Here are some of the top stories from the past week you may have missed from NBC 6 News:
Minority Essential Workers Protest Racial Disparities During Pandemic
On Monday, minorities providing health care at assisted living facilities and nursing homes drove in a caravan to care locations in North Miami-Dade and Broward County.
This group says that Black and Hispanic people have the lion’s share of these jobs at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, saying they could use better and more protective personal equipment. The workers also say while other employees are able to work from home, they don’t have that choice.
Hospitality workers say the same thing. A group of them knelt in front of Miami Beach City Hall Monday for eight minutes and 46 seconds — the time George Floyd had a police officer kneeling on his neck.
“A lot of our workers have been out of work for 15 weeks and haven’t received a dollar in unemployment — like nothing," said union vice president Kandiz Lamb with Unite Here. "So people are desperate right now ... We represent hospitality workers and a lot of our workers have lost their health insurance during the pandemic ... We feel like our workers have a knee on their neck, not just from the hospitality employers, but also from the governor.”
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Davie Police Chief Accused of Saying Deputy's Death Caused By Gay Events Resigns
The South Florida police chief who came under fire after allegedly saying that a Broward Sheriff's deputy died of COVID-19 because he was a “homosexual who attended homosexual events," sent his letter of resignation Monday.
In his letter, Davie Police Chief Dale Engle says his final day with the police department will be September 3.
"To say that I have been privileged to proudly serve this Town is an understatement," Engle wrote. "I will cherish the past two plus decades of life and work experiences that have helped define my character, life purpose and ultimately developed me into who I am today."
In April, the Florida State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police asked for an investigation into Engle after members said the chief went on an offensive tirade, discouraging officers from raising concerns on coronavirus protocol.
Distance Learning Leads to Furloughs for Some South Florida School Nurses
School nurses are being furloughed in Palm Beach County as the district prepares to open the school year with remote learning for all students.
The Palm Beach Health Care District informed the 223 school heath employees on Monday of the “difficult decision" to furlough them, the Palm Beach Post reported.
The reason cited was the school district's decision to go with distance learning when school resumes next month.Last week the health care district told employees that 60 of the most senior nurses and supervisors will be offered buyouts. They were given until the end of Monday to either take the buyout, or be furloughed, the newspaper reported.
Groups Drop Challenge to Florida Vote-By-Mail Rules
Voter advocates aligned with Democrats dropped a federal lawsuit that sought to make it easier to vote by mail in Florida during the coronavirus pandemic after Republican officials promised to explore ways of reducing barriers during the August primary and the presidential election in November.
The advocates wanted the state to promote absentee balloting through publicity campaign. They also asked the court to extend deadlines for returning ballots, require postage be prepaid by elections officials and allow people other than family members to collect and deliver completed ballots.
The agreement announced Sunday avoids a trial set to begin Monday, but it remains to be seen how aggressively Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis or his appointed secretary of state will pursue any of the measures they agreed to. Key elements of the lawsuit also remain unresolved, including the timeline for counting ballots and the groups’ attempt to expand who can collect vote-by-mail ballots.
Andrew Gillum Gives First Personal Update Since Entering Rehab
In his first social media post since March, Andrew Gillum spoke about his struggle with alcoholism and gave a personal update on his health. In March, the former Florida candidate for governor had said he would be entering a rehabilitation facility after having fallen into a depressive episode.
Gillum, a Democrat, lost his bid for governor in November of 2018. In the Instagram video he posted Monday, he said he had been "suffering in silence" throughout his campaign, and had now turned to therapy to try and work through his problems.
“With a lot of encouragement from family and the people who love and care about me, I also got into therapy, where I could start to talk through what was going on with me," Gillum said. "I knew if I had not dealt first with issues and addiction and the numbing that I chose with alcohol, there was no way I could start to pull back the layers and talk about what was truly happening underneath."
