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Well, the first annual ORBBIES contest is history. I am going to make this a brief post because I plan on getting up very early in the morning. I was pleasantly surprised, as I mingled with the decent sized crowd, that many of them were familiar with my site. I met all of the winners who were there and I will do profiles on several of them in the near future, as news of Casey slows down. Everyone was very nice. I met and had a lovely conversation with the owner of DISUnplugged after the ceremony was over. She did win the Best Of Blog award and we joked around about how we had gone neck and neck throughout the contest. She was a very gracious winner and I was just as gracious as the second best, which isn’t too shabby for a relative newcomer on the scene.

I met a lot of really good people. One was a gentleman who writes Apps for iPods. Now, he would be an interesting person to profile. There were others. I guess this was a definite foray into networking, something I’ve never been all that comfortable with. After the ceremony was over, I had a good conversation with Charlotte Hall, the editor of the Orlando Sentinel. Soon, the Digital Media Manager of WESH joined the conversation and so did another Sentinel employee, who I will call a “reliable source” and leave his name out of it. I mentioned that with the volume of people who come to my blog now, I get some pretty nasty comments and I am dissed on other blogs because I won’t allow bashing and name calling. When I mentioned that I was called an Anthony lover for it, the editor frowned and said it was ridiculous. I mentioned to all three of them that they must get their share of nasty letters to the editor and e-mails and they said it was just amazing how people can be. That was when my reliable source – which was his suggestion – spoke up. I didn’t want to mention his name.

Since we were on the topic of hate mail, he said he got e-mails from women who hate my guts. I said, see? I told you. He said they wrote that I was cheating and I was an Anthony lover. We both got a big chuckle out of it. He didn’t think it was a very niece, I mean, nice thing to do and it backfired because in the end, those women had no clout and they looked like fools, every one of them, to the one person that mattered. You want to know why? Because I won the Best News Blog award, and that’s something to hang on my wall, something the nastys can’t take away from me. In the end, those handfuls of negative e-mails served no purpose other than to fall flat.

I want to thank everyone for voting, no matter who you voted for. You had that right and I would never deny it. In the end, the Best News category was a prestigious award because it says I write the news. I congratulate all of the winners and I did so to every person in attendance. Even if I had lost, I met some very nice people and most of all, I have some of the Best People in the World right here on this blog. This award is yours, too.

Orlando Visitor

Scott — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:37:25 +0000

WESH producer Jon Carlisle invading the WDSU set Friday night.

One of my former WESH co-workers, Sunrise producer Jon Carlisle, stopped by the WDSU studios last night for a visit and after-work get together Uptown.

Jon was passing through New Orleans en route to the Arkansas/LSU game in Baton Rouge today. It was great seeing Jon and his fiancee’ Gina. Poor girl gets dragged across the southeast on road trips all football season. To see Arkansas, no less.

Tiger Woods Suffers Facial Lacerations but is in Good Condition After Crashing Car Outside Florida Home

Digital Citizen — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:49:47 +0000

Tiger Woods At about 2:25 AM on the morning of Fri Nov 27, Tiger Woods pulled out of his driveway in

A Bar Room Brawl

Marinade Dave — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:11:47 +0000

This is going to be one of those stories you will like or hate and it will be your choice in the end. I don’t really care if you intend to defend your favorite TV criminal defense lawyer or not, but I will first say this before I continue: no man on earth is a god. No TV reporter is one, either. With that out-of-the-way, what I am going to write is the truth. If you’d rather not read it, please don’t. Cover your eyes until you find a fluffy and whimsical story about how the good lawyer ruled the land with his faithful sidekick and when they spoke, the world listened. Otherwise, proceed at your own risk.

First off, a lot of nasty things were written about me on Bill Sheaffer’s blog in the form of comments from readers. Initially, it upset me, but after a while, prudence and common sense took over and I decided to move on. No hard feelings. I think Bill is an asset to WFTV and he’s a very good writer, to boot. I’m not here to disparage any of his blog posts or “interviews” with Kathi Belich. Someone else is doing that. No, this has to do with ethics and I don’t care who it is, but if it’s an attorney, the fuzz rises on the top of my scalp. Not only that, but I’m going to write about it because that is what I do. Write.

On Sunday, a commotion commenced to start at one blog that was picking on another one over yonder. In other words, one legal analyst questioned the validity of advice doled out by a former prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney on his new blog and on WFTV. I’m not here to write a thesis on the issues that arose on Sunday between Bill Sheaffer and Richard Hornsby, the two legal analysts who opine over the case against Casey Anthony. Sides have already been drawn and it is bound to get ugly from the top all the way down to the most modest of commenters. I think it’s fixing to be a big fight, “Bar” none. Florida Bar, that is, or one of guilt by “association.” I will say it’s a festering flap that started over the Motion in Limine to Introduce Prior Bad Acts and Other Circumstantial Evidence Pertaining to Roy M. Kronk. In one corner, Bill Sheaffer wrote in his Does Casey’s Defense Have No Sense Of Decency? post, “I deem these tactics as despicable…” in regard to the motion stating that Roy Kronk is just as much a suspect in the murder of Caylee Anthony as her mother. He went on to call the motion frivolous and claimed that Jose Baez could be sanctioned by the Florida Bar. He questioned whether Kronk could sue Baez & Co. for slander and libel.

Now, I’m not one to question an attorney all that much. After all, it is what they do and I don’t. No one in their right mind would ever consider Kronk a suspect in a case like this. I even wrote about the absurdity of it in a recent post titled, Kronk to Caylee: Zero degrees of separation. Today, I’m dealing with the right here, right now aspect and what is fomenting between two Orlando attorneys. In a rebuttal of sorts, Richard Hornsby wrote a post on his blog. Titled, In Defense of the Casey Anthony Defense, he stated that, “The very conviction with which Mr. Sheaffer blasts the Anthony Defense on the Motion makes me question when he last opened up one of those law books he is always sitting in front of (Although the Giraffes in his most recent interview were a nice touch). He went on to write that, “The Motion was dead on about the law and it was a dead on strategic move from a criminal defense perspective. And I opined this same position on WESH-NBC when I said ‘This is the first significant and credible shot the defense has taken against the state. I think it has a high likelihood of success.’”

OK, that was Sunday and I think you get the drift. Two local attorneys are not seeing this motion eye to eye. One of the things you must sidestep is your total disdain for anything Anthony. You can’t rightfully assume that if someone disagrees with Bill Sheaffer, they are automatically in the Anthony camp. That’s just not the way it is and only narrow-minded people think that way. God knows (the real one, not Bill) that whenever I’ve taken the side of the law on issues pertaining to Casey Anthony’s rights, I have been slaughtered and branded an Anthony lover, so I know first hand what kind of mob mentality exists. Vicious, nasty people, with no patience or tolerance for the rule of the land.

Yesterday morning, a post appeared on Bill Sheaffer’s blog. Titled, Witness for the Prosecution or Fall Guy for the Defense?, it suddenly vanished into thin air and reappeared later in a completely re-edited form. What happened? Well, here is where it gets very tricky and you really do have to leave your hatred for the Anthonys at the doorstep before you enter because this part has to do with ethics as an attorney. Again, let me remind you that you can’t just throw your support to one person because they happen to be on your side. For one thing, Sheaffer loves to brag about his consummate expertise as a prosecutor, so he knows all about the intricacies of a capital murder case. The only thing is, he was a prosecutor for less than 2 years and never tried a murder case in that capacity. Also, this was from 1978-1980, close to 30 years ago. On the flip side, Richard Hornsby was admitted to the Bar in 2001, so he hasn’t had 31 years of experience like Sheaffer.

What happened went like this: Yesterday morning, WFTV put up a 2-part audio/video on its Web site of Andrea Lyon’s speech last year at the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s conference here in Orlando. For those of you who didn’t see it, someone swiped it from the WFTV site and put it up on YouTube before WFTV surreptitiously removed it in one fell swoop. Oops! Big boo boo. The audio was never intended for public consumption and the rules of FACDL say so. So, how did Kathi Belich and WFTV get possession of it?

According to Richard Hornsby’s blog post, R.I.P. William J. Sheaffer, Esq., “Mr. Sheaffer called FACDL headquarters and claimed he was having a hard time hearing the audio and would like to have a copy sent to him. He went so far as to say he needed it so that he could maintain his death penalty qualifications.

“FACDL believed Mr. Sheaffer and sent him the audio as he requested – he immediately turned it over to Ms. Belich. The rest is history – just like his reputation among his colleagues.”

Hornsby also stated, “And for those that are interested, I did verify that Mr. Sheaffer lied to obtain the seminar materials. Apparently FACDL was concerned that the audio would be leaked, so they set up a system to stream the audio.

Personally, I can’t verify if that’s the way events transpired, but I don’t doubt it. What happened here was an unethical act. All materials from FACDL are for criminal defense attorneys’ eyes and ears only and any member who distributes them violates the association’s by-laws. Nothing is allowed to trickle down to the public. If Mr. Sheaffer did hand over an audio tape to Kathi Belich and lied about acquiring it, there should be some kind of ramification because of it. It was sneaky and dirty and it shows where his true allegiances lay. This has nothing to do whatsoever with justice for Caylee Anthony. Zero. Zilch. Nada. This has to do with one thing and one thing only. Ratings. Ratings translate into revenue and the higher the ratings, the higher the revenue.

Incidentally, WFTV removed the material at the request of FACDL, not Richard Hornsby. YouTube has stripped it from its site, too, so we’re not merely talking about a small gaffe. This was a big goof.

Ultimately, I think this will settle down and Bill Sheaffer will continue as WFTV’s legal analyst. I see no reason not to. Maybe, it was blown a wee bit out of proportion, but I must say I admire Richard Hornsby for sticking to his principles – damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. No single person should ever be esteemed like Sheaffer. It breeds an ego a mile high.

In my opinion, the right road to take is down the middle so viewers can ultimately decide on their own. When one side continuously preaches that the sky is falling, it’s not really being objective, is it? It’s not news, either. It’s nothing more than an opinion piece. We all want justice for Caylee, but if a TV station goes way, way beyond the bounds of middle ground and becomes too close to the state, how is a fair jury ever going to be seated when this sort of thing is forced down their throats every day? Remember, this is the home of Casey Anthony’s peers. As much as you complain about the defense making the rounds to taint a jury, what is fair about a guy like Bill Sheaffer when all he ever tells you is what you want to hear? Well, it’s all about ratings. What a cash cow Caylee has become.

Round 1: Hornsby.

Casey Anthony: WESH vs. WFTV

kreuzer33 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:54:51 +0000

Somedays, I wish I could live in Florida just to watch some of the local news coverage of this case.

Thanks to Hal Boedeker for this update on a battle brewing between WFTV’s Bill Sheaffer and WFTV’s WESH’s Richard Hornsby.

Be sure to check out his blog at the link below for more on this story, and the rest of his great posts!

From The TV Guy:

WFTV-Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer dismissed the latest motion by Anthony’s defense team as a media stunt. The defense team is pointing to Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found Caylee Anthony’s remains, as a possible suspect in the child’s death. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the child’s death. Sheaffer said the defense team’s interview with Kronk’s ex-wives are worthless because they weren’t done under oath.

But WESH-Channel 2 legal analyst Richard Hornsby praised the defense team’s motion. “This is the first significant and credible shot the defense has taken against the state. I think it has a high likelihood of success,” Hornsby said on the air.

Now on his blog, Hornsby writes that he was “flabbergasted” when Sheaffer described the defense’s “tactics” as “despicable.”

Hornsby writes, “The very conviction with which Mr. Sheaffer blasts the Anthony defense on the motion makes me question when he last opened up one of those law books he is always sitting in front of.” Hornsby says Sheaffer’s “legal commentary” has been “completely cheap and false.”

In blog comments posted today, Hornsby gives lengthy and detailed criticism in analyzing the defense motion. He describes Sheaffer as “Mr. Suspenders” and “an attorney who reeks of elitism.” Hornsby also tells Sheaffer, “You are … a sell-out to your profession.”

Sybanak la vieille tarée

Andreita — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:37:13 +0000

Chers lecteurs,

Un désagréable imprévu m’ayant empêché de poster la semaine dernière, c’est aujourd’hui que je poste mon dessin de Sybanak. Qu’est ce qui est petit, vert et vieux et qui vit dans un marais? Elle. X) *kiff Sybanak*

Sinon, pour encore raconter ma vie, je suis plutôt en forme en ce moment. Et oui, j’ai eu ma chambre étudiante! \o/ Enfin un endroit où je vais me sentir chez moi parce que c’est moi qui paie le loyer… Je suis assez impatiente d’y ramener mon bazar et ma réserve de thé ^^ je suis dans le vieux Lyon donc c’est joli, je prend le funiculaire (je kiff le funiculaire!), et j’aurai le wi-fi. Enfin voilà c’est cool. Amis et autres vous êtes bien entendu les bien venus (enfin pas tous en même temps non plus :p) et puis je crois que j’ai tout dit. *kiff le funiculaire*

Ah oui, pour les dessins, j’ai deux crayonnés d’avance à vous montrer, mais pour l’instant je les garde au chaud. La semaine prochaine, c’est un fanart de Ruel, because of Halloween contest pour Wakfu. Ça va chier. 8) *kiff Ruel*

Sur ce, à ciao bonsoir!

Pat's 2 Cents: Happiness Is UCF Gridlock

seinpez — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:28:59 +0000

By Pat Clarke
WESH

I left the WESH studios in Winter Park at about 6 p.m. Saturday for what normally is a 30-minute ride to the UCF campus. I figured that would give me a good hour or so after I arrived at Bright House Stadium to grab a bite to eat, pour over some pre-game notes and mingle with cronies before the Knights kicked against Miami at 7:30.

[2009 Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards.]....and last I would like to "Tank" Casey Anthony....

Finn Perkins — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:17:20 +0000

….and last I would like to tank Casey Anthony….for being herself, and finally the commun

Does not compute

Marinade Dave — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:34:49 +0000

Don’t hold your breath. This isn’t my best video. I didn’t do much editing and it shows.

I wasn’t really sure how I was going to write this article. I do know that because I live in the Orlando area, I can readily access locations around Casey’s old haunts much better than the vast majority of people interested in this crazy Anthony case, so when the story broke last week about James Thompson coming forward with information regarding his encounters with both Casey and Caylee, I really paid attention. If you recall, Thompson wrote in his statement to the Maitland Police Department that the two of them came into TechBay, his computer store, around June 9 of last year. He also wrote that he ran into them at the Casselberry Walmart store on June 16, the day after Father’s Day. This was the last day Caylee was seen alive according to law enforcement and state prosecutors. How fascinating, I thought. I live in Casselberry and shop at that particular Walmart. Not only that, but his computer store is in Maitland, right down the street from me on US 17-92. This was well worth looking into.

One thing immediately puzzled me. In his report, Thompson wrote that Casey was exiting Walmart around lunchtime, with Caylee lagging behind, while he was entering; yet Casey’s cell phone was nowhere near there at that time according to pings. She was at her parents’ house or very, very close by. Something was not computing in my head. The Caselberry store is 15 miles away,¹ while the closest one is less than half that distance from her house.² Both are on Semoran Blvd. Why would anyone go out of their way at lunchtime, especially when cell phone pings prove otherwise? Initially, I thought that, perhaps, her battery was dead, there were none available at the nearer Walmart, and an employee sent her up to the other store. But then, I went back and scrutinized her cell phone records and concluded that she chattered throughout the day except for about an hour, and it wasn’t until after 4:00 pm that she began driving north from Hopespring Drive.

Last Wednesday, I took a ride down to TechBay. James Thompson wasn’t there, but two of his employees were. One seemed to be in charge and when I discussed my interest in talking to James about shooting a video from inside his store, he advised me to come back earlier tomorrow, like 9 or 10 in the morning. I completely understood it wasn’t his call to make to allow me to shoot video footage inside. I thanked him and from there, I drove over to Walmart and took video of the doors used to enter and exit the building.

In his report, Thompson wrote that Casey was looking for an external monitor for her laptop computer. She did, in fact, own a laptop at that time. Most of his report included peculiarities in Casey’s behavior regarding her daughter after he showered her with attention at his business. Although compelling and highly believable, I was more interested in facts regarding the Walmart connection and I questioned two things in particular. The first one was seeing her exiting Walmart at lunchtime, and the second one was his statement about Caylee’s struggle to push out one of the doors.

“Casey Anthony was coming out one of the interior Walmart doors as I was coming in. I recognized her immediately from the week before because she was the pretty girl who came into my store… At first I didn’t see Caley [sic] with Casey. I was going to ask Casey if she bought a monitor yet, but then I saw Caley in the background walking by herself about 10 feet behind Casey and having to open the big Walmart door by herself. The little girl looked angry and had a determined ‘I can take care of myself’ look on her face. I specifically remember feeling sorry for the little girl having to open the door by herself and wondered why her mom wasn’t helping her…”

Taken at face value, there’s no doubt we have pretty much concluded how callous Casey could be, and that part of his overall account seems very credible except for the cell phone pings that placed her somewhere else at the time, and those Walmart doors that swung outward from the inside. I seemed to remember the store having self-opening doors and I needed to find out for sure. The other major issue I had was the wait. Why did James Thompson wait for over a year to file his report with law enforcement? After all that time, and without wanting to doubt his integrity, how could he possibly remember everything in such great detail?

When I pulled into the Walmart parking lot, it was filled with cars. Walmarts are always teeming with shoppers. The store in Casselberry is a Supercenter. The front has two main entrances. The one on the right side takes you into the grocery area. The one on the left takes you into the department store area. Well, the whole thing is a giant department store, supersized, but you get my drift. Each entrance has two entry/exit accesses and the doors simply slide sideways when opening and closing, like elevator doors. There are single side doors that open outward, but they are off the beaten path, so to speak, and are seldom used. This is what I initially wrote on a comment last week when asked. It seems that everyone knows Walmarts have automatic doors and until my trip, I couldn’t say whether they slid sideways or swung in or out. Ultimately, what we mostly surmised was that this James guy must have been making this up, right? I mean, after all, he was wrong on the doors. He’s got to be some kind of nut looking for publicity.

Bob Kealing/WESH interview with James Thompson

The rest of the week, I kept myself busy doing other things and yesterday morning, I picked up the phone and gave him a call. He answered and I introduced myself. I told him I know Laura and Snoopy and he said he’d tell me anything I need to know.

Just kidding.

I asked him if he was sure he saw them on June 16. He was absolutely positive. I mentioned that on his written statement to police, he stated he saw Casey and Caylee at lunchtime, but on his interview with Bob Kealing on WESH, he said it was around 4:00 pm. That’s a big difference. He shot right back, though. He said when you own a store, lunchtime could be 4 o’clock. OK, I guess, maybe, in a stretch, but what about the doors that open outward? I told him I was over there last week shooting video and those doors slide sideways. He said this happened a year and a half ago. Actually, it was a year and four months ago, but I didn’t correct him. I asked him if the doors had been changed since then. He said, yes, there was a lawsuit over the old doors. OK, I said. He told me he had a customer waiting. I asked him if I could come down to the store and talk more about it. He said no, he’s not really interested in it and he’s got to be careful what he says. I told him I understood and we wished each other a good day.

To say he wasn’t the nicest guy would be an overstatement. He wasn’t overly friendly, but given his circumstances, I could definitely see where he was coming from. He didn’t know me. He didn’t owe me a thing, and yet I still managed to coax a little bit out of him anyway. Soon after my call, I hopped in the Davemobile and drove on over to Walmart to ask some questions about those doors.

When I walked in, through those automatic sliding doors, I decided I would ask people who work there, not management. Earlier, I called the store and asked for the manager, but I was put on hold and after 3 minutes, I hung up. Besides, Walmart has a low turnover rate of employees and I knew I’d find some good people to talk to. At first, I talked to two ladies who had a combined 36 years of experience with the company. They told me there used to be doors that opened outward, but that was before the expansion, when it became a Supercenter, four years ago in April. Are you sure? Positive, those are the doors that have been there since then. It was to keep the heat out, although I wasn’t sure what they meant by that because doors still open and close, but later, I understood.

No matter who I talked to, I got the same answer about the doors. To be fair, I discussed the matter with 2 men and 2 women. Don’t ask me what their combined years of experience were, but it probably outdated me. Never mind, though, because those were the ones I knew who would be most helpful. Aside from the out of the way single doors, the only other one was way over on the far side at automotive and there’s no way that one could have fit into the equation. What about a lawsuit last year over the doors? No one heard anything about that. Great, I had my answers. This Jim guy was wrong.

I still had one more thing to do. When I went to his computer store last week, I neglected to take any outside shots of the building. I decided to drive back over there. I was getting worn out, but I had work to do. I pulled into the parking lot and as I got my camera equipment ready, I heard voices. I looked up and there was James Thompson walking right toward me. Wow, what luck, I thought.

“Jim?”

“Yes?”

“Hi, I’m Dave Knechel. I called you this morning about Casey, Caylee and Walmart.”

“Oh, yeah. Hey!”

What was most fascinating was his demeanor. From the slight chill of the phone call I felt earlier, he turned into a warm and friendly person. He was downright nice. I must tell you, the guy I talked to at the store last week told me he was a really good guy and I’d know that when I had the chance to meet him.

We talked a little bit about being sure it was them. Yup, no doubt. I had already talked to him about the lunchtime to 4:00 pm discrepancy, so I wasn’t going to waste his time going there again. He told me he was on his way to a customer to do tech work. I told him about those persnickety automatic sliding doors that don’t open in or out. I said I had just talked to employees and they all told me there were never doors like that since the Supercenter opened over 4 years ago. He said, “No, not those doors! The inside doors. There used to be like a foyer there. Inner doors opened that way and it took you to the lobby part with the sliding doors.”

“AHA!” I didn’t know that. Well, that changes things. I could picture that. “You mean there were doors inside the store?”

“Yes, and they were taken out because of a lawsuit. Someone died. They took ‘em right outta there.”

“You’re kidding me!” Suddenly, a vehicle pulled up behind me that was about ready to leave the parking lot.

“Marinade!”

“Hey, how ya doin’?” It was the guy I talked to last week. “We got a tech call. We gotta go.”

“OK.” I turned back to Jim. “You mentioned the people from the Mercedes dealer across the street. That’s how I knew where you were located. Didn’t she (Casey) try to cash a check or something?”

“Yes. That was really strange. I mean, I’ve been in business for some time now. I’m older and more experienced and the more I thought about her, the more I understood what she was doing.”

“Oh yeah? You don’t cash checks, right?”

“Think about it. Nobody her age writes checks anymore. They all have debit or credit cards. I knew right away that it was going to be no good. I cash checks, but for the one’s that come over here from the Mercedes dealer. Older people. Young people don’t have checking accounts. What was she doing with a check?”

“Good point. You didn’t get to see the name on it, did you?”

“No. In hindsight, but I didn’t think about it then.”

“No, and you had no reason to.”

He added that he may get five checks a year, but he knows they’re good.

“One more thing,” Jim said. I assumed his assistant had discussed me a little after this morning’s call. I had given him my blog address. “I don’t want any publicity out of this. Nothing. I’m an honest guy. I tried to give a statement to police all along and nobody ever called me back. I finally did it on my own. If you can do anything at all, please tell people… there’s got to be more people like me… to come forward. I can’t be the only person who saw her and her daughter that day. Please spread the word all around the area.”

“Jim?”

“Yes?”

“I can do that.”

“I gotta go. We’re gonna be late.”

“OK, just one more thing. It was over a year ago. How can you be sure it was definitely the day after Father’s Day?”

“Because I have a small daughter.” I believe he said she was two, but I’m not sure. “Trust me, I remember.”

“Oh, you mean because you were there for her on Father’s Day and you remember the next day?”

“Right.” He was already in his car and pulling away.

His buddy said half joking, “And you don’t know how anal he can be. He remembers everything.”

I got a good chuckle out of that. I think we all know people like him. A good person. Stable. Honest and a hard worker. I’ll tell you the truth, I drove away realizing that Jim was a very good guy. I got no bad feelings whatsoever. Besides, I’ve been around computers since 1990. I’ve never met a techie I didn’t like and they are very caring individuals.

♦

If you think this is the end of the story, guess again. After I called him yesterday morning, I was busy tracking Casey’s cell phone pings to determine where exactly she was. Could she have been to Walmart that day, like he said, around 4:00 pm? I’ve got maps to show you. I took more photos, too. And the video footage. But that’s not all. Not that I didn’t trust Jim’s sincerity, but I just had to drive back to that Walmart to satisfy my own curiosity and to wrap up this story. Were there ever inside doors?

I wheeled back into the parking lot and talked to two people at each of the entrances. They’re the ones that check your bags if they feel like it. I asked them both if there had ever been any inside doors of any kind.

Nope. Never.

Are you sure?

There were never any doors in that store other than the sliding ones. The man I talked to told me to look up over there. “See that? That’s a blower. It blows air and keeps the bugs and the heat out.” It was right over where those extra doors would have been. “That’s all that’s ever been there. Not only that…”

“Yes?!!!”

“All of our video cameras go directly to the sheriff’s department. They might have a copy.”

I told him, it would be Seminole County and if nothing unusual was reported that day, no one would have a reason to make a copy of it. Once again, no one knew of any lawsuit over doors. No one died.

In the end, I don’t know what to think. No doubt in my mind, James Thompson is a very honest man and he’s not looking for anything besides justice for Caylee. It breaks his heart that he could be one of the last few to see her alive. All he cares about is her and he wants anyone who may have seen her that day to step forward. He can’t be the only one. After my investigation, it looks slim that anyone will, but I’ll tell you, this guy really believes it. No joke. I could tell what a good guy he was, but in the meantime, facts don’t lie and in the end, they don’t add up in his favor. There’s one more very important factor we must keep in mind. It’s something important to consider and it just does not compute. Shopping carts. I saw people pushing shopping carts around. I also saw them leaving. Why would a store make people physically stop to push open a pain in the neck door when they are struggling with shopping carts? In his WESH video, he showed us how Caylee struggled to open the door, only he used his door as an example. Perhaps, Caylee tried to leave his store and got no help from her mother. That one, I could easily believe, and it would help settle some of the confusion.

Cell Phone Tower Pings 6/16

Here are cell phone pings from June 16, 2008. I went back to June 9, too, just to see whether she could have been in his store. Yes, she could have been. He knew why she went to him, too, from out of her area. Because she figured it was far enough away that she wouldn’t get caught.

I started the pings at 4:11 pm because prior to that time they remained at the Anthony house. I tracked her moving north.

4:11pm / 28.4547222 / -81.2636111

4:13pm / 28.5028444 / -81.2863333

4:18pm / 28.5444 / -81.22767472

4:25pm / 28.5653389 / -81.2958361

5:57pm - 6:32pm / 28.6039167 / -81.2876111

6:32pm / 28.59993583 / -81.2876111/-81.30325

Here are the ping coordinates if I put the Walmart address in:

Walmart Ping - Matches 6:32 Cell Tower Ping

Here is a sample ping from June 9, 2008, which verifies Casey could have been at TechBay that day:

Maitland Ping

To simplify the above cell tower pings, I have concluded that Casey’s phone did not ping near the Walmart store until 6:32 pm on Monday, June 16.

The following images are from Walmart and TechBay:

Walmart

Where inside doors were? McDonald's has been at this location since the Supercenter opened over 4 years ago.

Auto store entrance

TechBay storefront

Grayson for... something

thenationalrazor — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:08:49 +0000

The National Razor doesn’t know what Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) should be promoted to or get run for, but it is now clear the Orlando congressman has one of the main qualities of leadership, and one sorely needed on his side of the aisle: Epcot Centers of steel.

We were impressed by, if not a bit distasteful of, the way he went after the Republican stay-the-course plan to deal with the looming health coverage crisis in this nation. However, our literally tens of minutes of painstaking research have unearthed a YouTube gem that shows the extent of Grayson’s sangfroid, and why he may not be a novelty act.

On August 17, Grayson held a town hall that garnered such a tremendous throng of protesters and counter-protesters that it got over three minutes on the local NBC affiliate, WESH – along with chopper coverage!

Inside, the rather small (by design) crowd was relatively calm, but the chanting from outside interrupted the town hall at several points. If he were a lesser legislator, there is no way he would have given the performance he gave on the floor of the House over the last few days. Arizona’s Rep. Harry Mitchell was spooked out of holding any sort of town hall in the first place, and central Floridans (Floridians?) are at least on par with, if not in excess of, the [drubbing-lips-with-finger] abababeebeebaba insanity level of central Arizonans.

We see in Rep. Grayson the raw clay that could be molded into a truly effective and unique voice for health insurance reform, and one that could be generally useful to the Democratic Caucus in other policy battles. It would take some tutelage by an old pro – Waxman? Pelosi herself? – but it’s doable.

Legendary wrestling coach Dan Gable once said, “Gold medals aren’t made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and that hard-to-find alloy called guts.” This is true of legislative victories as well. The Democrats would be well advised to mine Alan Grayson for his share of the last ingredient.

Looking for ..."SAM" I am? or who ever you are..!

Finn Perkins — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:04:31 +0000

Part One of a 12 part series... [I welcome any information you the reader(s) may have regarding this

The WESH Crew

Scott — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:07:43 +0000

I’m finally getting around to posting this group picture from my last day at WESH. I’ve talked and written a lot about the great morning crew I got to work with every day. Here they are, in the flesh.

Casey Anthony: Did She Care More About Clothes Than Caylee?

kreuzer33 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:10:13 +0000

Thanks to Hal Boedeker at the Orlando Sentinel on a Friday morning for providing some more fodder to the fire!

What do you guys think? What/who does Casey truly care about?

From The TV Guy:

WFTV and WESH-Channel 2 focused on Padilla employee Tracy McLaughlin’s comments to investigators. WFTV’s Kathi Belich highlighted McLaughlin’s view that “Casey was very concerned about what she would wear in front of our cameras. Tracy said she never seemed so concerned about Caylee.“

Anthony is charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter, Caylee.

McLaughlin in her own words: “I was thinking: She’s not even upset. Not a word about her daughter. None. And George didn’t say anything. And Cindy didn’t say anything. It was just unbelievable.”

WESH Goodbye

Scott — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:49:07 +0000

Near the end of my final morning newscast at WESH, my former co-anchor Syan Rhodes gave me an alarm clock and hammer as a going-away gag gift. I’m not sure she thought I’d smash it on live TV, but I did. And it was fun.

Watch the video here.

Shuttle Launch

Scott — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:24:48 +0000

For the first time in two years (and from three states away) I watched a space shuttle launch from indoors. It felt strange.

WESH covers launches and the days leading up to them extensively. It was fun to be a part of that kind of “big coverage” every time one went up. Reporter Dan Billow has covered more than 100 launches. He knows his stuff.

My backyard in Orlando was a great spot to view the launches. The picture below is from a launch earlier this year – the prettiest we saw during our time in Orlando.

15 and 17 Year Old Strippers - Grandma on the Defensive

procrastibate — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:23:33 +0000

In the most recent installment of the saga Florida: America’s Redneck Cousin we get this awesome video of an old lady attacking a local Florida news crew with a garden hoe. The story: too good to be true!

Apparently two girls, aged 15 and 17, had been stripping at some titty bar in Florida. The mother of the 15 year old called 911 when she learned of this which lead to the two girls being arrested. Public-conscious and always on the case, the local news team drove out to the house of 15 year old girl to get an interview. At the door they were greated by the girl’s grandmother threatening them with a garden hoe. You saw the video so you see what happens next. Now….normally, I would rip on this redneck transgenerational family but I don’t care. This shit probably happens 15 times a day in our country. What I would like to draw your attention to is just how fucked up Florida is.

Florida, as we all know, aside from being God’s waiting room, is home to the lowest of low, most back-country freckled faced, ginger, suspender wearing rednecks ever to buy a Kenny Chesney CD. They all move down there for its “No shoes, No shirt, No problem” atmosphere and the fact that they can claim to be less of a redneck because they are constantly on a beach instead of in their sister up in some mountain slope in West Virginia. I could only imagine what it would be like to work for these news agencies down there. It must be like walking into a recently landed UFO for the first time every day of their lives. Please hit the link below to see just the first 5 news headlines from WESH’s site. WESH is the Fox affiliate that covered the teenage stripper story you read above.

Boy, 16, Charged With Raping His 4-Year-Old Niece
Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested On Stalking Charges
Teen Crashes Into House During BMW Joy Ride
Agents Find Cocaine In Woman’s Bra
Elderly Beauty Queens Vie For Pageant Crown

What kind of circus are you running down there, Florida? The only way these could be any better is if they were all set to the tune of Mike Gormley’s “Without You”. Suck it, Florida. You’re the red-headed stepchild of our United States.

New Newscast @ 10

Scott — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:55:41 +0000

Beginning Aug. 31, WESH 2 News will produce a 30 minute, 10 p.m. newscast that will air seven days a week on WKCF, our CW sister station. Exciting stuff. All of a sudden, that 10 p.m. race is packed with competition. I like our team’s chances. Jim, Martha, Tony and Guy are the best in town. Best of luck!

Busy Weekend

Scott — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:50:25 +0000

We’re trying to fit a lot into our last weekend in Orlando.

Big surprise.

Today I’m taking my 3-year-old to Kennedy Space Center for the first time, then a going-away party is tonight before a final trip (for now) to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow. Wish me luck.

The movers pack up Monday, load up Tuesday, wife and son fly to New Orleans Wednesday and I leave Saturday morning (but the tropics could change that plan). Should be an action-packed final week.

Friday Photo Op

Scott — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:35:56 +0000

A final picture with the WESH 11 p.m. team.

Winding Down

Scott — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:40:08 +0000

I’ll anchor the 4 ,5, 6 and 11 on WESH for the final time today.

I always enjoy filling-in at night because (a) I get to sleep in and (b) it’s a lot of fun working with Martha and Tony. I’ll miss them.

Next week I’m back on WESH 2 News Sunrise for the final stretch of waking up at 3 a.m. I’ve done mornings for nine years, but I have a feeling it won’t take long to adjust to sleeping through the night. But we will have a new baby in November…

I’m looking forward to a fun week ahead with the best morning crew around.

New Video

Scott — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:40:45 +0000

I just added a new video clip from one of WESH 2’s great promo writers/producers Paul Chaplin.

Check out the 2008 year-ender in the VIDEO section and snoop around on Paul’s new website while you’re at it.

Pondering the News

Scott — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:58:42 +0000

Martha's Song

Scott — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:47:25 +0000

Have you heard the song dedicated to WESH 2 news anchor Martha Sugalski? Funny stuff. The original recording comes courtesy of Daniel Dennis of the Monsters in the Morning. Take a moment and listen here.

Best of Orlando: Media Favorites

Scott — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:33:36 +0000

Orlando Magazine is out with its “Best Of” list again this year and WESH 2 had a nice showing.

The station received top honors for Best TV News Team and Pat Clarke won Best TV Sportscaster.

Click here for the other “Best Of” Categories.