Groveland Four exonerated, COVID-19 uptick in Florida, the not-so-great cop exodus, misunderstanding history … and other news you may have missed last week. »
Huge win caught on kiss-cam
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New COVID-19 cases tick up slightly in Florida
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‘Groveland Four’ finally exonerated 70 years after being falsely accused of rape
An Orlando Magic fan found out he’s going to be a dad on the Jumbotron this Thanksgiving weekend. In a clip that quickly went viral, James Baily learned that his wife, Taylor, is pregnant in front of thousands of fans thanks to an on-screen message. Taylor Baily said that messages from friends and family began pouring in after the surprise announcement went nationwide. The number of Florida hospital inpatients with COVID-19 inched above 1,400 last week, according to data posted online Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The data showed that 1,406 inpatients had COVID-19, and 252 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units. Hospitalization numbers have become relatively stable after massive increases in July and August and steady decreases in September, October and early November.
A Central Florida judge last week exonerated the four Black men who were accused of sexually assaulting a white woman in one of the most notorious cases from the state’s Jim Crow era. Lake County Judge Heidi Davis granted a motion filed by State Attorney William Gladson to restore the constitutional right to the “presumption of innocence” of Ernest Thomas, Samuel Shepherd, Charles Greenlee and Walter Irvin. Davis’ action vacated the convictions of Greenlee and Irvin and dismissed the indictments against Thomas and Shepherd. Greenlee’s daughter, Carol, wept with family members during a press conference at the courthouse after the judge granted Gladson’s motion. “I would not let Florida write my story. I would not let Florida decide who I was going to be and what I was going to be, and not let injustice define me,” Ms. Greenlee said.
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Sanford gun store comes under fire for storefront window photo of Hitler A Sanford gun store owner has come under scrutiny after putting a photo of Hitler in his storefront window. A&N Sports featured the top Nazi alongside a dubious quote celebrating gun control, purportedly from the WWII-era leader. “This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police will be more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future,” the poster reads. For reasons that should be obvious, the sign has rankled community members. “Anytime you see a picture of Adolf Hitler on a building like that, your stomach drops, your jaw drops. It really is hard. What are these people thinking, what are they saying?” Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando head Keith Dvorchik told a local news station.
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Turns out police lured to Florida by DeSantis’ anti-vax laws might not be best and brightest New details are emerging about the newest dozen police officers lauded by Gov. Ron DeSantis for moving to central Florida from New York City to escape what the governor described as low morale and a lack of support from Democratic politicians there. The new hires include one previously fired as a Walmart Inc. security guard, one with only three years of experience who demanded more than double his salary, and others with mysterious gaps in their résumés. Two failed to disclose on their Lakeland applications they had been disciplined by the NYPD. Another worked on the NYPD’s controversial anti-crime units. Plainclothes officers in unmarked cars in those units targeted crime with “random” car stops and stop-and-frisks in minority neighborhoods, and were involved in shootings of civilians. Details came from court files, disciplinary reports, records of lawsuit settlement payments and the applications submitted to the Lakeland Police Department for the hires, all from the NYPD. The officers’ backgrounds were reviewed because DeSantis sought to use their hiring for political purposes. Their applications were obtained and reviewed under Florida’s public records law. orlandoweekly.com
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DEC. 1-7, 2021 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY
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