5A – Identifying Local Opportunities

Scooter ban coming to Fort Lauderdale beach during Spring Break

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-ne-scooters-spring-break-lauderdale-20190122-story.html 

Scooter renting has become a popular activity in the are of Fort Lauderdale.  For people new to the area, its very easy to just go on an app and rent one.  They are directed to the nearest scooter and  they can take it anywhere they'd like.  After reaching their destination they can simply just drop it off anywhere.  

The problem with this, is that many time people leave them in the middle of the sidewalk or street, which can make it inconvenient for pedestrians or drivers to get around them.  Others have also complained about people driving these scooters too fast or recklessly.  For this reason, the city plans to ban these for Spring Break since such an influx of people will be in the area.

This will be a problem for responsible riders, who won't be able to get around by the use of scooter rentals.  They will have to Uber, rent cars, or find other means of transportation which will populate the roads even more.

More chilly weather and storms heading for South Florida

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/fl-ne-hot-and-cold-weather-20190123-story.html 

Colder weather has been seen by residents and tourists alike in South Florida recently and it has lasted longer than usual.  Usually a month or a few weeks will go by with cold fronts and then back to warm, sunny skies in South Florida.  According to the article however, we should be expecting more cold fronts and possible showers and thunderstorms.

The problem is for the people who have traveled down to South Florida to try and escape the brutal cold weather from northern cities and states.  Although warmer than northern states, its not the warm, sunny weather that they were expecting.

The problem with this is for the snowbirds who have come down to experience warm weather.

Window Sign Short List. Comply or Get Cited

http://margatenews.net/window-sign-short-list-comply-or-get-cited-p886-192.htm 

Signage codes were put into place in 1990 in the city of Margate.  Over the years however, it seemed that the laws were not being upheld and nobody was getting punished for it. New laws have since passed to fix this issue.

Many business owners will need to replace their signs due to a new law passing and proper signage must be up to code.  

This problem is for any business owner in the city who doesn't have the proper signage.  It can also affect resident if they rely on these signs that must be taken down.

Teen accused of setting his mom on fire and beating her with bat

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/davie/fl-ne-davie-attempted-murder-mother-20190124-story.html 

This story is of a 17 year old boy who made a weapon out of alcohol, a bottle, rag, and set it on fire to create an explosion of fire, otherwise known as a Molotov cocktail.  He not only made this but threw it at his mother while she was asleep causing her severe burns and cuts due to the glass.  If that wasn't enough he also beat her with a baseball bat, all because his mom caught him using social media and sneaking out at night.  

The problem is that people , especially kids and teenagers would do harm to their parents for such petty things.  The first time I heard of the Molotov cocktail was from a video game.  These are video games that are supposed to be for mature audiences and not to be used in real life.  

This is a problem for our society as a whole.  For some reason there are more mass shootings and acts of violent crime such as these occurring more than anywhere else in the world.  It is not normal for a child to want to kill his parents because of being punished for wrongdoings.  Unlike games, people do not come back to life after killing them and these are serious crimes.  

Eight deputies heard gunfire at Stoneman Douglas but didn't rush in. Here are the consequences so far.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-ne-cb-eight-broward-parkland-deputies-20190123-story.html

 The article above describes how 8 different deputies were near a high school shooting but failed to act in a timely manner.  Instead, many claim they didn't know where the shots were coming from or they took cover for a very long time while the shooter was still firing off inside the school.  It describes what has happened to their careers since the shooting in which many of them were transferred to different cities, retired, or are currently under investigation.

The problem is that crime can happen anywhere.  Many of these officers were veterans and sought to work in the city because of such a low crime rate.  They may have figured they wouldn't get too many calls about having to deal with crime , especially not a high school shooter.  Deputies, especially ones trying to keep our youth safe should be much more trained and ready for the worst to happen at any given moment.

This is a problem for parents, teachers, students, and the police force itself.  If these deputies are scared to apprehend a shooter who is killing our children in the school, then how can we feel safe taking our children back to school?  Knowing there is always an officer on campus should be enough safety a parent needs in cases like these.  We are expecting to drop our kids off and pick them up every single day.