Best of news 2016

Three teens arrested in Winter Park student’s death: Dec. 7, 2016

After nearly two months of protests from mourners waiting for a break in the case, three teens were arrested Dec. 7 in connection with the death of 15-year-old Winter Park High School student Roger Trindade, who was found unconscious in Winter Park’s Central Park on Oct. 15 after a mysterious altercation. Police had been treating the investigation as a “suspicious death” but have officially named the case as a homicide, according to an update released on Wednesday. The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office has concluded that the death was a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma. Read more about the arrests at http://bit.ly/RogerTrindade

Maitland’s downtown comes together: January 14, 2016

As Maitland City Council members picked apart the details of a development deal that would fell the city’s last orange grove in January, the old, dilapidated Winn-Dixie property that served as an eyesore for decades laid in pieces across the street from city hall. The building – along with the plaza next-door – was being demolished to make way for the city’s new downtown. Demolition on the buildings began Jan. 7 to make room for Maitland’s first revitalized downtown development, Maitland City Centre, which will include a 220-unit apartment building, 42,000-square-feet of retail space, a 503-space parking garage, and a 41-space surface parking lot. Read more about how Maitland’s new downtown is finally coming together at http://bit.ly/MaitlandDowntown

Cooper, Library, Weldon win in Winter Park: March 15, 2016

Winter Park City Commissioner Carolyn Cooper successfully defended her seat and challenger Peter Weldon edged incumbent Tom McMacken for his seat during the March 15 election after more than 10,000 residents cast their vote in the two City Commission races. Weldon led McMacken with 50.57 percent of the vote, walking away with 5,193 votes to McMacken’s 5,075. In the same election, Winter Park residents voted on a bond referendum of up to $30 million to help pay for a new library/civic center at the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Park. That bond was approved by the slim margin of 51 to 49 percent, meaning plans will move forward to design and construct the new facility. But the library issue didn’t end there, as a group of residents launched a months-long court battle to keep the library out of MLK Park. Read more of The Observer’s March 15 election coverage at http://bit.ly/WPelection, or visit http://bit.ly/WPPLlocation to read more about the location controversy.

Patrick Chapin resigns from the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce: May 18, 2016

Winter Park Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Patrick Chapin announced his resignation from the Chamber on May 18, after accepting the role of CEO for Business High Point Inc. in North Carolina. Chapin served the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce since January 2010, with a focus on partnership, innovation and community. Some of his major accomplishments include Feed the Need Winter Park, the community-wide initiative to raise $300,000 in three years to support Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, establishing the Leadership Winter Park Legacy Fund, advocating for SunRail in Winter Park and, recently, donating a kidney to a Chamber member. His resignation took effect June 15, but a new President/CEO was named just this month: Winter Park local Betsy Gardner Eckbert. Read more about Chapin’s legacy at http://bit.ly/ChapinResignation and read more about the Chamber’s new President/CEO at http://bit.ly/EckbertChamberPresident

Winter Park votes to undo bolstering of historic preservation ordinance: June 23, 2016

Winter Park went back to square one when it comes to historic preservation in June. The Winter Park City Commission voted to amend its historic preservation ordinance – undoing the changes voted through by the Commission last December meant to better protect historic homes in the 134-year-old city. Changes passed in June included restoring the voting threshold needed to designate a historic district back to a two-thirds vote. Of cities in Florida with historic preservation ordinances, Winter Park reverts back to being the most difficult city to create a historic district. Revisit all the details of the historic preservation changes at http://bit.ly/WPpreservation

Orlando, Central Florida rise up following horrific Pulse shooting: June 16, 2016

As the air shimmered over a sweltering Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando, thousands pondered what humanity remained in the city in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. They didn’t need long to find it. Standing aloft a stage surrounded by thousands of mourners, speakers levied a similar message; of a city finding unity after its darkest moment. Massed on the grass mall fronting the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, well-wishers and mourners blotted out the green and lit up the sky with thousands of tiny candles. Locals in Winter Park and Maitland stretched around the block from blood donations stations to pitch in. Read more about how Central Floridians came together after the June 12 Pulse shooting at http://bit.ly/RememberingPulse

Police chief retires after 35 years in Winter Park: Aug. 25, 2016

“I’m going to be going from 100 mph to zero,” retiring Winter Park Police Chief Brett Railey said during his last week on the job in August. That’s the feeling that Railey gets when he realizes that he’s retiring from the Winter Park Police Department after 35 years. It’s gone by in a blur, but Railey still remembers well what it was like to be a Winter Park police officer in the 1980s. Police cars had no computers and officers didn’t carry cell phones; instead they carried a roll of dimes to make urgent calls to dispatch from pay phones. Revisit the story of the man who led the Winter Park Police Department for seven years at http://bit.ly/RaileyRetires

Winter Park Golf Course reopens, but fees double: Oct. 13, 2016

The city of Winter Park celebrated the reopening of the Winter Park Country Club golf course with a ribbon cutting ceremony, putting an end to a seven-month rehabilitation of the nine-hole course that included new fairways, sand traps, contours and sprigging. But a new and improved course now means higher membership fees, which irked some Winter Park residents. Read The Observer’s Oct. 13 story about the reopening of the Winter Park Country Club golf course at http://bit.ly/WPCCreopening

Two incumbents upset: Nov. 8, 2016

Both Congressman John Mica and Orange County Commissioner Ted Edwards were unseated in the Nov. 8 election. Both long-time politicians lost to two political newcomers. Democratic challenger Stephanie Murphy pulled off a victory to take the seat for Florida’s 7th Congressional District. Murphy captured 51.43 percent of the total votes. In the county race, entrepreneur and activist Emily Bonilla unseated Edwards in the District 5 race with 57 percent of the vote. Read more about both upsets at http://bit.ly/BonillaElected and http://bit.ly/MurphyElected

New Winter Park library can be built in MLK Park, judge says: Dec. 8, 2016

The saga regarding where Winter Park’s new library should be built potentially closed its final chapter, as a judge ruled that the library can be constructed in Martin Luther King Jr. Park. According to a release by the city, Orange County Judge Margaret Schreiber issued a final judgment on Dec. 7 that validated the city’s desire to finance a $30 million bond to fund the demolition of the city’s existing civic center and construction of a new municipal complex including a new events center, library and parking garage – all within Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The ruling may have ended a months-long fight over where the library should be located. Read more about the judge’s ruling at http://bit.ly/WPPLdebate