WAFC Local News – February 24, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. The LaBelle City Commission pushed along extensions of five years for the LaBelle Riverside planned unit development. 99 multifamily units are planned on nine acres on the south side of Cowboy Way about a quarter mile east of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. 41 of their oak trees will be preserved. They discussed requiring a second entrance at the south end onto Orange Avenue. They’re looking at six two-story buildings. They also approved a five-year extension to KMJ Investments planned development. It would develop two acres on State Road 80 about a quarter mile east of Huggins Road near Tractor Supply. A maximum of 13,000 square feet of non-residential floor area and a maximum of six multifamily or live-work dwelling units would be allowed. Mayor Julie Wilkins says the city will take a close look at this project. We allowed way too many uses that aren’t compatible with nearby residential and so we need to take a close look at the uses that the LaBelle uses on this one. A large housing development was recently proposed on Marshall Field Road in Mews. Glades County School Superintendent Dr. Beth Barfield says it’s imperative that the schools be included in any kind of growth conversations in Glades County. But in order to ensure you know public safety and to make sure that we have the schools and the the public services available and ready we have to promote sustainability. Red flag or fire weather warnings up for pretty much all of the state of Florida today. Florida Forest Service says it’s prepared. Senior Forester Michelle Danielson says at this time of year most wildfires are started by humans. We are having an earlier time of wildfires throughout the state due to the drought and just the freezes that we’ve had throughout the state. Another case of child pornography this in Buckhead Ridge. William Leroy Johnson jailed last week on $750,000 bond. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Gary Johnson says they got a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force secure to search warrant and seize several electronic devices. This case involves 15 felony charges. Congressman Scott Franklin says he thinks things have gotten better on the ice front although they haven’t been funded yet. He says the protests mostly turned violent because of sanctuary cities. The temperature may be coming down a little bit. I applaud the president’s decision to put Tom Homan in charge of the operation there. Tom is a great guy. He was originally a lot of people don’t know it he was a he was a Barack Obama appointee back in the first Obama administration but he’s worked for I think the last five or so presidents. He brings a calm head to the to the situation. Franklin likes expanding the Halo Act in Florida which is a restricted area around police operations people can wander into. I am all for people’s peaceful right to protest but what we’ve seen is not it goes far beyond that the way some of these protesters have been acting and candidly it just makes for a very dangerous situation for everyone. I would support that expansion of that Halo Act. I think it’s a great thing we’ve done here in Florida and I support Senator Moody on that. I’m Charles Murphy WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).