It’s Tuesday, June 22nd - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Police have identified the victims of the deadly crash of the Wilton Manors Pride parade as the driver behind the wheel apologized for what officials called a tragic accident over the weekend.
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What was supposed to be a celebration of life in this tight-knit South Florida gay community quickly turned into terror Saturday night, as gleeful cheers were drowned by the sounds of sirens and crying children.The 77-year-old driver of the pickup, Fred Johnson Jr., a member of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus, suddenly accelerated forward as the parade was about to begin, killing a fellow chorister and injuring another in what the chorus director, city officials and Wilton Manors police said was a tragic accident.
No. 2 - Like so many who suddenly found themselves unemployed, Gary Panuska said his grandson decided to start a new business after losing his job during the pandemic.
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In January, Gary said his grandson filled out a form and mailed a check to register his online business with the state. But months later, Gary said they were still waiting for the paperwork to go through. “We tried contacting everybody and we couldn’t get any kind of response on email or returned phone calls,” he said. “It was just really frustrating … he wanted to get this thing off the ground.” In April, Gary contacted NBC 6 Responds and sent the paperwork he had to one of our consumer investigative producers.
No. 3 - It was a special delivery at Miami International Airport, but it didn't arrive by plane.
A woman gave birth to a baby girl at the airport Sunday with the help of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Police officers, officials said. The airport released a photo of the mother and child with the crew that helped with the delivery of the girl, Mia.
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No. 4 - Crime was down overall in Florida during 2020, but violent crime rose, according to statistics released by the state on Monday.
There were 1,285 murders in Florida last year, an increase of 260, or 14.7% from 2019. Of those, 1,025 were committed with a gun, up 20.2% from the year before. Murders committed with a gun made up nearly 80% of the state's total, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's annual crime report. In a year when many people worked at home or stayed home more often during the coronavirus pandemic, burglaries, robberies and larcenies dropped significantly. There were 13,439 robberies, a drop of 17% from 2019; 51,928 burglaries, down 17.8%; and 291,923 larcenies, down 18.5%.
No. 5 - Jobseekers in South Florida will be able to explore more than 4,500 career opportunities at a job fair this Thursday in Sunrise.
Positions in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties will be available, and some employers will be hiring on the spot, according to a news release. The job fair will be held at the BB&T Center located at One Panther Parkway in Sunrise from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Interested participants can pre-register here. More than 75 companies, including the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, American Express, City Furniture, VERIZON, BrightStar Credit Union, Jiffy Lube, and Xtreme Action Park will be hiring for a variety of positions.
No. 6 - There were two firsts Monday: the first day of summer school for Broward County Public Schools, and the first time superintendent Robert Runcie made a public appearance and took questions from reporters since he was indicted for allegedly lying to a grand jury.
Runcie toured Hollywood Hills High School, Bair Middle School, and Wilton Manors Elementary School, joined by School Board members Debbi Hixon, Donna Korn, Sarah Leonardi, and Dr. Rosalind Osgood. Hixon and Leonardi have been openly antagonistic to Runcie during School Board meetings, but there was little, if any, awkwardness as everyone seemed to concentrate on the importance of promoting summer school. In a normal summer, between 8,000 to 10,000 students enroll in summer session. This year, more than 45,000 already have enrolled, and it’s all about the so-called Covid Slide. During the school year, the district identified more than 50,000 kids who weren’t making the grade.
