The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 1

Welcome to the club DOLPHINS RUNNING BACK RONNIE BROWN THINKS HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED ON LIST OF THE ELITE RUNNERS ID FRIDAY MAY 29 2009 SAL EDiTiON 50 CENTS 106TH YEAR NO 257 '2009 MiamiHeraldcom THE REV ALBERTO CUTIE HAITI Fate of migrants on boat unclear HIGHER EDUCATION MDC will cut 197 jobs courses For the first time in its history Miami Dade College is making severe cuts in staff and classes a move that could delay graduation for some students BY LUISA YANEZ 3 era Saying it has reached the end of its financial Miami Dade College announced Thursday that it will lay off or eliminate 197 positions killing as many as eight programs and ottering no new classes next fall likely delaying graduation for many students And the school the largest and most diverse institution of higher learning also will stop recruiting new students It has canceled all upcoming Open House registration events at its eight campuses The school is not stopping registration but any new students will have a difficult time competing with the 170000 already enrolled for a seat in a classroom This marks the first time in nearly 50-year history such drastic cuts in staff and programs have been made "This is the worst ever said MDC President Eduardo Padron who has worked at the college since 1970 breaks my heart to have to close the door on students ho depend on us to get an education and improve their lives it also pains me to let go of good employees been a very difficult The cutbacks come at a time when many people having lost their jobs in the recession are returning to college to learn new skills or change careers TURN TO MDC 2A A Coast Guard Interdiction of a suspected migrant-smuggling boat may have been cut short by armed smugglers BY ROBERT SAMUELS AND JACQUELINE CHARLES rsamuels 3 Miamiherald com US authorities gave starkly different accounts of what happened on the high seas this week when an overloaded vessel of Haitian migrants trying to reach the US mainland was intercepted by Coast Guard officials US embassy officials in Port-au-Prince said in a statement that armed smugglers thwarted US Coast Guard officials by holding more than 60 passengers at gunpoint as they fled an area near the Haitian barrier island of La Tor-tue The smugglers who were armed with pistols had threatened the other migrants who were attempting to climb aboard the Coast Guard ship according to embassy officials But the US Coast Guard reported that it sent 35 migrants back to Haiti on Wednesday after discovering the wayward boat on Monday They said there was no report of the smugglers being armed with any pistols In their statement which was issued in French from Port-au-Prince embassy officials said the ship fled from Coast Guard authorities with 60 migrants still aboard They reaffirmed that "we are sure the alleged smugglers had US Embassy spokeswoman Mari Tolliver referred further questions to national police who did not immediately respond to requests for comment Haitian National Police are in charge of the investigation Mario Andresol the head of the Haitian National Police told The Miami Herald late Thursday night that his agency had found the boat but TURN TO MIGRANTS 2A MidmiHeraldcom newshaiti 60 online for the latest coverage from Haiti AL DIAZMIAMI HERALD STAFF A NEW HOME: The Rev Alberto Cutie with girlfriend Ruhama Bum Canellis was formally received into the Episcopal Church on Thursday at Trinity Cathedral The Miami Beach priest who left his church amid controversy has joined the Episcopal Church and plans to get married While the Catholic Church requires priests to hew to a vow of celibacy the Episcopalians who broke from Rome in the 16th century have no such rules Cutie was formally welcomed into the Episcopal Church in a small private ceremony early Thursday afternoon at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral the South BY JAWEED KALEEM ikaleem aMiamiHerald com The Rev Alberto Cuti6 the celebrity priest photographed nuzzling a woman on a Florida beach has left the Catholic Church to join the Episcopal Church and marry his girlfriend a move that attracted a strong rebuff from Roman Catholic leaders Florida headquarters in downtown Miami am continuing the call to spread Cutie said TURN TO FAITH 2A MiamiHeraldcom news Watch a video of Rev Alberto statement on Thursday HARD TIMES: Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padron seated talks with Chief of Staff George Andrews in February MIAMI-DADE SCHOOLS Dade students arc closing the gap on FCAT 13 Eighth-grade scores dropped slightly but the rest of the latest FCAT news was good for Miami-Dade schools CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Miami Central High principal Doug Rodriguez looks over FCAT results Thursday at the school CARL JUSTE MIAMI HERALD STAFF MORE COVERAGE: POSITIVE: Data released indicate improvement at several South Florida schools that are in danger of closing 14 A MftMIHF9LD COM EDO CATION Complete education coverage high school students closing that gap turning a corner said Kerri Maysonet principal of Homestead Senior High one of three high schools to improve its scores in all grades and subjects results were TURN TO FCAT 14A District reading and math scores in ninth and 10th grades and science scores in 11th still lag the Florida average But the latest FCAT results released Thursday by the Florida Department of Education show Miami-Dade BY LAURA MORALES AND PATRICIA MAZZEI pmazzei a MiamiHerald com Miami-Dade high-schoolers made greater gains than their peers statewide on the crucial Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test WEEKEND 1G BRIEF ENCOUNTERS ANNUAL SUMMER SHORTS PLAY SERIES AIMS TO PACK A PUNCH IN JUST A FEW MINUTES LOCAL IB FROM MIAMI TO THE VATICAN MIGUEL DIAZ HAS BEEN TAPPED TO BECOME THE NEXT AMBASSADOR TO THE HOLY SEE SPORTS ID LEBRON CAVS STAY ALIVE CLEVELAND WINS 112-102 TO FORCE A GAME 6 SATURDAY IN ORLANDO CLASSIFIED COMICS C0RRILT10NS CROSSWORD DEATHS DUBFR1 DININb EDITOR Al HIGH 87 LOW 73 Forecast back of Section.