UPDATE: Read about the School Board’s vote after the jump.Mavericks in Education Florida should not be allowed to open three more charter high schools in Palm Beach County, school district officials say, because the for-profit company’s claims about its academic achievements can’t be verified.The recommendation for denial — which will…
For three months, we’ve been telling you about Mavericks in Education Florida, a local charter school chain headed by the vice president’s brother, Frank Biden. Tomorrow evening is your chance to see a Mavericks campus for yourself and voice your opinions at a public board meeting in Palm Springs.Mavericks is…
A graph contends the more devout a Muslim is, the more likely he is to be violent. An instructional document saying that in Islam, “war is the rule and peace is only temporary.” The paperwork sounds like propaganda produced by Joe Kaufman or U.S. Rep. Allen West. But the documents…
Buying guns and shooting targets in Lake Worth is officially part of the economic recovery effort.According to data compiled by the nonprofit journalism website ProPublica, the Palm Beach Shooting Center in Lake Worth received a $550,000 loan backed by the Small Business Administration using stimulus funds.The loan, which was awarded…
Last year, when Gov. Rick Scott and his cabinet enacted an archaic ban on the voting rights of ex-felons, supporters called the ban colorblind. They said making nonviolent felons wait five years after completing their sentences to apply for the right to vote again had nothing to do with Florida’s…
Mavericks High in Homestead was rocked by violence and grief this week. First, 16-year-old Danny Cruz was shot and killed by a police officer at a Homestead gas station. Then another Mavericks student, 17-year-old Jeremy Perez, was accused of bringing a gun to school “for protection.” On Tuesday, Perez was…
Two years ago, Lawrence Hunt told police he killed his lover, Calvin Williams, because he feared Williams was about to rape him and give him HIV. If the case had gone to trial, family and friends of both men would have been dragged through a public airing of intimate secrets. Did…
For nearly three years, Heath Miller sat in jail without facing a jury. In April 2009, the once-popular band teacher at H.L. Watkins Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens was charged with sexually assaulting four of his eighth-grade, female students. His arrest came as a shock to many in the…
On April 23, 2011, months before she was hired as assistant principal at the Mavericks High charter school in Palm Springs, Tisa Brandon was videotaped hanging out with teenagers at Denny’s in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. At the time, Brandon was dean of Liberty High School in…
Last week’s New Times cover story explored the lives of Muslims living in South Florida. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we got the story:The hardest part was picking an outfit. Living in South Florida, I rarely have the need for a turtleneck. But as a female reporter visiting a…
U.S. Rep. Allen West’s departure from his Broward-Palm Beach district to run for a more Republican-leaning seat up north is undeniably good news for local Muslims. Finally, South Florida will be rid of a congressman who calls Islam “a totalitarian, theocratic, political ideology.”But don’t start celebrating yet. Former state House…
Wellington multimillionaire John Goodman knows he might be going away for a while. The founder of the International Polo Club is facing multiple criminal charges for allegedly driving drunk and causing the car accident that killed 23-year-old Scott Wilson in 2010. He has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide, DUI…
“Financial support for MURDERERS!” yells a ponytailed man holding an American flag. “Are you going to blow up our daycare centers?” a woman shouts nearby. On a quiet, residential Margate street, roughly a hundred angry protesters gather outside an unassuming white building adorned with a rounded green dome and a…
Six months ago, Bill Koch’s spokesman told us the Palm Beach billionaire’s political allegiances were “hard to pin down.” Unlike Tea Party sugar daddies Charles and David Koch, “Wild Bill” was the Koch brother who supported more traditional Republican candidates and liked to fly under the radar. Sure, he was…
Rich people do strange things to protect their money. Wellington polo mogul John Goodman went so far as to adopt his 42-year-old girlfriend to preserve his family’s fortune. Which means, legally, he’s his girlfriend’s dad, and… well, you get the idea.Why would a multimillionaire do such a thing? Goodman, 48,…
Here’s the leadership team at Mavericks High School in Palm Springs: Principal Thomas Lockett is not certified to teach in Florida and has a background in pharmaceutical sales. Assistant Principal Tisa Brandon came to Palm Springs from the Osceola County School District, where she was investigated for alleged “unethical behavior”…
Perhaps the people in Tallahassee don’t read much on the interwebs. Or maybe they don’t mind entrusting their kids’ education to a team of real estate developers. Whatever the reason, the Leon County School Board has decided to approve a new Mavericks High charter school.Mavericks in Education Florida is a…
The principal of the Mavericks High charter school in Palm Springs is not certified to teach in Florida, according to the State Department of Education.Thomas Lockett runs a school that serves roughly 500 at-risk students and promises to help them earn enough credits to graduate. Yet he does not have…
Florida has a habit of exporting its public policies to other states, where they spread like cold sores on a drunken Himmarshee night. Grading schools and teachers based on test scores, expanding vouchers and charters schools — the nation has former Gov. Jeb Bush to thank for that.Now, the governor…
Only in Palm Beach is such a pairing possible. State Attorney Michael McAuliffe is abandoning his bid for a second term as the county’s top prosecutor in order to work for Bill Koch, the Palm Beach billionaire.According to the Palm Beach Post, McAuliffe plans to join the legal team at…
Was it the West Palm Beach cop-beating scandal? The steady exodus of prosecutors from his office? Or perhaps his spotty luck prosecuting corruption in the Riviera Beach Police Department?Michael McAuliffe cited none of these setbacks in his official statement this morning saying he won’t be seeking a second term as…
Merick Lewin, the Republican state House candidate from Davie whose family runs the 1-800-411-PAIN Referral Service, has raised $96,000 for his campaign– far outpacing all of his competitors in District 97.Unsurprisingly,roughly 30 percent of Lewin’s donations come from healthcare professionals and attorneys. 411-PAIN is a Broward-based company that refers car…
