-- State officials had some early holiday gifts for Florida on the employment and education fronts.

Education officials say nearly half of Florida's high schools received an A grade for the 2011- 2012 school year.

The letter grades for high schools in our region were generally positive.

In Broward, two schools went from a C to an A grade. In Miami-Dade, six schools made the same jump.

And the number of Palm Beach County high schools earning an A grade rose from 8 to 14.

The State Board of Educations recently permitted many changes that paved the way for higher grades to label Florida's high schools with. 

According to State Impact, "The board lowered the passing grade on the state writing test, suspended the penalty for schools whose lowest-performing students did not improve their scores and only allowed school grades to drop by a maximum of one letter."

Rep. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has been all over the news this week. On Monday, responding to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, he said all remedies must be "on the table" legislatively, including allowing teachers and principals to arm themselves on school   grounds. 

On Tuesday, after his comments had been reported widely, Baxley issued a statement that this is a time to respect the victims. "Contrary to media reports, no specific proposals have been advanced or filed by me," he wrote.

Once upon a time, snow fell in Miami.

Seems whenever the weather gets even moderately cold, someone somewhere in South Florida invokes Jan. 19, 1977 -- the day it snowed in Miami.

Not only did the snow make front page news in The Miami Herald, the front page about snow made The Miami Herald Front Pages book. 

Arnold Markowitz wrote the day's story, the beginning of which reads as follows:

Snow fell Wednesday on Miami.

The well-regarded Helen Bentley Family Health Center, a fixture in Coconut Grove, will be losing almost to $2 million in federal funding next year.  

The Miami Herald says the funding represents approximately 17 percent of the center’s operating budget.  The center will continue to provide services but laid off several support staff due to the reduction.     

On the Florida Roundup: The tragedy in Connecticut hits home in what some people call “The Gunshine State,”as Florida has over a million concealed weapons permits, the most in the country.    Do you feel safer?  We hear your reaction to Florida’s milestone.  And will gun control be on the agenda in Tallahassee?

Update 8 a.m. Sunday, December 23: "Weird Florida" On Page One

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel featured WLRN's latest documentary, "Weird Florida," on its Sunday front page story on December 23. Reporter Johnny Diaz interviewed WLRN's own Mia Lorenzo:

WLRN producer Mia Laurenzo says she wanted to take viewers on a TV tour of seldom-seen attractions.

"I like it when viewers say, 'Wow, I really didn't know that' — especially people who live here,'' says Laurenzo, who traveled with Carlson, the dog and a cameraman for several weeks beginning in May.

The Hollywood resident got the idea for the documentaries after spotting Carlson's 2005 book, "Weird Florida: Your Travel Guide to Florida's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets." Taking a cue from the classic series "Ripley's Believe It or Not!," the WLRN show also has segments on creepy legends such as a lake monster in the city of Frostproof and a "skunk-ape" north of Lakeland.

"It's not your typical PBS travel show which tells you about the types of food, the culture, the area and [has] these beautiful sweeping aerial pans,'' Laurenzo says. "'Weird Florida' is campy. We take a look at these roadside attractions."

Posted at 11:46 a.m. Friday, December 21:

WLRN takes viewers on a trip through Florida in search of weird places and whacky people, with its new documentary Weird Florida: On the Road Again !  This exciting new documentary was produced due to the tremendous success of the first television special Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled, which has aired on PBS stations from Miami, Florida to Juneau, Alaska.  To fulfill the desires of weird fans everywhere, the bizarre journey to Florida’s zaniest places will continue in this all new Weird Florida: On the Road Again.

Hedy Goldsmith recalls her first efforts at baking -- with the Easy-Bake Oven, in her new cookbook -- Baking Out Loud: Fun Desserts with Big Flavors.

We spoke with Goldsmith, executive pastry chef at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, about her new Easy-Bake Oven and about holiday baking.

Goldsmith recently got a 1964 Easy Bake Oven with the original cake mixes: