President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama will return to Orlando in June. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) announced today, Mr. Obama will address the nation’s Latino leadership at the organization’s 29th Annual Conference on Friday, June 22.

Mr. Obama’s address will occur during a three-day convention of nearly 1,000 Latino public officials at the Disney Contemporary Resort.

“We’re pleased that the President of the United States will be joining our nation’s Latino leadership at this historic event,” said Sylvia R. Garcia, NALEO President. “With the changing demographics and the growing Latino population, this conference is an opportunity for the President to address key elected officials and leaders regarding the Administration’s efforts to address the unique issues and challenges facing the Latino community today.”

In February earlier this year, Mr. Obama was in Isleworth near Orlando, at the home of NBA player Vince Carter for a fundraiser, which netted over $2 million.

After two years in the making, the ordinance to create a domestic partnership registry, will provide protections for gay couples and unmarried straight partners.

The Health, Education and Life Protection or HELP Ordinance, has gone through changes and now include provisions creating a countywide domestic partnership registry.

HELP is expected to be approved today and once passed, gay and straight couples that register under the City of Orlando’s DPR will have their relationships recognized countywide and have access to enforceable and vital protections anywhere in Orange County.

HELP’s anticipated passage comes just four days after Volusia County Council members voted to create Central Florida’s first countywide registry.

Since the City of Orlando’s registry was created last November, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Gulfport, Belle Isle, Sarasota, Pinellas County, Volusia County and Orange County have all begun the process for adopting a domestic partnership registry.

Doug Guetzloe sentenced to 15 months in prison

Orlando political consultant and radio talk show host, Doug Guetzloe has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for willfully failng to file tx returns, according to news reports.

Guetzloe, 57, was found guilty by an Orange County jury in February of failing to file personal tax returns for the 2005 and 2006 tax years, despite earning more than $180,000 in gross income in both of these years. For those years, Guetzloe owed more than $39,000.

It wasn’t the first time Guetzloe had failed to file tax returns. According to court records, between 1992 and 2004, Guetzloe filed eight untimely returns, including four returns that were filed more than three years after they were due. As a result of his untimely filing and payment of taxes for the 1992 to 2004 tax years, Guetzloe was assessed, and paid to the Internal Revenue Service, more than $200,000 in additional taxes, penalties and interest.

The ramp has two lanes; one will remain open so traffic can get through, and the other will close so crews can install a temporary barrier wall.

The single lane closure lasts from 10 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The Florida Department of Transportation urges motorists to drive carefully in construction zones and to have all vehicle occupants buckle up. Safety belts save lives.

Be advised that weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances could affect construction schedules.

Edna S. Hargrett

A Blue Ribbon Planning Committee met recently with State Representative Geraldine F. Thompson to outline a number of summer activities related to the designation of Orange Blossom Trail between Gore Avenue and Church Street as Edna S. Hargrett Avenue. The street designation is the result of Committee Bill 7039 which, based on legislation filed by Rep. Thompson, includes recognition of the work and contributions of Mrs. Edna S. Hargrett to the Central Florida area. Committee members plan a kick-off event on Friday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Edna S. Hargrett Music Suite at Jones High School to celebrate Mrs. Hargrett’s birthday and to obtain contributions from the public that will be used in the celebration. The celebration and unveiling will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 21 at the Jones High School Auditorium.

The Blue Ribbon Committee is chaired by opera singer, Curtis Rayam, who was a student of Mrs. Hargrett’s. Committee members include: Dr. Robert Spooney, Representative Geraldine F. Thompson, Mr. James Chief Wilson, Mrs. Margaret Hester, Mrs. Janice Sampson-Johnson, Father Rudi Cleare, Mrs. Thereatha Williams, Mrs. Barbara Burns, and Mrs. Adelma Wallace. Mr. Rayam will organize an Edna Hargrett Alumni Choir which will perform during the ceremony on Saturday, July 21. Individuals who wish to participate in the Alumni Choir should register with the office of Rep. Thompson at 407-245-1511. Alumni Choir registrants will be contacted by Mr. Rayam regarding a schedule of rehearsals. Members of the public are invited to attend the Hargrett Birthday Kickoff in the Music Suite at Jones High School at 7:00 p.m. on June 15 and contribute memorabilia for later use on July 21.

Edna S. Hargrett Street Designation Committee

Items requested from the public include copies of choir programs, choir gowns and uniforms, newspaper articles regarding the choir, music for songs performed and travel logs related to trips that were organized by Mrs. Hargrett for choir members. Information is also requested regarding Mrs. Hargrett’s contributions to her church and her Sorority. Items can be scanned and emailed to Geraldine.thompson@myfloridahouse.gov.

For further information, contact Landra Robeson at 407-245-1511.

Summer food program (Photo courtesy: usda.gov)

Tipping off the launch will be Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Orlando Magic Community Ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw, STUFF the Magic Mascot, the Magic Dancers, Nap Ford Community School students and mascots from the Rays, Jaguars and Dolphins.

During the school year, more than 1.6 million Florida students rely on free or reduced price school meals through the National School Lunch Program. When school is not in session, approximately 3,000 Summer BreakSpots around the state will serve free healthy meals and offer fun learning and recreational activities.

As part of the launch, in addition to the STUFF the Magic Mascot, Commissioner Putnam will be joined by mascots from the Tampa Bay Rays, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins to announce a partnership that aims to expand awareness of the program to communities across the state.

WHAT: 2012 Summer BreakSpot Launch

WHEN: Tuesday, May 22, 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Nap Ford Community School
648 West Livingston St., Orlando, 32801

**EVENT IS OPEN TO THE MEDIA, BUT CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

Rep. Scott Randolph

News and rumors continue to swirl around Orlando about the future of Scott Randolph. As we reported earlier, it is rumored that Randolph will not seek re-election this year and is actively seeking a Democrat to run in his place. But now there are reports of a shake-up inside the Grayson for Congress campaign and reports that Randolph is now the Campaign Manager for Citizens for a Greater Orlando “Question 1” to bring paid sick days to Orlando.

Randolph has been seen working regularly out of the “Progressive Center” offices on Colonial, home of Organize Now who is running the paid sick days initiative, as well as home to his wife’s organization, Florida Watch Action.  This would become an apparent conflict with his managerial duties on the Grayson campaign, especially with Randolph also serving as Chair of the local party and planning his run for state party chair. That puts a lot on the plate of a current state representative and new father, ahead of a very busy election year.

All of this action while many within the local Democratic Party remain upset with Randolph’s tenure. He continues to ignore local Democratic candidates and has not been open to Latino Democrats’ concerns. Now he has recently appointed his wife Susannah to the executive board which could make things worse.

The next Orange County Democratic Party meeting is Monday, May 21st at 7.00 pm at the IBEW 606 union hall located at 820 Virginia Drive in Orlando.

Stay tuned…

(Photo courtesy: FDOT)

The Florida Department of Transportation is advising all motorists to watch out for overnight, single lane closures beginning Monday, May 21 as construction—along a new overpass site—continues.

 Thru-traffic will be maintained during the nightly lane closures on I-4, both eastbound and westbound. The inside lane will close for shoulder work.

The new overpass is being put in as part of a new road network permitted by Orange County (http://www.orangecountyfl.net/TrafficTransportation/RoadwayProjects/WildwoodAreaRoadNetworkIRCA.aspx.)

Watch for slowing traffic between Apopka Vineland Road and Central Florida Parkway.

Details are as follows:

•        May 21 (Monday night) to June 1 (Friday morning)

•        Nightly lane closures of the inside lane eastbound and westbound

•        From 9:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.

FDOT urges motorists to drive carefully in construction zones, and that all vehicle occupants buckle up. Safety belts save lives.

Be advised, weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances could affect construction schedules.

Shayan Elahi - Democratic Candidate for House District 49

The plaza, which houses Lazy Moon Pizza, the Miss Saigon restaurant, and blues club Underground Bluz, was bought by Texas-based student housing developer American Campus Communities late last year.

Elahi, the only Democratic candidate living in the newly drawn House District 49, is concerned that the short notice will be a hardship some owners might not recover from,and might negatively impact the culture and flavor of Orlando’s East Side. “Entrepreneurs and small business owners are the heart of a strong middle-class economy,” said Elahi. “They are as important to our community as the big corporations that get so much support from state and local government.”

“These are families and working people, and they deserve our help and support,” said Elahi. “We need to work together better to serve the interests of both large and small business.”

After receiving the two-week notice yesterday, Underground Bluz owner Betty Whitcomb said she fearsthe short notice will ruin her financially. “We’ve been hit by this economy like everyone and we’re tired of being beaten down. Not only did my business lose money, I lost money. That hurts my home and my livelihood, and puts everything in jeopardy.

“We’re almost to the point of giving up,” Whitcomb said.

Elahi believes the newly drawn “UCF seat” needs a representative in Tallahassee with the experience to work with both large and small interests to benefit the entire community. “It’s time to elect a representative who lives in the district and knows our people. I’m the only Democrat in the race with that experience who is ready to stand for our community and lead in the legislature,” said Elahi.

The event Thursday at University Shoppes kicks off the “Shayan Means Business” tour of District 49 in which Elahi plans to meet personally with owners to discuss small business issues and the economy.

Members of the American Front – a well-armed, militia-style white supremacist group in Osceola County, Florida – were planning acts of violence and preparing for “an inevitable race war” when 11 of them were arrested last week, court documents say.

The documents, the outgrowth of a two-year investigation, also say American Front members received paramilitary training at a fortified compound near St. Cloud, Fla., from one of its Missouri members who is a U.S. military reservist. He was not among those arrested.

The American Front compound is on 10 acres in Florida’s Osceola County and is owned by group leader Marcus Faella, 39, and his wife, Patricia, 36, who were among those arrested on state charges of conducting illegal paramilitary training, attempting to shoot into an occupied dwelling, and prejudice while committing a crime.

Marcus Faella was “working intently” to turn the property, which adjoins the sprawling woodlands and wetlands of the Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area, into an “Aryan compound where all the AF members could live when the United States Government fails,” the court documents say.

The property, which features fortified gun entrenchments, is surrounded by barbed wire and protected by guard dogs. In a mobile home where the Faellas lived, Marcus Faella “reinforced the walls and has cut firing ports out of the sides,” the documents say.

The documents describe the American Front as a “militia-styled, anti-Semitic, white supremacist, skinhead organization (that) is a known domestic terrorist organization.”

“Marcus Faella has been planning and preparing the AF for what he believes to be an inevitable race war” and has been stockpiling ammunition, water and other supplies, the court document says. Members also were making ghillie suits to better conceal themselves during paramilitary maneuvers in addition to homemade body armor, it adds.

Faella, who considers himself and other American Front members “as the protectors of the white race,” has said his intention “during the race war is to kill Jews, immigrants and other minorities,” the document says.

Full-fledged or “patched members” of the American Front were required to undergo regular training at the compound, where classes were conducted on firearms, explosives and military tactics.

At a training session in February, Faella reported on another American Front chapter in Oregon and how it was expanding, with its members purchasing AK-47 assault rifles and conducting paramilitary training, the document says.

“During shooting drills, Faella would use jugs of water and told participants to visualize the jugs being nigger’s [sic] heads while they were shooting at them,” the document says. He “also would make threatening remarks toward Jewish people while conducting combat training.”

Faella also was making “plans for members of AF to go out and cause disturbances” in various communities, including at the Orlando City Hall and at a May Day demonstration in Melbourne, Fla. The AF members also discussed assaulting anti-racist skinheads known as SHARPS (Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice).

The arrests were triggered when “law enforcement became concerned about the pending violence Faella was planning” and his demand to see if members were using their cell phones to secretly record illegal activities.

Others arrested as part of the investigation were: Verlin C. Lewis, 40, of Lynn Haven, Fla.; Mark McGowan, 29, and Jennifer McGowan, 25, of Canaveral Groves, Fla.; Christopher Brooks, 27, of Palm Bay, Fla.; Diane Stevens, 28, Dustin Perry, 27, and Richard Stockdale, 23, all of Kissimmee, Fla.; and Paul Jackson, 25, and Kent McLellan, 22, both of St. Cloud. Authorities say they are looking for a 12th member of the group, identified as Dylan Rettenmaier.

The group’s activity in Florida dates back to the 1980s when its late founder, David Lynch, lived in the state. Lynch, who moved to California and led a major resurgence of the group about five years ago, was murdered in his Sacramento home in March 2011. His murder remains unsolved.