Here are some of the top stories from the past week from NBC 6 News:
‘Where Did You Guys Come From?': How Wild Monkeys Thrived in Dania Beach for Decades
Deep within the brambles of a marshy plot of land in Dania Beach lies one of South Florida’s most beloved secrets.
A wild monkey colony calls the area home, despite being non-native to the state of Florida.
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The group of African vervet monkeys arrived in the swampy patch of forest adjacent to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in the 1940s, after escaping from a breeding facility called the Dania Chimpanzee Farm.
Since then, the monkeys have dispersed across Dania Beach, occupying parts of West Lake Park and the mangroves near Port Everglades.
The animals have become well-acquainted to life among the wetlands, enjoying handouts of food from humans who offer them bits of fruit, nuts and seeds to munch on. There are four social groups of the animals, with about 40 to 41 monkeys in total. The animals have lived in South Florida for more than 80 years.
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‘The Road to Hell Is Here': Battle Over Pompano Beach Renovation Gridlock Continues
Backers of a plan to renovate downtown Pompano Beach squared off Tuesday with residents who say they can't live through the traffic the project is causing.
Experts say about 175,000 cars pass every day in front of Pompano Beach City Hall. NBC 6 was the first to report about the shock from residents when the city reduced traffic lanes on busy Atlantic Boulevard, triggering what residents call intentional gridlock by the city.
"Well, the traffic poles showed up. Over one night we woke up — drove up — saw these yellow poles," Pompano Beach resident Gus Gambateste said.
Residents say their already difficult daily commute became a nightmare. NBC 6 showed how the city had reduced the lanes east and westbound on Atlantic and its own studies showed residents were sitting in traffic longer.
“I am sure all these commissioners have good intentions, but as the old saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and right now, the road to hell is right here at Atlantic Boulevard and Dixie Highway," Gambateste said.
Miami Doctors Warn About Dangers of High-Powered Magnets After Cases Spike Across Country
A well-intentioned Christmas gift, given to her older sister, ended up being the culprit that took the life of Raylynn, a 14-month old toddler from Michigan.
Raylynn swallowed seven tiny, high-powered magnets and, according to an autopsy report, they magnetized inside her and perforated her bowel. A heart-wrenching death doctors and advocates fear won’t be the last.
“The strength of these is so powerful,” said Dr. James Berman, as he showed magnets coming together quickly in the palm of his hand.
Dr. Berman is not connected to the Michigan case, but showed NBC 5 Responds four magnets that not too long ago threatened the life of another child – this time in the Chicago-area.
“We see probably one patient every other month that we have to monitor in the hospital,” he said. “So that’s around six per year.”
NBC 5 Responds found injuries caused by magnet ingestion skyrocketed across the country in the last 5 years, up more than 530%.
Doctors in South Florida tell NBC 6 Responds they are seeing more of these types of cases.
See Trial Photos from Inside Jeffrey Epstein's Now-Demolished Palm Beach Mansion
Never-before-seen photos taken during an FBI raid on Jeffrey Epstein's South Florida mansion in 2005 were submitted into evidence by prosecutors in the trial of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of grooming underage girls for the financier, who killed himself in jail in 2019.
Prosecutors argued that Maxwell was dubbed the “lady of the house” of the Palm Beach County mansion, where they also said many of the alleged sexual assaults took place.
The photos, which were redacted and released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, appeared to show provocative artwork – some allegedly of minors – on the walls of rooms throughout the sprawling property, according to court documents from day five of the trial.
Several victims, including one who took the stand under the pseudonym “Jane,” testified that Maxwell and Epstein sexually abused them at the Palm Beach mansion. Two other accusers used the pseudonyms "Kate" and "Carolyn" to protect their privacy, while Annie Farmer chose to testify using her real name.
Good Neighbor Saves a Mail Mixup in Fort Lauderdale
A priceless package was found by a good neighbor after it was delivered to the wrong house in Fort Lauderdale.
Don spent days tracking his newly purchased vintage 1972 guitar base he found online. But according to Don, the shipping company delivered it to the wrong address.
“The neighbor calls me up and says that this big box was delivered," he said. "So I drive over there, and lucky for me. I mean I was so, so happy that she read my phone number on the box that the music store put."
The mail mixup could have ended badly, but thanks to a good neighbor, that didn’t happen.
I’m grateful, just so grateful that she found it," Don said.
He was thankful his neighbor was home at the time when they delivered the package.
“[The] possibility of it being stolen, I mean you have a 5-foot box with fragile stickers on it with a label from a music store. I can't imagine if it was stolen because it's 50 years old, you can't replace it,” Don explained.
Publix's Iconic Entrance Scales May Soon Be History
If you are still shy about checking your weight on the iconic scale at Publix, you might want to step on the green machine before it vanishes.
Those big historic and industrial looking scales at the front of Publix Super Markets could land on the scrapheap of supermarket history one day, because the scale manufacturer stopped making them, a Publix Facebook post recently reported.
At least one new store that recently joined the grocery chain’s Florida outlets, opened without the scale. An associate said the new Publix located the Shoppes of Golf Village near Boynton Beach does not have one.
“The manufacturer ceased production in 2015, meaning that one day — although our wonderful repair shop keeps our remaining machines in great shape — the last Publix scale will retire,” an Aug. 19 Facebook post announced.
The scales, shaped like “lollipops,” have been a Publix Super Market fixture for 81 years, the post explained. When they made their first appearance, initially at the back of the store and later by the front doors, household scales were bulky and too expensive to own. Most people were weighed at the doctor’s office or Floridians went to Publix to check their weight. Over the years, the current scales are now four times bigger and costlier than their original counterpart.
