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Fort Lauderdale woman claims top prize in $500,000 GOLD RUSH DOUBLER Scratch-Off game

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The Florida Lottery announces that Edna Mae Edwards, of Fort Lauderdale, claimed a top prize in the $500,000 GOLD RUSH DOUBLER Scratch-Off game at Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. She purchased her winning ticket from Two Quik Food Store, located at 348 Southwest 13th Street in Dania.

The $5 Scratch-Off game, $500,000 GOLD RUSH DOUBLER, features more than $182.8 million in prizes, including 44 top prizes of $500,000. The game’s overall odds of winning are one-in-3.98.

Scratch-Off games are an important part of the Lottery’s portfolio of games, comprising approximately 68 percent of ticket sales and generating more than $784 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF) in fiscal year 2016-17.

Sign up for the 2018 Lionfish Challenge, win up to $5,000

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Attention recreational and commercial lionfish hunters: Registration for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) 2018 Lionfish Challenge is open. Register at MyFWC.com/Lionfish.

This year’s Challenge begins on Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day, May 19, and will run through Sept. 3. Join us for the Challenge kickoff at the Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Festival and the Lionfish World Championship Tournament, May 19 and 20, at the Flora-Bama Yacht Club and Ole River Grill on the Florida/Alabama coastal border. The event will also include a benefit concert by Little Texas at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 20, presented by Coast Watch Alliance and Lionfish University.

Thanks to our sponsors, this year’s Challenge will include a new tagged-lionfish component. Catch an FWC-tagged lionfish and win up to $5,000.

Non-cash prizes, such as GoPro cameras, tumblers by Engel Coolers, puncture-resistant gloves by TurtleSkin, customized towels and more, will also be awarded to participants who remove and submit lionfish, tagged or not.

The participants who remove the most lionfish in the recreational and commercial categories will be crowned the 2018 Recreational Lionfish King/Queen and the Commercial Champion.

The goal of these programs is to encourage and track removals of nonnative invasive lionfish.

To learn more, visit MyFWC.com/Lionfish or contact the FWC Division of Marine Fisheries Management at [email protected] or 850-487-0554.

Thanks to the following sponsors:

  • American Sportfishing Association
  • Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
  • Boat Owners Association of the United States
  • National Marine Manufacturers Association
  • Coastal Conservation Association Florida
  • Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, Inc.
  • Dive Rite
  • Narked Scuba
  • Lionator Pole Spears

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Railroad Crossing Closures at Landstreet Road and Pine Street

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Motorists in the Taft area of Orange County can expect upcoming weekend road closures and detours along Landstreet Road and Pine Street at the railroad crossings just west of South Orange Avenue. The closures are needed to allow SunRail to replace the crossings.

Landstreet Road is scheduled to be closed at the crossing from about 9 p.m. Friday, April 20, to approximately 6 a.m. Monday, April 23. During the closure, traffic will be detoured using South Orange Avenue, Boyce Avenue and Fourth Street.

The following weekend, Pine Street will be closed at the crossing from about 7 a.m. Friday, April 27, to approximately 6 a.m. Monday, April 30. A detour will be posted using South Orange Avenue, Boyce Avenue and Landstreet Road.

Detour signs will be placed throughout the area to direct drivers. Access to businesses will be maintained.

The crossings are being replaced as part of SunRail’s Phase II South extension project, which will add approximately 17.2 miles of new rail line between the Sand Lake Road station in Orange County and the Poinciana station in Osceola County. The project also involves double tracking most of the corridor and improving grade crossings.

Please note schedules may change due to weather or other circumstances. Construction updates are available on FDOT’s Central Florida website.

Media inquiries should be directed to the District Five Communications Office at 386-943-5479 or [email protected].

Please be careful around trains, railroad crossings and while at station platforms. Be smart. Be safe. For more information about SunRail, including fares, schedule and station locations, please visit sunrail.com.

Vann Continues Strong Fundraising

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Marc Vann leads the fundraising in House District 10 by more than two
to one and has qualified for the August primary ballot by petition.

The Marc Vann Campaign today announced that it raised $17,530 during March and has enough verified signatures to qualify for the ballot by petition. That brings his fundraising total to $51,630, more than double that of his nearest rival. Vann is seeking the District 10 seat in the Florida House of Representatives.

“Our campaign’s momentum is strong and growing,” said Vann. “I really appreciate all the neighbors and friends, both old and new, who are jumping on board our team. Our conservative message resonates with the folks in this district, and I look forward to continuing to connect with more voters about our platform of more jobs and lower taxes.”

Paid by Marc Vann, Republican, for State Representative

Forbes Names University of North Florida 2018 ‘Best Value College’

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When it comes to value, the University of North Florida is among the top universities in the country, according to a new ranking from Forbes.

UNF has been named a Forbes 2018 “Best Value College” and is among an exclusive class of only 300 schools nationwide ranked to help students as well as families evaluate the likely return on their investment. The University is the only Northeast Florida higher education institution to land on the list.

“We’re pleased to be included on this list and take great pride in being nationally recognized by some very elite organizations for delivering an exceptional education at an extraordinary value,” said UNF President John Delaney.

The 2018 Forbes Best Value College ranking indexes schools that deliver the best bang for the tuition buck based on net price of tuition, net debt, alumni earnings, timely graduation, school quality and access for low-income students. Forbes used data collected from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and PayScale, the world’s largest salary database.

The Forbes list evaluates institutions offering four-year degrees and doesn’t include private for-profit schools such as the University of Phoenix or DeVry University. In-state tuition is used for state universities.

This latest recognition comes on the heels of UNF receiving several other national designations, including U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 “Best Online Programs,” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s “Best College Value of 2018,” 2018 “Best in the Southeast” by Princeton Review, 2018 “Best Regional” University by U.S. News & World Report, 2018 “Best Colleges” by College Factual, to name a few.

Gov. Scott: Agreement with Seminole Tribe ensures continued investments for Florida families

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Governor Rick Scott today announced that an agreement has been reached between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe which extends the Tribe’s current commitment to make revenue sharing payments to the state through May 2019. Under the current compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida, the Tribe pays more than $300 million per year into the state’s General Revenue fund. This agreement does not make any changes to state gaming law or expand current gaming operations in Florida in any way.

Governor Scott said, “Today, I am proud to announce that the State of Florida has reached an agreement with the Seminole Tribe which ensures the Tribe’s current commitment remains intact. Since I took office, the Seminole Compact has generated more than $1.75 billion which has helped our state make historic investments in things like Florida’s education and environment. With today’s agreement, revenue sharing payments from the Tribe will carry on as the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) continues its work of aggressively following and enforcing Florida’s strict gaming laws and rules.”

Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. said, “The Tribe is committed to its long term compact with the State of Florida and intends to continue making revenue sharing payments as spelled out in the agreement. The gaming compact, which runs through the year 2030, is good for the people of Florida and good for the members of the Seminole Tribe. The Tribe is investing more than $2.4 billion to expand its Seminole Hard Rock Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood and is hiring thousands of Floridians to fill jobs in construction and as permanent team members.”

To see a copy of the agreement, click HERE.

FDLE Agents arrest two suspects in separate cases on child solicitation, pornography

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Orlando Cyber Crime Task Force Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have arrested two suspects in separate and unrelated cases on charges related to child sex solicitation and child pornography.

On Tuesday, agents arrested Kieran Oscar Sosa, 28, of 15 Presidential Lane, Palm Coast, for traveling to engage in sexual conduct with a child and attempted lewd and lascivious behavior. Luis Antonio Rivera, 71, of 2715 Ranch House Court, Orlando, was arrested today on 15 counts of possession of child pornography in a separate and unrelated case.

In the Sosa investigation, an undercover agent posed as a 14-year-old female when Sosa initiated a conversation through an Internet website. Sosa asked the online persona if she were interested in a sexual encounter and told the juvenile he would come to her residence. He had planned to have sex while the juvenile’s mother was at work. When Sosa arrived at the agreed upon location, he was taken into police custody.

Sosa was taken to the Seminole County Jail on a $60,000 bond. The State Attorney’s Office, 18th Judicial Circuit, will prosecute.

Rivera was taken into custody after agents executed a search warrant at his home and conducted a forensic preview of a laptop. During the preview, agents found evidence of child pornography. The files had been downloaded from the Internet and showed images of children who appeared to be younger than 10 years old. The laptop was seized for further forensic analysis.

Rivera was taken to the Orange County Jail on a no-bond status. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office, Ninth Judicial Circuit.

HHS awards Florida $27 million to help combat opioid crisis

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Following is a comment from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) on news today that the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the state of Florida an additional $27 million in federal funding to help combat the opioid crisis:

“The nation’s opioid epidemic is a real public health emergency and we need to be doing everything we can to combat this crisis. The only way we’re going to be successful in fighting this epidemic is by providing local communities with the funding they need to bolster their prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.”

The funding comes from a 2016 measure Nelson supported to provide states with $1 billion over two years to combat the opioid epidemic. The $27 million Florida will receive this year is on top of the $27 million it received last year under the law – bringing the state’s total received under the bill to $54 million.

Nelson sponsored legislation earlier this year to provide states an additional $12 billion to fight the opioid epidemic.

Here’s a copy of HHS’s announcement about the new funding:

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)  is releasing the second year of funding to 57 states and territories totaling $485 million to continue the Nation’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis.  The Opioid State Targeted Response (STR) grants, which were created by the 21st Century Cures Act, are administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within HHS.

STR grants address the opioid crisis by increasing access to treatment, reducing unmet treatment need, and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorder (including prescription opioids as well as illicit drugs such as heroin). Grantees must use funding to supplement existing opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery activities in their state. An additional $1B recently appropriated will be coming out in September 2018.

19-year-old claims first $15 million top prize in FLORIDA 100X THE CASH Scratch-Off game

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The Florida Lottery announces that Quinn Kofler, 19, of Bonita Springs, claimed a $15 million top prize in the new FLORIDA 100X THE CASH Scratch-Off game at Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $11,175,000.00.

Kofler purchased his winning ticket from 7-Eleven, located at 12931 Bonita Beach Road Southeast in Bonita Springs. The retailer will receive a $30,000 bonus commission for selling the winning Scratch-Off ticket.

The new $30 game, FLORIDA 100X THE CASH, launched on February 26, and features eight top prizes of $15 million – the largest Scratch-Off top prize ever offered by the Florida Lottery! The game also offers 20 prizes of $1 million. Overall odds of winning are one-in-2.59.

Scratch-Offs are an important part of the Lottery’s portfolio of games, generating more than $784 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF) in FY 2016-17, and comprising approximately 68 percent of ticket sales.

Lawmakers urge FEMA to extend housing assistance for storm victims through end of school year

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Hundreds of displaced Puerto Rican families who have been living in Florida since Hurricane Maria devastated the island could soon find themselves homeless with nowhere to go, if FEMA follows through with plans to stop providing them the temporary housing assistance they have come to rely on in wake of the storm.

FEMA officials told federal lawmakers this week that they plan to stop providing Transitional Shelter Assistance, or TSA, to more than 1,600 displaced families across the country – including 600 in Florida – as early as Friday. The move would likely cause hundreds of displaced families to be suddenly evicted from their hotel rooms and leave them scrambling to find a new, affordable place to live.

To help those still relying on the FEMA program and prevent them from being suddenly evicted, a group of mostly Florida lawmakers – led by U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) – today called on FEMA to reconsider its decision to abruptly end the program for these families; and instead work with the governor of Puerto Rico to extend the program through, at least, the remainder of the current school year.

“At a minimum, the deadline for TSA should coincide with the end of the school year for mainland states,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter today to FEMA Administrator Brock Long and Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló, “After Hurricane Maria devastated the island, more than 10,000 students from Puerto Rico enrolled in Florida schools. These children have already had their lives and educational experiences disrupted by a devastating storm and deserve the opportunity to complete their school year.”

FEMA’s TSA program pays hotel owners to provide hotel rooms to displaced victims of a storm. Once FEMA decides it will no longer provide a displaced family with TSA benefits, hotel owners will often evict them from their property.

With some parts of Florida already experiencing a shortage of affordable housing due, in part, to a sudden influx of displaced Puerto Ricans living there since the storm, these sudden evictions could leave some families – who are still unable to return home to Puerto Rico – with nowhere to live.

In addition to Nelson and Rubio, the letter sent today urging FEMA to continue providing assistance to these families was signed by Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Dennis Ross (R-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL).

A pdf copy of the letter is available here.