Scott takes 2 more murder cases from prosecutor

plaints by checking rooms for visible mold, excessive humidity, water damage and a few other factors.

They review concerns to determine whether to enlist an independent agency for follow-up, said district spokeswoman Cathy Brennan.

Fusco said she has pressed board members to order more thorough assessments in light of her survey’s findings.

In the survey, teachers described learning environments fraught with moldy books; buckling, stained ceiling tiles; and musty odors. They portrayed classrooms where they and their students get headaches and congestion, dizziness and scratchy throats.

“I had to have students come in and clean with bleach so it’s a cleaner environment,” said a teacher at Northeast High in Oakland Park.

One employee wrote, “Ceiling tiles have literally fell down from leaks caused by rain leaving the a/c vent exposed with all the mold.”

Another teacher from Riverside Elementary said her students have suffered from an unusually high number of colds and allergies.

“One child has congestion and even bloody nostrils, but does not show these symptoms at home (as per parent). Another student has had increased asthma issues this school year,” she wrote.

The Facilities Task Force

TALLAHASSEE — Florida's governor has taken two more capital murder cases from a prosecutor who is opposed to the death penalty.

Gov. Rick Scott signed executive orders Wednesday reassigning the cases — a community group that advises the School Board on maintenance, new construction and renovation — discussed the survey with Roger Riddlemoser, the district’s environmental health services director, during a meeting.

But a district spokeswoman said Broward’s facilities and construction management team was not aware of the union’s providing the survey.

Nathalie Lynch-Walsh, a task force member, responded: “It’s ridiculous that they would say they were unaware. I’m surprised because we spent so much time discussing it.”

Fusco said: “We’ve given a year to allow the district to say they’re taking care it. What’s it going to take, someone to die?”

Health issues that teachers reported are the same ones that a grand jury found about 15 years ago, Lynch-Walsh said.

The grand jury at the time slammed the district for letting mold problems grow in buildings, threatening children’s health.

The jury cited testimony from an allergist that said the onset of allergies is more likely to happen among young children than adults because their immune system is less developed and they breathe more times per hour than adults.

“Although allergies can begin at any age, constant exposure to indoor molds can trigger allergic reactions in previously healthy children,” the report said.

Broward Facilities Task Force members said in a meeting last school year from Orlando State Attorney Aramis Ayala to a prosecutor in a neighboring district.

State Attorney Brad King's office will handle a new sentencing for Jermaine Foster, who was previously sentenced to death that the environmental health staff should step up its approach. One member said staff should test for the types of mold spores because some are more dangerous than others. Others also suggested testing for airborne spores.

Riddlemoser, the environmental health and safety director, responded that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t recommend this.

It doesn’t, according to the agency, because no federal limits have been set on mold or spores.

Robert Farina, who conducts air quality testing with RJF Environmental Consulting Services, said it is important to gage the density of spores in a room and the types of mold that may be present, particularly when you find it or water damage.

“When you get to high levels (in the air) your body starts to reject those spores, and how do you reject them? You cough, sneeze, your eyes water, you can get a rash.”

Sampling for the type of mold is important because certain types can cause health trouble even in small amounts, he said.

Broward school district’s regular air quality assessments do not check for spores or mold types.

Broward has reported finding mold about 20 percent of the times staff searched school rooms for it, according to a Sun Sentinel review of air quality assessments.

It showed up on furniture, in cabinets and on walls, flooring or ceilings in about 180 schools. following a 1994 murder conviction. The office will also prosecute Robert Cardin, who is charged with killing his elderly mother and brother in May.

Scott, a Republican, began taking cases away from Ayala, a Democrat, after

But mold experts — and a district building inspector — said mold can cause damage from places unseen.

“You might see a spot ... on the wall from the exterior, but behind the wall, that whole wall could be exposed for mold, said Matthew Decker, the building inspector and a task force member.

The district is not required to do anything more than it does. No federal laws exist mandating that schools test for types of mold, airborne spores or mold in sites unseen.

In fact, the EPA says that sampling is unnecessary if mold growth is present, in most cases.

A few states regulate how schools should handle the issue, but Florida is not among them.

That’s despite a recommendation from the grand jury report for the state to launch regulations more than a decade ago. Lawmakers considered it, but they ultimately rejected a proposal that would have required schools to promptly fix problems that cause mold growth.

“I got beaucoup complaints from parents saying that their kids were getting sick in the schools,” said Skip Campbell, who served in the state Legislature at the time. “It’s called public safety. It’s called the welfare of our kids. It’s called making sure our kids can go to an environment and be taught . ... It’s a major problem. It’s not a problem that has gone away.”

cmcglade@sun-sentinel .com, 954-356-4528 or Twitter @caitmcglade her March announcement that she would no longer seek the death penalty.

They argued the legality of this before the Florida Supreme Court in June, but no decision has been announced local projects with the goal of eliminating blight and encouraging economic growth.

The redevelopment agency met with city leaders to discuss their proposals for the upcoming year Wednesday evening. During the current budget year, the agency brought in more than $17 million and predicts next year it will net $19.5 million.

A breakdown of projects proposed for neighborhoods:

$8.87 million for road and alley reconstruction in southwest/northwest neighborhoods.

$1.8 million for a new building and pool at Catherine Strong park, surfacing for the Merritt park playground and maintenance and master plan design for Pompey Park.

$630,000 for new sidewalks along Southwest Third Street, Southwest Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and Northwest Sixth and Eighth Avenues.

$800,000 for affordable housing design and construction in the Carver Square neighborhood at Southwest Seventh Avenue and Southwest Fourth Street.

$145,000 for beautification Goodman. She framed his argument as an “overbroad solution in search of a problem that does not exist.”

Nordby said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement rules for obtaining and analyzing blood ensure reliable and accurate blood alcohol test results.

Despite an appellate court ruling last year denying Goodman’s challenge on the blood issue, the Supreme Court still agreed to look at the dispute. Chief Justice Jorge Labarga recused himself from hearing the case Wednesday.

After listening to Goodman’s attorney call the rules flawed, Justice R. Fred Lewis asked, “How specific must the requirements be?”

Kreusler-Walsh said the blood draw problem could be fixed easily if standardized blood testing kits were distributed to law enforcement across the state.

“It’s not difficult,” she said.

Prosecutors at both of Goodman’s trials relied on the blood evidence collected three hours after Goodman’s projects at the entrance to Interstate 95 along Atlantic Avenue.

$75,000 to assess Osceola Park’s redevelopment plan and plot new strategies.

The projects proposed for downtown:

$500,000 for an unspecified pilot program related to the city’s trolley service.

$663,00 for site and building improvements including air-conditioning systems at the Old School Square Cultural Arts Center.

$440,000 for construction and maintenance of crosswalks on East Atlantic Avenue at Venetian Drive and Gleason Street.

$350,000 to open and run the Arts Warehouse, a collaborative art and performance space in Pineapple Grove.

$250,000 on a new traffic light at the entrance of downtown Atlantic Avenue at the intersection of South Swinton Avenue and Southeast/Southwest First Street.

$250,000 to design and build a new storage building for the city’s new 100-foot-tall Christmas tree.

Rvanvelzer@sun-sentinel .com, 561-243-6544, or on Twitter @RyanVanVelzer, or visit our ‘Sun Sentinel: Delray Beach’ community page at SunSentinel .com/facebookdelray Bentley convertible slammed into Wilson’s Hyundai Sonata at a Wellington intersection. Wilson’s car wound up in a canal, where the University of Central Florida engineering graduate drowned.

Goodman’s blood-alcohol content measured 0.177, or more than twice the 0.08 legal limit to drive, along with small amounts of hydrocodone Goodman was taking for back pain, according to court records.

The prosecutors said the test results meant Goodman was impaired before the crash, as a result of drinking that night at three Wellington bars that serve the polo community. But the defense insisted Goodman was not intoxicated when driving.

Goodman testified he chugged alcohol after the crash while looking for a phone to call 911. He said he found liquor in a “man cave,” a polo player’s barn office with a bar, to soothe the pain of his injuries. His attorneys also argued his Bentley malfunctioned, causing or contributing to the crash.

Goodman’s legal team has long insisted the diameter of the needle a Wellington Regional Medical Center nurse used to draw his blood was too small. Goodman’s medical experts previously testified the tiny needle likely produced clotting and a “compromised” blood sample.

Clotted blood leads to higher blood alcohol levels, and criminal defendants have no way of knowing if their samples are clotted or flawed, Goodman’s lawyers say.

Attorneys for the state have argued needle size is meaningless and doesn’t affect blood alcohol results. Clotted blood doesn’t make a sample unreliable, they said.

mjfreeman@sun-sentinel .com, 561-243-6642 or Twitter @marcjfreeman