The Top News Stories

The Renaissance At
Carver Square…
Moving Forward Full Steam Ahead

BY JASMINE HOUSTON
     ORLANDO - On October 6 2008 City of Orlando City Council unanimously approved a $17.5 million dollar incentive agreement to the Carver Theatre Developers, LLC. for the development of  the Renaissance at Carver Square.  A primary staple in the City’s westward expansion, the Renaissance offers approximately 293,000 square feet of mixed-use development to Orlando’s historic Parramore Heritage Community.  
     The Renaissance project is the brainchild of the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF) of Central Florida which is the investor in this economic development project.   Originally the organization was looking to rehab the historic Carver Theatre and use it as its headquarters, but ultimately that plan changed.  Given the declared need to revitalize Parramore, the City and the BBIF came together to positively impact this once thriving community.  Additionally, the Parramore demographics were used in the City’s original application for Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Funds.  The CRA’s mission is to aggressively pursue redevelopment and revitalization activities within a defined redevelopment area and emphasize on providing more housing and cultural arts opportunities, improving long-term transportation needs and encouraging retail development.  The incentive dollars will not come from the City’s cash strapped general fund.    more

Elder Freeze Is Ordained As Bishop 
                                      
BY DEVIN HEFLIN
     WINTER PARK - Elder G. Samuel Freeze will be the first to tell anyone that he is more than amazed at his recent “ascension” to the level of Bishop.
     Though he is quick to accept his duties as an overseer, Freeze urges those around him that he is still polishing his spiritual armor and leading the same “grassroots ministry”. The role of a Bishop as described in the New Testament is one that is “vigilant, sober, grave, not double tongued, the husband of one wife and full of the Holy Ghost”.
     Freeze accepted Christ at the age of twenty-four and immersed himself into the ministry at the age of twenty-six under the leadership of the late Bishop C.Higgs of the New Jerusalem In Its Power Holiness Church, Inc., in Miami, Florida.  “I worked hard in this ministry and in this organization” said Freeze. “Your total qualifications for Bishop are based upon your work, performance and years of dedication.”
     Freeze was ordained as an elder under Bishop Higgs in 1968. He has had many mentors and allowed his faith to place him in new plateaus, he credits his wife as a guiding force in his endeavors. “Me and my wife have worked very hard. She has been with me in every step of ministry.” said Freeze.     more

Orange County Public Schools
Graduation Rate Makes
Largest Jump Since 2000
As The Dropout Rate
Continues To Fall

     ORANGE COUNTY - The district-level graduation and dropout rates for school year 2007-2008 were released by the Florida Department of Education today. Orange County Public Schools has seen an increase of nearly four percent in the number of students graduating. The graduation rate stands at 75.6 percent.
     That’s up 3.9 percent from 2006-2007 and higher than the state graduation rate which is 75.4 percent for 2007-2008.
Since 1998-1999, the state graduation rate has risen 15.2 percent while Orange County Public Schools has increased its graduation rate by 24.3 percent.
     Among the top seven urban districts in Florida, Orange ranks second with Palm Beach County.
     URBAN DISTRICTS                 
     06-07    07-08
     Hillsborough   79.1%   80.0%
     Orange 71.7% 75.6%
     Palm Beach  71.8% 75.6%
     Pinellas 67.3% 74.4%
     Broward 66.3% 68.8%
     Duval 64.3% 65.9%
     Dade 63.9% 65.8%     more

SCC Students Attend Leadership Institute 

     SANFORD - Seminole Community College's African American Cultural Forum was well represented at a state leadership institute.
Eleven students and adviser Diana Dillon attended the Florida African American Student Association Fall Leadership Institute in Melbourne Nov. 13-16.        more

     SEMINOLE COUNTY - Florida high school graduation rates were released this week by the Department of Education (DOE), and   Seminole County Public Schools graduates in the Class of 2008 set a new standard with an all-time high graduation rate of 91.1 percent.  This shows an increase of 4.4 percentage points over the previous year, and a marked improvement of 27.8 percentage points since the 1998-99 school year.
     Governor Charlie Crist announced that the statewide graduation rate for the Class of 2008 is 75.4 percent, according to the results released on November 19, 2008 by the DOE.  This is the highest point ever, exceeding the previous year’s rate by three percentage points, an improvement of 15.2 percentage points since the 1998-99 school year.  The DOE bases its graduation rate on data that follows every single student from ninth grade to graduation.  In October, the United States Department of Education announced that all states must adopt a uniform graduation rate calculation by the year 2010-2011.
     Consequently the Florida DOE is reviewing the current state graduation rate to determine what changes may be needed to meet the new federal requirement.    more

Seminole Community College Students
Experience Live Fire Training
     
     SANFORD - Victor Gilbert walked out of SCC's new fire lab even more convinced he had chosen the right career.
     "This is what we want to do," said Gilbert, an SCC student from Sanford. "This is what we've been training for. This is one of the most rewarding things we're doing."
     Gilbert was one of about 30 students in SCC's fire standards class to train in the College's new Fire Simulation Lab, which was completed in September. The class, which started at 9am, and continued until the afternoon on Oct. 30, allowed students to safely experience what it's like to go inside a live building fire.
     The $2 million lab, which has three rooms, includes many props to test students through dozens of different scenarios. The training took only a couple of minutes, but for the students, it was something they'd been studying and working for since they started their fire standards class in August. 
     Gilbert, who is pursuing an Associate in Science degree in firefighting, said the only difference between the lab and responding to an emergency call is that the students "weren't going in blindly." They had already walked through the rooms and knew where the props were.
     But when he first entered the lab and started "feeling the heat," Gilbert knew this was the real thing.
     "When our masks fogged up," he said, "that was something we weren't expecting."
Instructors spent the first two hours working with the students, testing their vital signs and checking their safety equipment. They then carefully walked the students through the lab, reminding them of its many safety features, including switches that immediately shut off the fire.    more