Money to combat the Zika Virus may finally be on the way. After a three month delay, the U.S. Senate is voting on three bills today. Only one, a 1.1 billion dollar plan, has a chance of passing. Meantime, Florida continues to lead the nation in the mosquito-borne virus with 109 cases.
A 29 year old is accused of holding man and his four young nieces and nephews hostage in their own home at gunpoint for three months, so he could steal the family’s 718 dollar a month disability check. Larry Howard was busted while hiding in the Haines City home’s crawl space.
86 year old William Hager, charged with first degree murder for shooting his ailing wife to death at their St. Lucie County home. Hager told police they couldn’t afford medication and that 78 year old Carolyn Hager wanted to die, but did not actually ask him to kill her.
Four Pinellas County charter schools get 90 days to clean up their act or be shut down. The school board voted unanimously today to give Windsor Prep, East Windsor Middle, Newpoint Pinellas, and Florida Virtual academies one more chance after parents turned out in force to protest the shut downs. The 4 schools have nearly a thousand students and get 6 million dollars a year in public funding.
Florida still leads the nation in foreclosures. Lenders seized nearly 70 thousand Sunshine State homes in the 12 month period that ended March 31st. But data provider CoreLogic says that’s actually down 37 percent compared to the year that ended in March 2015.
Orlando…fourth best city in the nation for finding a summer job according to WalletHub.com. WalletHub used data like percentage of the population between 16 and 24 and their ability to get a job in 30 minutes or less.
Manatee County authorities believe they have serial skimmers on their hands. More of those electronic devices used to steal credit and debit card information at gas pumps were found at a Gulf Drive Citgo in Holmes Beach. Cops think whoever put them there may also have installed skimmers recently in gas pumps in Bradenton and Long Boat Key.
The mother of one of the Florida teens missing in the Atlantic wants the boat they were in examined as a crime scene. 14 year olds Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos vanished after setting sail in their 19 foot vessel during a storm last July. The boat was found near Bermuda. One of the boys’ cell phones was found on board but is too damaged to even power up.
31 year old Johnathan Rogers, charged with video voyeurism for taking photos up the skirts of women at University Square Mall in Tampa.
A morning fire nearly destroys a Clearwater business. The roof and showroom at Cycle Springs Powersports on U.S. 19 are badly damaged. investigators are looking for the cause of the blaze.
