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Digest
Couey jury selection moves into phase 2
By TIMES WIRES
Published February 24, 2007
MIAMI The initial phase of jury selection in the trial of John Couey ended Friday after nearly 300 prospective jurors were interviewed during the course of eight days. The final 12-member panel and six alternates will come from a group of 71 jurors who advanced to a second round of questioning scheduled for Monday. The number is just shy of the 75-member pool that court officials had in mind. Circuit Judge Ric Howard said he expects to lose a significant portion when the prospective jurors face questions about their views on the death penalty. The state plans to seek the death penalty if the jury finds Couey guilty of kidnapping, raping and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005. TAMPA Handicapped man sues zoo over access A handicapped man and his family filed a federal lawsuit Friday accusing Lowry Park Zoo of failing to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Travis Smith, a Tampa resident, suffered a brain stem injury in 1994 at age 23 after falling on a construction job. He has used a wheelchair ever since. He and his brother, Donald, visited the zoo together last summer. But the experience quickly grew frustrating, Donald Smith said. Donald Smith, 40, said the counters at the gift shops and food vendors were too high, the restrooms were difficult to use and the rides and interactive exhibits were inaccessible. Even the hedges along the guardrails were too high, he said. CLEARWATER Catholic high school gets new principal There'll be a new sheriff in town. But this Deputy doesn't carry a gun on his hip, just faith in his heart. On July 1, James Deputy will become the next principal of Clearwater Central Catholic, a 600-plus-student high school and the only private educational entity in the county that offers the International Baccalaureate program. For the past seven years, Deputy has been the assistant principal of student affairs at CCC; he deals primarily with discipline issues. He said has learned to balance "compassion and understanding with a firmness to make difficult decisions routed in integrity." He replaces Dulce Roman, 63, who is retiring after 26 years.
[Last modified February 24, 2007, 01:23:54]
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