Governor Scott To Skip NRA Convention (Tallahassee, FL) -- Florida Governor Rick Scott will be skipping the National Rifle Association convention getting underway this weekend in Dallas. Scott was a featured speaker at last year's convention in Atlanta and he was scheduled to speak again this year. The "Orlando Sentinel" reports Scott's campaign office says the U.S. Senate candidate will sit out the event this year. The NRA is suing Scott for signing new gun control legislation passed after the Parkland school shooting in February.
Lawmaker Accused Of Licking Staff Member (Madeira Beach, FL) -- A Florida politician could be removed from office for sexual harassment. The Florida Commission on Ethics recently released the findings of an investigation into Madeira Beach Commissioner Nancy Oakley. The report says it is likely that Oakley violated state law with inappropriate touching. The committee says overwhelming testimony accused Oakley of licking former City Manager Shane Crawford on his face back in 2012. She is also accused of unreasonably firing Crawford's assistant Cheryl McGrady, who is now his wife. The ethics committee has the authority to remove Oakley from office in addition to fining her ten-thousand-dollars per violation.
Red Light Cameras Declared Legal In Florida (Tallahassee, FL) -- Red light cameras are a go in the Sunshine State. The Florida Supreme Court said yesterday the cameras are legal, and that it's okay for cities to rely on third-party vendors, like those who sell and operate the cameras, to review the photos taken. Law enforcement still has to decide whether the photos constitute a ticket-worthy offense. As of today, Boynton Beach in Palm Beach County is the only Florida city using the cameras.
Report: FSCJ Sees Major Increase In So-Called "Sugar Babies" (Jacksonville, FL) -- Florida State College at Jacksonville is seeing a major increase in so-called sugar babies. "Action News Jax" reports over 120 students are using a website called Seeking-Arrangement-dot-com to connect with wealthy, older men. That's a four-thousand-percent increase since this time last year when only three students were using the site. Seeking-Arrangement-dot-com helps young women find older men who treat them to money, gifts and exotic trips.
Walt Disney World Resort Union Rejects $15/Hour Proposal (Orlando, FL) -- An offer to pay Walt Disney World Resort workers a minimum wage of 15 dollars an hour by 2021 has been turned down. Officials for the Services Trades Council Union say the offer from the Walt Disney Company came with too many other strings attached. The new contract would have also included cuts to holiday and overtime pay, as well as changes in how employees transferred to new positions. Both sides say they will continue negotiations to hammer out a new deal.
NASA Prepares Probe Launch To Mars (Washington, DC) -- NASA is sending a new probe to Mars. The launch is planned for early Saturday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It'll be the first interplanetary launch from the West Coast. If all goes as planned, the InSight lander will touch down on the Martian surface a few days after Thanksgiving of this year. InSight's mission will be to study the interior of Mars, along with detecting "mars quakes."
IN Campaign Signs Being Stolen (Noblesville, IN) -- Charges are not being filed over campaign sign stealing in a small Indiana town. Noblesville Councilman Steve Schwartz says he caught his opponent's wife taking some of his campaign signs, actually dozens of them in less than a week. Mark Hall says his wife Lisa had permission from landowners to get rid of the signs. Officials in Hamilton County took a look at the case and announced this week they are not going to proceed. They didn't give many details but it's not the first time this type of thing has happened in the area. Councilman Jeff Hern was convicted last year of taking his opponent's signs. WHO KNEW ANDY ZIEGLER WOULD BE A TRENDSETTER?
TODAY IN HISTORY:
2006, Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy walked away uninjured from a car crash near the U.S. Capitol. Kennedy, the son of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, initially said he had no memory of crashing his car after taking a sleep aid. A day later he announced he would enter rehab to continue his "road to recovery" from an addiction to prescription pain medicine. DOES ANYONE ELSE HEAR HANK WILLIAMS, JR SINGING “FAMILY TRADITION?”
1998, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski was sentenced to four life sentences plus 30 years.
1989, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver L. North was convicted by a federal jury on charges of obstruction of justice and destruction of evidence in the Iran-Contra affair.
1970, four Kent State University students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration. Nine others were wounded. Memorial services for the victims are held annually on campus in Kent, Ohio.
1932, Al Capone, was jailed in a federal penitentiary in Atlanta for tax evasion.
1865, President Abraham Lincoln was laid to rest outside Springfield, Illinois.