Bill Belleville (?-July 30, 2020) [1] was an environmental writer, documentary filmmaker, and lecturer in the United States. [2] [3] [4] [5] He received the Order of the South award. His book Losing it all to Sprawl was named one of the "Best Books of the Year" by the Library Journal . "Salvaging the Real Florida" received top honors from the National Outdoors Book Awards. Other books he wrote have won regional honors, including The Peace of Blue, winner of the Silver Medal in the prestigious Florida Book Awards.
His book River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River covers the 275 mile long St. Johns River. [6] His extensive web site documented many of his activities. [7] In Search of Xanadu, shown on public television, follows Belleville on visits to various locations. [2] His other work on documentaries included: "In Marjorie's Wake: Rediscovering Rawlings, a River & Time" National PBS release 2009-2010. (Co-produced & scripted), "Searching for Xanadu" Florida PBS Affiliates (co-produced and scripted), "Conch Cowboys" (Florida PBS Affiliates. co-produced and scripted), and "Wekiva: Legacy or Loss?" Florida PBS Affiliates (co-produced and scripted)
He was a co-founder of Equinox Documentaries, [8] a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to using films and related media for environmental education.
He attended Wicomico Sr. High School in Salisbury, Maryland where he was an all-conference football player and ran track. He also attended Wesley College, University of Maryland, and University of Baltimore.
Belleville was a school social worker (SSA) in Baltimore City Public School System for two years.
He was a scuba diver. He volunteered with literacy programs and environmental groups. He was Writer-in-Residence during the 2004-2005 school year at the University of South Florida in its Florida Studies program.
The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and it is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At 310 miles (500 km) long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in elevation from headwaters to mouth is less than 30 feet (9 m); like most Florida waterways, the St. Johns has a very slow flow speed of 0.3 mph (0.13 m/s), and is often described as "lazy".
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was an American writer who lived in rural Florida and wrote novels with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie of the same name. The book was written before the concept of young adult fiction arose, but is now commonly included in teen-reading lists.
The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway is a protected green belt corridor, more than one and a half miles (2.4 km) wide in places, that was the former route of the proposed Cross Florida Barge Canal. It is named for the leader of the opposition to the Cross Florida Barge Canal, Marjorie Harris Carr, and was originally a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers canal project to connect the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean across Florida for barge traffic. Two sections were built, but the project was ultimately cancelled because of local opposition related to environmental concerns, including protecting the state's water supply and conservation of the Ocklawaha River Valley ecosystem, as well as national opposition for the costs being perceived as "government waste" with "limited national value". The greenway is part of the system of Florida State Parks, including the Santos Trail System, and is managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
WOPX-TV is a television station licensed to Melbourne, Florida, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Orlando area. Owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains offices on Grand National Drive in Orlando, and its transmitter is located on Nova Road east of St. Cloud.
Volusia is an unincorporated community in Volusia County, Florida, United States, on the eastern shore of the St. Johns River. It is about three miles south of Lake George and across the river from the town of Astor in Lake County. Established by Spanish missionaries, Volusia is one of the oldest European settlements in Florida. The main route through the town is State Road 40, which crosses the St. Johns on the Astor Bridge.
Drayton Island is a privately owned heavily wooded island at the northern end of Lake George on the west side of the Saint Johns River's main channel in Putnam County, Florida, United States.
Marc Davis Middleton is an American television journalist, media entrepreneur, author, publisher, and filmmaker who focuses on the changing culture of aging. He is the Founder and CEO of Growing Bolder, a company that produces and distributes health, well-being, and active lifestyle content creation for the 50+ demographic.
Arthur Raymond Marshall Jr. was a scientist and Everglades conservationist who spearheaded efforts to preserve Florida’s wetlands.
Thad Altman is a Republican politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing parts of the Melbourne area in central Brevard County since 2016. Previously, he represented a similar area in the House from 2003 to 2008, and served in the Florida Senate from 2008 to 2016.
The Consensus 1983 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Darren Michael Soto is an American attorney and Democratic politician from Kissimmee, Florida, who is the U.S. representative for Florida's 9th district.
Crescent Lake is a 15,960-acre (64.6 km2) freshwater lake located in Putnam and Flagler counties in North Central Florida. The lake is approximately 13 miles (21 km) in length and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. At the north end it connects to St. Johns River by way of Dunn's Creek.
Teresa Jacobs is an American politician serving since 2018 as the Chair of Orange County Public School Board. Jacobs previously served as Mayor of Orange County from 2011 until taking office as school board chair in November 2018, also having represented district 1 on the Orange County Board of County Commissioners from 2000 to 2008.
Maurice J. "Socky" O'Sullivan is a historian and literary scholar who specialises in the history of Florida. As the Kenneth Curry Professor of Literature at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Professor O'Sullivan has lectured and published extensively on the state's art and history, religion and politics, literature and culture.
The Secret River is a children's fantasy novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling. Published in 1955, The Secret River received a Newbery Honor Award. The first edition, illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Leonard Weisgard, was issued after Rawlings' death. The book was revised and reissued in 2009 with illustrations by Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon. The new edition received an international children's book design award in 2012. The Secret River is the only book Rawlings wrote specifically for children. The story of young Calpurnia, who goes on a quest to find a magical river and catch fish for her starving family and friends, it has two themes common in Rawlings' writing, the magic of childhood and the struggle of people to survive in a harsh environment.
The Drayton Island Ferry is an auto ferry that crosses the St. Johns River in Putnam County, Florida, connecting Georgetown on the eastern bank with Drayton Island, located in the middle of the river at the north end of Lake George. It provides the only public access to the island.
OrlandoCon, also known as O'Con, was a long-running comic book and comic strip fan convention which was held annually between 1974 and 1994 in Orlando, Florida. The first comics convention held in the Orlando area, OrlandoCon billed itself as the "Central Florida comic art convention and early TV/film festival." Captain Marvel-creator C. C. Beck was a regular guest of the show; as were many other Golden Age comics creators who lived in the Orlando area.
The 2010 Orange County, Florida mayoral election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Republican Mayor Richard Crotty was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, and four candidates ran to replace him. A nonpartisan primary election was held on August 24, 2010, but because no candidate won a majority of the vote, former County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs, a Republican, advanced to a runoff election against fellow County Commissioner Bill Segal, a Democrat. Following a contentious general election, Jacobs was elected Mayor over Segal in a landslide, winning her first term 68–32.
Portia Katrenia Maultsby is an American ethnomusicologist and educator. She is a professor emerita at Indiana University Bloomington and specializes in African-American music. She founded the university's Archives of African American Music and Culture in 1991.
Tocoi is a former settlement along the St. Johns River in St. Johns County, Florida.