Check out more photos from the event at the City of Winter Park’s Facebook Page

1) Winter Park Public Safety Facility- 325 West Canton Avenue
2) North of Central Park- 120 Garfield Avenue
3) Municipal Parking Lot A – 110 North New York Avenue
4) Winter Park City Hall – 401 Park Avenue South
5) Azalea Lane Tennis Complex – 1045 Azalea Lane
6) Hannibal Square Heritage Center – 642 New England Avenue

The new electric car charging stations support the city’s commitment to being a Green Local Government. In 2008, the City Commission passed a resolution to “Pursue Measures to Become a Florida Green Local Government,” using criteria and standards developed by the Florida Green Building Coalition. The Green Local Government concept focuses on local government taking actions to reduce energy consumption, waste and pollution, along with increasing recycling in our community.

The Beatles band member Paul McCartney was seen in Winter Park on the campus of Rollins College and on Park Avenue.

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McCartney wasn’t on the campus of Rollins College for long. The school wouldn’t comment on what he was doing there or how long he spent on campus.

But McCartney did spend some time dining on Park Avenue. The tables and booths at Luma on Park looked pretty much the same except for something special about one tucked in the corner.

Table No. 40 as it is known by the staff will now be known as the spot Paul McCartney sat and quietly dined with a group of friends.

“It was really cool to see someone like him in person,” Luma General Manager Tim Noelke said.

Noelke wouldn’t give up too many secrets about the surprise McCartney visit. He was part of a 7 p.m. dinner reservation for nine people,including his fiancee Nancy Shevell.

“They kind of did a family style at the table. They did a lot of pizzas and pastas and salads, and they all just kind of shared,” Noelke said.

McCartney didn’t go unnoticed. People who passed the restaurant tried to catch a glimpse.

There were no photos or autographs for the Luma staff, but there was a quick thanks.

“At the end of his dinner, he did come up, shook his hand and told me what a great experience he had and thanked me. I thanked him, and then he left,” Noelke said.

When he left, restaurant staff said he was greeted by a small crowd outside the restaurant. He apparently didn’t sign autographs, but waved quickly before getting into a car.

The restaurant wouldn’t say how much McCartney and his party spent on the meal.

As a way of celebrating the Grand Opening, the Winter Park Public Art Advisory Board will also unveil their latest exhibition, “Art on the Green,” which will showcase the works of Chris Scala and Barbara Sorensen.

But it’s Central Park that’s really the star of the show. The park has always been one of Winter Park’s most special tourist spots, a place where everyone can come together to have fun, to reflect or simply to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

Renovations to Central Park include the improvement and addition of a new electrical system, light posts, sod, landscaping, wider sidewalks and a new irrigation system that uses water more efficiently. The renovations were made as part of the Central Park Master Plan, a proposal first accepted by Winter Park in 2002.

Members of St. Richard’s Episcopal Church have long noticed the cracks in the walls of the church for years. What started out as tiny crevices eventually became noticeably larger, prompting church members to consult the expertise of an engineer.

After inspecting the property, the engineer, Hunt Emory, concluded that the church and the church preschool were sitting on top of a sinkhole. Since then, Emory, also a member of the church, has been busy trying to find a new location for the preschool since the sinkhole’s discovery a month ago.

The St. Richards preschool, located north of Winter Park, Florida, has been around since 1987. If the school can’t find a new location, not only will students be affected, but teachers and other staffs will have to find new jobs.

For winning third place at the ESU National Shakespeare Competition, Sophia also received a $500 courtesy of the Shakespeare Society.

Other winners of the national competition include ESU Dallas Branch regional winner John-Michael Lyles, who won 1^st prize. For placing first, Lyles also received the union’s Amanda Steele Scholarship, getting him a spot at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art’s Young Actors Summer School, a prestigious institution in London.

The runner-up to the nationals is ESU St. Louis Branch regional winner Caroline Amos, who also received a gift prize of $1000.

The ESU National Shakespeare Competition is a program designed to develop the speaking and critical-thinking skills of students from all over the country, helping them find an interest in literature as they discover for themselves the wonder and beauty of Shakespeare’s masterpieces.

Like most City Hall offices in other parts of the country today, Winter Park’s City Hall, which is in the downtown area, is extremely busy. Fortunately, the layout of the building is superb, and visitors can easily locate their destinations. The ambassador program was designed to enhance that visitor experience, with the help of two people who welcome guests at the entrance, taking questions and providing directions to the City Hall’s many departments and services offices.

As of the moment, 50 city employees are serving as City Hall Ambassadors on a volunteer basis. Each employee works only twice a month for two-hour shifts. According to City Manager Randy Knight, who had the honor of serving as the first Ambassador, an organization will be successful if they pay attention to customer service. Since volunteering as an Ambassador, he’s found out how much a smile can change the whole demeanor of a person.

Due to the program’s success, the city is now opening the Ambassador Program to the public, and those who want to volunteer can call 407-599-3245 or e-mail the city at jgrant@cityofwinterpark.org on how to be a Winter Park, Ambassador.

According to Bob Merchant, CFA’s Commissiner and Police Chief of the Altamonte Springs Police Department, receiving the commission’s recognition is a mark of a law enforcement agency that puts the utmost importance in serving the interests of the community above all else. The long-time police officer spoke about the importance of accreditation at a City Commission Meeting held in Winter Park on the 8th of February.

The WPDD first received accreditation in 2000, and received the status twice more in 2003 and 2006. December of last year marked the end of the designation, during the period, a team of law enforcement reviewers from other agencies in Florida came to Winter Park to asses the competence and work ethic of the city’s police force.

With the WPDD’s re-accreditation, we think it’s pretty safe to say that they passed with flying colors.

On most cases when the WBFD s called to an emergency situation, cardiac monitoring is performed by paramedics and sometimes even firemen. Those suffering from sudden heart attacks have a higher chance of surviving thanks to the defibrillator’s use of therapeutic electrical charges. The new monitors will also be used to provide ECG readings, helping medical personnel root out the cause of the heart attack.

The new monitor/defibrillators use the latest in today’s medical technology and are especially useful due to their compact and lightweight design. Durability is also not a problem – something that is a major concern for the fire department since most of the time, they’re called to extreme emergency situations and environments. Each machine features color, scratch-resistant displays that are also water resistant.

Fire Chief Jim White could not be happier with the news, saying that the grant will finally help them replace their 10-year old machines.

DigitalPersona, Inc. is one of the word’s leading providers of fingerprint identity and authentication solutions for businesses, program developers, and regular consumers. The company develops software and hardware that secures the sensitive information of people and businesses.

Among the facilities the new systems will “keep watch” over are the department of motor vehicles, electric division, as well as the city’s roster of emergency and police vehicles. Furthermore, confidential and sensitive information is kept secure thanks to digital signing and use of an ultra-sophisticated encryption code for e-mails and important documents.

Before DigitalPersona, Inc. was chosen by the City of Winter Park, they used usernames and passwords to protect networks from intruders and unauthorized personnel. But every hacker worth his gold knows this level of security is too easy to break into. The CJIS mandate however, called for Winter Park to utilize advanced authentication systems. Officials from the city commented that DigitalPersona was the best choice due to their excellent track record.

Regular visitors will delight in knowing that the museum will be better and more importantly, bigger. The Morse—as it is more commonly known—will also house collections from Louis Comfort Tiffany’s long-demolished estate in Long Island, Laurelton Hall.

The renovated and expanded Morse—which took around $5 million to pull off—will also be putting on display Tiffany’s famed Daffodil Terrace, something never-before seen in Winter Park. Aside from paintings, antiques such as lamps, windows, furniture, and more can also be found in the new Morse.

The expanded section of the Morse will include a library, a conference room for meetings, and an additional 6,000 square feet of exhibit space.

According to the Morse’s curator Lawrence Ruggiero, he and his staff are nervous and excited at how things will turn out – whether it will draw in visitors or not.

The museum is expected to fully open in winter this year.