Some of the top news from Broward County, Florida from 02-24-2019 to 03-02-2019:
Trouble in Venezuela, as international opposition to President Nicolas Maduro grows. President Donald Trump on Sunday promised a July Fourth celebration on the National Mall this summer like no other, complete with a presidential address, fireworks and entertainment. A Tesla burst into flames after a crash in Davie. And the battery reignited several times. Officials said it may have been going 116 mph. Lobbyist Ron Book, arrested in Broward on DUI charges. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with inappropriate conduct at a day spa in Palm Beach County.
Broward County Public Schools announced Brian Katz as the District’s new Chief of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness; as a student was accused of trying to shoot a BB gun at a Dillard Middle School. And the Florida Supreme Court approved Governor Ron DeSantis’ request for statewide grand jury with a broad mandate to investigate school safety. Meanwhile, the “black community” and Parkland families clash at contentious Broward school safety meeting. The Broward County School Board is scheduled to vote next week on whether to fire embattled Superintendent Robert Runcie. There are racial overtones. Rep. Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, filed a bill in the Florida Legislature to strip Scott Peterson1 (former Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy accused by some of neglect during last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School) of his benefits in the Florida Retirement System. Donald Samuels, the former Broward School Board chairman, died at age 80.
A goat got loose in Pembroke Pines. A Port Everglade plan is proposed to help distribute sand at beaches to the south. Hollywood wants to sell the property which was formerly a dumping ground for toxic incinerator ash–maybe for mixed use apartments and shops. Also in Hollywood, the new lifeguard stands on the beach are being delivered at a cost of about $190,000 each (we’re told the price is a bargain–the original total price of $4.8 million was negotiated down to $2.1 million ). SafeHome.com claims Weston is the third-safest city in the entire country–a announcement for which Broward.US would like to see more proof. Ft. Lauderdale hired a city treasurer without checking a supposedly “puffed up” resume; while the FBI is checking claims of fraud at Port Everglades. The Mayor of Miramar may be running for President in 2020. A five-story, 183-room beachside hotel building near the entrance of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is — once home to a Holiday Inn — is being bought by developers who plan to add a “state-of-the-art hotel.” Ft. Lauderdale residents fear gentrification of the historic black community at a prominent corner of Sistrunk Boulevard where residents have shopped for groceries for 70 years. A pilot was killed when he crashed his small banner towing plane into a Ft. Lauderdale high rise–the investigation is underway.
Prosecutors blasted former police officer Nouman Raja as a “reckless killer.” In St. Louis, the United Methodists Vote to keep a traditional stance on marriage.
- second article; see the text of the Bill filed in the House of Representatives. ↩