Here's a local and state news update from Florida Today and WFIT. I'm Evan Niemczyk
The Brevard Zoo and Orlando Health Partner to Save a 140-Pound Loggerhead Turtle Filled with Fishing Hooks in the Indian River Lagoon. WFIT’s Terri Wright has more.
"A loggerhead sea turtle named Sophia is recovering after an extraordinary rescue and medical effort. Rescued in May with severe shell fractures and a fishing hook protruding from her mouth, a CT scan at the Brevard Zoo revealed about 18 additional hooks lodged in her digestive tract. After removing two hooks at the Zoo, veterinarians partnered with Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital to perform a specialized, minimally invasive procedure using advanced gastroenterology equipment to remove additional embedded hooks."
Sophia is now in stable condition and continues to be monitored with a goal of returning her to the wild.
Before the pandemic, the number of unhoused people in Florida's Big Bend area was actually declining. But those figures have since rebounded. Tom Flanigan reports the main regional agency charged with caring for the unhoused is responding by re-inventing itself.
"Despite vigorous effort over the past five years, the Big Bend Continuum of Care's latest point-in-time homeless survey shows the region's unhoused numbers remain stubbornly high. The agency's Executive Director, Joanna Coleman, says a new partnership with the S-I-E CoLab leadership consulting firm aims to connect the agency to every available community resource.
"How might we bring the right people to the table? That's why we wanted to bring the community out because someone might have something that sits with them and they may be the real changemaker in this. They may be the difference maker to come to the table and totally transform what we're doing."
Tuesday night's public forum at the Challenger Learning Center showed the work of several CoLab volunteer task forces to focus, streamline and connect the Continuum's mission to a much larger resource base."
International travelers arriving at Orlando airport experienced another round of delayed luggage recently. WFIT’s Rick Glasby has the story:
"For the third time in less than a month it took hours for their baggage to be delivered on the carousels at Terminal C. Airport officials claimed there was no systemic problem at the international terminal - just a lot of bags arriving at once. At least one passenger left the airport in frustration without his luggage. Back in June passengers at terminal C waiting for over five hours for their bags. The airport blamed bad weather on that those delays. Then earlier this month, a mechanical failure caused another hours-long delay for international bags. Orlando Airport thanked passengers for their patience, and gave them a bottle of water."
The U.S. House has voted to make daylight saving time permanent, but the measure still needs Senate approval.
The United States previously attempted year-round daylight saving time in 1974, but it was repealed in less than a year.
The 1970s experiment was unpopular due to safety concerns, including an increase in accidents involving Florida schoolchildren in the dark mornings.
For these stories and more, visit FloridaToday.com and WFIT.org. I'm Evan Niemczyk