Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
PESKY GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAILS MOVE INTO BROWARD COUNTY DESPITE ERADICATION EFFORTS
State agriculture authorities say 50 Giant African Land Snails were found on a homeowner’s property in Broward County. The snails reproduce rapidly and consume at least 500 different types of plants. Scientists also say the snails can damage buildings, destroys crops and can cause meningitis in humans. On Tuesday, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced that officials had rid Miami-Dade County of 140,000 of the invasive, slimy slow-moving snails and touted an eradication program that was supposed to keep the snails contained to Miami-Dade County.
MIAMI BEACH POLICE, CITY EMPLOYEES TO START WEARING BODY CAMERAS
Miami Beach police and other city officials will soon wear body cameras to record their activities. City commissioners voted Wednesday to approve roughly $3 million to purchase cameras over the next five years for police, code and parking enforcement, building inspectors and fire inspectors.
FLORIDA CORRECTIONS OFFICER RESIGNS AFTER CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF INMATE ESCAPE
Officer Henry Blackwelder was supervising a five-person work crew Monday in Pasco County when authorities say 27-year-old Jason Adams took a bathroom break in the woods in Lutz and never returned. Adams was found a day later in Hillsborough County. The Department of Corrections said Blackwelder resigned Wednesday after he was confronted about the differences in his account of Adams’ escape and evidence gathered by the local sheriff’s office.
FAMILY OF FAMU BAND MEMBER WHO DIED IN HAZING CASE SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH BUS COMPANY, DRIVER
The family of a Florida A&M University drum major who died after being hazed has reached a settlement with the owner of the bus in which the hazing took place. The family’s attorney, Chris Chestnut, said he would file a motion this week seeking the dismissal of the negligence lawsuit filed by Robert Champion’s family against Fabulous Coach Lines and a bus driver. Chestnut wouldn’t disclose the financial terms
INSURANCE FRAUD CHIEF APPEALING 20-YEAR SENTENCE IN $800 MILLION MUTUAL BENEFITS CORP. CASE
The man who masterminded an $800 million Florida insurance scam that fleeced more than 30,000 investors is appealing his 20-year prison term. The attorney for 64-year-old Joel Steinger filed notice of appeal Wednesday in Miami federal court. Steinger was chief executive of the now-defunct Mutual Benefits Corp., which bought life insurance policies from people with AIDS, cancer and other chronic illnesses and sold them to investors.
