It’s Wednesday, June 9th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - As the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School class of 2021 walks across the BB&T Center stage Tuesday night, the graduates will be wearing caps and gowns and carrying an emotional burden.
They are the school’s last survivors of the 2018 massacre, and they are keenly aware that nine of their classmates are missing this milestone achievement. “Some of us are lucky enough to graduate and to do great things in our futures, but others aren’t, so it’s important to keep in mind that as we recognize our privilege and our opportunities to go to college, make more friends, get jobs, start families, do all the beautiful things that come with being alive,” said Eden Samara, a senior who is graduating tonight.
No. 2 - A South Florida father is searching for answers, saying his son, a local rapper named Tigoose, died in a fiery crash just days after he survived the northwest Miami-Dade mass shooting.
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Police have not confirmed that Tigoose died in the crash. “I know it’s my son. My son wouldn’t be away from home this long," said the dad, who wanted to be known as only "Goose." "My son was like my best friend." Goose said his son was set to perform at El Mula banquet hall the night of the shooting that killed three and injured 20 others.
No. 3 - Miami-Dade commissioners have approved a plan from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to combat gun violence following a series of shootings in recent weeks that have plagued the county.
County commissioners unanimously approved Levine Cava's "Peace and Prosperity Plan" to fight youth violence at a meeting Tuesday. The plan proposes spending $90 million over 19 years to tackle gun violence through job creation, internships, counseling and other measures, and includes a phase of more police enforcement. "This is a multi-faceted strategic approach and it will go to the root of the problem as well as solve crimes and stop the bleeding immediately and no one solution will end gun violence. It’s necessary that we attack it on all fronts," Levine Cava said.
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No. 4 - Two men who were on a trip across the state to get some tacos are safe after the small plane they were on made a crash landing in the Florida Everglades in Collier County Tuesday morning.
Federal Aviation Administration officials said the single-engine Piper PA-32 made a forced landing on a highway in the Everglades about 20 miles north of Ochopee just before 10 a.m. Footage showed a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter helping the two men from the scene by hoisting them into the chopper. Fire rescue officials said neither was hurt or required hospitalization.
No. 5 - Residents at the Hamilton on the Bay in Edgewater have several weeks to find a new place to live.
Last month, the owners of the property notified some 200 tenants that they are being evicted and have 60 days to move out. “I am going to be 72 years old in August and the rent I am going to have to pay to move out to cover the moving expenses is my whole Social Security check,” Larry Schatz said. He joined other residents in a protest outside of the lobby of the building located off Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 34th Street on Tuesday. The group has asked the owners, Aimco, to give them more time and money to move.
No. 6 - Eye doctors are starting to see an eye-opening and alarming trend in checkups for children. Kids are coming in more and more often with myopia, or nearsightedness.
“It’s almost every single kid I see nowadays, they’re all complaining,” said Dr. Austin Bach, an ophthalmologist with Abita Eye Group in Hollywood and Doral. Dr. Bach says pediatric patients come in with blurred vision, dry eyes or inflammation. He estimates the rate of nearsightedness among children is three times higher during the pandemic, compared to five years ago. Part of the problem is kids spent a lot of time indoors over the last year, plus during the pandemic. Many parks families relied on for activities outdoors were closed or hours severely reduced. The time kids spent indoors was often spent on a device.
