Candidate And Lobbyist Spar Over Campaign Yard Sign (Cocoa, FL) -- A campaign yard sign is the source of a dispute between a candidate and a lobbyist in Brevard County that now has police investigating. Cocoa Mayor and state house candidate Henry Parrish last week posted a video on Facebook of Guy Spearman ripping a Parrish campaign sign out of a yard and throwing it on the ground.
Parrish says he had permission from the property owner to put the sign there, but Spearman tells "Florida Today" the sign was illegally touching his office building. Parrish is running against Tyler Sirois in the Republican primary, and on Facebook, Parrish identifies Spearman as Sirois' main financial backer.
Broward Cuts Ties With MSD Security Officers (Fort Lauderdale, FL) -- Two security monitors criticized for their response to the Parkland school shooting will not be coming back to the district. The Broward School Board voted yesterday not to renew the contracts of Andrew Medina and David Taylor as of July First.
Medina was the first to see Nikolas Cruz on campus the day of the shooting, but he didn't order a lockdown. Taylor was accused of hiding in a closet during the shooting.
Mother Of MSD Victim Named Director Of School Security (Fort Lauderdale, FL) -- The Broward School Board yesterday named April Schentrup as the new director of school safety and security. She will leave her job as principal of Pembroke Pines Elementary School to take the job. The director lost her 16-year-old daughter, Carmen, in the Stoneman-Douglas school shooting.
NYC Ranked Number One For July 4th Celebrations (New York, NY) -- A WalletHub survey names New York City is the number one big city for July 4th celebrations. The spectacular fireworks show, holiday festivals, restaurant affordability and walkability are cited as the reasons for the top marks. Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Seattle round out the top five.
The National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will spend six-point-nine-billion-dollars on food this Independence Day, down from last year's record seven-point-one-billion-dollars.
Chip Warehouse Robbers Busted (Jackson County, AR) -- A group of Frito Banditos is behind bars in Arkansas. Officials in Jackson County say four men broke into a Frito Lay warehouse but didn't actually take any snacks. They stole vehicles, electronics, tools and a truck.
The crime was early one morning last week and made it tough for officers to solve as other vehicles were already out on deliveries. However, one of the items taken was an iPad that actually helped track down a parolee who was one of the thieves.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2016, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton met at the Phoenix airport, at a time when the former President's wife, Hillary Clinton, was under federal investigation. The FBI was investigating Clinton's use of a private server when she was Secretary of State.
2005, the so-called BTK serial killer Dennis Rader pled guilty to a series of murders in the Wichita, Kansas area. The murders happened between 1974 and 1991 and the 60-year-old killer managed to elude authorities for 30 years.
1996, a Dallas police officer was charged with trying to hire a hit man to kill football star Michael Irvin.