-time information to caution drivers of what might be ahead, Perry said, adding that would solve only half the problem.
He said Florida Highway Patrol troopers made a decision to reopen the interstate and that signage alone might not have prevented the tragedies.
FHP Lt. Patrick Riordan has said the supervisors who made that decision were following the agency's protocol as the smoke had cleared by about 3:30 a.m., when they reopened the highway.
Gov. Rick Scott had the Florida Department of Law Enforcement begin investigating the events of that morning, and Perry said he would wait for those results before determining if there are any other legislative measures to push — or even if another investigation should be opened.
"We're going to wait ... for the governor's report to come out and figure out what happened," he said at a news conference at the rest area south of the Williston Road exit on I-75, overlooking the prairie. "Were procedures followed? Was protocol followed? And if they were, what do we need to change concerning any kind of procedures and protocols?"
He didn't rule out the Legislature opening its own inquiry.
"I have all the confidence that the governor's office will do the right thing," he said. "However, we do reserve that right as a Legislature, that if we don't feel all the questions are answered adequately, then we can still do our own investigation, even with subpoena powers if that is necessary."
Perry said the signs, which would include cameras and be placed north of and south of Paynes Prairie, would cost about $1 million.
He said he would file an amendment today to House Bill 1399, a comprehensive transportation bill, and that Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, supported filing a similar amendment to the companion bill in the Senate.
The Florida Department of Transportation had been looking at installing those signs already, and FDOT officials said they believe they have the funding, Perry said, adding that he will file the amendment to guarantee the signs are put up.
"I cannot bank on the fact that they said it may happen," he said.
When asked whether he thought the interstate should be moved around the prairie or a bridge built to overpass it, he said he would want to explore that, noting that it would take years to build and might not be financially feasible.
Perry stood near a number of photographs, one showing a semitrailer zooming by an orange "fog smoke" highway sign.
"We're still trying to determine even if that was out before the accidents happened, but that kind of signage on an interstate highway in the middle of the night for motorists doing 70 mph is not an adequate, by any means, kind of information that we want to give to the motorists," he said.
He said roadside electronic signs carry their own problems, too, as they require workers to change them on the scene and that local motorists sometimes start tuning them out when the information is no longer relevant.
What he is proposing is a permanent overhead sign that could be changed remotely.
When asked why those kind of signs, which are common on the Florida Turnpike and on the interstate in Central and South Florida, weren't up already, he said, "That's one of the questions I want answered."
Contact Chad Smith at 338-3104 or chad.smith@gvillesun.com. -
Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 8:17 pm
Police make new arrest due to food stamp fraud
The Gainesville Police Department has made another arrest in its ongoing investigation into food stamp fraud. Since the investigation began last fall, about three dozen people have been arrested on a number of related charges.
The latest person arrested, Mohammed A. Miah, 45, 0f 1324 NW 16th Ave., was picked up Monday on a felony charge of welfare fraud involving more than $200 in 12 months.
Officer Brittany Fabbri wrote in the arrest report that Miah worked as a clerk at the 99 Cent Store at 1308 E. University Ave. in July and August 2011 and actively participated in the illegal use of an electronic food stamp card. The cards work on the debit system. Once a month, funds are deposited and then the card holder uses the card to pay for groceries throughout the month.
Under federal and state laws, the card can only be used by the person to whom it was issued and only to buy certain food items. The laws prohibit the card from being used to buy alcohol, tobacco or prepared foods that are ready to eat.
Fabbri said an undercover informant went into the store with a food stamp card six times during the two months while Miah was working there as a clerk.
According to Fabbri, on one visit, Miah gave the informant $20 in cash in exchange for the store being allowed to remove $40 from the card's balance. During three trips inside the store, the informant was allowed to buy alcohol and tobacco products with the card by paying double the usual price for the products, Fabbri said. During four visits to the store, the informant was able to use a second card to receive more money.
When questioned about the food stamp card transactions, Miah told police he never personally profited from the transactions and was just following his boss' directions. -
Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 7:58 pm
Support for Oelrich over prison privatization fight
State Sen. Steve Oelrich may have fought a bill that would privatize some Florida correctional institutions primarily in Tallahassee, but a vase of flowers and 2,000 emails of support show that his efforts haven't gone unnoticed by his constituents.
Local residents and activists gathered outside of the Courtyard, an office complex where Oelrich's Gainesville operation is based, Tuesday to show their appreciation for the senator's opposition of a bill that would privatize some state correctional institutions.
As a gesture of thanks, they presented Tonya Shays, a legislative assistant, with a vase of white, purple and peach-colored flowers.
Oelrich, a Republican, is still in Tallahassee working during the state legislative session.
Shays told the group of about 10 people who attended the event, “Not to worry, he's standing firm with you on this.”
The bill Oelrich opposed, SB2038, would outsource 26 state correctional institutions in South Florida to private companies in order to save at least 7 percent in costs.
Several senators and activist groups have opposed the bill, arguing that the savings may not be worth it compared to how the shift to privatization could affect workers.
Oelrich received 2,000 emails in the past four days from constituents throughout his district thanking him for opposing the bill. His district covers Alachua, Gilchrist, Bradford, and Union counties, as well as parts of Putnam, Marion, Levy and Columbia counties, and contains many state prisons.
“We are here watching and supporting you,” said Jeff McAdams, president of Gator Lodge 67 of the Fraternal Order of Police, of Oelrich at the event. “Please know that your community has your back.”
McAdams said SB2038, if passed, would turn prisons into organizations that care more about profit margins than public safety and that standards would decline in favor of cutting costs.
“There are some things that weren't designed to make a profit, and I think public safety is one of those areas,” he said after the event.
While Alachua County would not be one of the areas affected by the bill if the Legislature passes it, McAdams said it could be in the future.
“We know this is only the tip of the iceberg in opening the floodgates,” he said.
Howard Giraldo, president of FOP Lodge 133 for the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, said he drove from Tallahassee to be there for the event at Oelrich's office.
McAdams supported Giraldo's department when it faced the possibility of being outsourced, sending emails and writing letters that helped prevent it, he said.
Giraldo said he used five vacation days from his job to travel to Tallahassee this week to discuss issues like the prison privatization bill with legislators, but wanted to visit and support McAdams at the event Tuesday before returning to the state capital.
The privatization bill has been stalled in the senate for now, due in part to opposition from Oelrich and other senators, including Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. This month, Senate President Mike Hardiopolos took away Fasano's chairmanship position in the Budget Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations, which oversees the state prison system.
Dave Schneider, a zone one coordinator for the AFL-CIO, organized the event and said the next step in the fight against the bill - which is stalled but not dead - is to continue raising awareness through events like the one at Oelrich's office.
He said such events aren't just about thanking legislators who “stick their necks out” for workers and their families in situations like this.
“We're encouraging them to continue standing with working families on this and other issues,” he said. -
Tuesday, February 07, 2012, 7:23 pm
Machen emails students about 'physical hazing incident'
University of Florida President Bernie Machen is reinforcing the university’s ban against hazing following what is believed to be “a recent and serious physical hazing incident” off campus involving a university fraternity.
Machen emailed students Tuesday that the incident — which, according to a source, involved the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity — is being investigated by UF police. Hazing is a “dangerous and destructive behavior” that is prohibited by UF regulations and is a criminal offense in Florida, Machen said in the email.
“We cannot tolerate hazing on our campus or in our university community, and anyone found responsible will face the gravest possible consequences, including expulsion and criminal penalties,” he said.
UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said the incident involved visible injuries, but there is no indication anyone was hospitalized.
Members of Alpha Phi Alpha didn’t immediately respond to messages requesting comment.
UF police are withholding details as the investigation is ongoing. The incident was reported to police Saturday but happened between Jan. 9 and that date, according to a department crime log. Department spokesman Maj. Brad Barber said it’s unclear when the investigation will end and possible charges filed.
“Investigations of this nature do take time to unfold,” he said.
The incident comes in the wake of the hazing-related death of Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion in November. His death prompted the governor to order a review of state university hazing policies. UF formed a task force of officials to look at its policies and enforcement measures.
Dave Kratzer, UF’s interim vice president for student affairs, said the review is in its early stages. The university has no history of a serious problem with hazing , he said, but maintains an ongoing and constant education effort against hazing.
“If you don’t step in immediately and take immediate action, it can grow into something that gets really out of hand,” he said.
UF has experienced a handful of hazing cases in recent years involving fraternities and sororities, but officials said they couldn’t recall any recent incidents involving serious injuries. Cases have ranged from a sorority reprimanded for a scavenger hunt to a fraternity suspended for forcing new members to drink alcohol and perform physical challenges.
Kratzer said he believes the most recent incident to be an anomaly, showing the need for continual efforts against hazing.
Hazing “seems to be something that we cannot eradicate in the United States, but we all need to work on this thing,” he said.
Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or nathan.crabbe@gvillesun.com. For more stories on the University of Florida, visit www.thecampussun.com.