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Briefly: News briefs, Tweet of the Week + Clay Jones’ comic
Joe Biden vows to make Orlando’s Pulse nightclub a national memorial
On the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub that left 49 people dead, President Joe Biden vowed to make the site a national memorial.
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The former nightclub never reopened after the shooting and currently serves as an impromptu memorial. Biden called the space “hallowed ground” in a statement shared on June 12.
A bill to declare the space a memorial passed the Senate and headed for Biden’s desk last week. That bill was pushed by Central Florida representatives including Val Demings and Darren Soto.
Biden also marked the anniversary on Twitter, indicating that he plans to move forward with legislation that would make it more difficult to purchase weapons without first passing a background check.
The anniversary was marked both at the site and throughout the city of Orlando, with remembrances both official and otherwise. — Alex Galbraith
Orange County Animal Services, a kill shelter, is overflowing with dogs
If you’ve been on the fence about inviting a new pet into your life, now is the time to leap. Orange County Animal Services is near capacity, which means many dogs are facing down euthanasia at the county kill shelter.
The shelter recently shared a video of its kennels, each of which have at least one and frequently up to three dogs in them. They asked that locals consider adoption, donations, volunteering or fostering animals.
“There are almost two hundred dogs currently in our care. Even under the best of conditions, this is not ideal,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “We have two, sometimes three dogs per kennel. All these dogs are hoping for is to be noticed, to be found, to be taken home. And that’s where you come in. We need your help, to make sure each one of them has a second chance at happiness.”
The shelter is hosting an adoption event where fees are reduced to $10 per eligible dogs and cats. The event lasts for the entire month of June and includes all dogs and cats that have been chipped, spayed/neutered and vaccinated. — AG
Guy Fieri surprises UCF student with $25K scholarship on ‘Restaurant Reboot’
Guy Fieri has more than enough goodwill in the Orlando area.
He spent the COVID-19 pandemic advocating for service industry workers, who make up a sizeable chunk of our fair city. And the mind behind Chicken Guy! has legions of fans who were ecstatic to learn that his Disney Springs restaurant was expanding to Winter Park. But Fieri is never really done.
As a part of his Guy’s Restaurant Reboot special, Fieri distributed $300,000 in grants to restaurateurs and other service industry members to help in the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Among the winners was Valerie Contreras, a UCF student and server who was awarded a $25,000 scholarship. Contreras said she hopes to open a cafe and community space after she finishes college.
“The hospitality industry is as resilient as any but this past year has been a challenge like we’ve never seen,” Fieri said in a statement. “[This] is all about great people and companies coming together to inspire and encourage the future of our restaurants and the hard working entrepreneurs behind them.” — AG
Val Demings officially announces run for Marco Rubio’s Senate seat
With the theme “Never Tire,” Orlando Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings last Wednesday formally launched her campaign to try to unseat U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2022.
The announcement was not a surprise: Demings last month said to “stay tuned” amid reports that she would run for Senate.
Nevertheless, her entrance ratchets up the profile of the race, as Demings drew national attention last year when President Joe Biden considered her as a potential running mate and as she served as one of the House impeachment managers in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. — Jim Saunders, NSF
TWEET OF THE WEEK
