12 students hospitalized from pepper spray after argument at Blanche Ely High

An argument between two students spiraled into 12 hospitalizations and a brief lockdown of Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach on Thursday afternoon, officials said. About 12 p.m., two students were having an argument in a common area when one of the students used pepper spray, according to John Sullivan, a spokesperson for the Broward County School District. The two students and several other students in the vicinity were hit by the pepper spray and taken to the hospital. Pompano Beach... Read More

Book review: Return of detective Ian Rutledge in ‘A Christmas Witness’ is an early holiday gift

‘A Christmas Witness’ by Charles Todd; Mysterious Press; 216 pages; $23.99 Charles Todd presents an early holiday gift with “A Christmas Witness,” his latest Ian Rutledge novella. Todd penned the first 25 Ian novels with his mother, Caroline. Written under the name Charles Todd and normally published annually, the duo’s books gave readers a glimpse of the trauma of World War I as seen by Ian, who after the war became a Scotland Yard detective. The series was paused when Caroline... Read More

One arrested after shooting outside party at Airbnb, police say

A Lauderhill man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly shooting a long rifle outside of a vacation rental home in Plantation where at least two dozen people were partying, police said. Multiple neighbors in the area of the 12000 block of Northwest Sixth Street called 911 about 5 p.m. to report what sounded like a “shootout”  and people running from the area while cars drove off, according to a probable cause affidavit. Officers arrived and stopped two cars fleeing the neighborhood,... Read More

Wastewater backing up in kitchen; 72 dead roaches in cafe: 8 South Florida restaurants shut

The state temporarily closed eight South Florida restaurants last week, with violations including wastewater backing up from a kitchen floor drain (and employees stepping in the gray water), 72 dead roaches at a cafe and “32 live insects” seen in and on boxes of dry pasta. The Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen... Read More

Charter school operator seeks to co-locate on 27 Broward school campuses rent free

A Miami-based charter school operator has made a formal request to co-locate rent-free on the campuses of 27 Broward schools, initiating what one state legislator described as a “land grab” that could hurt public schools. Roberto C. Blanch, president of Miami-based Mater Academy, sent 27 letters to Superintendent Howard Hepburn on Wednesday informing him that the charter school provider wants to open charters known as “Schools of Hope” on various campuses starting in August... Read More

FSU’s Ethan Pritchard, ‘alert and responsive,’ being moved to Jacksonville facility

The Florida State athletic department sent out an email Thursday afternoon announcing that freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard has been released from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and is being moved to Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville for the next stage in his recovery process. Pritchard, who played high school football at Sanford’s Seminole High, is recovering from a gunshot wound suffered on the night of Aug. 31. Pritchard was visiting family in nearby Havana and was giving his aunt... Read More

Pharmaceutical maker plans $250M Coral Springs expansion, creating hundreds of jobs

A worldwide pharmaceutical maker that already maintains operations in Coral Springs intends to build a major manufacturing plant in the city with the goal of producing more than 25 respiratory medicines, including inhalers for children with asthma. Lupin, whose U.S. headquarters is in Naples, plans to invest $250 million over five years for research and development, infrastructure and capital expenditures, the company announced Wednesday. Locally, the company expects the expansion will... Read More

Insurance ideas would reduce high costs for Floridians, Democratic senators say

New rules for insurance company owners that are now out of state regulators’ reach. An emergency relief fund to help low-income homeowners pay for insurance. A national risk pool to spread insurance costs across several states. Those are some of the ideas — some new, some brought back — that Florida’s Democratic senators are pushing to ease the high costs of property insurance costs for homeowners and renters in the state. Only 11 of 40 state Senate seats are currently held by... Read More

Florida’s top election official rejects call to count all mail ballots by hand

Florida’s top elections official on Wednesday rejected the idea of hand-counting all vote-by-mail ballots cast in the state — a blow to election skeptics in the Republican Party’s MAGA base who don’t trust the way votes are counted. Hand-counting millions of mail ballots would be unwieldy and create problems, Secretary of State Cord Byrd told state Rep. Meg Weinberger, a Palm Beach County Republican who raised the issue. Byrd said hand-counting would be less accurate than the... Read More