Keith_Landry's Blog

Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to land Sunday afternoon, at Kennedy Space Center if the weather is ok.  The shuttle crew has completed a two week mission to make some serious home improvements to the international space station.  They installed several new rooms and did some experiments.

The shuttle continues to get the job done, but there's still talk of retiring it in 2010, leaving a five year gap until a replacement space vehicle can be built.  NASA's administrator Mike Griffin says it could be disastrous to keep flying the shuttle past 2010 because it's very old.  Politicians say it's years in service should be extended to cover the gap until a new space vehicle is ready.

What do you think NASA should do?  Blog it here.

A terrorist attack in India has stunned the world.  More than 150 people were killed in a series of ten cooridnated attacks in Mumbai, which used to be Bombay.  It would be like someone opeing fire with machine guns and bombs around Wall Street. 

The FBI is sending a team to India to help figure out who did this.  Intelligence officials warn us not to jump to conclusions.  Two Americans and two former Americans were killed in the attack.  Two other Americans were hurt.

What do you make of this sudden, stunning terrorist attack?  Blog your thoughts here.

So what's it gonna be for Thanksgiving 2008?  Family and friends?  Working?  Cooking that monster dinner or going to Boston Market?  Usually I work on Thanksgiving and the folks at the station have a nice meal together, and then the left overs together.  This year I'm off because Turkey Day falls on my day off.

I am blessed and very thankful this year.  How are you feeling about Thanksgiving this year? Football and a nap or shopping like a maniac?  Blog it all here.

A pit bull/ American bull mix bit a nine year old boy in the face Monday afternoon near Orlando.  The child needed face on his surgery.  What do you do with the dog, which is in quarantine now?  First, you have to consider the circumstances of the attack.

The boy was playing darts with a friend when a dart went over the fence and into the yard next door, where the dog was.  The dog was in its own yard, behind a fence and the boy went into the yard.   The dog bit the boy.

Animal Services officials say the dog has no prior incidents, appears to be well cared for, is updated on its shots and neutered and was friendly to the animal control officer who took it away.

So what do you do with the dog?  Blog it here.

Are you spending a bunch right now or are you working to pay down your debt?  Are your credit cards maxxed out?  Are you stressed about high interest rates?  Did you max out the home equity? 

Blog your thoughts here.

We are seeing some great deals in the stores right now as we start to think about holiday shopping.  Are you shopping for others right now or are you seizing bargains for yourself with big savings, knowing you'll shop for others soon?

Last weekend I picked up a new pair of sneakers for 27 dollars.  They were needs not wants.  A steal deal I had to take.  Two days ago I got two pairs of Rockport dress shoes, for work, for 110 dollars.   Are you kidding me?  Now, it's time to start my Christmas shopping. 

So are you snagging steal deals for yourself or focusing only on gifts for others?  Blog it here.

DCF admitted today they made mistakes in the death of a five month old boy in Lake County earlier this month.  The child welfare agency came clean today and made a top district manager available to discuss the tragic incident.

DCF issued a final report saying an investigator made mistakes in the death of Gabriel Golden.  His biological parents left the boy with a couple, who were caretakers.  Sheriff's deputies found the boy dead at the home of Ashley and Tammi Baker.  An autopsy ruled the boy had two skull fractures and died from blunt force trauma to the head.

The agency finds its investigator was supposed to do back ground checks on the Bakers within 72 hours but waited almost thirty days.  The check found after the fact that Mrs. Baker was investigated fourteen times on child abuse allegations, two were verified.  Mr. Baker had been arrested a few times.

So the agency says it's making changes to make sure the background checks are done on time and that supervisors are talking more with investigators.

Still, baby Gabriel is dead.  What are your thoughts on this situation?  Blog it here.

They were two brutal videos that went national on the internet.  The videotaped beatings of teenager Victoria Lindsay in a home in Polk County.  The defendants thought it would be cute to beat her up and then post it on the internet.  Now, it's time for them to pay the price for their deeds.

There will be a pretrial hearing Tuesday in Polk County.  Five young women are charged with kidnapping and battery in the beatings.  Now there's talk of possible plea arrangements for some of them.

Do you think prosecutors and the judge should allow these five teens to enter plea deals, or should they have to face the rigors of trials for what they did?  Blog it all here.

Some big retailers are offering big deals this weekends, sales well before Thanksgiving.  Retailers are worried they'll have an awful holiday season, so they're trying to lure shoppers in early.

Where will you shop this Christmas?  Do you have shopping tips for the rest of us?  Blog it all here.

I wish I didn't have to write this blog, because this is gonna be ugly.  More big budget cuts are on the way for our schools across Florida.

The Orange County Schools Superintendent Ron Blocker talked about how the district has saved 713 thousand dollars so far this year in transportation costs.  They did it by flip flopping starting times for high schools and middle schools, creating shorter bus routes.

The problem is that the steps school districts have already taken just won't be enough to keep up with Florida's plunging state revenues due to the slow economy.

Analysts say the state could force another round of school budget cuts for this school year and then much deeper budget cuts for next school year.  Teachers and school board members across the state say there's no fat left to trim in their budgets.

What do you think about the cuts that are on the horizon?  Will they hurt the quality of education in our area?  Blog it all here.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office has busted three meth labs in five days.  One was a mobile meth lab; one was in a home; and one was in a shed.  The sheriff's office says it usually ranks in the top ten counties in Florida for meth lab busts.  That's because of the rural areas with few people to spot operations.

What do you think about all this?  Blog it here.