TAVARES — The girlfriend of a man shot to death Wednesday called police screaming for help, exclaiming in a 911 recording released Thursday, “He’s gonna die, help me!” “Oh, my God!” the sobbing caller says. Police on Thursday identified the victim as Luis Meraz, 25. The shooting occurred about...
UMATILLA — Military veteran Don Marshall, 76, lived with his wife, Mae, for 14 years in an RV in this Lake County city. “I’ve paid $47,000 over the years into the campground,” said Marshall, a retired railroad car builder who was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. “They’d raise the rent,...
Gov. Rick Scott has named a new Lake-Sumter State College trustee and reappointed three others to the nine-member group that oversees the college. The new member is Bryn Blaise of The Villages, development and construction manager for The Villages Commercial Property Management. Filling a vacancy...
Birding enthusiasts attending the Lake Apopka Birding Festival will hope for sightings of winged creatures such as the groove-billed ani, an odd-looking bird with a curved beak and long tail, and the fulvous whistling duck, noted for its long legs and neck along with a white band across its black...
An Eustis man was killed after his motorcycle left the road and struck a guardrail early Sunday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Troopers say around 1:15 a.m., Tom Williams, 36, was driving westbound on County Road 46-A when his motorcycle left the road near Red Tail Boulevard...
TAVARES — Circuit Judge William Law made a Lake County colleague’s list of “Ten Things a Judge Should Never Do.” Law, 62, groaned Friday when reminded of the episode from former Circuit Judge T. Michael Johnson’s list of “don’t dos” from stories he had heard. While presiding over a prickly divorce...
MOUNT DORA — Gwendolyn Smith, co-owner of the Grandview Bed & Breakfast, sees unfair competition for customers growing, putting some B&Bs in peril. “There are over 200 unlicensed [vacation] rentals here,” she said, citing Mount Dora listings on home-sharing web platforms such as Airbnb, HomeAway...
A Fantasy 5 ticket acquired in Lady Lake hit a Fantasy 5 jackpot Wednesday, one of four winners that will reap each a $56,700.39 prize. A lucky person received the free quick-pick ticket at Racetrac, 324 N. U.S. Highway 27-441, according to the Florida Lottery. The winning numbers were 06-09-13-16-23....
A former Clermont cop can no longer be a police officer after pleading no contest Wednesday to perjury charges, court records show. Cecil Clifford Garrett, 48, surrendered his law-enforcement credentials as part of his plea agreement and will be on probation for two years, Lake County court records...
Lake County Property Appraiser Carey Baker’s office has finally been able to assess the impact of Hurricane Irma to the far-flung community of Astor, tallying damage at $438,546. Astor, an isolated hamlet in northeast Lake County, was not included in original estimates of countywide Irma damage...
The letter, signed “sincerely City of Mount Dora” on stationery bearing the city’s logo, looked funny to Aaron Miller. For a monthly fee, it offered the truck driver financial protection if “you were unfortunate enough to suffer a break or burst” in a water or sewer line in the Hibiscus Mobile...
Driving from the southern end of Lake County in Four Corners to the northern tip in Astor takes two hours, if you stay on Lake roads the whole way. Somewhere along that route, you’d think there would be a shelter for the homeless — a place where a desperate soul could stay overnight, get a hot...
The Eustis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a suspect who shot a man in the foot during an armed robbery Tuesday night. The incident occurred at about 9:39 p.m. when a man entered the Dollar General store at 1101 N. Bay St. and demanded money from the cashier at gunpoint,...
Kayla Fitzgerald was a fan of “The Amazing Race” when she was growing up in Clermont. Now a model based in Los Angeles, she’s a contestant as the CBS reality show starts season 30. “I’ve been a fan of the show for as long as I can remember,” said Fitzgerald, 26. “My family is really big fans of...
Finally. Groveland City Council members are due to vote Wednesday on whether to remove Mayor George Rosario from office because he is a convicted cocaine dealer. Rosario has claimed for a year that he is eligible to serve, but felons cannot vote or hold office in Florida unless they have applied...
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS — Hurricane Irma left one of the town’s gems bruised and battered. But it shouldn’t be long before residents and visitors once again will be able to immerse themselves in nature along the 2,200-foot boardwalk at the Sara Maude Mason Nature Preserve, according to a town official....
Alan Grayson has been out of office for more than a year, but his fundraising emails keep coming. Soon, the Florida Democratic Party could find out on which race all that money could be spent. And it may not like the answer. One expert said a scenario that worries party leaders is a primary battle...
Volusia County deputies arrested an Edgewater man — who was in the process of adopting a child — on 11 counts of child pornography Thursday evening, according to sheriff’s spokesman Andrew Gant. Erik Deemer, 38, was arrested at his home on Willow Oak Drive. Deputies had been investigating Deemer...
A crash on State Road 408 east at mile marker 10, near downtown Orlando, has been cleared Friday, according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s fl511.com website. The accident happened at about 7 a.m. and initially had two right lanes blocked. Congestion is expected to remain for a while,...
Deputies are looking for a carjacking suspect after an incident early Friday morning on Universal Boulevard, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said. At about 1:56 a.m., the suspect forced the victim out of his or her car in the parking lot at the Topgolf sports entertainment facility at 9295 Universal...
A man wielding a shotgun robbed a Sanford bank on Thursday morning, but he didn't get to enjoy his profits for long. Sanford police say the masked suspect entered the SeaCoast bank, 3791 W. First St., just before noon. He demanded money and the clerk gave him $2,300, police said. He asked for more,...
If North Korea — or any country for that matter — launches a missile, a satellite scheduled to head into space from Florida will be on the front lines of defense. The U.S. Air Force will launch the latest member of the military’s next-generation missile-warning system aboard a United Launch Alliance...
A 31-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday near Longwood after she grabbed a Seminole County deputy's gun, causing it to go off, according to an arrest affidavit. About 9:20 a.m., a deputy saw a woman — later identified as Danielle Trudell — slumped over in her SUV in a parking lot on Markham Woods...
A federal judge heard legal arguments Thursday about how much video, photos and other evidence from the Pulse nightclub attack should be allowed in the trial of the shooter’s widow. Noor Salman was in court for the hearing, which lasted about 3½ hours. Her trial is scheduled to begin March 1. Salman,...
A man once charged with murder in the death of a 16-year-old Seminole High School student was granted a plea deal on a drug charge Thursday and in exchange may testify against another defendant. Justin Seale, 20, of Longwood, pleaded no contest to sale of a controlled substance. Kaleb Rabun, 16,...
UCF and Florida Hospital are competing to acquire the Lake Nona facility where the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute has been slowly shutting down over the past two years. On Tuesday, the two institutions will make their pitches to the Orange County Commission, detailing how their plans...