Here are some of the top stories from the past week from NBC 6 News:
‘Miya's Law' Advocates for Renters' Safety
Lawmakers proposed legislation Friday aimed to elevate security measures at apartment complexes in Florida.
"Miya's Law," named after slain college student Miya Marcano, advocates elevating security on residential properties with stricter background checks and limitations on the use of master keys.
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Marcano's family has been pushing for this protection since the 19-year-old was killed in September after police say a maintenance worker that had a master key to her unit killed her.
Rep. Robin Bartleman (D-Weston) filed HB 577 to create "Miya's Law," and Sen. Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) has filed the companion Senate bill SB 898.
“As the parent of a daughter in a rental apartment at the University of Florida - it is my expectation that she is safe and will come home,” Bartleman said in a statement. “Those were Miya’s parents’ expectations, and their lives are forever changed. This horrible tragedy helped shed light on gaping security holes that exist, and we must ensure the safety of all Floridians in multi-family rentals."
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If the bill passes, this will make deeper, national background checks mandatory for all employees that work in apartment buildings with more than five units. Anyone with a felony or violent, criminal background would not be hired.
Miya’s Law will also require a 24-hour notice for anyone that needs to go inside a unit. Currently, they’re only required to give 12 hours notice.
Safety Top of Mind at Tortuga Music Festival Amid Astroworld Tragedy
Big name music artists from country music to rock have been hitting the stage with thousands of music lovers pouring onto Las Olas Beach for the Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale.
“The vibe was great,” festival goer Malorie Chauvin said. “Everyone just seemed in a great mood. Great atmosphere.”
That great atmosphere was mixed with caution as many are on high alert after the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston.
Because of that, extra police officers, security, and medical help have been on hand at the festival in case anything goes wrong.
Nine people were killed and dozens were injured after concertgoers rushed the stage at the Astroworld Festival last weekend.
With 30,000 people expected at Tortuga throughout the weekend, safety has been top of mind.
“I feel like Tortuga is doing a good job, making sure everyone is separated and like, individual, and there’s a lot more room here,” Moore said.
Law enforcement officials say surveillance cameras are everywhere keeping an eye on the crowd.
Police say they’ve been working on their security plan for months but took note of what went wrong in Houston and ramped things up, saying every inch of the festival has been inspected: every stage, structure, and vendor area.
Archdiocese of Miami Schools Tie Mask Policy to Vaccination Status
The Archdiocese of Miami’s mask policy for its 61 schools is currently more strict than the public school districts. To opt out of wearing a face covering, Catholic school students at all grades must be fully vaccinated.
Earlier this week, both Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Broward County Public Schools made masks optional for all students, regardless of vaccination status. There’s a group of Catholic school parents who want to see their kids’ schools follow suit.
“I’m one of a great big group of parents, I would say in the thousands that share the same concern,” said Tammy Garcia, whose daughter attends a Catholic high school. “The Archdiocese always tells us, in other instances, hey, we follow whatever Miami-Dade is doing, that’s what they’ve always said, but now we don’t see that.”
Garcia says her group chat is full of parents who are frustrated, they say, with the Archdiocese because of multiple anecdotes which they say illustrate hypocrisy.
“There are schools that are having adult events for fundraising purposes where no one is wearing a mask, there’s no social distancing at all, yet the homecoming dances for the kids are being canceled, activities for the kids are being canceled,” Garcia said.
The Archdiocese has its own panel of medical experts it had relied on for guidance in the pandemic.
Miami to Distribute ‘Bitcoin Yield' to Residents: Mayor Suarez
Miami hopes to become the first city in the country to give a "bitcoin yield" to its residents, Mayor Francis Suarez said Thursday.
Speaking during an interview with CoinDesk TV, Suarez said the city is working on a way to create digital wallets for citizens to distribute the crypto yield.
"We're going to be the first city in America to give a bitcoin yield as a dividend directly to its residents," Suarez said.
Miami hosted a Bitcoin conference earlier this year, and started accepting funds generated through a cryptocurrency, named MiamiCoin. Earlier this month, Suarez said he would take his next paycheck in Bitcoin.
On Thursday, Suarez said MiamiCoin has already earned $21 million in just over three months, and said it's possible that if it continues to perform it could cover Miami's entire tax revenue.
How to Find Savings Despite Higher Prices
Everything from housing to food to gas: the cost of living has increased significantly over the past year. It’s a trend money-saving expert Krystal Sharp has noticed.
“The price of the apartment I lived in just like seven months ago was like $250 more a month and I was like, what?” she told NBC 6 Responds.
Krystal, who is known to her tens of thousands of social media followers as "Krys the Maximizer," spends her days showing people how to find savings. She says she’s not only seeing higher prices for some items, but also lower values for some coupons and fewer sales on certain essentials like paper towels and toilet paper.
“At least six to eight times a year, we’d get the toilet paper coupons and we’d stock up,” she said. “In 18 months, I’ve probably seen a coupon like three times.”
But she’s still finding plenty of savings by using different rebate apps.
“On average I’m saving/making anywhere from $300 to $500 per month with my apps just depending on what I’m buying and how I’m buying,” Krystal said.
There are several money-saving apps available. Most require you to sign up and either download an app or use a web browser extension.
Woman Pepper-Sprayed During Miami Beach Arrest Filing Lawsuit
A woman who was shoved with a bicycle and pepper sprayed during her arrest in Miami Beach over the summer is filing a lawsuit.
Mariyah Maple said she's filing the suit against three Miami Beach Police officers, claiming they they violated her constitutional rights during her July 25 arrest.
"I was maced and I was hit with a bike and it was all for no reason," Maple said Tuesday.
Maple claims she was fired from her nursing job after her employer got word of the arrest.
Maple, from Buffalo, was in town celebrating her birthday weekend when she began recording a traffic stop.
Cell phone video showed an officer hitting Maple with his bicycle then pepper-spraying her.
Police charged Maple with violating a new city ordinance requiring people to stay 20 feet away from an officer while an arrest is happening.
Around the same time, another video surfaced of a bystander taken down by several Miami Beach police officers while recording an arrest.
As a result of those incidents, Miami Beach Police Chief Rick Clements suspended the ordinance in order for officers to be better trained.
