The state’s release of preliminary results of FCAT testing has put Florida education reporters in a tizzy the past few days, and there have been impressive stories written all over the place about the debacle. In case you don’t want to wade through a million inches of copy to understand…
Multimillionaire John Goodman will soon return to the lap of luxury, at home beside the lush green grounds of the International Polo Club he founded in Wellington. Rather than immediately serving his 16-year prison sentence, he will win this get-out-of-jail pass after posting a $7 million bond and paying for…
A hearing in Palm Beach Circuit Court this morning hammered out the final details of John Goodman’s release on bond while he appeals his conviction (and 16-year sentence) in the 2010 death of 23-year-old Scott Wilson. It looks like what was agreed to late Friday, but the document wasn’t finalized…
We told you yesterday about James Benjamin, the 39-year-old accused of killing Jessica Delgado, his ex-girlfriend and mother of two children with him. The way he reportedly told it to police, the two of them got in a fight early May 8 because she was dating someone else and didn’t…
A federal inmate who has served 11 years on drug charges he says he didn’t commit has convinced prosecutors to let him out of prison. Elroy Phillips refused to accept his fate after being sentenced to 30 years on charges of selling drugs to an undercover cop. He conducted records…
While it’s not clear if a Republican can beat Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in November, the fight for the Republican nomination has no shortage of interesting rhetorical maneuverings.The most recent spat between George LeMieux and Rep. Connie Mack started over a web ad the LeMieux campaign released that suggested Mack…
Gov. Rick Scott’s Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care is no longer Rick Scott’s… or Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care.Scott founded the chain of health care clinics in 2001, and sold it in 2011 amid cries of conflicting interests. The company announced yesterday that it will be changing its name to CareSpot Express Healthcare…
Reports of suspicious mortgage loan activity increased nationwide for the 10th year in a row in 2011, according to federal data released earlier this month. Florida accounted for more of those reports than any state but California and was the source of one in every 10 cases of suspected mortgage…
If James Benjamin has a lawyer, he should be fired.According to police, the 39-year-old Lake Worth man admitted to the murder and rape of 36-year old Jessica Delgado, a mother of five children, including two she had with Benjamin. Police say Delgado’s body was discovered by relatives the morning of…
Say what you will about Congressman Allen West, but the guy can come up with really interesting ways of shooting down ideas.When liberal news website ThinkProgress found him outside of what looks like the Cannon House Office Building last week, a reporter asked him what West’s opinions were on “a…
MAOS blogger and professional filer-of-complaints Chaz Stevens says he submitted a formal complaint to the Federal Elections Commission yesterday in connection with our coverage of Congressman Connie Mack’s illegal campaign mailer incident…
There’s a small psychic shop on SW Fourth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, just south of the bridge. If you drove by on Sunday, you may have seen a banner across the front door, reading:ATTENTIONPersons who have given this psychic money, before March 2012, you have been defrauded. Would you like…
The new ordinance banning “aggressive panhandling” citywide and regular panhandling in specific places has been finalized and is set to take effect on Wednesday, at which time you will no longer be able to ask for money in bus stations, buses, city-owned garages, parking lots and parks, or within 15…
It might be fun for people to talk about Florida Sen. Marco Rubio getting picked to be Mitt Romney’s running mate, but one group that isn’t talking about it is… Mitt Romney’s campaign, according to an article from Politico.The article compares the Romney campaign to that of John McCain in 2008…
Update, 5/21: We’ve got the Google searches made from Okrzesik’s phone the night of the murder. They’re not nice at all. Update 2: Also their Facebook messages.Original post, 5/14:Police say 19-year-old Juliana Mensch was strangled to death March 23. A week later, 32-year-old James Ayers was arrested and charged with the murder…
Birthday wishes are in order! Best start baking the cakes now — it’s cool, you can just get the money out of the federal treasury.Last week, we wrote about Rep. Connie Mack’s illegal mailers that he sent to 90,000 Floridians. The postcards said they were a “legislative update” to the…
From Friday evening, in case you missed it: Wellington polo mogul John Goodman was sentenced to 16 years in prison at a hearing that lasted more than two and a half hours and featured the interrogation of a juror, testimony from victim Scott Wilson’s mother, and the reading of a…
Last week, a committee of experts recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve the first drug for protecting against HIV transmission.On the surface, it sounds like great news. But as The Pulp reported in January, some doctors have serious concerns that the pill is not as effective as it should be…
Update, 5/14: We just posted a selection of text messages between Okrzesik and Ayers.Original post, 5/11:Police say 21 22-year-old Nicole Okrzesik was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree murder in the strangulation of 19-year-old Juliana Mensch in late March.Police say Okrzesik and James Ayers, her boyfriend, killed Mensch after getting high…
Note, 4:30 p.m: This liveblog is over. More updates to come in separate blog posts; check out The Pulp for more soon. And thanks for sticking with us this whole time.) Hello, crime-gawkers — here’s where we’ll be liveblogging the 2 p.m. hearing in the John Goodman murder trial. For…
UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.: Got in touch with the president of the PAC. He said he was upset. Added comment to the end of the story.A small New Jersey-based political action committee had its website torn to little, vulgar shreds last night by lunatics who appear to have come from the…
Hostess Brands, the makers of Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Ding Dongs that declared bankruptcy in January, has filed paperwork with the state warning of at least 479 potential layoffs all over the state.And it’s not just a Florida thing — reports of layoff warnings are coming out all over the country,…
