It’s Wednesday, May 19th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Face masks will be optional for Miami-Dade County Public Schools students when outdoors and socially distanced for the remainder of the school year and during summer activities.
A district public health task force made the decision Tuesday in light of the CDC's new relaxed mask-wearing guidance for people who are fully vaccinated. Wearing face masks indoors is still mandatory. The district may revisit that policy in time for summer school. A decision on the 2021-22 school year is expected to be made closer to August, but Superintendent Alberto Carvalho expects mask-wearing to be voluntary.
No. 2 - Sports betting in Florida is a step closer to legalization after the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Tuesday approving a gambling agreement signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe.
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The bill that was passed 38-1 also would allow the tribe to add roulette and craps to its casinos, including the popular Hard Rock facilities near Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. In return, the state would be expected to receive an estimated $20 billion over the 30-year compact. The bill will now go to the House, which will vote on it Wednesday. The Legislature held a special session to consider the agreement a little more than two weeks after ending their annual 60-day session.
No. 3 - Capacity limits and other safety measures will be in place in Miami Beach for Memorial Day Weekend as the city's Air & Sea Show returns.
City officials said the "high impact measures" will go into effect at 7 p.m. on May 28 and will be in place through 7 p.m. on May 31. The measures include:
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• Direct or indirect consumption of alcohol on beach property will be prohibited unless specifically authorized by a Special Event Permit or a concession agreement.
• Limitations of traffic routes to prohibit vehicular access to non-residents, and permit access only for residents and those patrons and employees of businesses located in the specific area where traffic routes have been limited.
• Capacity limits will be in effect on various segments of the beach to protect the health, safety and public welfare. Additional access will be denied once capacity limits are reached.
For a list of more restrictions and traffic closures, click on this link.
No. 4 – The deadline to file your federal income tax has came and went, pushed back just over one month in 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
So, how does missing the tax filing deadline impact you? Here’s what to do if you failed to file taxes on time in a report from NBC 6 consumer investigator Sasha Jones. Click here to see Sasha’s report from NBC 6 News.
No. 5 - The iconic Clevelander Hotel has filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami Beach for what it calls “reckless” policies.
On Monday, the Clevelander filed a lawsuit, stating Miami Beach has “declared war” on the entertainment district. The lawsuit comes after city commissioners voted to cut off alcohol sales at 2 a.m. in the area. The company released this statement saying in part, “Over the past year, the Clevelander has attempted to work cooperatively with the City of Miami Beach to resolve its differences. Unfortunately, the City has refused to cooperate or act in a reasonable manner.” Currently, last call is at 5 a.m. The new 2 a.m. cut-off is an attempt to curb fighting and chaos on South Beach.
No. 6 - A bounce off a Panther. A bounce off a post. The Tampa Bay Lightning got two big breaks, and they're going home in full control of their matchup against the Florida Panthers.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots, Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat had first-period goals and the Lightning beat the Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Central Division first-round playoff series. Tampa Bay improved to 28-0-0 this season — including both games of this series — when leading after two periods, and have won 41 such games going back to last season and their run to the Stanley Cup.
