Angie LaPlaca

I accessed the archives for The Daytona Beach News Journal for this assignment.   1) Edgewater man trying to adopt arrested on child porn charges http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/1699558376C76448?p=WORLDNEWS The gist of this story is basic; a man in Edgewater, FL was going through the process of trying to adopt a child. The story does not say how far in the process he had gotten, but the verbiage makes it sounds like he was further along than just applying. It was discovered that this man possessed child pornography after the police received information from the  National Center for Missing and Exploited Children . He is in jail and unsurprisingly the adoption is not going to go through.  The problem here is that a sick man was able to even begin the adoption process. The state of Florida has the problem. The story makes you wonder if things like this have happened in the past. Have children slipped through the cracks and been...

My Belief I have a belief that an opportunity exists in my town for a new place to eat and drink that is different from the other places currently in operation. Our town is culinary wasteland. I realize that opportunity is a problem, and not having anywhere good to eat out doesn't like a major one. But in our town, it really is. I first recognized this problem/opportunity when I started driving 30 minutes or more to get something to eat. Anyone else in the greater Ormond Beach area who cares about the quality and source of their food would also have this unmet need. If there ever was an establishment in Ormond Beach that met these parameters, it's not open now and hasn't been for a long time. People in town definitely do visit other places right now to meet the need of having some decent food and a good time. A locally-owned wing chain comes to mind as a busy and common spot to hang out, as does a tiki bar that's on the main throughway. There's an expensive, ol...

1) My absolute biggest bug is that my dog has glaucoma and there is not really a long-term treatment option other than removal of her eyes . It's maybe the biggest bug of my entire life. Another factor to this bug is I suspect it was her most recent rabies shot that caused it. But ultimately, the bug is why isn't there treatment? The first reason is that doctors and researchers don't even have great treatment options for a lot of diseases that afflict humans. I guess I can understand why many aren't focusing on treatment for dogs with a semi-rare eye disorder. 2) I went to Blue Springs State Park this morning to see the manatees . Almost all of them, including some babies, had huge gashes all over their bodies from getting hit by boats . That's a sad bug. The first reason is boaters who do not adhere to the no-wake or minimum wake signs that line the river where the manatees swim. A boater could certainly still injure a manatee while going slow, but the in...

I live in a small town. Maybe it's not that small; the 2016 census estimates the population in Ormond Beach, FL is over 40,000 . But it feels small. New businesses open often, but they are rarely the type where you can get a drink, something to eat, or be entertained. We have the ocean; we have Tomoka State Park . You can drive along the intercoastal waterway, which turns into a gorgeous canopied road that will take you north into marshes filled with birds and lined with palm trees. It's called the Loop (see above picture). What we don't have is art, culture, entertainment or great food. My fiancé and I drive to Orlando or Winter Park almost every weekend to shop for unique ingredients and get something to eat that isn't from a chain restaurant. Ormond Beach has a problem: I'm taking an entrepreneurial approach to solve it. In January 2017 I started my first small business (well, second, but the first one never quite took off…) called BAKED by Angie. This may ...

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