AltWeeklies Wire
First Shot: 'Bangkok Dangerous'new
If you're headed to the flicks this weekend, don't worry too much about finding a decent seat. The total of new wide releases comes to exactly one: Bangkok Dangerous.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
09-05-2008 |
Media
Detained in Chinanew
An Orlando native finds himself locked up during the Olympics.
Orlando Weekly |
Billy Manes |
09-04-2008 |
Civil Liberties
The Orlando Police Beatnew
Aug. 8; 8:06 a.m. -- Irony alert: Two dudes with guns held up the Peace Food Store for smokes and cash.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
09-04-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
Toothless: Orange County Animal Services Can't Help Abused and Neglected Animalsnew
Animal Services hasn't been able to shelter the very animals it's supposed to protect. But even if the county agency did have the resources, a toothless state law still wouldn't allow them to do their jobs.
Orlando Weekly |
Deanna Morey |
09-04-2008 |
Animal Issues
Insiders Accuse Orange County School Board of Trying to Cover Up Fraudnew
It seems logical that if Orange County Public Schools discovered that a contractor was bilking them for thousands of dollars, maybe more, they'd do something about it immediately. But that apparently didn't happen.
Orlando Weekly |
Deanna Morey |
07-31-2008 |
Crime & Justice
DNA Has All but Cleared Bill Dillon of a 27-Year-Old Murder; The State Doesn't Seem to Carenew
Add the recent DNA exoneration to all the problems associated with his farce of a trial nearly three decades ago, and one has to wonder why Bill Dillon still sits in state prison.
Orlando Weekly |
Deanna Morey |
07-31-2008 |
Crime & Justice
The Orlando Police Beatnew
This week marks a special edition of Police Beat. Worry not, dear readers. We'll soon be back to spilling ink on copper thievery and aborted home invasions. But this week, we're going to venture off the beaten path just a little.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
07-31-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
Happytown Deals With Local Politiciansnew
You know what’s fun? Having your head dipped in a chocolate fountain with strawberries up your nose. You know what isn’t? National politics played out by local politicians in a law-office boardroom with no chocolate or strawberries in sight.
Orlando Weekly |
Billy Manes | Deanna Morey | Bob Whitby |
07-31-2008 |
Media
Tags: media
The Orlando Sentinel Quietly Hacks Its Newsroom Staffnew
The disassembling of this city's once- proud daily newspaper, as foreshadowed almost a year ago when its parent company was taken over by a multimillionaire businessman with zero media experience, is now in full force, although the paper's powers that be would rather you didn't know about it -- at least not yet.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
07-24-2008 |
Media
Who Polices the Orlando Police? They do.new

In April, Fernando Trinidad did something that would get most of us thrown in jail: He pushed a woman down the stairs at a downtown nightclub, injuring her ankle, and then lied to the cops about it. But luckily for Trinidad, he is an Orlando police officer.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
07-14-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Happytown Deals with Legal Weed and a Giant Ferris Wheelnew
In an online video explaining the Orlando Sentinel’s new redesign, editor Charlotte Hall insisted that they weren’t dumbing the paper down; rather, they were telling stories “more smartly.” And we totally believed her, until we saw the ludicrously vacuous “news” that filled the new Sentinel’s first few editions.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman | Billy Manes | Deanna Morey | Bob Whitby |
06-26-2008 |
Media
Tags: media
The Orlando Police Beatnew
(2008-255783) 12:53 p.m.: Sucks to be this guy. Two guys walked up to him on the street, forced him into his car at gunpoint, and made him drive to the bank and withdraw a bunch of money. The police report lists him as a missing person, which may well mean his day went from shitty to FUBAR, fast.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
06-26-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
Lou Pearlman Reveals His Get-Out-of-Prison Plannew
When U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp handed Pearlman a 25-year sentence in May, Sharp also handed Pearlman "the keys to your jail cell." For every $1 million Pearlman came up with in restitution to his victims, Pearlman's sentence would be reduced by one month. He's in for 300 months. He's on the hook to the government for $200 million.
Orlando Weekly |
Bob Whitby |
06-12-2008 |
Media
The Orlando Police Beatnew
May 30
(2008-236601) 11:20 p.m.: A 25-year-old suspect pulled a 51-year-old man out of a business on South Lee Road, beat him up and took his money. Dick.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
06-12-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
Happytown: How Bad Are Things at the Orlando Sentinel These Days?new
We'll let an unnamed Sentinel staffer answer that one: "Apparently the depressing, winnowing months we've been through recently may soon be know[n] as 'the good ol' days.'"
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman, Billy Manes and Deanna Morey |
06-12-2008 |
Media