Northeast

Florida sheriff issues warning for authorities enforcing homeless crackdown

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2024

Press Room

Florida sheriff issues warning for authorities enforcing homeless crackdown

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Tough-on-crime Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd tells Fox News Digital that a new Florida law prohibiting homeless people from sleeping outside will increase the quality of life for regular people by clearing sidewalks and public places of homeless people who clog up these areas and make them unsavory.

However, homeless advocates say the law may put unhoused people in danger by driving them away from urban areas with critical services and potentially making them “vulnerable to predators.”

The new law, one of the strictest anti-homelessness measures in the nation, came into effect last week and bans camping on streets, sidewalks and in parks. Local governments are required to offer temporary housing to the homeless, where individuals will be prohibited from using drugs. They must also be offered substance abuse and mental health treatment.

NEWSOM VETOES BIPARTISAN ACCOUNTABILITY LEGISLATION AIMED AT STATE SPENDING ON HOMELESSNESS CRISIS

A person sleeps on a sidewalk in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last week. Proponents of a new state law prohibiting the homeless from sleeping outside say it will increase the quality of life by clearing sidewalks and public places of homeless people in those areas. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Judd said the law needs to strike the right balance between providing safety for residents walking the streets while at the same time helping those in need. He said that while he’s empathetic to the circumstances of homeless people, it doesn’t give some of them the right to block sidewalks.

“And that’s important because our family, our children, our wife, our husband, our significant other has the right to walk down a sidewalk without having to step over or walk around a homeless person that’s decided to set up camp in the middle of the sidewalk,” Judd said.

“That’s a quality-of-life issue for everyone, and because you don’t want to live in housing and because you don’t want to work and live like the rest of America, it doesn’t give you the right to lay around in the public parks, lay on the benches, set up your nasty little camps. So that’s what we’re cleaning up. But we’ve always done that here, and at the end of the day my heart breaks for them, and we’re going to help them, but they’ve got to help themselves.”

The new law gives municipalities the power to arrest those not complying, but Judd said his department does regular outreach to the homeless to help them and that he wants to avoid a situation where homeless people are arrested, taken to jail and end up in the prison system.

“What we’re working toward is what we’ve always done, [which] is not letting the jail be a de facto homeless camp, and that’s not going to happen,” Judd said. “We’ve got to be careful when we implement this. It’s designed so that government really doesn’t set up housing camps because that part of it is very onerous.”

“What I hear overwhelmingly is, ‘We want food, clothing and shelter, but we don’t want to go into homes. We don’t want to go into organized places. We just want to be left alone.’ So our challenge is: Where do they go?

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says the law needs to strike the right balance between providing safety for residents walking the streets while at the same time helping those in need. (Fox News Digital)

Martha Are, the CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, told Fox News Digital that the new law will push homeless people out of built-up areas, which could prove the difference between life and death. The group works to provide stable long-term housing for people experiencing homelessness in Central Florida.

“If you think about the horrendous storm that just tore up the Southeast. If people had been experiencing homelessness and had been more isolated further into the woods, farther away from other people, harder to find, they may not have even known that the storm was coming,” Are said.

“They’d have been afraid to believe it, to listen, so if they had seen a police officer coming out to try and encourage them to get to safety before the storm, they may have avoided that officer, never gotten the message and then been completely overwhelmed in a storm. Those are the kind of real-life consequences with this type of legislation.”

BLUE STATE COUNTY BUCKS TRENDS ON HANDOUTS – AND HOMELESS POPULATION CRATERS

Are said the legislation does little to tackle homelessness, which she said is driven largely by the lack of affordable housing.

She said the No. 1 demographic of homeless people in Florida is the elderly, who oftentimes are on fixed incomes and then get priced out of housing, forcing them to take to the streets. For example, the population of Orange County grew by 25% between 2010 and 2020, whereas the housing stock grew by 15%, she said.

“When you’ve got many more people moving here than you’re developing housing and transportation, then you end up with this mismatch,” Are said. “And so there are certain people that are more vulnerable in that type of market.”

The belongings of a homeless person are piled on the sidewalk on the first day the law took effect. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Under the new law, local governments can offer county-owned land for people to sleep on as long as they keep it clean and free of crime, and as long as the people staying there are provided access to showers and mental health services. For approval, the county must prove there are not enough beds in homeless shelters to keep up with the local homeless population and that the camp would not hurt the property value or safety and security of other homes or businesses in the county.

The legislation provides $30 million to help municipalities enact the law, and it provides the homeless with mental health and substance abuse treatment, but Are said only $10 million of new money is being provided since the remainder of the funds are already annually allocated.

If counties don’t have enough shelter beds, the law allows them to erect outdoor encampments where the homeless could live for up to a year, with the biggest counties required to equip them with sanitation and 24-hour security.

Are said it would be difficult for local governments to meet those standards, and that if a type of homeless encampment was to be set up it would pose serious safety concerns, for children in particular.

“The people experiencing unsheltered homelessness are extremely diverse … then you’re talking about putting young children, youth and families with lots of human trafficking, violence, people who are mentally ill and substance users. And unfortunately, that would become like a playground for predators.

A dog is shown as a homeless person sleeps in the backyard of an abandoned house in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Are said the solution to solving the homeless crisis is to invest in adequate housing and transportation and make sure there are enough shelters for people to go to.

“Short of that, we are going to continue to see more people experiencing homelessness, and then when we criminalize it, we essentially say that you’re a criminal because you’re having this experience that in many cases was absolutely beyond someone’s control.

“And then it becomes quite dangerous, and it would say an unfortunate thing about our communities and our state if we continue to pursue that strategy.”

Fox News’ Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Boston, MA

David Pastrnak, Bruins earn 3-2 overtime victory over Nashville

Published

2 hours ago

January 28, 2026

Press Room

David Pastrnak, Bruins earn 3-2 overtime victory over Nashville

The Bruins may not liked how they got to the end result on Tuesday night at the Garden, but results are all that matter right now.

For the second night in a row, the B’s could not protect a lead that they held after 40 minutes. But unlike the verdict in Manhattan, the B’s were able to get the full two points on the table in overtime.

It took just 15 seconds into OT.

Mark Kastelic won the opening faceoff and Charlie McAvoy skated with it into the offensive zone. Marat Khusnutdinov jumped on for Kastelic and, after some razzle-dazzle, McAvoy sent a backhand pass toward the top of the crease to David Pastrnak for the redirection goal for the 3-2 win. It was an all’s-well-that-ends-well kind of night for Pastrnak, who took a costly penalty late in the second period that helped Nashville get back in the game.

The day was an interesting one for the B’s.

The schedule gives and it takes away, and Tuesday was a night when the B’s were at a distinct disadvantage. Because of flight issues related to the winter storm, the B’s could not fly out of New York on Monday after their overtime loss to the Rangers and were forced to bus back up to Boston, arriving back home around 1:30 pm on Tuesday.

The Preds on the other hand, last played on Saturday afternoon and chartered into Boston on Saturday night to beat the blizzard.

The team chefs arrived with meals at Hanscom Airport to help the players fuel up. Skills coach John McLean, who doesn’t travel with the team, also went the airport and shoveled out the entire traveling party’s cars, no small task with the amount of snow dumped on the region.

“We owe him a couple of beers,” said Morgan Geekie. “It takes a village and everybody stepped up today no matter how it was. Happy we could get the win.”

With all the help they did get, coach Marco Sturm wasn’t going to allow his players an out if they did lose in OT.

“It doesn’t matter if we lost the game or whatever. That shouldn’t be an excuse,” said Sturm. “Guys were ready to go today. You’re not always perfect Our third was definitely better than (Monday). Couldn’t close it but guys came back and showed character and at the end of the day, we need to take all the points we can get….I’m just happy the way the last couple of weeks went.”

Dating back to their New Year’s Eve win in Edmonton, the B’s are 11-2-1 in their last 14.

Despite the travel complications, the B’s were the ones to score the lone goal in the first period, which came off the stick of Sweden’s newest Olympian, Hampus Lindholm. The defenseman took the puck down from the left point to the circle and sent what looked like a harmless shot toward the net. But working the net front after winning the faceoff back to Mason Lohrei, Fraser Minten went for the tip and missed, but that seemed to distract Juuse Saros enough to allow the puck to get behind him for the 1-0 B’s lead at 13:16.

They made it 2-0 early in the second period, thanks to the simmering stick of Geekie. Pastrnak first danced around Roman Josi just inside the Nashville blue line and then shoveled the puck along the left boards to Geekie. Geekie took a few strides toward the net and, from the bottom of the circle, snapped a shot that beat Saros off the far post and in. It was Geekie’s 30th goal of the season and fourth in three games while Pastrnak extended his point streak to eight games.

Though the game was a snoozer, the B’s appeared to be in full control. That is until their season-long problem raised its ugly head again – penalties.

Late in the period, Pastrnak took a bad slashing on Josi in the neutral zone. It was the B’s fourth penalty to that point and, this time, the Predators made them pay. From above the right dot, Josi’s low shot got under Jeremy Swayman’s glove with 35 seconds left in the period, changing the complexion of the game just like that.

“Obviously I know it’s a bad penalty and I apologized to the group and moved forward,” said Pastrnak.

To make matters worse, the B’s lost Elias Lindholm to an upper body injury off a faceoff late in the period and he did not return. Sturm did not have an update after the game but said the centerman would be getting some tests on Wednesday.

In the third, the B’s had a great chance to regain the two-goal lead when Casey Mittelstadt, from behind the net, found a wide-open Viktor Arvidsson a the top of the crease, but Saros stoned him.

And with 6:43 left in regulation, the Preds tied it. After matching roughing minors, Nashville scored on the ensuing 4-on-4 when Nick Blankenburg used the extra room to roam free out high and he beat Swayman with a long shot under the blocker.

It stay deadlocked after 60 minutes. It got unlocked 15 seconds later. On the winner, another non-uniformed member of the B’s had another big assist. The plan, as usual, was for Kastelic to take the opening draw and jump off the ice. This time Khusnutdinov was set to jump on. Only problem was, he was missing a skate blade.

Equipment manager Keith Robinson heard assistant Matt Falconer yell out “Khusy needs steel!” As soon as Robinson snapped the blade in, Khusnutdinov jumped onto the ice and joined the weave in the offensive zone, dropping the puck for the circling Pastrnak, who then executed the pretty give-and-go with McAvoy for the winner.

As Geekie said, it takes a village.

Loose pucks

Hampus Lindholm will be going to the Olympics after all. Due to the injury to Jonas Brodin, Lindholm was named to Team Sweden on Tuesday, where he’ll join Bruin teammate Elias Lindholm. Other Bruins going to the Games in Milan, Italy will be Swayman and McAvoy (USA), Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha (Czechia), Henri Jokiharju (Finland) and Providence Bruin Dans Locmelis (Latvia).

“Any time you put (the Sweden jersey), it’s such a cool jersey, it has so much history tied to it. I haven’t had any opportunity for the Olympis for me in my career, so it’s going to be a great honor to go there,” said Lindholm… Alex Steeves was scratched in favor of Mikey Eyssimont, who played his first game since Jan. 11…Nikita Zadorov, who missed Monday’s game with a lower body injury, returned to the lineup and saw 21:53, second most on the B’s to McAvoy’s 27:14.

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Pittsburg, PA

New Steelers Coach Mike McCarthy Wants Aaron Rodgers Back in Pittsburgh

Published

2 hours ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

New Steelers Coach Mike McCarthy Wants Aaron Rodgers Back in Pittsburgh

Mike McCarthy is wasting no time in trying to lure Aaron Rodgers back to the Pittsburgh Steelers for another season.

The new Pittsburgh Steelers head coach not only made his pitch for Rodgers to return for the 2026 season, but McCarthy also revealed that he’s been in contact with the quarterback, he shared at his introductory press conference on Tuesday.

“Definitely. I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” McCarthy told reporters. “I have spoken to Aaron, and so that’s really where we are there. I was able to sit back and watch the games. I watched most of the Pittsburgh games on TV, and I thought he was a great asset for the team.”

Rodgers, 42, hasn’t said yet if he’ll play again in 2026. Shortly after he signed with the Steelers this past offseason, he indicated that the 2025 season would be his last. But he said following the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Houston Texans that he was “not going to make any emotional decisions” regarding his future in that moment.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. “Obviously, it was such a fun year. A lot of adversity but a lot of fun.”

Of course, McCarthy coached Rodgers when he was the head coach of the Packers, working alongside the quarterback for 13 seasons. The duo won a Super Bowl together during that time, with Rodgers emerging as one of the game’s top quarterbacks and winning multiple MVP awards.

While McCarthy has made it clear he’d like Rodgers to return as the Steelers’ quarterback, he said he’ll also give him the space he needs to make a decision.

“I think when players are up that stage of their career, they need to step away and decompress,” McCarthy said. “I think that’s very important.

“The game is so emotional, what these men commit to, and what they put into it. I think that time away is important.”

Rodgers had a respectable season with the Steelers in 2025 following a disappointing two-year stint with the New York Jets. He completed 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions to go with a 94.8 passer rating, helping Pittsburgh go 10-7 and win the AFC North.

Even if Rodgers returns, though, questions still remain at quarterback for the Steelers. They don’t have a clear longterm solution at the position, with veteran backup Mason Rudolph and sixth-round rookie Will Howard being the only other quarterbacks on their roster.

However, McCarthy seemed bullish about the options the Steelers have in their quarterback room.

“I’m really excited about Will Howard,” he said. “I think he’s someone that I thought really came on there at Ohio State. I’m anxious to work with him.

“It’d be great to have Aaron back, but with Will and Mason, I’m really, I’m really, really excited to get started with those guys.”

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