Life & Family - OrlandoSentinel.com

No tuition increase? It could go up 1.7 percent at UCF and other universities

By Denise-Marie Ordway, Orlando Sentinel — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:23:10 GMT

Even though Gov. Rick Scott on Monday vetoed a 3-percent tuition hike by the Legislature, there's still a chance that rates could go up 1.7 percent at public universities.

The dual-enrollment shuffle: School districts now must pay for popular program

By Denise-Marie Ordway, Orlando Sentinel — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:18:53 GMT

Gov. Rick Scott signed bill requiring districts, not colleges, to pay tuition for students

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday signed a bill requiring Florida school districts to start paying for the classes that teenagers take at local colleges through their high schools' dual-enrollment programs.

Options lacking for parents of disabled kids at F schools

By Lauren Roth and Leslie Postal , Orlando Sentinel — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:47:00 GMT

The notice in the mail told Carmen Olmeda she could transfer her profoundly disabled daughter out of Orange County's F-rated Magnolia School.

Foster children with disabilities bond with all the pretty horses

By Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:22:00 GMT

Program helps kids learn how to build trust

Nearly two dozen foster children with a variety of disabilities spent time on Sunday petting, grooming and becoming friends with horses at Orlando's Trotters Park.

As grocers, restaurants bicker, many menus still lack calorie counts

By Sandra Pedicini , Orlando Sentinel — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:32:00 GMT

Three years after Congress voted to require it, you still won't find calories listed on the menus of most restaurant chains.

UCF Medical School graduated its first class Friday

By Marni Jameson, Orlando Sentinel — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:07:00 GMT

And they're doctors. The first class of medical students to come out of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine graduated Friday morning during a ceremony on the UCF campus.

Cancer cover girl rallies to launch fashion line

By Kate Santich , Orlando Sentinel — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:11:00 GMT

In a playroom at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, a frail, bald-headed 13-year-old girl is between takes for “omg! Insider,” a TV celebrity-gossip show, talking about her new fashion line.

UCF instructor suspended for 'killing spree' comment allowed to teach again

By Denise-Marie Ordway, Orlando Sentinel — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:29:18 GMT

A UCF instructor who was placed on administrative leave last month while the university investigated a comment he made to students about a "killing spree" has been cleared to teach again.

Sellers: How to get the most for your house

Marni Jameson — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:57:00 GMT

Receiving five offers in 48 hours for my parents' former home bowled me over, especially considering the real estate market we all just barely lived through.

Get 'em while they last: volunteer opportunities

By Kate Santich — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:31:00 GMT

Want to be happier, boost your self-esteem, improve your health and perhaps even live longer?

Kiera Wilmot's mom: Her arrest was 'traumatic,' drained family finances

By Leslie Postal , Orlando Sentinel — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:43:45 GMT

The on-campus arrest of her 16-year-old daughter and the classification of her would-be science project as a "destructive device" has left Polk County mother Marie Wilmot exhausted, frustrated and eager for a return to a life of "just me and my girls," she said today.

Disgraced pastors who repent face long road back, experts say

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:04:56 GMT

In a letter read to the congregation at Discovery Church, Pastor David Loveless admitted adultery, deceit, sinfulness, selfishness, broken trust and a violation of "everything I knew to be true and right."

Orlando Magic help build Habitat for Humanity home

By Kate Santich — Thu, 16 May 2013 05:51:00 GMT

Here's one upside to the Orlando Magic not making this year's NBA playoffs: Two of the players will join off-court staffers in helping to build a Habitat for Humanity home on Thursday.

Chris P. Bacon grows into celeb with big-pig wheelchair

By Jon Busdeker, Orlando Sentinel — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:52:00 GMT

Chris P. Bacon is hogging the spotlight. Since becoming an Internet sensation this year, the disabled pig from Clermont that uses a wheelchair to get around has appeared on national television and at several Orlando-area charity events. He has a new website, and soon he'll be the subject of a series of children's books highlighting the pig's adventures.

Angelina Jolie's breast surgery sparks cancer discussion

By Marni Jameson, Orlando Sentinel — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:03:32 GMT

Angelina Jolie's news that she elected to have both breasts removed to reduce her chances of developing breast cancer has put a celebrity spotlight on a decision more women are facing.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day

Heather McPherson — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:57:00 GMT

Friday's Food Revolution Day is part of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's initiative to raise awareness for better food education and cooking skills across the world

Heart Association's 'Go Red For Women' luncheon could be a life-saver

By Kate Santich — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:01:00 GMT

Kim Strong was 41 and seemed like the picture of health. She had a muscular and athletic build, low blood pressure, low cholesterol and a healthy diet. In her first four decades of life, she'd never had any serious medical issues.

Florida officials announce details to halt public-assistance fraud

By Kate Santich , Orlando Sentinel — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:42:45 GMT

Florida officials are cracking down on those who rip off taxpayers by defrauding public-assistance programs — a crime estimated to cost the state as much as $1.35 billion last year.

Simulator shows Orange teens the dangers of texting, driving

By Lauren Roth, Orlando Sentinel — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:37:45 GMT

A close friend of Colonial High School senior Lora Abdulhak was killed by a driver who was texting. But it wasn't until she tried a simulator that imitates the hazards of texting while driving that Abdulhak, 18, vowed to stop doing it herself.

Student Kiera Wilmot's arrest over science experiment explosion sparks outrage on Twitter, other social media

By Leslie Postal , Orlando Sentinel — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:02:53 GMT

Kiera Wilmot is a petite 16-year-old who plays cello, wants to study robotics in college and, since last month, worries her school views her as a "terrorist."

Area's first human-milk depot opens today at Florida Hospital

By Marni Jameson, Orlando Sentinel — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:43:00 GMT

For some babies, the liquid is life saving. Now more will be able to receive human breast milk when the area's first milk depot — a place where nursing moms can drop off donated breast milk for other women's infants — opens Tuesday at Florida Hospital.

Daughters honor fallen fathers in Clermont 'Ride of Silence'

By Kate Santich — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:53:00 GMT

They are two young Central Florida women united by parallel tragedies: About nine months apart, their fathers were hit and killed while lawfully, cautiously riding their bicycles.

White House Boys seek justice for reform-school abuse

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:11:00 GMT

About 25 old men gathered beneath a shade tree in Kissimmee's Lakefront Park Sunday for a reunion of nightmares, scars, anger and pain. They were all boys in the 1950s and '60s when they were sent to a reform school in the Florida panhandle, where they were beaten, whipped and sexually abused.

For paltry pay, teaching assistants are unsung heroes in state's push toward excellence

By Erica Rodriguez, Orlando Sentinel — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:58:00 GMT

LEESBURG — In a room dubbed Confidence City, a burly Baptist minister-turned-educator calls out writing instructions to a row of special-needs teenagers hunched over their work sheets.

Former FAMU student Rikki Wills pleads no contest in hazing case

By Stephen Hudak , Orlando Sentinel — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:22:00 GMT

Former FAMU drum major Rikki Wills, who insists that he tried to shield his college roommate Robert Champion from a brutal hazing in Orlando in 2011, pleaded no contest today to felony hazing resulting in death.