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December 14,
2007 - City News |
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Mayor's
Message |
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Dear Friend,
As part of our Pathways for Parramore initiative,
the City of Orlando has created the Parramore
Kidz Zone. The Parramore Kidz Zone aims to lower
teenage pregnancy, juvenile crime, child abuse
rates and improve school performance by
investing in early childhood education,
after-school programs, programs that build
family economic success, youth development
programs for teenagers, access to health care,
mentoring and more.
As a result of the success of this program, the
City of Orlando was one of six cities selected
by the National League of Cities to participate
in a project focused on engaging our City’s
disconnected youth. Disconnected youth are young
people aged 16 to 24 who are neither in school
nor in the workforce, and are at-risk for crime,
homelessness and other negative outcomes.
As part of the project, the Charles Stewart Mott
Foundation sponsored City staff to attend a
series of workshops and site visits in New York
City last week. During the three day visit, Lisa
Early, our Families, Parks and Recreation
Director, and the rest of the Orlando team
joined with national experts in policy
discussions regarding youth employment, youth
crime and drop-out prevention programs. They
visited programs such as YouthBuild, Cascades
High School for Teaching and Learning, the
Center for Employment Opportunities and Passport
2 Success at the Door. In addition, the Orlando
team was warmly received at Harlem Children’s
Zone, the model program upon which Parramore
Kidz Zone is based. The Harlem executive team
provided extensive insight and technical
assistance to the Orlando team, helping set
direction for Parramore Kidz Zone in the years
ahead.
Clearly, Orlando is on the cutting edge of
positively shaping this generation of youth. For
more information or to get involved, please call
Brenda March at 407-246-4300.
Sincerely,
Buddy Dyer
Mayor
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This section of
City News provides public safety updates on new and ongoing City
initiatives and opportunities for citizens to become engaged in their
neighborhoods.
Illegal Gun Bounty
Captures More Guns
The City of Orlando
and CRIMELINE provide a $1,000 reward for tips that remove illegal guns
from the street. Citizens can call CRIMELINE anonymously at
1-800-423-TIPS with information about an illegal gun or other
illegal activity. Tips that lead to an arrest, a gun recovery and a
weapons charge will result in a cash reward.
Since the Illegal Gun
Bounty was launched in January, the program has received 798 tips,
recovered 121 illegal guns (including guns recovered outside of Orlando)
and CRIMELINE has given out a total of 32 illegal gun bounty rewards.
The Illegal Gun Bounty program is part of Mayor Dyer’s continuing
commitment to keeping Orlando safe.
Space Heater and Fireplace Safety Tips
As we enter the cooler months, the
Orlando Fire Department advises residents to be careful when using space
heaters or fireplaces.
Space Heaters
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Provide plenty of room around your space heater. They should be
at least three feet away from anything that may burn. |
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Turn
off the space heater when you leave the room or when going to
bed. |
Fireplaces
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Have
your chimney or wood stove inspected and cleaned annually by a
certified chimney specialist. |
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Clear
the area around the hearth of debris, decorations and flammable
materials. |
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Always use a
metal mesh screen with fireplaces. Leave glass doors open while
burning a fire. |
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Keep
air inlets on wood stoves open, and never restrict air supply to
fireplaces. Otherwise you may cause creosote buildup that could
lead to a chimney fire. |
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Use
fire-resistant materials on walls around wood stoves |
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Never use flammable liquids to
start a fire. |
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Use
only seasoned hardwood. Soft, moist wood accelerates creosote
buildup. |
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Build small fires that burn
completely and produce less smoke. |
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Never burn cardboard boxes,
wrapping paper or trash in your fireplace or wood stove. |
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When
building a fire, place logs at the rear of the fireplace on an
adequate supporting grate. |
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Never leave a fire in the
fireplace unattended. Extinguish the fire before going to bed or
leaving the house. |
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Soak
hot ashes in water and place them in a metal container outside
your home. |
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Mayor in the
Community |
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On Monday,
December 10, Mayor Buddy Dyer attended
the Capital One Bowl Contract Signing
luncheon with Florida Head Coach Urban
Meyer and Michigan Head Coach Lloyd
Carr. Both universities will play
against each other at the Florida Citrus
Bowl on January 1. |
On Wednesday,
December 12, Mayor Dyer attended the Working
Together Coalition holiday celebration at City
Hall.
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On Thursday,
December 13, Mayor Dyer attended The Vue
grand opening celebration. The Vue is a
35-story residential and mixed-use
condominium overlooking Lake Eola Park. |
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City Employees
Host "Green" Holiday Luncheon
City of Orlando
employees intergrated a green theme into their
annual holiday celebration on December 5. City
departments traditionally do booths at the
event, which includes a holiday lunch, to
educate employees about their services. This
year, the booths focused on one of the five
pillars of Mayor Buddy Dyer’s Green Works
Orlando initiative.
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Among the
different booths was one from the
Finance Department encouraging employees
to sign up for direct deposit and online paycheck stubs. Both items reduce
the number of payroll checks the City
has to print, saving money and paper.
Other booths allowed employees to make
recycled christmas tree decorations and
wrapping paper or highlighted
energy-efficient and water-saving
housing products. A few Orlando Police
Officers really got into the theme,
putting new meaning to the City’s “Green
Team” by litterally painting themselves
green. |
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Did You Know? |
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Project Homeless Connect
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On Friday, December 7,
more than 50 community agencies and
businesses offered their assistance to
Orlando Project Homeless Connect,
joining 40 cities across the United
States in the
national initiative to lift homeless
individuals back to self-sufficiency.
The event provided
showers, meals, shelter, employment
opportunities, mental health and
substance abuse services, ID cards and
driver’s licenses, birth certificate
applications, access to Social Security
for claims and replacement cards, job
training programs, job interviews, legal
services and pet care to the area’s
homeless population. During the daylong
event, 950 individuals were assisted,
140 identification cards were issued and
30 individuals were immediately placed
in housing. |
More than 400 volunteers from faith groups,
government agencies, businesses and the social
services community ensured the delivery of
customized services to meet the needs of each
participant.
This is part of a continued effort by the
City to work with other government and
non-profit agencies in the community to address
the needs of the community’s homeless
population.
Events Center Design Unveiled
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On Tuesday, Mayor Buddy
Dyer joined Orlando civic leaders, the
Orlando Magic and architects from HOK
Sport to unveil the design of the new
Orlando Events Center.
The Events Center, which
is scheduled to open in the fall of
2010, will be home to the Orlando Magic
and the Orlando Predators, and it will
compete to host major national events,
concerts and family shows. The City of
Orlando will operate the new Events
Center. |
The Orlando Events Center will
feature a modern mix of metal and glass exterior
materials. An iconic, 120-foot-tall glass tower
element will serve as a beacon amid Orlando’s
vibrant Downtown while anchoring the arena to
the adjacent I-4 highway. The tower, with a
unique Tower Club and observation deck at the
top, will be programmed with assorted lighting
elements to allow for its character to change
via variations in color and intensity.
The new Events Center will also
include an 80-foot-tall main lobby, spacious
outside balcony overlooking Church Street, fan
experience zone, kids zone, a public area
overlooking the event floor, premium suites,
club seats, three retail stores and banquet
rooms.
As part of the City’s Green
Works Orlando program, the new Events Center
will set a new standard in sustainable design as
one of the greenest professional sports
facilities in the country.
With an ultimate capacity of
more than 20,000 seats, the Events Center will
be bounded by Church Street, Hughey Avenue,
South Street and Division Avenue, with the
primary entrance facing north to Church Street,
creating a natural extension of the nearby
Downtown entertainment core. The Church Street
entry will feature a large public entry plaza
connecting the center’s spacious entry lobby.
Find out more about the new
Events Center and see additional renderings of
the design at
CityofOrlando.net.
Holiday
Garbage Schedule
Residential Customers
On
Christmas Day, there will be no residential
collection of garbage, recycling or yard waste.
These homes will be served on their next regular
collection day. On New Year’s Day, garbage,
recycling and yard waste will be collected.
Commercial Customers
The
City's commercial customers will receive normal
scheduled garbage, recycling and yard waste
service on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Finance Department
Receives National Recognition
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The City of Orlando’s
Finance Department received a
Certificate of Achievement for
Excellence in Financial Reporting for
the City’s 2006 Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report (CAFR). In order to
achieve this certificate, the City must
publish an easily readable and
efficiently organized CAFR and comply
with generally accepted accounting
principles and applicable legal
requirements.
This is the 28th
consecutive year that the City has
received this award. The City’s 2006
CAFR can be viewed
online. |
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Upcoming
Events |
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Road Closure |
• For information on
road closures please visit:
our site.
• For up-to-date
information on I-4 lane and ramp closures please
visit:
trans4mation.org
• For the latest
East-West Expressway updates please visit:
http://www.oocea.com/constructionupdate/roadupdates.shtml |
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City Hall
400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: 407.246.2221
Fax: 407.246.2842
Email:
buddy.dyer@cityoforlando.net |
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Florida has a very broad public records law.
As a result, any written communication created or received by City of
Orlando officials and employees will be made available to the public and
media, upon request, unless otherwise exempt. Under Florida law, email
addresses are public records. If you do not want your email address
released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic
mail to this office. Instead, contact our office by phone or in writing.
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