Here are some of the top stories from the past week from NBC 6 News:
Federal Judge Blocks DeSantis Law on Barring ‘Woke' Education
A federal judge in Florida on Thursday blocked a law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in colleges.
Tallahassee U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a temporary injunction against the so-called “Stop Woke” act in a ruling that called the legislation “positively dystopian.”
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The law prohibits teaching or business practices that contend members of one ethnic group are inherently racist and should feel guilt for past actions committed by others. It also bars the notion that a person’s status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race or gender, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity.
"Our professors are critical to a healthy democracy, and the State of Florida’s decision to choose which viewpoints are worthy of illumination and which must remain in the shadows has implications for us all," Walker wrote.
For the full story, click here.
Local
Judge Appoints Receiver for Hammocks HOA After Arrest of Board Members
A Miami-Dade judge has appointed a receiver for the Hammocks Homeowners Association after the arrest earlier this week of several current and former board members accused of stealing more than $2 million of residents' money.
Police made an unannounced visit to the Hammocks Homeowners Association Thursday, ordering computers and records be left in place and telling staffers to go home as a result of a civil lawsuit.
"This is the first major step in getting our community back into the hands of the homeowners," resident Idalmen Ardisson said.
Earlier this week, police arrested five people in the HOA's leadership on charges ranging from racketeering to grand theft to money laundering.
For the full story, click here.
Man Arrested in Miami Beach After Video Shows Him Telling Cops He's a ‘Federal Officer'
A man was taken into custody after police body cameras recorded him telling officers in Miami Beach that he's a federal agent.
When 40-year-old Nicholas Morena was stopped by officers in Miami Beach, they had questions about his license plate. And then came the following exchange.
"Have you been arrested before," one officer asked in the video.
"No, actually I'm a federal officer," Morena responded.
The officer later asked Morena if he had identification, which Morena responded he did and asked if the officer would like to see it. Morena told the officer he worked for Homeland Security.
Officers began looking inside Morena's car and found a badge, and determined it wasn't real.
For the full story, click here.
Fast-Growing Sunrise Software Company Buffeted by Lawsuits, Complaints
Atal Bansal, owner of the fast-growing Sunrise software development company Chetu, had some words of advice for Florida International University’s 2016 engineering graduates: “Go as fast as you can. Go as hard as you can.”
And Chetu – pronounced “chey-too” – has been going hard and fast for more than 20 years, reporting more than $67 million in revenues last year and marketing itself as a “global provider” offering “world-class services” to clients needing to develop or maintain apps or other software.
In that “life lessons” speech, Bansal said, his privately-held company “runs on streamlined processes that have been architected to minimize … efforts and enhance productivity, also known as lean or mean machine.”
But in court filings in Broward County and in federal court, some unhappy clients allege a different business model, one involving breaches of contract and schemes to defraud.
In a federal lawsuit filed against Chetu in August, Blue Chip Alliance alleges it paid $156,000 “for software that Chetu never delivered and for code that is entirely worthless.”
For the full story, click here.
Inflation Drives Acute Need for Hunger Relief This Holiday Season
This is the time of year, with Thanksgiving around the corner, when society considers the plight of the neediest among us, as if food insecurity only exists during the holidays.
Those who work in hunger relief know better. For example, Feeding South Florida, the biggest food bank operation in the area, is currently serving 1.2 million people.
“The holidays is a huge time for our families, but the need is year-round, especially during the summer months, when kids are home from school,” said Paco Velez, CEO of Feeding South Florida.
Speaking of school, The Harvest Drive started 30 years ago in one Broward County Public School. Now, volunteers are involved in 200 schools, providing essentials for 2,400 families.
For the full story, click here.
Broward Foster Baby Set to Be Sent to Haiti to Remain in US for Now
A U.S.-born foster baby who was set to be sent to live with relatives in Haiti will remain in South Florida for now.
Broward foster mom Tamara Simmons and her husband Gerald have been caring for the little boy they call Angel since he was born.
Court documents showed Angel's mom and dad terminated their parental rights but a grandmother stepped in, saying she could care for the child in Haiti.
A Broward County judge had decided that Angel would be placed with his grandmother in Haiti but Simmons said they wanted to apply to adopt him.
But now because the situation in Haiti has become more dangerous and the baby’s medical problems have increased, a judge agreed Thursday that it's best if the baby stays in the U.S.
For the full story, click here.
