Latest news with #WFLA
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
After eight month closure from hurricane damage, longtime Holmes Beach shop reopens
HOLMES BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Sun and Surf Beach Shop has been a part of Holmes Beach for more than 40 years. The family-owned business first opened in 1983. Over the years, it's become a staple for visitors on the island to shop or visit with the birds out front. However, for the last eight months, the storefront was quiet, and the birds were not on the island. The beach shop was forced to close after four feet of storm surge from Hurricane Helene destroyed the inside of the business and much of their inventory. The store reopened to the public on May 1. 'I can't even really go back and envision how we managed to do this, but it was just a lot of hard work, sweat, prayers, tears, tears, and a lot of good people to come and help,' said owner Jennifer Moore. Moore said the 4500-square-foot building had to be gutted and rebuilt. During that time, the beloved birds stayed at Birds of Paradise in Manatee County. 'We are still not 100%, but it is getting there more and more each day, but we are just so happy to be back open and having our customers back again and just having our life back to normal,' said Moore. 'It was just so magical to be back open and just to realize that we conquered it and we could do it again and the journey and all the amazing people that helped me get there. I will be forever thankful.' Going into this upcoming hurricane season, the shop owner feels prepared and plans to take it one day at a time. 'We definitely have plenty of bins in storage to store things and put things higher. We have learned a lot from this journey, and we know what we can do in the future. We will just be more prepared and it could happen. You just never know how bad the storm is, you just have to prepare,' said Moore. Several other businesses in the Island Shopping Center plaza were also forced to close down and rebuild over the last several months. Almost all have reopened. On June 6 from 4-8 p.m., there will be a grand reopening at the plaza along Marina Drive to celebrate the businesses being back up and running. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Lack of communication' led to unpermitted group home where murder occurred, Bartow official says
BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — 'Some chicken and rice,' said Eddrena Thornton, taking out a tray of food she has prepared for the five people who live with her in her home. 'I feel like I'm doing a mission that God wants me to do. It's my calling,' said Thornton. Since 2020, Thornton has run a state-licensed adult family care facility in her home with a focus on people with mental health issues. 'They don't have nowhere for them to go because they can't afford to go to assisted living because they may not have long-term care plus their income is low. They can't afford to live on their own. Their family's not taking them in so they go back to the street,' she said. In February, she opened – what the city of Bartow considers to be – a group home in a rental house across the street on Bluebird Avenue. Unlike with her adult family care home, she did not notify any governmental agencies. 'Because the people were living independently,' she said. 'I always heard that as long as you're not doing nothing for them, then you're OK. It's like they're just renting a room.' 'You're collecting money. You are engaging in a business where your sole goal is for people to live there as a group then that would be considered a group home,' said Tray Towles, director of code compliance and neighborhood services for the city of Bartow. Towles said group homes require an application and permit approval. 'It goes to our planning and zoning board who reviews that application, makes sure it fits within the scope of the ordinance,' said Towles. Towles said the violation was the result of a 'lack of communication.' 'When she actually opened her licensed facility, she reached out to the city of Bartow and made sure that she was in compliance with all of our codes at that time. She did not do that in this instance when she opened up the group home at 2226 Bluebird,' said Towles. The owner of the home, a Texas-based company, is in the process of evicting Thornton as a renter. All the residents have moved out. Towles said, because the residents are no longer there, there will be no further action or fines imposed on Thornton. 'The Bartow Chief of Police has been in touch with representatives of the Wind Meadows HOA to strengthen communication and a team approach to addressing safety concerns in the neighborhood,' said city manager Mike Herr in a statement. Towles said there are no other known group homes in the neighborhood. A neighbor tells News Channel 8 that many residents have concerns about who Thornton is housing in the neighborhood. The violation was discovered when, earlier this month, Thornton allowed an 18-year-old named Moses Ojeda to move in. Thornton said a placement agency and Ojeda's mother contacted her as Ojeda was being released from the hospital after being Baker Acted. 'I looked at the psychiatric evaluation. He had issues for him to get Baker Acted but the psychiatric evaluation said that he was calm and stable, normal, had good talk and he said he was ready to get discharged and go home with his mom,' said Thornton. Thornton said she was not able to meet him but allowed him to move in because of his mother's desperation. Later that night, Thornton saw Ojeda outside. She said she tried calling his mother to pick him up because of his strange behavior but she did not answer. Thornton said she slept on the sofa in the group home to keep an eye on Ojeda and talked to him that morning. 'He sat down and he was talking to us about God and about life and death and all this stuff…[while] the man in the room dead!' said Thornton. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Ojeda fatally stabbed an 81-year-old man more than 100 times in the night. 'This tragedy happened to me to not put my heart first but to always make sure I follow my steps – no matter if the person is gonna be homeless. That's not my problem. I'll see you tomorrow,' said Thornton. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Inside the Storm: Hurricane Hunters save lives from the sky
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – When a hurricane threatens the coast, most people board up, pack up, and head inland, but for a small but mighty team based in Lakeland, evacuation isn't part of the plan because their job is to fly directly into the eye of the storm. They are NOAA's Hurricane Hunters, a brave crew of pilots, scientists, engineers, and flight directors who risk their lives to gather the data that helps meteorologists predict where hurricanes will go and how powerful they'll be when they arrive. Surviving the Storm: A look back at 2024's wild hurricane season 'We just hit a pocket of lightning, and the whole interior of the aircraft lit up,' said NOAA pilot Andrew Reves, describing one of many intense flights. 'You can hear the radios pop.' Flying into a hurricane takes an entire crew. It is tightly coordinated and scientifically essential. Each flight delivers real-time data to the National Hurricane Center in Miami — data that satellites alone can't provide. 'A lot of times, people ask if we're scared when we do this,' said Captain Nate Kahn, Commanding Officer at NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center. 'Absolutely. But in the moment, you're so focused, so trained, you're not afraid.' Using two 50-year-old WP-3D Orion turboprop planes nicknamed Kermit and Miss Piggy, the Hurricane Hunters slice through intense rain bands. Despite their age, the aircraft haven't had major structural upgrades — they're designed to ride the storm, not fight it. 'We allow the storm to push us up and push us down,' Kahn explained. 'If we tried to maintain a set altitude, the storm would break the airplane.' These planes often experience rapid vertical drops — sometimes 1,500 feet or more — in mere seconds, making each flight feel more like a rollercoaster than a routine operation. But it's what's inside that makes the difference: an array of sensors and instruments that collect detailed measurements of wind speed, barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity. 'It's sort of like taking a CAT scan of the storm,' said aerospace engineer Nick Underwood. 'All that data gets pushed together to give us a clear picture of how the storm is developing.' One of the most critical tools is the dropsonde — a small device launched at specific points throughout the storm that transmits data as it falls. When combined with radar and other instruments, these tools provide the 3D model forecasters rely on. 'We're constantly communicating with the ground and making sure we're collecting the data that matters,' flight director Jon Zawislak said. 'That all goes into the models.' While new technology is beginning to play a role — like autonomous drones that can fly within 100 feet of the ocean's surface — it's still the Hurricane Hunters who provide the highest-quality, in-storm data. 'We're using uncrewed systems to collect data we couldn't get any other way,' said Capt. Bill Mowitt, Director of NOAA's Uncrewed Operations Center. 'It's already showing us ways we can improve our models.' For many of these scientists, the mission is personal. Some call Florida home — meaning they often fly into storms threatening their own neighborhoods. 'We were the crew on the final mission before Hurricane Milton made landfall,' Zawislak said. 'We could see the effects on Tampa Bay and St. Pete. We were flying right over it.' And as hurricane season approaches, these men and women have one message for the people on the ground: 'Be prepared. That's what makes all of this worth it.' From the heart of the storm to our local forecast, the data collected by the Hurricane Hunters is crucial for keeping communities safe. WFLA's 'Surviving the Storm' Hurricane special is airing on May 31 at 7 p.m. You can watch it at 7 p.m. on air on WFLA News Channel 8 or through the Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bill aiming to better future for Florida's at-risk youth heads to governor
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A bill now heading to the governor's desk promises to help keep children on the right path. Florida lawmakers passed legislation that prioritizes early intervention, ensuring at-risk youth receive the support they a bi-partisan push, the legislation revamps state statue to create a more efficient and responsive juvenile justice framework. Florida enacts Dexter's and Trooper's Law to combat animal abuse The bill aims to improve agency coordination with a focus on promoting education, strengthening families, and preventing youth from being involved in criminal behavior. 'As a former Department of Children and Families attorney, I have witnessed how delayed interventions, and systemic red tape can derail a child's future. I've seen parents begging for help, and I've seen the consequences when help comes too late,' said State Rep. Bracy Davis (D- Ocoee). Sponsors of the bill say schools, courts, service providers, and families now all have a role to play in building a better path forward for Florida's youth. 'These are youth who are running away from home. They're not showing up to school. They are right there at the cusp of something different — whether that's dependency or delinquency — and so the services are there to make sure that they don't go down that path,' said State Rep. Berny Jacques (R-Seminole). Jacques added that one important piece of the bill focuses on improving the education system and addressing student attendance issues. 'Since the pandemic, unfortunately in Florida, we've seen a drop in attendance when it comes to school. So right now, with this bill, we've added additional measures for the schools to track how many absences are occurring and they have to report those in a more robust fashion — and not just the number of absences, but who is absent so we can start intervening in a very early stage,' Jacques said. Representative Jacques worked alongside the Department of Justice to get the bill across the finish line. He says this was a priority for the governor's administration and expects him to sign the bill into law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cooling tower collapses at Mosaic plant in Bartow
BARTOW, Fla. (WFLA) — A cooling tower collapsed at the Mosaic plant in Bartow on Wednesday afternoon. A spokesperson for the company said the tower cools the water used in the turbine generators. No employees were injured in the collapse, the company said. The plant is still functional and will be able to continue its normal operations. The facility produces diammonium phosphate, which is used as a fertilizer. The company employs around 46,000 people in Florida. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
