Good evening! Here’s a look at how AP’s general news coverage is taking shape in Florida. Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to the AP-Miami office at 305-594-5825 or [email protected]. Ian Mader is the news editor and can be reached at [email protected]. Kelli Kennedy is at the table and can be reached at [email protected]. A reminder that this information is not for publication or transmission, and these coverage plans are subject to change. The expected stories may not develop, or last minute and more interesting events may take precedence. Recommendations and summaries will keep you updated. All times are from the east. Some TV and radio stations will receive broadcast versions of the stories below, along with all updates.
BEST STORIES:
SPRING – MIAMI CURFEW
MIAMI BEACH – Miami Beach flight attendants will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to determine whether to extend an unusual curfew at 8 pm, with the goal of reducing the spring break crowds that were so out of control that the authorities had to call SWAT teams. Officials in bulletproof vests scattered pepper spray balls on Saturday to separate groups that descended on sunny South Beach by the thousands, destroying restaurants and flooding the streets without masks or social distance, despite COVID-19 restrictions. SUBMITTED: 600 words. With AP photos. It will be updated after the committee meeting at 3 pm.
VIRUS OUTbreak – COUPLE DIES TOGETHER
FORT LAUDERDALE – A Florida couple who spent decades as missionaries and ministers died 15 minutes apart from COVID-19. Bill and Esther Ilnisky had been married for nearly 67 years when they recently died in a Palm Beach County hospice. Their daughter says that while she misses them, she takes comfort in the fact that they died together. The Ilniskys spent 10 years in Jamaica and seven in Lebanon as Christian missionaries. They then moved to West Palm Beach in the 1970s and spent four decades running an Assembly of God church there. He was 88 and she was 92 when they died on March 1. By Terry Spencer. SUBMITTED: 716 words. With AP photos
VIRUS OUTBREAKS
UNDATED – Despite the clamor to speed up the US vaccination campaign against COVID-19, the first three months of launch suggest that faster is not necessarily better. A surprising new analysis found that states like South Carolina, Florida and Missouri, which competed to offer the vaccine to ever-larger groups of people, vaccinated smaller portions of their population than those that moved more slowly and methodically, such as Hawaii and Connecticut. The explanation, in the opinion of experts: the rapid expansion of eligibility has caused an increase in demand that is too big to be supported by some states. The result was great disorder, confusion and frustration. The analysis could bring an important lesson to states rushing to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of making all adults eligible for vaccination by May 1. SUBMITTED: 1100 words. By Carla K Johnson and Nicky Forster.
DEPUTIES SHOOT VETERAN
HUDSON – A 79-year-old man from Florida is in intensive care after being shot by police at a gas station. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said James Zambrotto approached a deputy on Saturday, rambling about driving his car into gas stations to cause an explosion. Nocco said the deputy tried to lessen the situation by offering to buy coffee for the man. The Sheriff’s Office released an edited 26 ½ minute video of the meeting. The sheriff said a policeman saw Zambrotto pick up a gun. Two deputies shot him. Zambrotto said he was a military veteran. He has no history of mental illness or criminal interaction with deputies from Pasco. SUBMITTED: 396 words
FL-XGR – FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW
A Florida House committee is making its own effort to rewrite voting rules by mail on Monday, as part of a Republican effort to increase “ballot security” – although there is no evidence of widespread problems. The House’s Public Integrity and Elections Committee on Monday would require 24-hour monitoring of the ballot box – either by guards, election officials during working hours or by out-of-hours surveillance cameras. It would also require voters to provide identification, such as their social security number, to update registration information. Democrats and voters’ rights advocates say that proposals related to elections before lawmakers would be expensive and would make it difficult for some Florida residents to vote. SUBMITTED: 420 words.
EXCHANGES OF AP MEMBERS:
-EXCHANGE-CIGAR CHURCH
TAMPA – There is no religious service in the building of the First Congregational Church, which is 115 years old for decades. But it still looks like a place of worship, with the deity being Arturo Fuente, the international cigar company based in Tampa. Fuente cigar labels are displayed on the stained glass windows. Photos from the Fuente family adorn the wall space throughout the four-story, 8,000-square-foot building. Fuente ashtrays are on the tables. There are even Bobbleheads by Carlos Fuente Jr. for sale. “In a strange way, I think so” looks like a Fuente church, Steven Shlemon said with a laugh. “But here we only like cigars, and Fuente is one of the largest cigar manufacturers in the world.” Shlemon is a member coordinator for the Grand Cathedral Cigars, a cigar shop and lounge built inside the renovated historic church building. It opened in January. SUBMITTED: 731 words. With AP photos
EXCHANGE-STUDENT SATELLITE STATION
MIAMI – Located in the heart of Little Havana, just a few blocks from Marlins Park, is one of the most exclusive radio stations in America. SLAM Radio is the country’s first and only satellite radio station run by high school students. Broadcasting on Sirius XM-Channel 145, SLAM is on the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and features content produced and presented by 80 to 100 local high school students. The programming – much of it pre-recorded – focuses on lectures on sports, current affairs, entertainment and journalism, with a little bit of mixed music. SUBMITTED: 1300 words. With photos AP
IN SUMMARY:
IN SPORTS:
GLF – HONDA CLASSIC
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida – Matt Jones has a three-shot lead in the final round of the Honda Classic on Sunday. Aaron Wise and JB Holmes are tied for second place on Sunday. By Tim Reynolds. NEXT: 700 words, photos at 7pm
______
If you have photos of regional or state interest, send them to the AP State Center for Photography in New York, 888-273-6867. To gain access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at [email protected] or 877-836-9477.
Copyright 2021 from the Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, transmitted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.