by Beth Kassab | May 9, 2025 | News, Uncategorized
Dispute over private lakefront park roils Virginia Heights
The owners of two large homes next to the park filed a lawsuit against another neighbor and want limited hours and kayaks removed
May 9, 2025
By Beth Kassab
The owners of two large homes on Lake Virginia filed a lawsuit last week against another neighbor over “filthy” kayaks and other issues related to a private neighborhood park visible from their backyards.
Escalating tensions over who can do what at the green space platted more than 100 years ago to provide all homeowners in Virginia Heights lake access is roiling one of Winter Park’s oldest neighborhoods known for its mix of architectural styles and picturesque views of the Spanish-Mediterranean buildings of Rollins College.
The path to the Virginia Heights private neighborhood park.
Residents say Eric and Diane Holm and Brian and Caryn Albertson, who own the homes on either side of the park and filed the lawsuit, have demanded changes to the park, installed cameras and floodlights and are using legal action to intimidate others from using the space that has long been the gathering spot for neighborhood holiday parties, Halloween costume contests and more.
“It’s creating a chilling effect of people going into the park,” said Stephanie Guss, who lives nearby and, so far, is the only named defendant in the lawsuit. “People walking into the park feel like they are trespassing even though they know they are not.”
Residents must walk across pavers that appear to be part of the Holms’ driveway and meander down a five-foot-wide path between a black iron fence and a large wall that separates the Holms’ property from the Albertsons’. The path opens to a lakefront green with a dock, a rack for kayaks and canoes and a pair of picnic tables surrounded by the Holms’ and Albertsons’ backyards.
In a rally of support for the park that was part ice cream party and part defiance, more than 100 people gathered there Sunday for treats, games, boat rides and speakers that included former United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins, who owns a home down the street.
“I’ve used this park a lot … there’s usually not many people here,” he told the crowd before reading from one of his works.
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins speaks at the Virginia Heights Park.
Guss is named in the lawsuit because, according to the filing, she “helps handle inquiries for the use of the boat rack.”
Before filing the lawsuit last week, Holm and Albertson filed a legal proceeding in November against Guss to try to find out the names of the kayak owners, financial information related to the park and other details. That case is still ongoing.
While the new lawsuit filed in Orange County Circuit Court does not dispute that more than 200 homeowners in Virginia Heights have equal access to the park, it refers to the kayak and canoe owners as “co-conspirators” and argues that the boat rack and shrubs planted by residents deprives the Holms and Albertsons of use of a portion of the greenspace.
Eric Holm, one of the nation’s largest Golden Corral franchisees who lives in the 10,000-square-foot home just west of the park, told the Voice that he and his neighbor aren’t trying to intimidate anyone and that the cameras and lighting are no different from the typical security measures many homeowners take.
“If someone is not engaging in inappropriate or unlawful behavior, there should be no reason to feel intimidated by their presence,” he said in an email. “Our intent has never been to intimidate anyone—only to follow the law and ensure the park remains a safe, shared space.”
Guss said she stopped assisting with the kayak rack last fall. She said she originally got involved because of complaints from the adjacent homeowners about the canoes and kayaks being left on the grass.
“I was trying to keep the peace by getting everybody to be good neighbors and keep their kayaks on the rack,” she said. “And they came back and sued me.”
Neighbors gathered on a recent Sunday at Virginia Heights’ private park with homes belonging to Brian Albertson and Eric Holm in the background.
Holm, a major Republican donor who hosted Vice President J.D. Vance for lunch at his home last year and a philanthropist who operates multiple Golden Corral, Peach Valley Cafe and Jersey Mike’s Subs locations, said he has growing concerns about safety and liability. He bought his property in 2008 for $3.1 million.
The park, Holm told the Voice in an email, “is not maintained by a homeowners association and has no security or formal oversight. Over time, this lack of structure has led to growing safety concerns — including underage drinking at night and, more recently, vagrants sleeping in the canoes stored there.”
The lawsuit argues that the kayaks and canoes on racks are not permitted and the people using the racks “seem to look at the park as a storage area for items they do not wish to store at their own residence.”
“Many of the kayaks in and around the racks are filthy, showing no signs of use within the last year or more and are covered in dust, dirt, and mildew,” the lawsuit states.
The kayak racks at Virginia Heights park.
Albertson, who paid $3.1 million for his property in 2020 and built his house last year, said he also has concerns about liability and safety.
“We need to take steps to reduce after-hours loitering, including drinking, drug use, and vagrancy,” he told the Voice in an email.
He said he has not reported any incidents to the police.
In a letter dated Jan. 17 signed by Albertson and posted in the park he alerted neighbors that he relocated the park trash cans “while we determine the legality of the placement of trash cans or any other item in the park.”
“We maintain a sincere desire to find an equitable resolution to this situation,” the letter said. “Should there be any criminal mischief or vandalism inflicted against our property we will be seeking criminal charges. Please be advised all movements are monitored by cameras” and invited residents to email him to make arrangements for him to “release the trash cans.”
In February, Holm and Albertson sent a letter to Virginia Heights homeowners explaining that they have tried to discuss solutions with neighbors, but “a handful of self-appointed individuals have attempted to dictate park policies” and “placed obstacles like bushes and trash cans in ways that obstruct views and limit fair use of the space.”
The letter also said all kayaks or other personal property must be removed immediately and asked for signs to be posted that declare the park closed between dusk and dawn. The letter also asserted that the homeowners are not allowed to take up a collection for park maintenance as they have done in the past.
“Rather than escalating this into a long legal dispute, we hope that our neighbors will voluntarily remove their personal property from the park and respect the shared nature of this space,” read the letter, according to a copy provided to the Voice.
Albertson told the Voice that a gate could potentially be installed at the entrance of the park as a security measure to limit access to homeowners. He also suggested that “perhaps we could consider a few well-maintained kayaks for shared community use.”
He said he wants to make sure there is insurance coverage in place “to protect all homeowners in case of any incidents.”
“Given that these concerns affect everyone, I’m a bit puzzled as to why this dispute has persisted for so long,” Albertson said in an email. “We have tried to amicably address this situation for two-plus years. I hope we can come together and find practical solutions that reflect the best interests of the entire community.”
Neighbors say kayaks and the racks have existed at the park in some form or another for 20 years and they object to limited park hours for those who like to watch night rocket launches from the dock, stargaze or just seek a few moments of solitude.
“The park has always been for the use and enjoyment of the neighbors and, to my understanding, has been collaboratively shared without incident,” said Hannah Miller, who also lives in the neighborhood. “What’s changed now has been this attempt to assert power and control over the park.”
Some in the community have taken exception to changes Albertson has made to the park, too, saying he trimmed park trees to enhance the lake view from his backyard. In a court filing last year, Guss wrote that Albertson told a meeting of about 30 neighbors in 2023 that the trimming was done to improve his view of Rollins College.
“We have spent significant money de-mossing and pruning trees on our property and the oak tree in the park,” Albertson said in an email, adding that the work was needed after hurricane damage and done with city approval. “At no time did we trim any trees or branches to improve our view.”
A sign hangs at the Virginia Heights park during a recent gathering.
This isn’t the first time the park has been the subject of a legal debate.
A 1971 court judgement ordered the former owners of the properties now occupied by Holm and Albertson to take down wire fencing and landscaping they put in the park after they were challenged by Virginia Heights residents.
The judgement said that the property owners who abut the park are not allowed to build, plant or place anything on the park land.
Holm said he believes that rule extends to all Virginia Heights homeowners.
“While the judgment does reference the previous owners of the two properties adjacent to the park — now owned by myself and the Albertsons — it clearly states that no structures or improvements of any kind may be erected in the park,” he told the Voice. “We believe the intent of the court was to protect the integrity of the entire green space for the benefit of all 220 homeowners in Virginia Heights, not to single out just two properties.”
But other homeowners in Virginia Heights read the order as a protection from the adjacent property owners taking over the park. They said the ruling doesn’t prevent the neighborhood from collectively beautifying the area such as new bald cypress trees planted at the shore line at the recent ice cream party, where neighbors also took turns making video recordings of their memories of the park.
“These unfortunate circumstances have forged a stronger and more vibrant community in Virginia Heights and, for that, I am thankful,” Guss said.
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by Beth Kassab | Apr 24, 2025 | Uncategorized
What will become of Austin's Coffee?
The shop rents space purchased by the city for intersection improvements and the lease runs out later this year
April 24, 2025
By Beth Kassab
A crowd of Austin’s Coffee supporters pleaded with the City Commission this week to do something to save the shop that is slated to be demolished to make way for drainage and intersection improvements, including a turn lane, at Fairbanks Avenue and Denning Drive.
The showing was part of an ongoing campaign to attempt to persuade city officials to provide Austin’s with relocation money or somehow extend its lease on city-owned property that is set to run out at the end of October.
Last year, Winter Park purchased the buildings that houses Austin’s and the Michelin-starred Soseki for $4 million last year, part of a long-planned strategy to improve the intersection and provide additional runoff capacity for Lake Rose and MLK Park, which are prone to flooding.
City officials have said they will honor existing leases on the property and Austin’s will be among the first to expire.
About 10 speakers from as 
far away as Winter Garden, Ocoee and Apopka traveled to Winter Park City Hall to make the case that Austin’s provides a unique “third place” among artists, poets and musicians who consider the place a home worth preserving.
“Building community without screens or bar culture is really important,” said one speaker.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio thanked the speakers who approached the podium during the public comment section of the commission meeting on Wednesday and spoke privately with several supporters after the meeting.
City Manager Randy Knight said he plans to meet with Austin’s soon and is encouraging the shop to find a new location. He said the city will allow Austin’s to remove anything it would like from the building including walls with permanently affixed art.
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by Beth Kassab | Apr 16, 2025 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Winter Park reaches deal on school resource officers
Orange County Public Schools and five cities had been at an impasse for months over how much the school district would pay for the officers
Photo: Winter Park High School Resource Officer Christopher Belcore accepts an award earlier this year as the top employee for Winter Park Police.
April 16, 2025
By Gabrielle Russon
Orange County Public Schools reached a tentative two-year deal Wednesday with Winter Park and four other communities to continue staffing school resource officers after the two sides were stuck in a stalemate for months.
“Safety of the children and faculty in the schools has always been a top priority for both sides of these negotiations,” said Winter Park City Manager Randy Knight in a statement. “We are pleased to have reached terms agreeable to all entities involved that will keep this long-term partnership of providing School Resource Officers in place through the end of the 2026-27 school year.”
The proposed new contract comes after school board officials said they were going to consider deploying guardians, which is a private armed security force.
“We are grateful to the municipalities for their dedication to our shared goal of fostering a secure educational environment for all students,” said Superintendent Maria Vazquez in a statement. “This agreement represents the commitment we have to our schools and highlights the importance of collaboration in achieving our safety objectives.”
Lakemont Elementary is one of two elementary schools in Winter Park. Photo courtesy of OCPS.
The new deal calls for the district to reimburse Winter Park $73,000 per SRO for the 2025-26 school year and $75,000 for 2026-27 year, according to the terms released by the city of Winter Park.
But the proposed contract also includes provisions so if the district gets additional Safe Schools state dollars, then Winter Park could get paid more too.
The issue is scheduled to go April 23 before the Winter Park City Commission for final approval.
Winter Park, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Windermere have been at an impasse with OCPS for months about the cost to pay for SROs.
Five Winter Park police officers are deployed across Brookshire Elementary, Lakemont Elementary, the Ninth Grade Center and Winter Park High main campus.
OCPS, the 8th largest school district in the nation, currently pays Winter Park about $72,000 a year per officer. The cities had been seeking an increase that would cost the district an extra $2 million a year — or about $39,000 for the city of Winter Park.
Either side could terminate the new contract without cause with 180-day notice.
Earlier this month, Orange County School Board members slammed the five municipalities for asking for additional money as the district’s superintendent warned OCPS is facing unprecedented financial struggles ahead.
“There is no other way to characterize that than they are negotiating in bad faith with us, and I am so disappointed and so frustrated,” said school board member Stephanie Vanos at the April 1 meeting. “I would encourage them to remember that we are public education — we are not just a business. We have extremely limited funds.”
Knight declined to be interviewed at the time but responded in an online comment on the Winter Park Voice story.
“The parties are very close to terms. Winter Park, along with the other cities involved in the negotiations, have chosen not to instill fear in the minds of our parents or to negotiate through public comments, as we feel that is unprofessional and unproductive,” Knight wrote. “The current contract is still valid until the beginning of the next school year. Please know that safety of our students is always a top priority of the city. I am confident a deal will be in place before the current contract expires that is fair to all involved.”
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Gabrielle Russon is a freelance reporter and former reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, where she covered K-12 education, colleges and universities and the tourism industry. She lives in Orlando with her family and writes about politics, education, theme parks and the courts.
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by Beth Kassab | Apr 16, 2025 | City Commission, Election, News, Uncategorized
Chamber-Aligned Political Committee Changes Address and Agent
Commissioners recently questioned if it was appropriate for the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce to operate Winter PAC, which raised more than $85,000 to influence elections, from a city-owned building
April 16, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Winter PAC, the chamber-aligned political committee that had come under fire from some city commissioners for operating out of a city-owned building leased by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, filed a change of address and change of registered agent with the city clerk this week.
Betsy Gardner, the president and CEO of the chamber, will no longer serve as the group’s registered agent, according to the document filed Tuesday.
Instead, Brian Mills, Winter PAC’s chairman and an attorney and lobbyist at Maynard Nexsen, will serve as the registered agent, the person appointed to receive official or legal documents and notices on behalf of the group. Mills is part of the firm’s “government solutions group” with clients in technology, manufacturing and the commercial space industry, according to the firm’s web site. He has previously served on Winter Park’s Board of Adjustments and was chief of staff to former Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh when Singh first took office in 2013.
An address listed for his law firm at 200 E. New England Ave. Suite 110 will serve as the political committee’s new address.
“Winter PAC was established to support a vibrant, engaged, and prosperous Winter Park community,” Mills said in a press release provided by the chamber on Friday. “After speaking with our stakeholders, many of whom have been lifelong residents of Winter Park, it has become clear that this issue of who collects our mail is a distraction from the more important business of how our community is being served. We appreciate the support and encouragement of the Chamber and its members.”
The decision came just days after City Attorney Kurt Ardaman told the City Commission that his firm would no longer be a member of the chamber because he was unhappy, in part, with how the group provided an option to donate to the PAC on the chamber’s membership renewal invoice.
Ardaman said his firm “inadvertently” donated $25 to the PAC, as result of paying the full invoice amount.
The Voice reported the donation in the context of the investigation Ardaman conducted at the request of several commissioners into whether the chamber was violating its lease on a city-owned building across from City Hall by using the same address for the PAC.
Ardaman said he stands by his opinion provided to the commission last month that the chamber is not in violation of the lease because it has not officially subleased or assigned any legal interest of the building over to Winter PAC, which has raised more than $85,000 over two years to influence city elections.
He said he did not know when he started the investigation based on a request from the commission that $25 paid at the same time he paid his firm’s chamber dues was sent to the PAC in January. The PAC has since returned the money.
The chamber says it has nearly 800 members. According to email correspondence between Gardner and Ardaman’s firm provided to the Voice by the chamber, 82 members have opted to pay an extra $25 for the PAC at the time of renewing dues while “hundreds” have chosen not to contribute.
The statement from the chamber emphasized Ardman’s opinion that the group is not in violation of its lease and said the PAC made the changes to its address “voluntarily.”
Commissioner Kris Cruzada, who Winter PAC attempted to defeat in the March election by backing another candidate, was one of the commissioners who said he still had questions after Ardaman’s report.
Cruzada declined to comment on Wednesday.
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by Beth Kassab | Apr 10, 2025 | City Commission, Election, News, Uncategorized
City Attorney Says His Firm has Left Winter Park Chamber
City Attorney Kurt Ardaman said his law firm is no longer a member of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce after he was says he was unaware he made a contribution to its political committee at the time he paid his member dues
April 10, 2025
By Beth Kassab
City Attorney Kurt Ardaman told the City Commission on Wednesday that his law firm Fishback Dominick is no longer a member of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce “based on a number of factors” in the wake of his look into whether the chamber is violating its lease on a city building by allowing its political action committee to reside at the same address.
Ardaman said he stands by his opinion provided to the commission last month that the chamber is not in violation of the lease because it has not officially subleased or assigned any legal interest of the building over to Winter PAC, which has raised more than $85,000 over two years to influence city elections.
He said he did not know when he started the investigation based on a request from the commission that $25 paid at the same time he paid his firm’s chamber dues was sent to the PAC in January. The PAC has since returned the money.
He did not disclose his membership or the contribution in his report. And he did not include that the chamber collects an optional portion paid at the time members pay dues for the political committee, apparently because he was unaware of it.
“I’ve not been happy based on a number of factors with the chamber … So we’ve resigned from the chamber because we’re just not satisfied with it,” Ardaman told the board, noting that no one forced him to make the move.
Ardaman said that the information he obtained from chamber and PAC leaders was not taken under oath, but that commissioners could file a court action if they wanted to attempt to obtain sworn depositions or additional documents from the group.
None of the commissioners expressed a desire to file such an action.
Chamber Executive Director Betsy Gardner, who also serves as registered agent for the PAC, declined to comment. The chamber says it has nearly 800 members. According to email correspondence between Gardner and Ardaman’s firm provided to the Voice after this story was first published, 82 members have opted to pay an extra $25 for the PAC at the time of renewing dues while “hundreds” have chosen not to contribute.
A copy of the Fishback Dominick invoice shows the firm paid for three items on the same invoice: $595 in membership dues; $195 for an enhanced listing and $25 labeled as “optional voluntary contribution to Winter PAC, the Winter Park Chamber’s affiliated political committee.
Commissioner Kris Cruzada, the incumbent Winter PAC attempted to kick out of office this year by spending more than $30,000, thanked Ardman for his “disclosure” and “candor” and asked about other potential legal actions to remove the PAC from the building. The chamber signed a 99-year lease with the city for the building across from City Hall in 2005 and spent $900,000 on its development.
Ardman said he didn’t think such an action would be successful.
Warren Lindsey, a defense attorney and the newest commissioner who took office last month, also thanked Ardaman for his “professionalism” and asked if there were more details about the money paid from the PAC to the Chamber noted in Ardaman’s four-page memorandum.
The report notes $3,600 payments from the PAC to the Chamber listed on the group’s election cycle financial reports as “administrative fees/non-candidate expenditure” or “professional fees/expenditure regarding candidate.”
Brian Mills and Lawrence Lyman, the officers of Winter PAC, told Ardman’s firm that the payments were for the use of equipment such as copies or printers and for the chamber accepting and holding the political group’s mail, according to the report.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to add further clarification that the payments collected by the chamber for Winter PAC are collected at the same time as chamber dues, but are optional. as well as to add additional information based on correspondence provided by the Chamber.
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by Beth Kassab | Apr 9, 2025 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
School board members: Winter Park could lose school resource officers
The city is among five municipalities that still hasn’t reached an agreement with Orange County Public Schools over how much the district will pay for the officers
April 9, 2025
By Gabrielle Russon
Winter Park is in jeopardy of losing its five school resource officers and having them replaced by armed guardians next school year.
Orange County Public Schools board members recently voiced their outrage that they haven’t reached SRO contract deals with Winter Park and four other municipalities since the current contract expires next month at the end of this school year.
“There is no other way to characterize that than they are negotiating in bad faith with us, and I am so disappointed and so frustrated,” said school board member Stephanie Vanos at the meeting.
Orange County Superintendent Maria Vazquez urged the school board to reconsider a controversial plan to hire new armed security under what’s known as the guardians program for those five communities.
“I know that our conversation a few months ago surrounding guardians in our school was one that the board was adamant that we could not look at or that we would not pursue,” Vazquez said at last week’s school board meeting. “I am requesting that the board reconsider that stance.”
The board will meet during a workshop to continue the discussion. No workshop date has been scheduled.
District spokesman Michael Ollendorff said if the guardian program is pursued it would involve private security staff such as hiring former military or law enforcement rather than arming teachers and school staff, which Florida law also allows.
Winter Park, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Windermere have been at a standoff with OCPS for months about the cost to pay for SROs.
Ollendorff declined to say how many SROs currently are deployed at the schools in those five communities, saying that information was confidential under state law for security reasons. Central Florida Public Media previously reported the number was at 34.
Currently, Winter Park Police officers make up five of them — one at Brookshire Elementary; one at Lakemont Elementary, one at the Ninth Grade Center and two at the Winter Park High main campus.
OCPS pays about $72,000 a year per officer and proposed an increase to $75,000 per officer rate for the 2026-27 school year. OCPS already signed three year-contracts with the other four law enforcement agencies in Orlando, Maitland, Eatonville and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Meanwhile, the five remaining cities argued OCPS is not giving enough money to cover the SROs and asked for an additional $2 million to pay for the officers.
“I would encourage them to remember that we are public education — we are not just a business. We have extremely limited funds,” Vanos said. “We don’t have other avenues to generate revenue like they do.”
The school board prefers SROs, said school board member Alicia Farrant who added, “if people don’t want to play nice and negotiate, then we’ll have to look at the guardian program, which, in my opinion, is also a great program.”
Other schools are tapping ex-military and former law enforcement officials to become guardians, Farrant said.
Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley, who is leading the negotiations on behalf of the five cities, and Winter Park spokeswoman Clarissa Howard declined to comment for this story. Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio did not respond to a request for comment.
“At this time all parties are still actively negotiating terms,” Apopka Sgt. Jennifer Rudich said in an email.
In a statement released in December, McKinley said none of the law enforcement agencies were in favor of the guardian program and noted that the police agencies “never threatened or even considered withdrawing SROs from schools” when the current school year started without a contract in place.
“While we understand the financial challenges OCPS faces, our agencies are also contending with significant fiscal pressures,” the statement said. “These include difficulties in recruiting personnel and ensuring adequate equipment to meet the growing demands of our cities. Addressing these financial challenges through appropriate funding is essential to sustaining the high level of service we provide.”
Amid the SRO discussion, Vazquez and school board members warned the school district is facing an unprecedented budget crunch that could lead to hard decisions — like closing schools — in upcoming years.
“I have not seen a time in my educational career where it has been this bleak,” Vazquez said.
Some public school funding is getting cut at the expense of taxpayer-funded private school vouchers, officials said. Other revenue cuts are coming from Medicaid that reimburses students’ mandated therapy services while more federal money is budgeted to get axed under President Donald Trump’s administration.
OCPS pays for SROs using Safe Schools funding – a pot of state money that’s been increased by the Legislature since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland in 2018. Currently the state appropriation for Florida schools is $290 million.
However, OCPS said its $21.1 million Safe Schools allocation isn’t enough to cover all the district’s expenses and leaves the district with a $16.3 million shortfall this school year.
In addition to paying $23.1 million for SROs, the district is legally required to give $1.7 million to Orange County charter schools and also must fund district police and SAFE coordinators, as required by the state, which costs about $12.5 million.
In 2019, state lawmakers divided down party lines approved a school safety bill that included a provision to allow school districts to voluntarily set up guardian programs to arm and train school staff.
Democrats voiced fears that teachers and guidance counselors are already slammed with their demanding jobs without the pressure of stopping an active shooter. The guardians, who would undergo 144 hours of training with the local sheriff’s office, would be missing the extensive training that sworn law enforcement officers have, Democrats argued.
“We’re asking our teachers to be law enforcement … and that’s wrong,” said former Democratic Sen. Bill Montford during the 2019 debate. “Let’s put our money where our mouths are. Let’s provide enough funding so that we can have real, true, well-trained law enforcement, people protecting the children – which they deserve.”
But Republicans argued districts need the option for guardians if they can’t afford SROs or need more police coverage.
“There may be some place in the state where some superintendent has decided that for his community, for those kids in that classroom, he has no other choice,” said then-Sen. Manny Diaz, Jr., a Republican who today is the Florida Commissioner of Education. “The majority of our superintendents and school boards will make decisions based on the resources they have available to them.”
Clarification: This story previously reported that teachers and school staff could be armed through the guardian program under consideration by Orange County Public Schools. While arming teachers is allowed under Florida law, the district clarified it would consider private armed security such as former military or law enforcement personnel, not school staff.
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Gabrielle Russon is a freelance reporter and former reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, where she covered K-12 education, colleges and universities and the tourism industry. She lives in Orlando with her family and writes about politics, education, theme parks and the courts.
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