From the moment he first addressed reporters at Marjory Stoneman Douglas on Feb. 14, Scott Israel has been an integral and often-compelling figure in the continuing storyline connected to the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history. At a CNN-organized town hall meeting a week after the shooting, the Broward County sheriff drew several standing
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When Kyle Woodard started teaching music last year at Dave Thomas Education Center, one of the first things he did was paint the room a bright orange, which he believes enlivens students when they come in for class. And on a recent day at the Coconut Creek school, it was obviously so. On a TV
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Their introduction came seven years ago. Michael Hartwell, an auto collision technology instructor at Atlantic Technical College, and his students replaced a set of tires on the van of the school’s information management specialist, Kristy Bak. He noticed the disabled parking permit on the window. Bak’s son, Andrew, was diagnosed with schizencephaly at birth, a
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A Lifestyle event at Metropica featured an in-depth look at the South Florida housing market The latest installment of Lifestyle Connect drew more than 200 attendees to Sunrise for a wide-ranging panel discussion about the residential housing market with some of the region’s top real estate professionals. The sales gallery for Metropica, the luxury master
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Students throughout the tri-county region refused to wait for the National School Walkout in March to make their voices heard in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. In the week following the Feb. 14 attack, high school students from Hialeah Senior High, Western High in Davie, Cypress Bay in
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At Coconut Creek Elementary School, Christine Bazos doesn’t just teach first-graders about math, reading and social studies. She’s also a caretaker for the children growing up to become leaders. “We try to teach them, even at a very young age, to be the best person they can be—to help others, to not think of themselves
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When Leo Moleiro became Coconut Creek’s special events planner in June 2016, he was confident about what his job would entail. But something kept coming up. “When I first started working here, [everyone said], ‘Hey, you’d better get ready for the Butterfly Festival,’ ” Moleiro says. “I was like, ‘Well, it’s June. I’ve got eight
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More than 20 years ago, Joan and Bob Nast often would visit local hospitals and pray for sick children. Though they saw many children recover and go on to lead happy lives, they also saw a lot of pain—pain they felt they could help alleviate in some way. “Bobby and I said to each other
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Wally has been at the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital since it began in 1995. Only after naming the alligator did the center realize it made a mistake. “We thought she was a he until she started laying eggs,” says executive director Allan Rose. “She is quite a celebrity.” The nonprofit organization, located in
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Physician Gayan Poovendran was braving winter in Ohio when he learned of a job opportunity in South Florida. On a personal level, it gave the Indiana native access to year-round sunshine. Professionally, it gave the sports medicine specialist a chance to introduce a new treatment to the region’s athletes. As part of his practice at
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Neil Eisner, managing director of Encore Resort at Reunion, calls his property the “best secret” in and around Orlando. But it might not stay that way for long. Though the hassle of booking multiple hotel rooms is driving more families and groups toward house rentals—vacation rentals have more than tripled since 2010, according to the
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The finest spot in my thatched-roof bungalow was a white crochet hammock on the wooden porch. Only 10 feet from the sparkling Caribbean Sea, I was within constant earshot of crashing waves. Every free moment was spent swaying in the hammock, where I read my book or nodded off, stirring only to reach for a
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