Dispatcher helps deliver baby over the phone: Logan Reedy, a Brevard County Fire Rescue dispatcher, helped a woman deliver a baby over the phone early Monday morning. By Craig Rubadoux and Tim Walters Posted Dec. 31, 2013
- Filed Under
Thumbs up: To the legacy of longtime local politician Harry Goode, Jr., 75, who was laid to rest this week after his Dec. 28 death. Goode, a member of the Melbourne City Council, previously served two eight-year stints as the city's mayor and 14 years in the Florida House of Representatives. For years, he and his brother Dick Goode owned Harry Goode's Outdoor Shop, a fixture in downtown Melbourne since being started by their parents. Among the many things Goode will be remembered for were revitalizing the airport and reviving downtown Melbourne. "Harry Goode was one of the most honorable and honest elected officials around," City Attorney Paul Gougelman commented on FLORIDA TODAY's website.
Thumbs down: To the West Melbourne City Council, whose firing of Police Chief Brian Lock was upheld by a federal judge for an ugly reason. Lock sued, claiming he was targeted initially by two or three council members for refusing to fire a subordinate who contributed to a rival candidate in a city election. But Judge Charlene Honeywell ruled the city's police chief counted as a "policymaker." So the council "was justified in terminating him based on actual or perceived political differences."
Thumbs up: To Brevard County Fire Rescue dispatcher Logan Reedy for calmly talking a local man through delivering a baby over the phone when emergency crews couldn't get to the mother's Sharpes home in time. Reedy, a six-year dispatcher who also is a certified firefighter and EMT, earned a stork pin for adeptly handling the 14-minute 9-1-1 call. Rescue workers arrived soon after the baby was born and took the mother and child to Wuesthoff Medical Center in Rockledge.
Thumbs down: To Tallahassee lobbyist Barbara DeVane for filing a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott asking the Florida Supreme Court to force Scott to appoint a lieutenant governor within 30 days. What's the point? Although the position has been vacant since Jennifer Carroll resigned in March, state government operations don't seem to have been affected. The $125,000-a-year job has no specific responsibilities except to serve as chairperson of Space Florida and replace a governor who dies or leaves office. In fact, Florida managed to function without a lieutenant governor for nearly 100 years until it was revived in 1968. State law includes no deadline for filling a vacancy, stating only that the governor "shall appoint a successor."
Thumbs up: To the Florida State University and the University of Central Florida football teams for bringing championships back to the Sunshine State. Led by classy coaches, the Seminoles and Knights each won their conference and a BCS bowl. The 'Noles took home the national championship trophy in a thriller Monday night. UCF rated among the nation's top 20 schools for graduation rates and academic progress for athletes and ranked No. 10 on the final Associated Press poll.
Thumbs down: To the Fiesta Bowl for saddling UCF and Baylor University with the cost of buying thousands of tickets too many as a condition for participating. The "non-profit" bowl in Tempe, Ariz., required the colleges to sell 17,500 tickets to students, alumni and others - 85 percent of which they returned, unsold. With UCF on the hook for the cost of its 10,000 unsold tickets, the American Athletic Conference has said it will help the university defray the cost.
Thumbs up: To Congressman Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, who was named the "most effective member of the U.S. House" by Slate magazine. On issues including space, anti-corruption efforts and improved health care for Gulf War veterans, the minority member has passed 31 amendments, more than any of his 434 peers. Grayson's trick: Scouting for issues where liberal Democrats and libertarian Republicans share common ground, such as requiring NASA to "consider American public-private partnership human spaceflight" before partnering with foreign space programs.
Thumbs down: To Gov. Rick Scott, for vowing to appeal a federal judge's decision last week to strike down Scott's signature legislation that required prospective welfare recipients to undergo mandatory drug testing. Scott had argued drug tests were necessary to protect children and taxpayers. U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven of Orlando said she could find "no set of circumstances under which the warrantless, suspicionless drug testing at issue in this case could be constitutionally applied."