Florida

Florida woman seeks help to rebuild life after losing husband, brother-in-law, home in fire

Published

2 days ago

January 4, 2025

Florida woman seeks help to rebuild life after losing husband, brother-in-law, home in fire

Florida woman loses husband, home in tragic fire

A Holly Hill woman not only lost her husband of 50 years and brother-in-law in a fire but also her livelihood. Just before Christmas Eve, a fire broke out in Deborah Blessing-Ortiz’s Holly Hill home. Her husband, Cesar, was sleeping in the back room and died in the blaze.

HOLLY HILL, Fla. – A Holly Hill woman not only lost her husband of 50 years and brother-in-law in a fire but also her livelihood.

Just before Christmas Eve, a fire broke out in Deborah Blessing-Ortiz’s Holly Hill home. Her husband, Cesar, was sleeping in the back room and died in the blaze.

“He was in the bedroom, and that’s where they found his body in the bed,” said Deborah. “They said he was burnt — 80% of his body was burned,” she continued with a heavy heart.

Two brave neighbors were able to pull Deborah and her brother-in-law out of the home as it went up in flames. However, she says, her brother-in-law succumbed to his injuries days later. Neighbors tried to save Cesar too, but couldn’t.

“Just to think of him yelling for help, and no one can help him. That hurts me,” said Deborah.

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The home is a total loss as the flames destroyed everything inside, which left this elderly woman with not only a broken heart, but nowhere to go.

“I thank God for his mercy. He’s given me a second chance. Now I got to find out what to do with it,” said Deborah.

The 69-year-old woman is staying in a motel room now, as she has nowhere else to go. She’s been living on social security and now has to start from scratch, even needing a new ID and birth certificate.

The family has now set up a GoFunMe donation page here if you’d like to help Deborah get back on her feet.

She’s hoping the love of her life can help guide her through this pain.

“I know he is looking down on me,” said Deborah. “He wants me to continue on, but he’s just going to have to tell me how.”

Officials say the Fire Marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire.

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Deborah Blessing-Ortiz.

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Florida

Brandon Butler: Florida a great escape for outdoor enthusiasts

Published

6 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Brandon Butler: Florida a great escape for outdoor enthusiasts

Driving north from southwest Florida, my progress was marked by steadily declining temperatures. Leaving behind sunshine and 75-degree days for snow, sleet, and single digits was a questionable choice at best. Days spent at the beaches of Siesta Key, golfing, hiking in a wildlife-rich state park, and eating seafood dinners outside sure beats shoveling snow and waiting on the dreary days to depart.

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Florida

Here’s how to protect your plants as Central Florida braces for frigid air

Published

13 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Here’s how to protect your plants as Central Florida braces for frigid air

OVIEDO, Fla. – Lukas Nursery is ready to help you protect your plants against the big chill heading toward Central Florida this week.

Bri Murray is the assistant sales manager at Lukas Nursery. News 6 asked her to give us tips on the best ways to cover your plants and common mistakes you should avoid.

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“The common mistake that is often made with either frost blankets or covering your plants is ‘Well, I just need to keep the plants warm. I don’t need to keep anything else warm like the trunk,’” said Murray. “Well, the majority of where you’re going to get heat from is actually the ground. So if you entrap the ground with the plant, then the heat from the ground keeps it like a nice circular of insulation inside that frost blanket.”

Murray said one item people should remember when they’re out shopping for frost blankets is pins. The pins are used to secure the frost blanket into the ground and trap heat inside.

“You’re keeping the heat from the ground, like I mentioned before, inside the blanket, which then keeps it warm like a greenhouse,” Murray said.

Murray also says you shouldn’t use plastic tarps or trash bags to protect your plants.

“That typically holds in condensation, which holds in moisture, and again, that’ll freeze your plants,” Murray said. “So using a frost blanket is important because it does allow the plants to ventilate properly and breathe, but keeping it warm and keeping it insulated.”

To see Lukas Nursery’s hours of operation, click here.

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Florida

Meloni pays surprise flying visit to Trump in Florida – Politics – Ansa.it

Published

21 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Meloni pays surprise flying visit to Trump in Florida – Politics – Ansa.it

Premier Giorgia Meloni paid a surprise
flying visit to United States President-elect Donald Trump at
his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Saturday.


Meloni, the leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI)
party, arrived in Florida at around 19:30 local time and flew
back to Rome less than five hours later.


“She’s really taken Europe by storm,” Trump said of Meloni
before a group of people at the residence, according to Wall
Street Journal reporter Alex Leary.


Incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also present and
called Meloni a “great ally, strong leader”, Leary reported.


The war in Ukraine, gas supplies and possible new US tariffs on
EU goods were among the issues the leaders discussed, sources
said.


The New York Times reported that Meloni also pressed hard about
the case of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist arrested in
Iran, three days after an Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini was
picked up at Milan’s Malpensa airport on US charges of supplying
drone parts used to kill three servicemen in Jordan.


During the visit, Trump showed Meloni a documentary about
alleged fraud in the 2020 US presidential election.