WAFC Local News – September 01, 2026, 8:06 AM
Transcript
Tom Charles Murphy reporting. Suspended Palm Beach County Clerk of Court Mike Caruso bonded out of jail this weekend. He says he’s happy to be out of jail in Orange County. We hear more in this report. That’s what Caruso told reporters as he left the lockup Friday night after a judge said bonded $160,000. His release coming despite Attorney General James Upmeyer vowing to challenge the judge’s decision. The Attorney General is calling you a dangerous person. What’s your response? No comment. Will you be returning to South Florida? Tonight. I don’t, if I, possibly. I’m not sure at this point. I’ll be leaving Orange County for sure. Thank you everybody. The judge heard from an FDLE special agent during the pretrial detention hearing and says he found insufficient evidence of substantial probability, citing several issues including the child sometimes struggling to understand questions during interviews with the agent. I’m Joel Malkin. Hunters and campers can get discounts on their favorite items starting today. A four month sales tax holiday on camping, fishing, and hunting gear in Florida runs through the end of the year. State officials say a similar sales tax holiday last year saved shoppers almost $45 million. A 35-year-old Ogishue woman facing charges in Glades County of making threats to kill her ex-boyfriend. She allegedly sent a threatening message via text message stating she was going to kill him, which induced imminent fear of harm. She texted him telling him that within 20 minutes she was coming to his home and then she would go to jail for murder covered in his blood. This was not their first confrontation involving law enforcement having to be called. She was charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, and sending a written threat to kill, which is a felony in Florida. A 40-year-old Henry County woman, Yolanda Morales, is facing charges of animal cruelty. The Henry County Sheriff’s Office Agriculture Unit investigating, they found a black and tan dog that appeared emaciated, with the rib bones, hip bones, and spine extremely visible through the dog’s coat and hair. A local vet in Fort Myers examined the pet last week, found the dog is emaciated and suffers from malnutrition and is underweight along with hookworms. The animal control officer says the dog was tied to a cabbage palm tree without any water or food, and the temperature was 99 degrees. Henry County tax collector Amy Collins says her office will move to the Old Bank building in the near future on W.C. Owens. They’ll increase to 3,500 square feet of office space. Collins says she doesn’t want to move during tax season. She plans a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour the office on a Saturday in the future. They’ll also have a drive-thru window for extra convenience. It’s my intention to also open up the drive-thru for easy transactions, registration renewals, property tax payments, stuff that can be handled quickly so you don’t even have to get out of your car. I think that’s going to be great for parents picking up kids after school. I don’t have to drag the kids inside. So we’re super excited to be able to do this in the community. Henry County reporting 22,169 in the workforce in July, with 20,832 employed and 1,337 unemployed. June numbers were 22,450 in the labor force, 21,200 employed, and 1,250 unemployed. Henry County ranked 10th among Florida counties at 6% unemployment. Glades County also at 6%. Around the region, Charlotte County at 5.8%, Broward 4.6%, Collier 5%, Lee County 5.2%, and Palm Beach 4.8%. I’m Geralds Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).