The Palm Tree Santas drill team features veterans from across Florida who perform colorful precision marching. The Santas marched down First Street in Sanford, Florida, on Monday, May 28, 2012, for the city’s annual Memorial Day parade. (George Skene, Orlando Sentinel)
The newly refurbished Lake Eola Park fountain is tested late in the evening of Wednesday, June 28, 2011. (Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel)
More pictures: Lake Eola fountain through the years
Here is our Spotify memorial playlist for the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, who passed away Thursday at 63. Thank you for your song suggestions, everyone.
Hear the songs you chose as your favorites.
Donna Summer performs during a taping of the VH1 special “VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross” in New York’s Madison Square Garden in this April 9, 2000, file photograph. Summer died today at age 63 after a battle with cancer, according to multiple news reports. (Photo by Jeff Christensen, Reuters)
Watch: 10 greatest hits by Donna Summer, in videos
A photo aired by CNN shows a black-skinned man that Orlando attorney Mark NeJame says was George Zimmerman’s great-grandfather.
It appears to support what Zimmerman’s family has been saying for months: that Zimmerman has black-skinned relatives and was raised in a mixed race family. Read the story here
Photographing marine life in central Florida's giant aquariums -
Museum opening, portfolio reviews this week for Snap! -
The Snap! Orlando photography festival hits full steam on May 10, but there are a couple of warm-up events this week.
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There’s something remarkably peaceful in photographing turtles swimming at SeaWorld Orlando’s new TurtleTrek attraction. Maybe it’s the graceful motions they make, moving in slow sweeping arcs among large schools of tropical fish, occasionally rising to the surface to take a deep breath. Guests who visit the attraction, which opened Friday, April 27, 2012, will get an up-close, underwater view of the relaxing scene, with various species of the sea turtles in a massive saltwater habitat. Then, watching in a 360-degree, virtual-environment domed theatre, guests will be immersed in a 3-D, animated film showcasing the turtles, powered by 34-projectors. Shown in super high-def, the film illustrates the dramatic life journey of the sea turtles in a first-of-its-kind presentation.
In case you were wondering, these particular turtles featured in TurtleTrek’s habitats are permanent residents and were rescued by SeaWorld. They are non-releasable back to the wild — due to illness, genetics, or being orphaned. SeaWorld Orlando has rescued, rehabilitated and released more than 1,200 sea turtles, along with hundreds of endangered manatees, back to their natural waters over the last four decades, through the park’s animal rescue program.
— Joe Burbank can be reached jburbank@orlandosentinel.com. Follow the Sentinel photo staff on Twitter @OSPhoto. Like us on Facebook: Orlando Sentinel Photography.
The waters in Seminole County near Lake Monroe are home to a large variety of birds. I often see herons, egrets, eagles and other birds of prey while driving around.
While driving down County Road 415 toward the beach for an assignment a few weeks back, I noticed an osprey nest sitting on a utility pole near the bridge that crosses the Sanford marina. The bridge offers a unique vantage point, providing an almost level view of the nest. I pulled off the road just past the bridge and walked back the distance to the peak of the bridge. I used a Canon 7D SLR with a 300MM F/2.8 lens and a 1.4x Canon Tele-extender. This combination gave me the equivalent of a 672mm lens.
The young osprey in the nest was difficult to capture as osprey chicks will often flatten themselves in the nest while their parents are away.
— Joshua C. Cruey can be reached jcruey@orlandosentinel.com. Follow the Sentinel photo staff on Twitter @OSPhoto. Like us on Facebook: Orlando Sentinel Photography.
Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman, said he would alert the court if his son failed to adhere to the conditions of his bond.
He said he doesn’t have much money to help his son with bail, but would take a second mortgage on his home to help secure his son’s release.
“I’m a disabled veteran, and don’t have a great deal of income,” the elder Zimmerman said. Of his son, he said, “I’ve never known him to be violent at all unless otherwise provoked, then he’d turn the other cheek.”
Prosecutor Bernie De La Rionda then asked Robert Zimmerman about his son’s finances. He also asked Robert Zimmerman about his son’s prior 2005 arrest, in which he was accused of striking a law enforcement officer near the University of Central Florida.
He said his son has “always been interested in criminal justice,” and is an honest man.
“I believe him because he’s been honest his whole life,” Robert Zimmerman said. He said he saw his son the day after the shooting, and he had gashes on the back of his head. His face was swollen, the elder Zimmerman said.
Read the entire thing here.
Wife, father and mother of Trayvon’s shooter testify at hearing
We are also live tweeting the hearing. Follow us on Twitter at @OSTrayvonMartin.
Spectators gather on Cocoa Beach, Florida, to watch the space shuttle Discovery, atop a 747, pass on its way to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, April 17, 2012. The shuttle fleet has been decommissioned, and Discovery is heading to the Smithsonian for permanent display. (Tom Burton, Orlando Sentinel)
