Here are some of the top stories from the past week you may have missed from NBC 6 News:
Hundreds of Florida College Students Have Tested Positive for COVID-19
Hand-sanitizing stations, vending machines with masks and social distancing signs are some of the things students are seeing at Florida’s college campuses this year.
“If you go into a building, they want you to put your mask on,” said Florida International University’s student Alejandro Miranda.
According to the Florida Department of Health, nearly 3,000 students and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus at 133 institutions across the state as of Oct. 3.
But the state’s data is limited and only shows cases dating back to early September.
BSO Fires Dept. of Detention Colonel and Lt. Colonel After Inmate Gave Birth in Jail
Local
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony has fired a Department of Detention colonel and lieutenant colonel after an inmate gave birth in jail last month.
Tony announced the terminations of Colonel Gary Palmer and Lieutenant Colonel Angela Neely Thursday for "command level failures," the department said in a news release.
The firings follow an administrative review of a late September incident in which a female inmate in the infirmary at the North Broward bureau gave birth to a child.
The release said an investigation revealed that medical staff attended to the inmate when she delivered the child and that the mother and child were transported to a nearby hospital, but the Broward Public Defender's Office told the Sun Sentinel the woman was forced to give birth in her cell.
Florida Democrats Have Voter Advantage, But It's Shrinking
Florida Democrats still have a voter registration advantage over Republicans, but it's getting slimmer.
Democrats have just more than 5.3 million voters registered for the Nov. 3 election, compared to nearly 5.2 million for Republicans, according to statistic released by the Florida Department of State.
The overall difference is 134,242 in favor of Democrats. But that's down from a 327,435 advantage Democrats had in the last presidential election, when President Donald Trump carried Florida over Hillary Clinton by a mere 1.2 percentage points.
This year's contest between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is also expected to be close, and Florida's 29 electoral college votes are considered crucial for Trump.
South Florida Local Creates App to Allow Businesses to Rent Out Their Spaces
Jelly Places is an app developed by Coral Gables resident Rudford Hamon. Pre-COVID, Hamon worked remotely and felt there weren’t many affordable and accessible spaces to work or have a meeting.
“I said to myself, why can't any space be available or accessible? If I wanna work outside at the park can I do that, what if I wanna work at the museum or a dry-cleaners?” said Hamon.
Jelly Places links people with businesses that have available spaces. Options on the platform include everything from museums to furniture showrooms.
At Rey’s Cleaners, a desk area is available, as well as a private fitting room that can be transformed into a quiet meeting space. The owner says the app is also beneficial to meet more people in the community.
New Evidence Sheds Light on Decades-Old Cold Case in Davie
There’s a new push for answers in a decades-old cold case out of Davie. Still the biggest mystery to solve is identifying the victim and figuring out what led up to her death.
“A young female was walking down the canal and she observed what appeared to be a body floating in the water,” said Davie Detective Eddy Velazquez.
The victim was never identified. However, according to Davie Police, the Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was drowning and the circumstances surrounding the case suggested homicide.
A lot has changed since that December day in 1975, including major developments in science and technology. This week, Davie Police released a digital image called a facial approximation of what the woman might have looked like, hoping to revive the efforts to identify her.
