• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Videos
    • Featured Video
    • Foodie Friday
    • Monthly ReCap
  • Online E-Editions
    • This Week’s E-Editions
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
  • Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
  • Advertising
  • Local Jobs
  • Puzzles & Games
  • Circulation Request

The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

       

Click to join our weekly e-newsletter

  • Home
  • News
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills/East Pasco
    • Business Digest
    • Senior Parks
    • Nature Notes
    • Featured Stories
    • Photos of the Week
    • Reasons To Smile
  • Sports
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills and East Pasco
    • Check This Out
  • Education
  • Pets/Wildlife
  • Health
    • Health Events
    • Health News
  • What’s Happening
  • Sponsored Content
    • Closer Look
  • Homes
  • Obits
  • Public Notices

Frank Orlando

Saint Leo instructor competes on Jeopardy

February 6, 2019 By B.C. Manion

Frank Orlando, a political science instructor at Saint Leo University, has wanted to compete on Jeopardy ever since he was a little boy — and last month, his episode aired.

It all began by passing the contestant exam in March, then proceeding to the in-person interview in Tampa in May. After that, he was included in the potential contestant pool.

“At the end of October, I got a call from Los Angeles. They said, ‘Come on out, at the end of November. I said, “OK, I’ll be there,” he recalled.

Frank Orlando during his appearance on Jeopardy. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Being on the show was exciting, and sharing the experience with about 60 faculty, staff and students during a watch party at Saint Leo University was fun, said Orlando, who teaches undergraduate students and directs the Saint Leo Polling Institute.

The experience on the national quiz show was similar to what he expected.

In Jeopardy, contestants compete in three rounds, Jeopardy, Double Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy. They receive five clues in six categories, which are assigned dollar values based on perceived difficulty.

Each contestant has a signaling device, which they use to buzz in to attempt a response, which  must be made in the form of a question.

Orlando said he has always enjoyed trivia.

“I played Quiz Bowl growing up. I was the captain of our Quiz Bowl team,” he said, plus there’s a faculty trivia team from Saint Leo that plays together. He also has fond memories of watching Jeopardy with his grandparents.

So for him, it was a sweet moment, indeed, when he heard the announcer say: “This is Jeopardy” during filming.

The handheld signaling device, however, was not quite as thrilling, he said.

Frank Orlando leans forward as people cheer at a watch party in his honor at Saint Leo University. (Courtesy of Saint Leo, Mike Williams)

“The buzzer is really a tough thing to get the timing down on. You can’t buzz in when you know the answer, you have to buzz in when the question is finished being read. There’s a person who manually opens up the buzzer system,” he said, and lights go on, which the players can see.

“You read the question as fast as you can. You try to figure out the answer. And then you kind of wait for these lights to turn on (indicating that the buzzer has been activated).

“Early on, I got a couple right in a row and I felt good about buzzing in, and then I think the other players got in a better rhythm,” he said.

During his appearance, Orlando wore a blue suit, with a blue tie and a light blue shirt.

He would have preferred wearing a green suit, to signify Saint Leo University and his undergraduate school, Michigan State University. But, green didn’t mesh with the set, so he couldn’t wear that.

He prepared for the show by checking what he already knew.

“I went through a lot of old archives of questions. I coded them for different categories: literature, music, television, sports,” he said.

He felt confident about history, geography, political science, sports and music, so he focused on the categories of literature and art — primarily from around the time of the Renaissance.

His studies paid off on a question in the category World through Literature.

The clue was: “Nadine Gordimer’s final novel, 2012’s “No Time Like the Present,” is the story of an interracial couple in this country.”

Orlando’s response to the clue was: “What is South Africa?”

He was also fortunate in another category called “Italian on vacation.”

“My family is Italian. That really helped me out,” he said.

But, he even though he focused on the arts and literature — it didn’t help him in Final Jeopardy.

The question was in the category of Contemporary Art, not one of Orlando’s strengths.

Still, he wasn’t entirely disappointed.

“One of my main goals was to at least make it to Final Jeopardy, and I accomplished that,” he said.

Published February 06, 2019

Mock election: A welcome alternate reality

October 12, 2016 By Tom Jackson

Perhaps the most revealing development in this year’s unique — to say no more — choice of presidential candidates is this:

Even as we rumble toward the election’s Nov. 8 resolution, everyone from paid pundits to your next-door neighbor keeps replaying the events that brought us to this sad pass, and wondering how, out of 300-odd million American citizens, the finalists are an undisciplined, incurious billionaire reality TV star and a career politician who, evidence suggests, swapped top-level government access for financial gain.

Sophie Metellus portrays Angela Johnson, Democratic vice presidential nominee. (Photos courtesy of Jonathan Shoemaker/Saint Leo University)
Sophie Metellus portrays Angela Johnson, Democratic vice presidential nominee.
(Photos courtesy of Jonathan Shoemaker/Saint Leo University)

And so, like survivors winding through the stages of grief, we spin up alternate realities. If only this had happened, or that, we might have at least one candidate to whom we could devote ourselves unreservedly.

If only, indeed.

Well, if it’s an encouraging alternate reality you seek, Saint Leo University is where to find it. Even now, up in the peaceful rolling hills surrounding Lake Jovita, students are embroiled in a mock presidential election campaign that — minus the combined 10-figure budget and personal invective — looks and feels remarkably like the real thing.

If the real thing was a contest rooted in ideas and policy proposals, that is.

This is not some lark. Instead, under professors Jeff Borden and Frank Orlando, it is a massive and massively serious undertaking that crosses majors and disciplines, involving nearly two dozen students on each side assigned almost every imaginable responsibility common to modern presidential campaigns: candidates, campaign managers, party chairs, policy advisers, strategists and — you don’t get more state-of-the-art than this — even social media operatives.

It is, in short, teaching by turning broad swaths of the student body into a full-time method-acting class. You catch a glimpse of their buy-in when, after the Oct. 3 debate between vice presidential contenders, one of the candidates introduces himself not as Mark Saunders, a 20-year-old junior majoring in economics from Temple Terrace via Land O’ Lakes, but as Paul Friedman, a libertarian-leaning Republican nominee for president. Yes, a libertarian economist named Friedman, as in Milton. Well played, Mr. Saunders.

Amanda Miceli portrays Catarina Castillo, Republican vice presidential nominee.
Amanda Miceli portrays Catarina Castillo, Republican vice presidential nominee.

Old-timers and traditionalists tempted to arch an eyebrow at play-acting-for-grades should know this: Alternate-reality education is an actual thing, dating back to the 1990s. And, also this: Borden was there at the start, putting students through their paces in such things as mock trials and viral contagions. Partnering with Orlando, the resident political science guru, the pair are in their second year staging a mock presidential showdown.

“The idea is to make it as authentic as possible,” Borden says. “We want to present them with realistic tasks, to get them thinking on their feet … and get them to realize that learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum.”

How real? Both campaign managers — the GOP’s Kevin Abbott, 20, from a New York suburb, and Emily Alfaya, 19, from West Palm Beach — love organizing and strategizing, but neither is keen on public speaking.

The same can be said of Democratic Party chairwoman Cassidy Whitaker, 21, a junior from Brandon, who regards her role as that of chief cheerleader, an impression she gleaned from working as a volunteer for Hillary Clinton over the summer.

The candidates, by contrast, feast on arguing in the spotlight. Unabashedly leonine in wondrous blond-tipped dreadlocks, bespectacled Jacksonville senior Leandrous Chieves — who tops the Democratic ticket of Marcus Howard and Angela Johnson (that’s right: Howard-Johnson) — says he’ll argue politics anywhere, anytime, with anybody, “as long as they’re coming with facts.”

Chieves/Howard and Saunders/Friedman are scheduled to tangle Nov. 7, Election Day eve, with a student vote immediately following.

“Last year, we even had demonstrators,” Borden says proudly. Students in the Department of Education rallied outside the presidential debate. “I expect it will happen again.”

The vice presidential debate was rather more sedate, the only sparks coming from the candidates themselves. Playing Johnson, Sophie Metellus, 20, a sophomore from Miami, brought the sort of passion for doing the right thing that can’t be faked. As Caterina Castillo, the former ambassador to Russia, 19-year-old Atlantan Amanda Miceli parried with earnest and deeply researched policy positions, revealing the self-admitted “political junkie.”

Most of their debate fell along the lines you’d expect, each taking the traditional party line on taxes, free college, public education, sanctuary cities, the Iran nuclear deal and hiking the minimum wage.

In a surprise, however, Republican Castillo/Miceli declared plans to slash military spending and shift that money to domestic projects.

Johnson/Metellus counterpunched with ISIS, retorting as long as ISIS is active, military spending shouldn’t be touched. The American people need to know, she said, if ISIS attacks, “We’ve got their backs.”

All of which prompted Chieves to tweet from his @Howard4prez account, “A republican wanting to slash the military budget? Unheard of.”

Still, this was substantive stuff, and with the possible exception of snarky exchanges over whether one candidate understood the point the other had made, it was collegial, even uplifting.

Sigh.

The candidates feel your pain.

As someone who is old enough to remember when the GOP nominated candidates whose knowledge of public policy was broad and deep — four years ago, then just 16, he worked the phones tirelessly for Mitt Romney — Saunders is already envisioning, if not outright plotting, a post-Donald Trump Republican Party.

“It’ll be a future without the extremists,” he says. “We have a chance to build a better way forward.”

Chieves is no less enamored of Hillary Clinton, who fairly curled his lip in describing her — within earshot of his I’m-With-Her party chief — as “no saint” and “far from perfect.” Just bringing the facts.

Imagine that. A committed Republican and an equally committed Democrat, each disappointed with their party’s nominees.

Maybe they’re not living such an alternative reality after all.

Tom Jackson, a resident of New Tampa, is interested in your ideas. To reach him, email .

Published October 12, 2016

Carville’s remarks at Saint Leo are provocative, snappy

February 25, 2015 By Kathy Steele

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2016, according to political strategist James Carville.

Her chances of winning are “no worse than 50-50,” said Carville who was keynote speaker on the opening day of the sixth annual International Business Conference at Saint Leo University. This year’s conference theme was “Best Practices in Global Organizations.”

James Carville talks about the presidential contenders for 2016. (Fred Bellet/Photo)
James Carville talks about the presidential contenders for 2016.
(Fred Bellet/Photo)

Before an audience of about 200 people, Carville entertained with funny anecdotes and blunt remarks on the dysfunctions of national politics.

The ‘ragin Cajun,” as he is sometimes called, was the Democratic strategist who led Bill Clinton’s successful presidential campaign in 1992, popularizing the slogan – “It’s the economy, stupid.” Clinton defeated incumbent President George H.W. Bush who, months before the election and in the aftermath of the first Gulf War, enjoyed more than 91 percent popularity in polls.

“I think (Hillary) has a good chance,” he said. “But running for president is enormously difficult.”

She will have to show how she is “substantively and stylistically” different from President Obama. “Whatever you may think of Obama, people are kind of looking for something different. They always are,” Carville said.

And the Republican candidate will be?

“I give (Chris) Christie no chance,” he said. “I give Jeb (Bush) less of a chance than most handicappers…and Ted Cruz a little more of a chance.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recently backed away from a third presidential run. But Romney is waiting and watching, Carville said.

“I think Mitt is doing his knitting on the sideline. If anybody is looking for Jeb Bush to lose in New Hampshire, he is.”

Carville tagged Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as a must-win candidate in Iowa, or he will be out of the race. But like Romney, he also is counting on a Bush loss in New Hampshire’s primary.

Carville was a counterpoint to conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who was last year’s keynote speaker at the business conference.

“It’s great for students,” said Frank Orlando, political science instructor at the university. “I want kids to pay attention to different issues. It’s important to know them.”

Emily Mincey, 21, a junior majoring in history, is focused on a career as a political strategist.

“Politics is where I want to go,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to know what was going on. I want to look for candidates who are smart. We can’t function without good politicians.”

Mincey said she doesn’t agree with Carville on every issue, but he is an example of how to be successful in politics.

Dade City resident Lex Smith also doesn’t always agree with Carville. But he said, “I always respect his opinions. I always enjoy hearing what he has to say.”

Carville’s remarks were provocative and snappy.

The country is divided, he said, with Democrats clustered in cities and Republicans in rural communities. A check of the election map in Pennsylvania in 2012 is a stark picture of the political landscape, he said.

President Obama carried the state by 5 percent of the total vote. But within 18 Congressional districts, he carried only five. It is an example of why Democrats are better positioned to win presidential elections and Republicans Congressional elections.

“Because of clusters, we don’t interact in the way we used to do,” Carville said. “Everyone is comfortable with their own coalition.”

Florida will be ground zero for Republicans in the presidential election because the state has 29 of the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House. “If you win Florida, you bust the numbers,” he said. “You cannot draw a map that Republicans can ever win the presidency without Florida.”

Democrats, however, can pursue strategies in swing states, such as New Hampshire, Virginia and Ohio, to create a path to win, he added.

Carville credited boxer Mike Tyson with inadvertently making the smartest comment ever about politics when Tyson said “Everybody’s got a plan until they get hit in the mouth.”

Anyone who runs for president will get hit in the mouth a lot, Carville said.

On Hillary Clinton, he said there is an understanding among Democrats that it is her turn to run for president. That is why Sen. Elizabeth Warren won’t get into the race, Carville said.

President Obama is a different kind of politician. “Most of them are in politics because they like people,” Carville said. “It’s kind of odd for someone to be in politics to not be as concerned with what people think about them as he does. It’s like being a banker and you don’t like money.”

In recent years Carville, 70, has taught political science at Tulane University in New Orleans and consulted for candidates in international elections. He is a friend of the Clintons, but said he has no plans to take on another national campaign. “I don’t want to be in centerfield with fly balls hitting me in the head,” he said.

Still, Carville said he went into politics knowing it was a contact sport.

“Didn’t nobody have more fun doing what he did than James Carville,” he said.

Published February 25, 2015

Clinton finds serious Florida challenge from Jeb

December 11, 2014 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

If the 2016 presidential election were held today, Floridians would be ready to give the Sunshine State’s 29 electoral votes to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

That is, unless Jeb Bush decides to run.

A new survey by the Saint Leo University Polling Institute said that if both Clinton and the former governor end up representing their respective parties in the presidential race, voters in Florida, at least, would be split on whom to choose.

The poll, conducted between Nov. 25 and Dec. 7, gave 43 percent of support to Jeb Bush, while 42 percent picked Clinton.

No other early contenders did too well against the one-time First Lady. Clinton got 50 percent support against Kentucky senator Rand Paul, and 45 percent against New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

Clinton hit 51 percent against Texas senator Ted Cruz, and 48 percent against former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

Florida senator Marco Rubio held his ground a little better, however, earning 42 percent support among Floridians compared to 46 percent from Clinton.

Bush might be a favorite among Floridians, but at least one expert says it might be difficult for the two-term governor to gain momentum in the national spotlight.

“People perceive Jeb Bush differently in the rest of the country,” said Saint Leo University political instructor Frank Orlando, in a release. “Inside Florida, he’s Jeb. Outside of Florida, he’s George’s brother,” as in George W. Bush.

“Jeb Bush continues to struggle to separate his personality from the former president. However, inside the Sunshine State, he stands for himself. He’s his own man. He’s been the most popular figure in the state for a generation.”

Bush has a tremendous lead in Florida over other potential Republican nominees, carrying 34 percent support compared to 15 percent from Romney, according to the Saint Leo poll. Rubio had 10 percent support, while medical doctor Ben Carson is pulling 8 percent.

If their first choice decided not to run, Bush still lead among second picks with 18 percent, followed by Rubio at 15 percent and Romney at 13 percent.

Among Democrats, it might be impossible to topple Clinton. She has 63 percent support in Florida, with Vice President Joe Biden a distant second at 8 percent.

Biden, however, does lead among second choices with 25 percent, followed by Clinton with 13 percent and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren at 11 percent.

Saint Leo polled 500 Florida adults, including 420 likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Crist has slim lead in Saint Leo poll

October 23, 2014 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

With a less than two weeks until voters have to make a final decision on who they should send to (or keep in) Tallahassee, a new poll from the Saint Leo University Polling Institute shows Democrat Charlie Crist with a slight lead over incumbent Republican Rick Scott.

However, the survey — which polled 500 likely voters between Oct. 16 and Oct. 19 — has a margin error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, still making the Crist-Scott race a statistical dead heat. Crist received 43 percent of the support from those surveyed, while Scott garnered 40 percent.

Yet, the numbers may be a little troublesome for Scott, since those polled also said they disapproved of President Barack Obama’s work in office. That means the anti-Obama sentiment Republicans have tried to capitalize on in the race may not be working.

Of those surveyed, 51 percent said they disapproved of Obama, while 48 percent approved.

Both Scott and Crist seem to have about the same approval ratings themselves, with the incumbent receiving 48 percent favorable ratings, while Crist was at 47 percent.

Crist also had the support of 15 percent of Republicans, compared to Scott’s 11 percent of Democrats, and 76 percent of black voters. Scott’s biggest demographic was in older voters above the age of 65, getting 48 percent of their vote compared to 44 from Crist.

“It appears as though Charlie Crist’s attacks against Rick Scott are working, as the race has swung away from the incumbent in the last few months,” said Frank Orlando, a political science instructor at Saint Leo University, in a release.

However, Crist’s lead is still a bit tenuous.

“Pre-election polls tend to overstate support for third-party candidates,” Orlando said. “When it comes time to cast their ballots, voters seem to settle on one of the two main parties for fear of ‘wasting’ their vote.”

The Libertarian in the race, Adrian Wyllie, received 8 percent support, while another 9 percent remained undecided. However, if Wyllie was removed the equation, Crist and Scott would be in a true dead heat, getting 45 percent of support apiece, while 10 percent remained undecided.

In the attorney general race, Republican incumbent Pam Bondi was leading her challenger, Democrat George Sheldon, 47 percent to 39 percent. Adam Putnam seems to be well ahead of his Democratic challenger for agriculture commissioner, Thad Hamilton, with 51 percent support.

The same is true for Jeff Atwater in the chief financial officer race, leading Democrat Will Rankin 50 percent to 35 percent.

Finally, how much could the Ebola virus’ entry into the United States affect state races in Florida? Probably not as much as some would hope. Only 46 percent said they were concerned about Ebola, while 52 percent said they were not losing sleep over it. Only 3 percent were not sure how they felt about the disease.

Early voting in Pasco County begins Oct. 25, with the general election set for Nov. 4.

Primary Sidebar

Search

The Recap Presents…

Sponsored Content

Affordable Living At Club Wildwood

July 26, 2022 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Older adults in central and east Pasco County are discovering the charming manufactured home community of Club Wildwood … [Read More...] about Affordable Living At Club Wildwood

Jolie Smiles Helps Patients Rediscover Their Confidence

July 26, 2022 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Jolie Smiles, a denture and implant studio in Odessa, provides state-of-the-art dentistry and permanent solutions for … [Read More...] about Jolie Smiles Helps Patients Rediscover Their Confidence

More Posts from this Category

What’s Happening

08/07/2022 – Back to School Bash

The annual Back to School Bash at the Tampa Premium Outlets is scheduled for Aug. 7 from noon to 4 p.m. There will be kids activities, local family services, an interactive scavenger hunt, sports mascots, performers, and a business expo offering after-school programs, clubs, tutoring, health care and more.  Preregistration opens on June 16. Separate registration is required for a new, full-inclusion sensory area with access for neuro-diverse children. Visit EventBrite.com for more information. … [Read More...] about 08/07/2022 – Back to School Bash

08/08/2022 – Afterschool snacks

The Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative will host Chef Yamira Lee Johnson on Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m., for a demonstration on easy, healthy recipes kids and parents can make for an afterschool bite. This is an online program for all ages. Register through the calendar feature at HCPLC.org. … [Read More...] about 08/08/2022 – Afterschool snacks

08/09/2022 – Butterfly gardening

The New River Library, 34043 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, will host a master gardener presentation on butterfly gardening on Aug. 9 at 2 p.m. Registration is online at PascoLibraries.org. … [Read More...] about 08/09/2022 – Butterfly gardening

08/09/2022 – Coffee with a deputy

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office will host “Coffee with PSO” on Aug. 9 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at Wawa, 25155 Maren Way in Lutz. Deputies will be on hand to answer questions and to get to know the community. … [Read More...] about 08/09/2022 – Coffee with a deputy

08/09/2022 – Native Plant Society

The Nature Coast Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society will meet on Aug. 9 at 7 p.m., at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. There will be showing of the 2018 American documentary, “The Serengeti Rules,” directed by Nicolas Brown and based on the book by Sean B. Carroll. The film explores the discoveries of five pioneering scientists: Bob Paine, Jim Estes, Anthony Sinclair, John Terborgh and Mary E. Power. Popcorn will be provided. For information, call 813-469-9597. … [Read More...] about 08/09/2022 – Native Plant Society

08/09/2022 – Transportation stories

The New River Library, 34043 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, will present story times on the topic of transportation on Aug. 9 and Aug. 10. Toddlers can attend at 10:15 a.m., and preschoolers at 11:15 a.m. The 45-minutes sessions will include songs, stories and movement. Register online at PascoLibraries.org. … [Read More...] about 08/09/2022 – Transportation stories

More of What's Happening

Follow us on Twitter

The Laker/Lutz News Follow

Your home for weekly news that impacts your life and community. Serving Land O' Lakes, Lutz, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City.

LakerLutzNews
Retweet on Twitter The Laker/Lutz News Retweeted
wfla WFLA NEWS @wfla ·
14h

79-year-old Lutz man dies in Montana climbing incident https://bit.ly/3d18wxQ

Reply on Twitter 1556225341940711425 Retweet on Twitter 1556225341940711425 2 Like on Twitter 1556225341940711425 2 Twitter 1556225341940711425
Retweet on Twitter The Laker/Lutz News Retweeted
zephyrhillscity City of Zephyrhills-Government @zephyrhillscity ·
6 Aug

The next @ZephyrhillsCity Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 8, 2022 at 6:00 PM at the #Zephyrhills City Hall Council Chambers, 5335 8th Street.

Meeting agenda packet: http://ow.ly/sqFR50KcJxG

Questions? Contact the City Clerk's office at 813-780-0000.

Reply on Twitter 1555962050114985985 Retweet on Twitter 1555962050114985985 2 Like on Twitter 1555962050114985985 Twitter 1555962050114985985
Retweet on Twitter The Laker/Lutz News Retweeted
hillsboroughsch Hillsborough Schools @hillsboroughsch ·
5 Aug

Tonight @Publix surprised the @SteinbrennerFB team after catching wind of their Shopping Cart Test. Publix VP Sam Pero gave the team their very own shopping cart lapel pin, a $1,000 check, and of course, some Pub Subs. 👐🛒💚

#Publix #ShoppingCartTest #Warriors #Football

Reply on Twitter 1555345095624458241 Retweet on Twitter 1555345095624458241 16 Like on Twitter 1555345095624458241 62 Twitter 1555345095624458241
Load More

Archives

 

 

Where to pick up The Laker and Lutz News

Copyright © 2022 Community News Publications Inc.

    Doc