Here are some of the top stories from the past week from NBC 6 News:
As repairs continue after a partial apartment building collapse in Hialeah, NBC 6 found the engineer who signed that the structure was safe died months before the inspection.
Dozens of families were displaced Monday after portions of the 15-unit building near Palm Avenue and 23rd Street collapsed. No injuries were reported.
The building was recertified as safe in 2019, NBC 6 found. Documents show Engineer Claudio Jofre signed off on the inspection, giving his stamp of approval in October of 2018.
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But the Florida Board of Professional Engineers says he died months earlier in 2017.
Here's what you need to know about what other buildings could be in jeopardy.
Local
Paramotoring Man Captures Woman's Miraculous Rescue From Canal
A South Florida realtor is being credited with helping to save a woman’s life after her vehicle fell into a canal on Sunday morning.
Cristiano Piquet was flying a paramotor above a canal near Homestead on Sunday morning to scope out a property when he noticed an alligator in the water.
“There was a big one because he did a big splash, and I came down to see the alligator when I saw the car,” Piquet said.
On top of the car was a woman clinging to the roof while pleading for help.
Piquet, who was wearing a body camera, captured the discovery and eventual rescue. A nearby resident heard the commotion and came to assist with a rope.
“In that moment, I think God told me, 'my friend, land and save that one life,'" Piquet said. “We landed between power lines and uneven terrain…it was a terrible landing situation. For some reason, I was calm.”
Within minutes, the woman was pulled to safety. Piquet told NBC 6 that the woman was in shock but seemed OK after being brought to dry land. Piquet’s camera captured her hugging the resident that pulled her in by the rope.
For the full story, click here.
Miami-Dade Announces Plans for Metromover Expansion to Miami Beach
Miami-Dade officials announced plans Wednesday to extend the county's Metromover system to Miami Beach.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Eileen Higgins announced in a video posted to Twitter that the county threw out its previous plans for a Baylink monorail service, saying the Metromover expansion from downtown to Miami Beach is a more cost-effective solution.
“My administration is committed to providing our residents with innovative transit solutions that better connect residents to jobs and opportunity while delivering maximum value to taxpayers,” Levine Cava said in a statement. “I have always supported a one-seat ride for Baylink, and I’m proud that we are now moving forward with a seamless extension of the Metromover to provide the best experience to residents and visitors at a significantly lower cost.”
County commissioners approved an interim agreement back in 2020 for a monorail system connecting Miami to Miami Beach.
Construction is expected to begin in 2025, and officials anticipate operations to begin in 2029.
For the full story, click here.
Florida Midterm Election 2022 Candidates, Polls: What You Need To Know
With the stakes so high in this year's elections, NBC 6 is answering some of the biggest questions about the open races for governor and U.S. Senate in Florida, and what deadlines voters need to know
The general election is Tuesday, November 8. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming general election was October 11, but you can still register to vote for future elections.
To register, Florida voters must submit an application online or prefill and print a voter registration application form to sign and mail or deliver to their supervisor of elections.
To download the voter registration application form in English click here, for Spanish, click here.
For the full story, click here.
College Savings Accounts Coming to All Kindergartens in Miami-Dade
Think of it like the Florida Prepaid college program, but on a smaller scale and designed for little kids and their families.
It’s called Future Bound, and it’s sponsored by the Children’s Trust. And on Thursday, the Trust and Miami-Dade County Public Schools announced Future Bound is expanding from 38 schools to every elementary and K-8 school in the county.
The program, funded through federal grants and contributions from the county and the City of Miami, provides $50 seed money to every kindergarten student to save for post-secondary education. It also has an educational component, a lesson plan for kindergartners to learn the basics of financial literacy.
“These young students eventually become adults, and what this does is this invests in their opportunity to continue to think and always have post-secondary education in their mind,” said superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres.
“So this investment is a very small investment but makes a huge impact, and it really is a way that we are continuing to change the community,” said James Haj, CEO of the Children's Trust.
According to the Trust, research shows kids who are enrolled in a college savings plan are four times more likely to graduate from high school and more likely to succeed in college.
For the full story, click here.
Martin Is the First November Hurricane on Record in the Far-North Atlantic: Morales
Massive Martin is a record-setter in the far North Atlantic.
Throughout much of the day on Thursday, Hurricane Martin maintained its intensity and, remarkably, its tropical characteristics. It’s remarkable because the hurricane was north of the 45th parallel — north of the latitude of Minneapolis!
The storm was also huge. Hurricane-force winds extended out 70 miles from the eye, and tropical storm-force winds out beyond 500 miles from the center. The circulation dominated the geographical region between Canada and the United Kingdom, south of Greenland and Iceland.
Hurricane Martin is the first November hurricane on record in this part of the world — that far north in the Atlantic Ocean. When the hurricane formed on Wednesday and continued Thursday, it was crossing over waters that are as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than normal.
As autumn progresses, the water in the North Atlantic normally chills pretty quickly. But in 2022, that water has been consistently warm and unable to cool fast enough to keep hurricanes from blossoming.
For the full story, click here.
Nearly $30k Vanishes From Man's Bank Account: How to Protect Yourself From Fraud
Luca Bencini looked at his bank account one day and was stunned.
“I got an email from Bank of America, and it said, 'did you open up a bill-pay to an unknown American Express card?'" Bencini said. “I went to my account, I saw that $27,000 was drawn to that American Express card. At that point, I immediately called the Bank of America for fraud, and that's where the whole thing started.”
Bencini, an Ivy League graduate and FAA flight instructor, noticed his inbox was flooded with what might have been a few hundred emails.
One expert said could have be a case of "email bombing," which is when fraudsters overflow your inbox with spam so it’s harder to see emails warning you about the fraud.
For the full story, click here.
