WAFC Local News – June 04, 2026, 8:32 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. Finding more storage. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has funded all of their contracts to get the Everglades Agriculture Area Reservoir done in 2029. That’s five years sooner than anticipated. Their plan is to send more water south out of Lake Okeechobee and avoid harmful discharges of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart called it great work by the Trump administration. And that was during something that a lot of people thought was not possible, which is the expedite of the dam around Lake Okeechobee. That was done in record time, saving taxpayer money. A lot of people thought it was not possible. It was possible because of the leadership of a president. Florida has spent nearly $8 billion on Everglades projects since Ron DeSantis became governor. Eric Eichenberger says it’ll take three years to complete everything. This reservoir, a $4 billion project, the largest reservoir in the history of this country and the history of this Corps, will be built to send clean, fresh water south. The new reservoir, once completed, will measure some 17,000 acres and cover 26.5 miles. A 62-year-old Moorhaven man, Philip Nall, is facing charges of misdemeanor battery, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substances, and possession of methamphetamine. Glades County deputies were called to the Country K drive-thru in Moorhaven for the battery. They found that a white male with a knife had flattened his own tires and was blocking the drive-thru. The man also allegedly touched an employee at the store inappropriately. Deputies say when they arrived, Nall appeared to be under the influence, as his statements were inconsistent and he was incoherent. The employee accused the suspect of groping her, but the suspect said he had no recollection of those events. The employee said that Nall had been taking items from the drive-thru without paying all day, and also made unsolicited sexual remarks towards her. The actions were caught on video camera. Deputies say they found 31 small ecstasy pills that weighed 7.4 grams, a small bottle that contained just under a gram of fentanyl, and other items of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia. A 36-year-old Henry County man is held on drug trafficking charges related to two alleged incidents in December of last year and January 6. Juan Gonzalez was also charged with drug possession and drug sales. On December 10, Henry deputies said they were able to purchase narcotics from a suspect only known as Track. The first transaction involved nearly 29 grams of cocaine. The alleged transaction was caught on audio and video. The second alleged drug transaction occurred on January 6 in the Clewiston area, and involved a sale of $1,200 worth of narcotics. Again, they were able to purchase over 28 grams of cocaine, allegedly. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).