It’s Thursday, July 22nd – and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Consider this a prime example of the Surfside Effect. The city of Sunny Isles Beach has ordered a condominium to shut down its parking garage after the building’s engineer found numerous issues of concern.
It was part of a review of the city’s older buildings, ordered by the city manager after the tragedy at Champlain Towers. The parking garage at Winston Towers 600 is a maze of shoring supports, with rusted rebar visible in the ceiling in several places. So the obvious question and concern for people who live here is, what happens to all their cars, where do they put them, where are they supposed to park now? Click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Ari Odzer.
No. 2 - As victims of the Champlain Towers South collapse seek as much compensation as possible for their losses, some unit owners are proposing a creative way to boost the pot of money all will eventually share.
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But, as with most things involving condo associations, not all owners are on board. In Wednesday's weekly status hearing involving 34 lawsuits already filed, Miami-Dade Judge Michael Hanzman heard from some owners who think they could extract more from the assets than the $50 million in insurance coverage already pledged and what some estimate might be $100 million for the oceanfront lot in Surfside that the condo once sat on. Click here for more on what’s next in a story from NBC 6 investigator Tony Pipitone.
No. 3 - Laymis Alvarez says for days she’s been crying and praying to get help for her sister in Cuba.
Her sister Raiza lives in Havana and has diabetes. She recently had her foot amputated, and with little to no medicine on the island, she developed a severe infection and is in extreme pain. She says when she called shipping companies to try to send medicine, she hit a brick wall. To hear why Alvarez and others hope for change soon, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Kim Wynne.
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No. 4 - When the Opening Ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics take place Friday, Miami will be front and center with an athlete who already has achieved success in the Winter Olympics.
Miami native Eddy Alvarez, a member of USA Baseball who qualified for the Olympics during competitions last month in West Palm Beach, was one of two athletes selected as the official flag bearers for the ceremonies. Alvarez joins USA women’s basketball star Sue Bird, marking the first time in Olympic history that participating countries will each include both a male and female athlete carrying the flag for the Opening Ceremony. The 31-year-old son of Cuban immigrants, Alvarez was a baseball star at Christopher Columbus High School before turning down a college scholarship to begin his career in the world of speed skating, become the first Cuban American to qualify for the Winter Olympics in speed skating and win a silver medal as part of the 5000-meter relay team during the 2014 Sochi Games.
No. 5 - There’s been a lot of tongue and cheek comments from athletes about whether the cardboard beds in the Olympic village are meant to prevent intimacy.
But, that’s not the case. An Irish gymnast dispelled the cardboard controversy on twitter, saying the cardboard constructions were built to be sustainable. After the games, the beds will be recycled into paper products to reduce waste. The mattresses will be recycled into plastic products. Surprisingly, they can carry a lot of weight. Click here for more on that in a story from NBC 6 reporter Amanda Plasencia.
No. 6 - Hall of Fame college football coach Bobby Bowden announced Wednesday he has been diagnosed with a terminal medical condition.
The 91-year-old Bowden was hospitalized last October after he tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test came a few days after returning to his Tallahassee home from a lengthy hospital stay for an infection in his leg. He did not disclose his condition in his statement. During his 34 years coaching Florida State, Bowden amassed a 315-98-4 record and built the Seminoles into a national power, winning 12 Atlantic Coast Conference championships and national titles in 1993 and 1999. He won 357 games during his 40 years in college coaching and was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
