Author: Sarah Walsh

The Georgia Ports Authority and a federal agency have signed off on a big expansion of the state-operated seaport in Brunswick. The port authority’s chief executive, Griff Lynch, signed an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers on Monday to widen and deepen portions of the shipping channel to make room for larger cargo ships to reach the Port of Brunswick. The agreement allows the Army Corps to begin design and engineering work on the project, with an eye toward the actual expansion beginning as soon as December 2024, The Brunswick News reported. Brunswick’s port moved more than 651,000 automobiles…

Several Palm Beach County public schools will get metal detectors. The Palm Beach County School District is going to try putting metal detectors in a number of high schools as part of a pilot project. Board members we’ve spoken with say having metal detectors in some high schools is something they definitely want to try. Whether it will be a permanent addition to schools is still to be decided. “We’re doing it as an added layer of security at some community members’ and parents’ request and some principals’ request. Anything that will make our staff members and our students feel…

Union members negotiating on behalf of Florida’s state employees tentatively agreed Wednesday to a proposal from state management, which includes a 5% wage increase for all state workers, plus additional raises for “hard-to-hire” positions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) represents more than 40,000 state workers employed in hundreds of different positions across Florida. AFSCME’s bargaining unit members will now vote to ratify the agreement before it goes before state lawmakers to be formally approved during next month’s legislative session. Typically, such agreements between the state and union aren’t reached quite as smoothly, union members said…

A loggerhead sea turtle named Rocky paused briefly on the sand Wednesday morning before slowly crawling into the Atlantic Ocean after spending six weeks rehabbing at Florida’s Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Turtle hospital staff and volunteers cheered as the turtle made its way down the beach, which is directly across the street from the center. Rocky was equipped with a blue tracking device on its back, which allows the staff to continue monitoring the large turtle. Rocky, a 220-pound (100-kilograms) female turtle, was found floating off North Hutchinson Island on Dec. 29 with a tear in the lung caused by a…

SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said they arrested a deputy on a felony lewd and lascivious behavior charge Tuesday, according to a Facebook post from the SRCSO. David Daniels was a School Resource Officer at High Road School of Santa Rosa, a school for students with special needs. Daniels has since been removed and replaced with another deputy, according to the post. The investigation showed the alleged incident occurred in January 2016. SRCSO did say Daniels was not a school resource officer at High Road School of Santa Rosa at the time of…

A Florida woman was pulled from a storm drain for the third time in two years last week. The Delray Beach Police Department said officers and firefighters responded to a report of a woman possibly in distress while swimming in a canal near the 500 block of Lindell Boulevard around noon on Wednesday. The department said officers located the woman, identified as Lyndsey Jane Kennedy, and asked if she needed help. Kennedy reportedly ignored them and climbed into a storm drain pipe. Delray police said she refused to come out and began crawling farther into the culvert pipe, which crossed…

The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to take up a legal challenge to Florida’s 15-week abortion ban, which was one of the most controversial measures passed during the 2022 legislative session. The case the high court agreed to take up centers on a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a handful of abortion providers challenging the recently-passed law. They argued that the Florida Constitution protects the right to an abortion. Those groups successfully urged Florida’s highest court to take up the case, but the court did not agree to temporarily block the law while the…

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -At least five people were killed and 15 wounded in a suspected Islamist militant bomb attack during a Sunday service at a Protestant church in the eastern Congolese city of Kasindi, on the border with Uganda, the military said. An army spokesman said the attack during a Sunday service was likely carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan militant group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. “Despite the security measures put in place, the first indications show that it is the ADF which is behind this bomb attack,” Anthony…

Metro will hold an emergency board executive meeting on Sunday, according to a WMATA release. Board members are set to discuss, “safety and security matters when premature release would compromise public safety,” the release said. The exact topic of the meeting was not immediately clear. A Washington Metrorail Safety Commission spokesperson said Metro is “deliberately ignoring” safety requirements with its train operators. They said recent issues about train operator training, 7000 series measurements and other safety concerns have been communicated to Metro leaders. It was not confirmed if the board meeting is related to those issues. News4 has reached out…

Two women inside an Uber were shot on Georgia Avenue NW early Saturday morning, authorities said. Shots were fired at around 12:47 a.m. in the 3300 block of Georgia Ave NW, and D.C. police said the bullet passed through the door of the vehicle and struck the victims. It was not clear if the women were the intended targets of the gunfire. Police said the victims didn’t realize that they’d been hit at first. They were not transported by ambulance, but they did go to the hospital and are expected to survive their injuries. A spokesperson from Uber told News4:…