A change of plea hearing is set for Wednesday for 20-year-old Joaquin Amador Serrapio Jr. He had previously pleaded not guilty.

Federal prosecutors say Serrapio posted threats on Facebook in February coinciding with a speech Obama gave at the University of Miami. Serrapio attends a different school, Miami-Dade College.

One post threatened to put a bullet in the president’s head. Another asked if anyone wanted to help with a presidential assassination.

There’s no indication Serrapio intended to act on the threats. His lawyer has said Serrapio never wanted to hurt the president. The lawyer didn’t immediately respond to an email Thursday.

Serrapio faces a maximum five-year maximum prison sentence.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan questioned Thursday why the Florida Legislature passed a law requiring districts to continue tutoring services that have not proven effective.

Florida was one of nearly a dozen states that received a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law earlier this year. That waiver included lifting a requirement for the state to set aside 20 percent of Title I funds for special tutoring services.

In remarks in Washington before the Florida Council of 100, a nonprofit organization, Duncan noted a new study showing the mandated tutoring had no impact on student performance. He said a cottage industry of tutoring companies has emerged around the mandate.

“But there has never been accountability for results,” Duncan said. “Districts don’t know if individual companies are actually having an impact on student achievement.”

The Florida Legislature passed a law that will take effect in July requiring 15 percent of Title I funds be used for supplemental education services in the upcoming school year. Title I funds are provided to schools with large numbers of low-income students, and the tutoring program is designed to offer extra help to students at schools deemed in need of improvement.

As part of the Florida law, districts must contract with state Department of Education approved tutoring providers.

“I find it ironic that Washington is offering flexibility but Tallahassee is taking it away,” Duncan said.

In a statement, Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson said the state had sought the No Child Left Behind waiver in order to make decisions that are “right for Florida.”

“Suggesting that our state and our legislators were not acting in the best interest of Florida’s children reinforces how important it is that our state be allowed to chart a course that is right for Florida,” he said.

Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said a critical problem with the tutoring services is that there is no system in place to evaluate them.

“We really believe there needs to be some major reform,” she said.

A U.S. Department of Education study released in early May analyzed results from No Child Left Behind tutoring programs in six districts in Connecticut, Ohio and Florida. It found that for students in grades three through eight, there was “no statistically significant impact” on performance in reading or math.

“Why is Florida keeping the set-aside for tutoring that is showing little or no impact on children?” Duncan asked. “Is it because of pressure from the industry?”

Duncan said the Department of Education believes decisions on how to intervene at low performing schools should be made locally, not through a “one size fits all” solution. He said it would be better for districts to be able to decide on their own whether options like extending the school day or adding instructional opportunities are the best solution.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Citizens Property Insurance Corp. could face dire consequences if it fails to involve Florida lawmakers before deciding whether to approve a dramatic rate increase for new policyholders, the state-backed firm’s board president warned Thursday.

The corporation’s Board of Governors is scheduled in July to consider raising rates on new policies covering hurricane damage and other perils an average of nearly 55 percent in coastal areas and 19 percent in inland regions for those who buy coverage after Jan. 1.

That could add about $100 million to Citizens’ annual balance sheet. Citizens is Florida’s largest provider of property insurance, mainly for homeowners, with 1.45 million policies, but corporate officials say it doesn’t bring in enough money to cover losses if Florida should sustain serious hurricane damage.

Board Chairman Carlos Lacasa, a former Republican legislator, told the board’s Actuarial and Underwriting Committee what to expect if lawmakers are left out of the discussion.

“They will pass legislation that undoes what we do or prevents us from moving in that direction in the future,” Lacasa said during the conference call meeting. “And then we have yet that much more of our hands tied behind our back. This has to be a very deliberative process.”

Several lawmakers and consumer advocates have criticized the plan, which would circumvent a 10 percent cap on rate increases ordered by the Legislature. The argument for the proposal is that starting new policies at a higher rate is not an increase for those policies.

Board members criticized news media reports on the proposal and the opposition to it. Lacasa said it’s been “explosive” and “exaggerated.” John Rollins called it “media hyperventilating.”

Lacasa, though, also reminded panel members what happened when Citizens last year asked for an increase of more than 400 percent for sinkhole coverage. State regulators approved only a 32.8 percent increase after an outcry by lawmakers, customers and consumer advocates.

That episode tarnished Citizens reputation and credibility, Lacasa said.

“I hate to see a very well-run institution with great performance metrics for our policyholders be compromised by the publicity that follows bad planning and lack of collaboration with other stake-holders like the Legislature,” he said.

Citizens Chief Financial Officer Sharon Binnun responded by saying the corporation would hold a workshop on or about July 16 to let lawmakers and others have their say before the board meets on July 27.

Gov. Rick Scott and many other Republican politicians have been pushing Citizens to increase its revenues and reduce its customer base.

They point out that if the company doesn’t have enough money to cover claims, it can make up the difference through assessments against most other insurance customers, including automobile policyholders.

Citizens was created to provide an alternative for residents who could no longer get coverage from private companies, which have pulled out of the state or reduced their customer base because of the hurricane risk.

The rate cap, though, also has attracted customers because Citizens’ rates now are lower than similar coverage from many private companies.

Citizens has been exploring ways to “depopulate” by switching customers to private companies.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A prosecutor says two defendants accused of hazing a Florida A&M University band member are expected to plead guilty to lesser charges.

Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Walters says they’ll be appearing in court Thursday with a third defendant, whose case is expected to be delayed.

Walters says medical records did not support felony hazing charges that require proof of serious bodily injury.

Police say fellow band members beat Bria Shante Hunter on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

Aaron Golson and Sean Hobson, initially charged with felonies, are expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor hazing. Further negotiations are expected in the case of James Harris.

Golson also is one of 11 former band members charged with felony hazing in the Nov. 19 death of drum major Robert Champion in Orlando.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — National foreclosure trends took a positive turn in April, as the number of homes seized by banks declined and fewer properties entered into the foreclosure process.

But state-level data point to potentially more home repossessions ahead in Florida and many of the 25 other states where courts are required to sign off on foreclosures.

All told, the number of U.S. homes taken back by lenders in April declined 7 percent from March, the third consecutive monthly decline, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. Home repossessions fell 26 percent versus April last year.

The number of homes that lenders placed on the foreclosure path last month also declined, falling 4 percent from March and 2 percent from April 2011, the firm said.

While the figures suggest foreclosure trends are improving nationally, state data tell a different story.

“You absolutely have a tale of two different types of foreclosure trends happening across the country,” said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac.

The divide comes down roughly between the 26 states where courts play a role in the foreclosure process and places like California and the other 23 states where the process generally moves quicker because judges are not required to sign off on foreclosures.

Last year, foreclosure activity, as measured by the number of homes receiving foreclosure-related notices, slowed sharply as lenders grappled with allegations that they had been processing foreclosures without verifying documents.

A $25 billion settlement reached in February between the nation’s biggest mortgage lenders and state officials has since cleared the way for banks to take action on unpaid mortgages.

In California, Arizona, Nevada and many other so-called non-judicial foreclosure states, foreclosure activity has been declining because they didn’t build a huge backlog of pending foreclosure cases last year.

In contrast, the slower foreclosure process in states like Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania helped build a logjam of pending foreclosure cases that now has lenders playing catch-up.

As a result, foreclosure activity in all the judicial foreclosure states combined jumped 15 percent versus April last year. Taken together, non-judicial states saw foreclosure activity fall 29 percent, RealtyTrac said.

While 27 states recorded increases in the number of homes entering the foreclosure process last month, it appears the properties represent largely homes where borrowers missed payments for two or three years, and lenders are now getting around to taking action against them.

“The good news there, is we don’t see a lot of evidence that there are a lot of new people who are just not making their payments who are entering foreclosure,” Blomquist said.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday that the percentage of mortgages that were one payment past due as of March 31 declined to the lowest level since mid-2007. While the share of home loans that were at least three months past due at the end of the first quarter fell to the lowest level since the end of 2008.

Home loans taken out at the peak of the housing boom continue to comprise the majority of problem loans. In the first quarter, some 60 percent of all mortgages past due 90 days or more, or in foreclosure, were originated between 2005 and 2007, the MBA said.

Meanwhile, banks are increasingly agreeing to short sales rather than foreclosing on homes. In a short sale, the bank agrees to accept less than what the seller owes on their mortgage.

In the first three months of this year, short sales grew while foreclosures declined. Short sales are now on pace to outnumber sales of bank-owned homes in California, Arizona and 10 other states, RealtyTrac said.

That could help slow the pace of home repossessions, which are on pace to be just over 700,000 this year. Last year, about 1 million homes ended up foreclosed-upon.

All told, foreclosure-related notices were reported on 188,780 U.S. properties last month, the lowest monthly total since July 2007, RealtyTrac said. That’s a decline of 5 percent from March and down 14 percent from April last year.

Lenders took back 51,415 homes and began the foreclosure process on 97,665 homes last month.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Homeless shelters across the state will receive more than $2 million dollars in federal grants.

The Department of Children and Families says the money will go to 25 emergency homeless shelters in rural areas.

The money will help fund 42 shelter sites, including 602 emergency beds and 436 transitional beds. Secretary David Wilkins estimated Wednesday the money could serve 5,639 individuals by the end of June. The grants also cover meals and shelter renovations.

The funds come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida tourism officials say numbers for the first quarter of the year are up slightly over the same period a year ago.

Visit Florida, the state’s marketing division, released numbers Wednesday showing a 2.4 percent boost for the first three months of the year. Those 23.4 million visitors included a 2.7-percent increase in Canadian tourists and a 13-percent increase in people visiting from overseas.

Tourism employment showed growth for the 24th straight month, with the industry adding more than 19,000 jobs in the past year.

Tourism is Florida’s leading industry, generating $60 billion annually and employing more than a million people.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

FORT MEADE, Fla. (AP) — Polk County has confirmed its sixth positive rabies case this year.

A Fort Meade resident found his two dogs with a dead raccoon. The raccoon was tested for rabies, and it was confirmed positive for rabies by the state laboratory on Wednesday.

The announcement was made by the Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Section.

The first case in the county was reported on Jan. 12 when a two-year old dog attacked and killed a raccoon in Lakeland. Another case involved a bat.

Authorities say bats and raccoons are considered as high risk species or “rabies vector species.” Residents are urged not to approach any animal which is acting in an unusual or suspicious manner.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

The latest clash came Wednesday when aides to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee blocked the reporters who cover Romney daily from asking him questions at the “rope line” separating him and his supporters.

The incident was a prime example of the pattern of tense interactions with the press that have marked the Romney campaign for months. The candidate often seems eager to chat about mundane things — the food on the charter airplane, whether he has a lucky tie — with a press corps he’s come to know well and readily recognizes.

But his staff frequently limits access to a candidate known for making awkward, if not politically troublesome, statements during unscripted moments — and Romney very rarely answers challenging questions on the issues of the day as he campaigns.

“You have some work to do here,” Romney told reporters on his campaign plane, waving at a basket of snacks as he selected a package of Grandma’s Vanilla Cream sandwich cookies.

But asked a question about Vice President Joe Biden’s attacks on his record at Bain Capital during a speech in Ohio, the former Massachusetts governor simply said: “No interviews.”

Instead, Romney did a lengthy interview with Ed Morrissey, a conservative blogger.

It’s a window into how he might conduct himself as president. After he was elected governor of Massachusetts, for example, Romney closed off a set of public elevators in the Boston statehouse and prohibited press access to the lobby outside the governor’s office. The area was previously open to the press, and his successor, Gov. Deval Patrick, re-opened the elevator and the lobby after he took office.

Wednesday’s incident came after Romney delivered brief remarks to Florida supporters and walked over to where supporters were cordoned off and waiting to meet him. A group of reporters left an area designated for the media and tried to get within earshot of Romney when a campaign staffer put out her arms to keep reporters from walking past her.

After a brief standoff, reporters from a number of national outlets circumvented the staffers and moved close enough to hear Romney.

A few hours later, Romney’s campaign acknowledged a mistake.

“This was an error on the part of the campaign staff and volunteers. We have reminded them that press is allowed on the rope line to record the governor’s interactions with voters,” spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan, making clear the agency wasn’t responsible for the policy, said: “The Secret Service does not restrict movement of the press into a general public area or their movement within the general public area.”

Rope lines are a staple of political campaigns, but a candidate’s presence there can lead to some memorable moments — and Romney has sometimes been candid in such situations. As Democrats marked the anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, Romney told traveling reporters that “even Jimmy Carter” would have made that decision — a sharp quip that the campaign later softened as they muted their criticism of the Obama team’s focus on the occasion.

And earlier this year, Romney was on a rope line during the Daytona 500 when an Associated Press reporter asked him about his familiarity with the sport.

“I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners,” he said, a comment that later drew criticism from Democrats seeking to cast him as out of touch.

Trying to control a campaign’s message isn’t unique to Romney’s campaign. White House reporters traveling with Obama sometimes are limited in how they can approach the president on a rope line. Still, reporters are able to observe Obama interacting with voters on airport tarmacs when he walks over to greet waiting crowds.

Obama often doesn’t answer questions on rope lines, though he sometimes will chat with reporters. He recently told some that he won a basketball game he played with actors George Clooney and Tobey Maguire. The president prefers taking questions in formal interview settings.

Romney rarely does interviews with print media, preferring conservative broadcast outlets. He also regularly tapes interviews with local TV and radio reporters when he visits different states. But he doesn’t often allow himself to be grilled by the reporters who know him and his record best and who tend to ask the toughest questions.

The campaign also limits opportunities to watch Romney interact with voters. It says he regularly meets with middle-class families before events, but those meetings always take place in private. The campaign does not release the names of those attending.

His campaign insists that almost all interactions between reporters and campaign staff be either anonymous or completely off the record. And he’s only just now starting to allow his traveling press corps to share his campaign plane regularly. News organizations that travel with presidential candidates pay their own way, including plane fare, meals, hotels and other expenses, often thousands of dollars per day.

His aides are tight-lipped on even the most mundane issues, like travel logistics. And they are visibly averse to allowing the candidate to step into unscripted situations.

Even Romney finds a little humor in the sometimes tense relationship. While talking to reporters at the rear of his plane recently, Romney looked a few rows back at Rick Gorka, his traveling press secretary. “Rick is about to pass out. Gorka is,” he said with a laugh and added, as if speaking for Gorka, “‘What are you doing?’”

Gorka responded by waving his hand in a “wrap it up” motion.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An insurance agent who authorities say scammed senior citizens of more than $2 million has been charged with grand theft.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrest Wednesday of 49-year-old Neal Seth Smalbach of Palm Harbor.

Smalbach was booked into the Pinellas County Jail after his arrest Tuesday. Bond was set at $250,000 bond. It’s not known if he has an attorney. If convicted, Smalbach faces up to 54 years in prison.

Jail records show he was arrested last year on a charge of organized fraud insurance.

Investigators say Smalbach misrepresented the factual details of investment products to multiple senior citizens for personal gain. Almost $5 million was invested by seniors in products that were unsuitable for them. Smalbach is also accused of falsifying two applications for insurance.

(©Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida is calling on county election supervisors to remove more than 53,000 dead people from the state’s voting rolls.

State officials this year checked Social Security files and concluded that people who died were still registered to vote. This was the first time the state checked the files. It was allowed under a controversial election law that passed the GOP-controlled Legislature last year.

An attorney with the Department of State told election supervisors on Wednesday they have seven days to remove a deceased voter from the rolls.

But some supervisors want to know if they will be given more proof that the voter is dead.

The move to remove dead voters comes at the same time when state officials are pushing to remove thousands non U.S.-citizens from the rolls.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

This index measures quarterly shifts in the financial condition of the average household. Looking at the numbers, Tampa is well below the United States averages for housing and employment. In addition, Tampa ranks below the national average of household budget, net worth, credit and overall consumer stability.

“Unemployment is high and underemployment is also high,” Scott Scredon, Director of Public Relations at CredAbility said. “13.2 percent of houses are delinquent on their mortgages, which is down a little from the previous quarter.”

Numbers are assigned to each of these areas – anything below 60 is considered a crisis and higher numbers dictate a more stable situation.

Tampa’s best scoring category is credit, but with a score of 74.6, it is still considered to be in a state of risk. This score is also nearly 13 points below the national average of 87.

Scredon added that “The average household in Tampa spends 42 percent of its income on housing — a (financially) healthy household spends about 25 percent.”

In the third quarter of 2007, Tampa’s job market was its strength, sitting with a score over 90. Since then, that score has dropped over 40 points from a “secure” market to a “crisis” market.

Besides household budget, every single category for Tampa households has dropped since 2007.

With an overall score of 57.9 — 12 points below the national average — Tampa is in dire need of stability in all facets of the economy.

Broward County Public Schools officials say the students were all in the same classroom at McArthur High School in Hollywood on Wednesday morning when they started complaining about an itching rash.

Paramedics were called to the school and the students and two teachers were being decontaminated and sent to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood for examination.

District spokeswoman Nadine Drew says the school is on lockdown and the building where the classroom is located has been evacuated. Students are being relocated to the gym as authorities continue to investigate the cause.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A new Royal Caribbean cruise ship will begin sailing from Tampa in 2013.

The Brilliance of the Seas will sail four- and five-night Western Caribbean itineraries, stopping in Cozumel on the four-night cruises. On the longer sailings, Cozumel, the Cayman Islands and either Key West or George Town are on the itineraries.

The ship will replace the company’s Jewel of the Seas.

The Tampa Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/JDnMtP) that before coming to Tampa, the 2,112-passenger Brilliance of the Seas will undergo a major renovation. New amenities will include a more dining and entertainment options, revitalized staterooms, Wi-Fi, digital way-finding stations and an outdoor LED video wall.

Passengers will be able to book cruises on the Brilliance of the Seas cruises starting May 17.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

ABC News reports the medical records were part of evidence released Tuesday that prosecutors have in the second-degree murder case against Zimmerman. He has entered a plea of not guilty and claims self-defense in the Feb. 26 shooting. A message left Tuesday evening with Zimmerman’s attorney was not immediately returned.

Zimmerman was treated Feb. 27 at Altamonte Family Practice. A phone call made Tuesday evening to the practice rang unanswered.

Some of the injuries were previously reported by The Associated Press based on video of Zimmerman at a jail sally port.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Judge Robert Meale made his recommendation Tuesday.

The state refused to certify the 51-year-old rapper although he’s been volunteering as an assistant coach with local approval in Miami. Education officials cited his songs’ raunchy lyrics, a string of arrests and a performance with two women who removed their clothing in South Carolina.

Meale, though, noted the charges were dropped except for a couple of misdemeanor gun crimes more than 25 years ago. He also wrote that Campbell has coached inner-city youth and high school football without incident for years.

Campbell can take his case to an appellate court if Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson rejects Meale’s recommendation.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Around 400 media representatives were in town Monday for a “walk-through” of the Tampa Bay Times, the arena where the nominating convention will take place Aug. 27 through Aug. 30. They also got to see the Tampa Convention Center, where reporters will have work space during the four-day event.

Many of the visitors were technical advance people for some of the 15,000 journalists expected to cover the convention. About 50,000 people total are expected to come to town for the week, filling nearly every available hotel room on both sides of Tampa Bay.

The Democratic Party will stage its convention a week later in Charlotte, NC.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Two teens are suspects in a fire that destroyed a home in St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg police on Monday asked anyone with information about the May 6 fire to contact them.

The Tampa Bay Times (http://bit.ly/JDW8f7 ) reports Jessica Ryan heard a popping noise around 5 a.m. and got up to look outside. She noticed a glow outside the window and saw the carport was on fire. She told police the popping continued as aerosol cans exploded. Flames ripped through the walls near where her 6-year-old daughter was sleeping. The family, including husband Richard, made it safely outside.

Police say they believe the teens also broke into the Ryan’s two vehicles.

Police spokesman Mike Puetz says two teens were captured on surveillance video at a nearby 24-hour laundry early that morning.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

]]> http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/05/15/st-pete-fire-teen-suspects-home-destroye/feed/ 0 http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/05/15/police-mom-calls-kids-back-from-neighbor-to-fatally-shoot-them/ http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/05/15/police-mom-calls-kids-back-from-neighbor-to-fatally-shoot-them/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 16:54:33 +0000 mhigginscbs http://tampa.cbslocal.com/?p=41121 A Florida mother who fatally shot her four children before killing herself Tuesday called three of the kids who had sought help from a neighbor back to the house before firing the fatal shots, authorities said.]]> PORT ST. JOHN, Fla. (AP) — A Florida mother who fatally shot her four children before killing herself Tuesday called three of the kids who had sought help from a neighbor back to the house before firing the fatal shots, authorities said.

Thirty-three-year-old Tonya Thomas fatally shot her four children, who ranged in age from 12 to 17, said Lt. Tod Goodyear, a spokesman for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

Three of the children had gone to a neighbor’s front door before dawn to say their mother had shot them. The mother then called the children back to the house and killed them, Goodyear said.

“It appeared they had been shot,” Goodyear said. “The mother of the children came out of the residence next door, called for the children to return home, at which time they left and went back to the house.”

The neighbor then heard gunshots and called 911.

Another neighbor told deputies that Thomas sent a text message in the middle of the night saying she wanted to be cremated with her children, Goodyear said.

The shooting happened in Port St. John, about 15 miles west of Cape Canaveral in an area known as the “Space Coast” because it is the home of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the location of numerous famed shuttle launches.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MIAMI (AP) — A Miami-Dade police officer has been found guilty of drug charges.

Federal prosecutors announced Monday that Lawrence Perez was found guilty of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana plants and marijuana and attempting to possess with the intent to distribute over 100 marijuana plants.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 26. Perez faces a maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

The state attorney’s office said in a press release that the former Hialeah Gardens Police Department detective conspired with a group of individuals to steal marijuana from suspects during traffic stops he conducted. Authorities say in 2010, he also conspired to invade a warehouse with a marijuana grow operation that had over 600 plants.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A sheriff’s office press release says 43-year-old Anthony Earl Horner of Punta Gorda was arrested Monday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and narcotics paraphernalia. He was also charged with a felony of habitual driving while his license was suspended or revoked.

It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.

Jail records show Horner has been arrested on the same charge of driving while his license was suspended or revoked since 2001. The following year he was charged with grand theft and burglary.

The press release says Horner was driving an ATV Monday morning. When the ATV was inventoried for towing, authorities found a glass smoking pipe with methamphetamine residue, a plastic lock-type bag, and two Q-Tips.

Horner was booked into the Charlotte County Jail where he is currently held with no bond.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office says the victim’s caretaker called detectives Saturday to say she was concerned about the man’s wellbeing. The caretaker had been out of town for a few days and became worried after speaking with her ex-boyfriend, Juan Reyes.

Deputies went to the home and noticed freshly raked soil in the yard along the side of the property, and discovered the remains of a white male underground.

The body has been taken to the medical examiner’s office for identification and to determine cause of death. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

Reyes lived at the home with the man and his caretaker. He is being held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on June 18.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The State Board of Education on Monday responded by scheduling an emergency conference call meeting for Tuesday to consider reducing the passing grade.

The board previously made this year’s test more difficult. It increased expectations for the correct use of punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and sentence structure as well as the quality of details used to explain, clarify, or define.

The preliminary results show only 27 percent of 4th graders received a passing score of 4 or better compared to 81 percent last year.

For 8th graders it was 33 percent — down from 82 percent in 2011. For 10th graders it was 38 percent — a drop from 80 percent last year.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

FAMU President James Ammons told the school’s board of trustees on Monday that he will keep The Marching 100 off the field for the upcoming school year.

Eleven FAMU band members face felony hazing charges stemming from Robert Champion’s death in November. Two others face misdemeanor counts.

Ammons suspended the band soon after Champion’s death.

Last week it was revealed that 101 band members were not FAMU students at the time of the incident. Longtime band director Julian White, who had been fighting to keep his job, abruptly decided to retire.

Top state officials including Gov. Rick Scott and the university system chancellor say the Marching 100 should remain sidelined until other ongoing investigations into the band are completed.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Susanne Jacoby Hale’s “Shades of Gray,” a story about a former dropout prevention teacher in a New York high school, has achieved modest success for a first-time novelist, earning five-star ratings in the seven Amazon reviews the book has received. The success Hale is attracting, however, is not her own. Hale has received numerous emails, text messages, Facebook posts and phone calls from people thinking she is E.L. James, author of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the “it” book of the moment among female readers drawn to the romance between a wealthy entrepreneur and a college student.

“You get looks like, ‘Whoever would have thought that was going on in the Hale house?’” Hale told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It’s a weird thing because people seem to think I am something I’m not.”

The books have more in common than just a name. They were both published online around the same time at the end of last year. Soon thereafter, James’ book would be picked up and reached the bestseller list a couple months ago.

“It’s frustrating, but I have to laugh about it,” Hale told the Sun-Sentinel.

The Miami Herald reports that Giselle Hosein was bitten Saturday afternoon at a Miccosukee Indian Tribe facility by an Indian cobra considered to be among the deadliest snakes in the world.

“It’s a job hazard,” John Jones, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino wildlife manager, told the Herald. “None of us wants to get bit, and we don’t want the public to see us get bit.”

Chief Ray Barreto of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Special Operations Division says the woman was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in respiratory stress.

She was given five vials of anti-venoms, and her symptoms decreased within 15 minutes.

“She was very calm,” Lt. Scott Mullin told the Herald. “In a situation like that, hysteria is not your friend.”

Two members of the department’s Venom Response Team and hospital staff monitored the handler until Sunday morning. Barreto said she is recovering and not expected to suffer any long-term effects.

“She’s completely coherent now,” Jones told the Herald. “We are educators. We’re here to educate the public about the importance of wildlife and conservation. But you’re playing with fire. Eventually, you get bitten. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’”

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Attorney Edna Ramos said the lawsuit alleging negligence by Princess Cruise Lines was filed in a Florida state court on behalf of Adrian Vazquez.

The 18-year-old Vazquez and companions Fernando Osorio, 16, and Elvis Oropeza, 31, set off for a night of fishing on Feb. 24 from Rio Hato, a small fishing and farming town on the Pacific coast of Panama that was once the site of a U.S. Army base guarding the Panama Canal. The boat’s motor broke down on the way back and the men drifted at sea for 16 days before seeing a cruise ship approach March 10.

Vazquez has said the men signaled for help, but the ship did not stop.

Princess Cruises has said passengers never told the ship’s captain they saw a boat.

Osorio and Oropeza died later. Vazquez was rescued on March 22 near Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, more than 600 miles from where they had set out.

Ramos said the lawsuit includes testimony from two cruise ship passengers who have said they saw the disabled boat and reported it to a cruise representative on the Star Princess liner.

Passenger Jeff Gilligan, a birdwatcher from Portland, Oregon, has told journalists that he was among the first people to notice the small boat. Another birdwatcher, Judy Meredith of Bend, Oregon, has also said she saw the small open boat and through her bird-spotting scope could see a man waving what looked like a dark red T-shirt.

Meredith has said that she told a Princess Cruises sales representative what she and Gilligan had seen and that he assured her that he passed the news on to the ship’s crew. The two passengers said they put the sales representative on one of the spotting scopes so he could see the small boat for himself.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

LAYTON, Fla. (AP) — The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says its attempts to thwart and then save a man after he jumped off a bridge in the Florida Keys were not successful.

Dispatchers received a report Saturday at about 11:15 a.m. regarding a white sport utility vehicle with a hose in the exhaust pipe leading to the cab of the vehicle.

A deputy spotted the vehicle at the end of the Channel Five bridge but the driver quickly drove off. The deputy followed behind, but the man pulled over to a shoulder and jumped off the bridge before he could stop him.

A deputy in a patrol boat found Stephen Gius of Lake Worth in the water and brought him to shore. He was taken to Fisherman’s Hospital where he died.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Steve MacNamara said in his resignation letter that he would step down from his post July 1.

“It has been a pleasure and an honor serving you, but the recent media attention I have been receiving has begun to interfere with the day-to-day operations of this office,” MacNamara wrote. “I feel now is the time to plan for me to depart, for you to name my replacement and for us to work on a smooth transition.”

Scott announced that he was hiring Adam Hollingsworth, 43, to replace MacNamara. Hollingsworth currently leads the right-of-way division for Flagler Development Group and was once chief of staff for former Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton. Hollingsworth worked on Scott’s transition team before he sworn in as governor.

MacNamara, who is also a professor at Florida State University, was hired last summer to help Scott after the governor’s first few bumpy months in office. He was credited with helping the governor strengthen his relationship with the GOP-controlled Legislature. He also urged the governor to visit newspaper editorial boards, dress more casually at times and hold work days where Scott spent time doing the jobs of other Floridians.

MacNamara, who has been on unpaid leave from his FSU job, was previously the chief of staff for Senate President Mike Haridopolos. He said he was stepping down six months earlier than he had planned and would be moving to Vermont to join his wife where she is in a doctor residency program.

“It is my belief that I have helped Floridians begin to know the real Rick Scott — a man who listens to them, tries to understand their issues and concerns,” MacNamara wrote.

Scott in a statement said that MacNamara had “a tremendous impact” on him and his administration and that he respected his efforts and ideas.

MacNamara found himself recently defending his work for both the governor and while he was in the Senate.

The Associated Press recently reported that while working for the Senate, MacNamara helped steer a $360,000 no-bid consulting contract to a friend who now leads a task force rooting out state government waste.

The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times this week wrote a series of additional stories about other contracts and how MacNamara clashed with one agency head over a decision by MacNamara to allow the state’s film commissioner to travel to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Several top agency heads — who were hired by Scott when he first took office — wound up resigning within months of MacNamara’s arrival.

MacNamara’s decision to resign also came just hours after he responded to a series of questions from AP regarding his involvement in negotiations between the state and a Tallahassee software company regarding a $20 million contract. The company was represented by a high-powered lobbying firm in the state capital.

Emails show MacNamara was involved in a push to give the governor’s office the ability to resolve any disputes between Infinity Software Development and the Department of Education over management of the contract.

Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson in late November wrote directly to MacNamara to protest “your desire to have another party manage the contract.”

“Having another party manage the Infinity contract and program implementation while remaining unaccountable to FDOE in a real sense only adds another layer of bureaucracy to an already politically-sensitive contractual environment,” Robinson wrote to MacNamara. Robinson’s email records show MacNamara read it about a half-hour after it was sent.

Robinson does not report to the governor or MacNamara but instead reports to the State Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor.

When asked about the contract this week, Robinson said that he and Infinity “found common ground” on the contract that was eventually signed in December. He would not answer any questions about MacNamara’s involvement.

MacNamara defended the decision to get involved by saying parents consistently ask the governor about Florida’s education system and that the governor provides “advice, counsel and leadership” to the commissioner.

MacNamara also said in his response that while Gov. Scott and Robinson met once to discuss the contract, he said he was “not involved in the negotiations” and left all discussions to his deputy chief of staff.

He said the idea to have the governor’s office mediate any disputes was suggested by his office because the state was behind schedule on the contract and it was being paid by federal Race to the Top grant dollars. Infinity got the contract after challenging the initial bid award to Microsoft.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two men charged with murder in the deaths of two teenagers whose bodies were found engulfed in flames along a central Florida trail have been denied bond.

Jesse Brandon Davis and Hector Manuel Rodriguez made their first appearance before a judge on Saturday.

Both men have been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the deaths of 16-year-old Nicholas Presha and 18-year-old Jeremy Stewart in April.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says the teens met the men with the intention of selling them two stolen handguns. Investigators say they were robbed and shot to death.

Davis was arrested last month on unrelated charges. Rodriguez was arrested on Friday.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A Hernando County jury found 21-year-old Steven Wesolek guilty Friday of first-degree murder, attempted murder, carjacking with a firearm and robbery with a deadly weapon. He faces a possible death sentence.

Authorities say 18-year-old Enrique Acevedo and then-18-year-old Skyler Collins were driving along a rural highway in June 2010 when they picked up Wesolek — along with his former girlfriend, 16-year-old Sabrina Dicus, and her mother, 40-year-old Sherrie Dicus.

Authorities say the three new passengers attacked Acevedo and Collins, fatally wounding Acevedo.

Sabrina Dicus was allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges last fall in exchange for testimony against Wesolek and her mother, who still awaits trial.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot the unarmed 17-year-old, was not arrested for weeks after the Feb. 26 confrontation because he invoked the Florida law that does not require a person to retreat in the face of a serious threat. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has convened a task force to decide whether the law needs changes in the aftermath of Martin’s shooting.

His mother, Sybrina Fulton, said in the video that other states should follow suit, noting that thousands of mothers lose children every year to gun violence.

“Nobody can bring our children back. But it would bring us comfort if we can spare other mothers the pain we will feel on Mother’s Day and every day for the rest of our lives,” Fulton said. “I’m asking you to join Florida by asking the governor of your state to reexamine similar ‘stand your ground’ laws throughout the nation to keep our children safe.”

Fulton said this weekend would be very difficult for her.

“This will be my first Mother’s Day without my son Trayvon,” she said. “I know it will be hard. But my faith, family and friends will pull me through.”

Zimmerman, 28, is free on $150,000 bail and living in an undisclosed location. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges that were only filed after the governor appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the slaying in the central Florida city of Sanford. The case has become a national racial flashpoint because the Martin family and supporters contend Zimmerman singled Martin out because he was black.

It has also sparked renewed debate over “stand your ground” laws pushed by the National Rifle Association. While backers say such laws protect innocent lives, detractors contend they can become a virtual license to kill and are prone to misuse by criminals and misinterpretation by judges.

The video is being distributed via email and social media such as Twitter and Facebook by a coalition of civil rights and anti-gun violence organizations, including the NAACP and Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. A spokesman for the effort, Chris Brown, said the initial focus is on states that have laws similar to Florida’s, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina and Georgia.

“Our organization will be educating the public about these laws in all states,” Brown said.

Also Friday, Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara said on his website that he expects to receive evidence in the case on Monday from prosecutors. Under Florida law, that normally means it would simultaneously be made public, but O’Mara said he may file a motion asking to delay public disclosure so witness names can be redacted.

O’Mara has raised concerns that witnesses who are named could be badgered by news media and possibly threatened because of the strong emotions triggered by the case.

“While we understand the frustration of those who want to view the information as soon as possible, we believe Mr. Zimmerman’s right to a fair trial, decided by an impartial, unbiased jury, is paramount,” the O’Mara statement said.

Zimmerman, who faces a potential life sentence if convicted, said he only fired his handgun because Martin attacked him. If Zimmerman prevails on his self-defense claim, a judge could dismiss the case before trial.

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To view the Sybrina Fulton video: http://secondchancecampaign.org/card

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Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/Miamicurt

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

John Goodman faced up to 30 years in prison in the 2010 death of 23-year-old Scott Wilson.

He briefly spoke in his own defense Friday, saying he carried the loss of Wilson with him each day. A prosecutor derided him as “a coward.”

Police say Goodman ran a stop sign and rammed into Wilson’s car, which rolled into a canal, where the young man died. Authorities say Goodman left the scene and waited nearly an hour to call 911. His blood alcohol level measured more than twice the legal driving limit.

The multimillionaire Goodman is founder and owner of the International Polo Club. His attorney has said he plans to appeal the conviction.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A former Jacksonville radiology technician has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing syringes of painkillers during patients’ procedures and replacing them with syringes of saline contaminated with Hepatitis C.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said Friday that 48-year-old Steven Beumel tampered with the syringes from 2006 through 2008 while working at the Mayo Clinic branch in Jacksonville.

Epidemiologists from the hospital and public health agencies worked for more than three years to solve the Hepatitis C outbreak and it was eventually linked to Beumel. He was fired and clinic authorities reported him to police.

The clinic tested thousands of patients who were potentially at risk. Two patients from that testing effort were linked to Beumel and one died.

 (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

TAMPA (CBS Tampa) — Is ET trying to phone home?

A YouTube user claims he viewed an alien spaceship on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory sun monitoring feed on May 3 and that NASA is trying to cover it up.

“rob19791” put up a video from the feed showing an unidentified object near the top of the sun. In the video, it appears to look like a streaking red-metallic object with two white lights. The observatory’s feed went down the next day due to a technical glitch with its anomaly detector.

“This is a cover up to prevent us from seeing these things again,” the YouTube user wrote. “NASA must have seen this video and started making plans to change the way you and I are [allowed] to view it.”

The Naval Research Laboratory told the Digital Journal that the image is most likely streaks caused by cosmic rays.

“The streaks in question are consistent with energetic particle (proton) impacts on the CCD, something which is apparent in just about every image,” Nathan Rich, member of the laboratory’s solar physics branch, told the Digital Journal. “These artifacts do not persist from image to image.”

An image caught by the observatory’s feed also caused quite a commotion in March when there were sightings of the Star Wars “Death Star” near the sun. NASA scientists said at the time that cameras caught solar filament.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Officials say an 18-month-old girl was mistakenly pulled off a JetBlue flight before it left Fort Lauderdale because airline employees thought her name was on the U.S. no-fly list.

An airline employee boarded the Newark, N.J.-bound flight before it departed Tuesday evening, telling the family their toddler was on the federal list that includes thousands of known or suspected terrorists.

JetBlue on Thursday blamed the problem on a computer glitch, saying employees were following proper protocol. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says the girl never was flagged by the agency.

The child’s parents told ABC affiliate WPBF they believe they were targeted because they are of Middle Eastern descent and the mother wears a hijab.

The family was cleared to re-board. But they declined, saying they were too embarrassed.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

A new set of revelations this week that more than 100 band members weren’t even FAMU students at the time of Robert Champion’s death may have proven to be the turning point in deciding the band’s fate.

The news prompted a stunning turn of events on Thursday as first the longtime director of the band announced his retirement and then a top state university official urged FAMU’s president to keep the band suspended while investigations continue.

FAMU President James Ammons is expected to discuss the fate of the band at a special meeting on Monday.

Solomon Badger, the chairman of the FAMU board, said he hopes that Ammons will announce that he is keeping the suspension intact for the near future.

“I would like to hear him say the band is suspended indefinitely until sufficient time has lapsed and enough has been done to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” Badger said. “The time to fix the band would not be while the band is on the field.”

The Marching 100 has had a rich history as it has played at Super Bowls and in inauguration parades. But last week eleven FAMU band members were charged with felony hazing related to Champion’s death in November. Two others were charged with misdemeanors. Champion died following a harrowing ritual on a bus where he was allegedly hit and struck by fellow band members.

Ammons suspended the band soon after Champion’s death and tried to fire band director Julian White. White’s dismissal was placed on hold while the criminal investigation unfolded, but he insisted that he did nothing wrong and fought for months to get reinstated.

But on Thursday the 71-year-old White announced through his attorneys that he has decided to retire and spend more time with his family.

White’s decision came the same week that Ammons told trustees that three of those charged with Champion’s death weren’t FAMU students at the time of the incident.

Ammons also sent a two-page letter to trustees explaining that at the start of the fall 2011 semester there were 457 people on the band roster, but it turns out that 101 of them were not students at FAMU.

A total of 52 people — including 51 band members and one cheerleader — had been previously enrolled at the school but were not enrolled at the time of Champion’s death.

Another 49 were listed as students at nearby Tallahassee Community College or Florida State University but they were not enrolled in a FAMU band class, nor did the university know for sure if they were enrolled at the other schools.

White’s attorney contended that only those who presented band officials with a class schedule at the start of the fall semester were given a Marching 100 uniform. Chuck Hobbs, however, said it was not up to the Department of Music to verify the enrollment.

The news about the enrollment status of the band members, however, comes while state law-enforcement authorities continue to investigate the band’s finances.

Frank Brogan, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, wrote a blunt letter Thursday urging Ammons to keep the band suspended while the investigations continue. The state university system has its own probe into whether FAMU officials ignored past warnings about hazing.

Brogan told Ammons that “reinstating the band prior to these efforts being resolved would side-step efforts under way, which could impact the band’s long-term survival.”

He added that both he and the state panel that oversees the overall university system were worried that “concerns continue to mount regarding the ever-increasing body of issues that harm the institution, its students, and therefore our state university system as a whole.”

Ammons did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday, but he did put out a statement saying that he wished White “well in his retirement.

“Given his position as department chair and director of bands, we must focus on moving forward with changes to the music department and the marching band,” Ammons said.

In his May 8 letter to trustees, Ammons explained that he is having the university “internal crisis management team” speak to faculty, students, as well as boosters and alumni about what conditions should be met before the Marching 100 can return.

Pam Champion, the mother of Robert Champion, has said that the band should be disbanded so the university can “clean house.” She and the family’s attorney contend there is a vast effort among students and others to cover up who is responsible for her son’s death.

An attorney for Champion’s parents said White’s resignation was a step in the right direction.

“The university has to be very deliberate and committed to eradicate the culture of hazing and it’s going to be a long process,” Chestnut said. “But it’s a great first step.”

Former state Sen. Al Lawson, a FAMU alumnus from Tallahassee, said he believed Ammons was leaning toward keeping the band suspended.

“There is a considerable amount of pressure being placed on the university and the trustees about the band being able to perform in the fall,” Lawson said. “But I think in the light of everything, though the university is going to have to go in a new direction.”

Lawson said White’s decision to retire instead of fighting to win his job back gives the university a chance to recruit new leadership for the band.

The Champion family has already told FAMU it plans to sue the university. FAMU itself set up a task force to look at hazing, although the panel has not met since a flare-up over whether it should follow the state’s open meetings laws. Several members have since resigned.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — A Bradenton woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to sex trafficking of minors, recruiting four underage girls to work as prostitutes and promoting the business by taking sexually explicit photos of the girls and posting them on the Internet.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Tampa says that Neang Prom faces up to life in prison when she is sentenced. According to a plea deal reached Wednesday, the 30-year-old Prom and her boyfriend, Eric Bell, recruited the girls, who were ages 15 to 17, by offering them a place to live.

Bell pleaded guilty earlier and will be sentenced June 20.

This case was investigated by the Clearwater Area Human Trafficking Task Force, the FBI, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

TAMPA (CBS Tampa) — Did Capt. Nemo ever see anything like this when he was “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”?

A mysterious creature was caught by underwater cameras recently during deep-sea drilling near the United Kingdom.

The camera catches the giant blob – which looks brown in color and appears to have scales — floating around, with organs and appendages sticking out, something rarely ever seen before.

So … should we be afraid of this new sea creature and will it take over the world?

Steven Haddock, a scientist for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, Calif., says that the mysterious creature is a Deepstaria enigmatica jellyfish, much to the chagrin of some Reddit users who thought it was a whale placenta.

“This bag-like jelly is not that rare, but is large, so rarely seen intact,” Haddock said on his “JellyWatch” Facebook page. “In the video, the swirling from the sub makes the medusa appear to undulate and it even turns inside-out.”

This type of jellyfish is usually found in the south Atlantic Ocean, some 5,000 feet below. According to the Marine Species Identification Portal, the jellyfish has “oral arms […] terminating in curious hook-shaped organ[s].”

Pasco County schools superintendent Heather Fiorentino has recommended firing 47-year-old Laurie Bailey-Cutkomp for putting a dog collar on at least eight of her ninth graders on two days in April.

The collar was reportedly the type used to prevent animals from licking themselves after surgery. “Cone of shame” is a reference to the 2009 animated film “Up,” which Bailey-Cutkomp had previously shown her students.

Zephyrhills High administrators learned of the teacher’s actions after seeing the students’ photos on Facebook. Parents tipped off the school.

“I am stunned that you would put dog collars on students for any reason,” Fiorentino said in a letter to Bailey-Cutkomp that was obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. “I am very concerned that you used this collar to punish and embarrass students in front of their peers.”

Bailey-Cutkomp is accused of violating district and state ethics rules. She has requested a hearing before the School Board to appeal the superintendent’s decision. She is no longer in the classroom while waiting for a date to be set.

Fiorentino outlined in a letter her details of her recommendation. She had a problem with Bailey-Cutkomp showing the movie because it was not included in her approved lesson plan.

In the movie, a dog character wears the cone as a punishment. Bailey-Cutkomp, who has experience in the veterinary field, brought in a cone to show the students.

Bailey-Cutkomp explained to the superintendent that the students wanted to see what it was like for a dog to eat or drink with the collar on and asked to wear the collar.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, one student, whose name was not identified, said in a written statement: “I was in second period. I was drinking soda, and she said, ‘Do I have to put the cone on you?’ I didn’t say anything and she put it on me.”

A mother commented on Facebook that making students wear this collar was inappropriate. Bailey-Cutkomp stopped using the collar after she was aware of these complaints. She later added that it was “probably” a bad idea to put the collar on the students.

Many of Bailey-Cutkomp’s colleagues are supporting her by writing letters to the School Board in her defense.

“Whatever mistake Ms. Bailey-Cutkomp made, it was a mistake that I doubt she will make again,” ninth-grade teacher James Washington told the Times. “Furthermore, what I have witnessed at ZHS certainly makes me believe that she has much to offer the students.”

A telephone message left for Bailey-Cutkomp by The Associated Press wasn’t immediately returned.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)