It’s Friday, November 13th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - The rain has been nonstop for parts of South Florida, and for some, residents are still dealing with excess water from Tropical Storm Eta.
It's getting better, but there are still neighborhoods with water covering roads even days after Eta hit the area. People in Broward County still complained about not being able to use their toilets. Out west in Pembroke Pines, there were still several inches of water, but at least people were able to drive out to take care of things, like buying groceries or going to work. Officials in Hollywood said the amount of water being processed at the Southern Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant was down about 14% since Wednesday.
No. 2 - Acknowledging that the economy can’t be fixed until the pandemic is under control, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez says he’s hoping he can talk Gov. Ron DeSantis into once again letting local governments issue fines to people who are caught violating local mask ordinances.
“We were the first city to lead that charge, when we did that we were getting 3,500 cases per day. That number dropped precipitously to about 350 cases per day,” Suarez said in a news conference, flanked by commissioners Ken Russell and Manolo Reyes. Suarez said he has spoken to DeSantis and Miami-Dade Mayor-elect Daniella Levine Cava, but would not say whether he thinks changes will be made to current laws.
No. 3 - Republican Ileana Garcia has been declared the winner of Florida State Senate District 37 after a manual recount Thursday, nine days after Election Day.
Garcia won by 34 votes over Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez. He has held the seat, which stretches from Miami to Key Biscayne to Cutler Bay, since 2016. Miami-Dade County elections workers sorted through approximately 8,000 ballots Thursday morning. Since election night, Rodriguez had been trailing Garcia by less than 40 votes. On election night, Garcia was up by only 21 votes, though that number has changed over the last few weeks as ballots were reviewed. Florida law mandates a recount when the margin is so slim.
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No. 4 - On Wednesday, a handful on Florida Democrats sent over a letter to Governor Ron Desantis expressing “grave concerns” about his recent decision to hire sports blogger Kyle Lamb as a data analyst for the state.
They say he’s an unqualified conspiracy theorist, claiming he’s been spreading harmful theories about COVID19. In the letter, they tell the Governor that Lamb should be removed from the job. All of this is coming as the virus is ramping back up nationwide while Florida added another 5,600 new COVID cases Thursday. To hear what else they said and a response from Lamb’s lawyer, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Alyssa Hyman.
No. 5 - Cellphone video, exclusively obtained by NBC 6 Investigators, shows Medley Police officers arresting Joshua Rodriguez inside his then home in January 2019.
The video begins when then Sergeant German Gutierrez puts Rodriguez in a chokehold while two other Medley Police officers try to restrain him. While the department allowed the use of chokeholds at the time, like other law enforcement agencies in South Florida, it has since banned its use “except in authorized deadly force situations.” To hear why it was banned and what law enforcement in some cities is doing to adjust, click here for the story from NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard.
No. 6 - Weatherwise, South Florida remains under a flood watch into Friday before finally drying out this weekend with fall like temperatures on the way. Keep your NBC 6 app handy for push alerts on any severe weather as well as First Alert Doppler 6000.
