News Cast for May 1st:
The child advocacy group No Kid Hungry said a survey found 72 percent of Floridians report it is harder to afford groceries this year.
More and more Floridians are skipping meals and eating less nutritious food like produce and meats, the survey found.
Director Sky Beard said this means families are less healthy as they bypass produce and meats and food considered more nutritious for cheaper options.
Over 33 percent surveyed said they have faced food insecurity in the past year.
“Right now, we’re looking at one in seven children in homes around the state not knowing where that next meal is going to come from.”
Beard said the percentage of those facing food insecurity is higher in rural areas.
The survey also found that 92 percent of Floridians stated they believe lawmakers should do more to end childhood hunger and think it should be a bipartisan goal.
“Families overwhelmingly agree that this absolutely should not be the case to have child hunger and food insecurity in local community and think it should be a bi-partisan effort to solve this.”
State Senator Erin Grall co sponsored the Gabby Petito Act recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
It requires more in-depth interviews of victims by law enforcement.
A list of 12 new questions includes past behaviors of the suspect with probes about threats, weapons, choking, jealousy, job status of the abuser, and stalking.
Grall said its important to go in-depth when questioning a possible victims of domestic violence.
“Training for law enforcement is critical. Domestic violence incidents are very important. Training has to be consistent and evidence based and validated in the way they ask the questions.”
Grall wants police and domestic violence shelters to work closer together to make sure victims know the services that they can use.
“Law enforcement can only go so far. If they don’t know where to go to connect victims to services, that is a deficiency that we are looking to address here in Florida.”
A 53-year-old Pahokee man, Louis Santos lost his life in a two car crash in Palm Beach County.
Deputies said the Honda two door had poor tires and it lost traction during a rainstorm just before 5 pm on 441 north of highway 80.
The Honda was northbound and slid into the south bound lane where it was struck by a southbound SUV.
The other driver, 36-year-old Osmar Rodriguez of Fort Pierce suffered serious injuries.
The City of Pahokee hosted a town hall meeting to discuss parks and recreation needs, code enforcement and the poor condition of city streets.
City code officer Carl Morrison said code enforcement is there to help and not harm residents. He noted a recent interaction with the irate resident who didn’t understand why he was on her property. He said cooler heads prevailed and they were able to work out the issue in an amicable manner.
Another resident wants to slow traffic down especially in school zones and perhaps install speed bumps.
The city has a list of 73 streets that need repairs but lack the funding to do the repairs.
The city also has gotten no cooperation from Palm Tram buses that use residential streets not designed to handle the weight of the buses.