December 25, 2009
Today Christians throughout the world celebrate the birth of Jesus. Many people will start the day in a midnight Mass celebration. For many, Christmas is a day to spend with family and friends. If you are reading this, I hope you are having a joyous Christmas.
David Volz
December 24, 2009
Christmas is coming.
For some, Christmas is all about the gift exchange. For others it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Still others look forward to spending quality time with family and friends. Almost every business will be closed on December 25. Those who don’t have family and friends to enjoy Christmas with often report disappointment.
Kimberly Cerri is looking forward to enjoying Christmas with her family. She was recently found shopping at Barnes and Noble in Coral Springs. “I look forward to being at home and celebrating Christmas,” she said. “I will spend time with my family this Christmas. On Christmas Day, I will go to Mass. I think Christmas of over commercialized and it should be more about religion.”
Frank Linero spend the afternoon of Christmas Eve shopping at Barnes and Noble with his daughter Kayla. “I think Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ,” said Frank.
Kayla also enjoys Christmas. “I like it and I think it is fun,” she said. “I like to spend time with my family.”
Morgan Wray especially enjoys Christmas. “I like it because it is a family time,” she said. “It is a good time to celebrate.”
Michael Lams said does not celebrate Christmas but understands why others do. “It is a festive happy time,” he said. “It is a good holiday.”
Steven Valentine, a member of the U.S. Airforce said, “It means Happy Birthday,” he said. “It is a happy time, I love it.” 
December 24, 2009
Those who are looking for a high energy Christmas Eve service won’t be disappointed at Church by the Glades in Coral Springs. Tonight the church will have services at 4:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The congregation will have had 11 Christmas services over the past week. Tonight’s services will be high production with lots of audio video and theatrics.
“For us Christmas signifies the coming of God’s son Christ who ultimately becomes our Savior,” said Pastor Rod Evans, of Church by the Glades. “We think it is so important that we have 11 services. Our theme this year is that God’s son came to rescue us from the trash heap of life. He came to rescue us from sin, depravity and our mess-ups. No one is perfect and Jesus rescues us from our pitfalls.”
December 24, 2009
Coral Springs residents who are out of work or facing a layoff got some good news this week. The U.S. Department of Labor released information showing that the number of people filing jobless claims fell to 452,000 last week. This is down from 28,000 from the previous week. This is a better performance than the decline of 470,000 that economists had expected. The four week average for claims fell to 465,250 the 16th straight weekly decline. Unemployment claims have been falling since summer. This is seen by economists as a sign that job cuts are slowing and hiring could pick up early in 2010.
December 24, 2009
Coral Springs arrested a suspect in the December 12 murder of Sharon Taub on December 23. The murder took place on the 3100 block of Coral Ridge Drive. David Taub who was married to Sharon Taub was arrested for first degree murder at the 7200 block of Sample Road. Anyone with more information is asked to call Detective Scott Myers at 954 346 1229.
December 23, 2009
Whether you like to shop til’ you drop or can’t bear to be in a store, the holiday rush is almost over. Santa Claus is just about ready to leave the North Pole and make his annual Christmas run.
Many people enjoy shopping but others don’t like all the materialism. Sim Hanes was waiting in line so her children could see Santa Claus at the Coral Square Mall. “I enjoy shopping but I did most of my shopping online,” said Hanes. “But I enjoy being out in the stores.”
Carol Brock, also waiting in line so her children could see Santa Claus used to work in a Coral Square Mall store. “I love coming to the mall,” she said. “I used to work here and it is a fun environment.”
Kim Shytle agreed. “I do a lot of my shopping online but I still like to come to stores and shop,” she said.
Charlie Donahue was standing in line with his son Nicholas so he could visit Santa. “Nicholas wants toys,” said Charlie. “This is a festive time of the year. You have to buy gifts and take care of your family and friends.”
Christie was also in line with her children to see Santa. But she was a little cynical about shopping and Christmas. “Why is Christmas only about spending money and presents? I think kids should get presents when they are behaving well.”
Many shoppers are waiting until the last minute. The National Retail Federation found that 42 million Americans had not started holiday shopping by the second week of December. The survey found that only about 9 percent of Americans were done with shopping by then. Those who were waiting for more discounts were in for a disappointment. Many retailers are not discounting as much as they did in previous years.
Some of the most popular products in recent weeks included iPods, digital cameras and other electronic equipment. 
December 23, 2009
Christmas Eve is one of the most significant days for churches in Coral Springs. Some people only attend church on Christmas Eve. First United Methodist Church Coral Springs is planning a special Christmas Eve service at 11:00 p.m.
Rev. Anthony Livreri, visitation pastor for First United Methodist said, “The meaning of Christmas is the birth of Christ,” he said ”Christ came to give us hope for the future. He came to redeem us. Christ came in form of a baby and dwelt among.”
To celebrate, First United Methodist church will have a candle light service. People will offer songs and praise for the birth of Jesus. At the end of the service, the entire church will be lit by candles held by worshippers. Everyone will then sing Silent Night. During the service, everyone will sing traditional Christmas carols like Hark the Herald Angels sing.
Nearly every church in South Florida will have a special Christmas Eve service. Many churches will offer multiple services.
December 23, 2009
The recession in taking a heavy toll on all of us. If you are out of work, what job should you pursue. A recent survey has found that teachers are the most happy with their profession and career. They have better overall health and well-being than workers in 11 other job categories including doctors, lawyers, business executives and mechanics. Many Coral Springs educators say it is because the teaching profession is more of a calling than a job. Even though budget cuts and academic controveries make teaching difficult, most long time teachers see the profession as very rewarding.
The survey was conducted by the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index. It is the first and largest measure of what people consider to be the good life. It uses the World Health Organization’s definition of health. This includes a state of physical, mental and social well being.
December 23, 2009
It appears more likely that Coral Springs will sign a five year contract with Parkland to provide fire protection. Parkland city leaders accepted most of the terms a draft contract prepared after discussions between Coral Springs staff and Parkland’s fire consultant. The Parkland City Commission voted 4-1 t approve the contract. The only sticking point was the termination clause. Currently the contract allows each city to terminate the deal at will with one year’s notice. Coral Springs does not want either party to have the power to terminate the contract unless a major offense has been committed. Coral Springs wants Parkland to pay $4.8 million for the contract while Parkland’s staff recommended paying $4.6 million. Parkland Mayor Michael Udine does not want more negotiations stating that the contract offered by Coral Springs is significantly less than ones offered by other cities.
December 22, 2009
Northeast High School won the Hawk Kreul Classic Sweet 16 Division on December 22 with a 51-39 victory over The Rock (Gainesville). The game took place in the Coral Springs Gymnasium.
The Hurricanes were playing in the 20th annual tournament. Northeast is now 9-0 and ranked second in Florida Class 5A for basketball. Jelani Hewitt scored 25 points. He was named Kreul Classic MVP.
The Rock is a school that has a magnet program for basketball players and is considered an athletic powerhouse.
Gary Brandt, a board member for the Hawk Kreul Classic was satisfied with the tournament. “We had some exciting games over the tournament and I think everyone benefitted,” he said. “This will enable us to award many scholarhips to young people. It also provided some solid playing experience to many basketball players.”
Brandt was proud of the fact that the Kreul Classic has attracted teams from around the nation. This year there were teams from North Carolina, Texas, Washington, D.C. and around Florida.
