Brevard Discusses School Reopening
(Titusville, FL) -- Masks could be a 'strongly recommended' addition in Brevard County schools this fall. School officials yesterday discussed their reopening plans for next month and one feature urges students and others to wear masks, but masks will only be required in certain situations. Parents will be given three options to keep their kids at home for online learning including a hybrid model that includes online and classroom learning. The reopening plan will be formally presented to the school board on Tuesday.
Orlando Police Union Wants Clarity On Use Of Force Changes
(Orlando, FL) -- Orlando's police chief is promising change, but many officers say his plan lacks details. Members of the Fraternal Order of Police sent a letter to Chief Orlando Rolon about changes announced this week to the use-of-force policy. Those changes include banning chokeholds, but the union's president says Rolon's proposal is too vague. The union official tells Channel 9 the new policy doesn't spell out what's considered a chokehold or what kind of actions are allowed.
Protester Clashes With St. Pete Pier Visitor
(St. Petersburg, FL) -- Video from surveillance cameras and cell phones could help police get to the bottom of a violent incident in St. Petersburg. Police say a Black Lives Matter protester and a visitor at the St. Pete Pier got into a fight last night. According to police, the man complained to the protester that the protester's bike hit the man's wife, and after words were exchanged, the two threw punches at each other. No arrests were announced, but an investigation is underway.
Deputy Recalls Violent Incident At Protest
(Tampa, FL) -- A Hillsborough County deputy is back on the job after a violent run-in with a protester. Deputy William Scobie was on-duty at University Mall over a month ago when he says a protester threw a beer bottle that hit him in the face, and then he was briefly knocked out when he was hit in the neck by a brick. He was out of work for two days. He recently told ABC Action News deputies aren't looking for confrontation, and he asks people to give them the benefit of the doubt.
GOP Donor Says RNC May Move To TIAA Bank Field
(Jacksonville, FL) -- Discussions are underway to move the Republican National Convention but still keep it in Jacksonville. As of now, the main parts of the convention next month, including President Trump's speech, are set for VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, but GOP donor Dan Eberhart says organizers are looking at TIAA Bank Field. Either way, Eberhart says he expects a great celebration, though the coronavirus could lead to a smaller-than-normal crowd. He recently told First Coast News he thinks masks will be required and social distancing will be extremely enforced.
WA Town Prints Own Money To Boost Local Business
(Tenino, WA) -- A town in Washington is using a creative solution to help local businesses survive the pandemic by printing their own money. Tenino, a town of less than two-thousand people located about 60 miles away from Seattle, is making 25-dollar wooden bills superimposed on the image of a bat with the Latin phrase meaning "We have it under control." Anyone with a documented loss of income as a result of the pandemic is eligible for up to 300-dollars a month of the local currency to use at local businesses on the town's Main Street. This isn't the first time the town has printed their own money, they used this tactic to boost business in 1931 during the Great Depression. They're even using the same wooden printing press tucked away in the old railroad depot turned town museum. It was dormant for 90 years.
Man Rescues Drowning Bald Eagle
(British Columbia) -- A Canadian man made a risky save when he rescued a drowning bald eagle on Independence Day. Brett Bacon was boating with his family on Windermere Lake in British Columbia when he noticed a baby bald eagle struggling in the water. Bacon was able to pull the massive bird into his boat and hold its wings shut long enough for them to dry off. Bacon says the animal eventually flew off back into the wild.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
1997, caving in to public pressure, RJR Nabisco announced plans to replace the cartoon character Joe Camel in its new tobacco ads.
1985, The Coca-Cola Company announced the original Coke would be returning to store shelves under the name Coca-Cola Classic.
1962, the "Telstar" communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1929, the U.S. Government began issuing paper money in the size we now use.
1890, Wyoming became the 44th state.