Here are the five things you need to know in and around Osceola County for June 3, 2020!
(1.) The Osceola County School District will continue distributing meals to students and families through July 16.
2. ¡Hola Cristobal! 3rd named storm of the season formed in the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday.
It’s the earliest in the year the ‘C’ storm has ever formed. What the National Hurricane Center began calling Tropical Depression Three got its official upgrade Tuesday on June 2nd, beating June 5th, 2016 when Tropical Storm Colin formed.
The storm is forecast to linger in the near the Mexican coast most of the week before beginning to move northward across the Gulf of Mexico by this weekend. It is too soon to specify the location and timing of any potential impacts along Florida or the rest of the Gulf Coast, although some long-range models want to develop a low-end Category 1 hurricane moving into southwest Louisiana by late in the weekend.
Stay with us at Positively Osceola, and we’ll keep watching it.
3. St. Cloud has canceled its 4th of July celebration and fireworks at the Lakefront.
With the CDC still discouraging large gatherings with regard to social distancing practices, the City of St. Cloud has cancelled this year’s annual Fourth of July Celebration. The City of St. Cloud joins other cities like Kissimmee and Orlando who have already canceled their fireworks due to CDC and local guidelines in the interest of public safety.
St. Cloud’s puts on one of the region’s largest outdoor events and fireworks displays, with a typical attendance of over 7500, and includes an afternoon of musical entertainment, food and beverage vendors, exhibitors, and family fun for the entire family.
“It definitely won’t be the same not having fireworks and many families near and far gathered at the lakefront to enjoy this event, but we have to be sure to keep the public’s safety in our best interest,” City Manager Bill Sturgeon said.
4. The state of Florida has extended is moratorium on eviction and foreclosure proceedings another month.
Late Monday night, just before the ban on evictions and foreclosures was set to expire, Governor Ron DeSantis extended the moratorium until July 1, giving those who are still struggling during the coronavirus pandemic to make for their housing another month of relief. Our area has been hit particularly hard because of its heavy dependence on the tourism industry, which has been essentially shut down since mid-March.
The governor’s order only prevents the courts from processing evictions, the last step needed to issue tenants with paperwork needed to force them from their housing. Government officials and housing experts encourage tenants and landlords to work on solutions before reaching that point during this difficult time.
5. Positively Osceola hosted Osceola County Sheriff candidates on Tuesday night for an online discussion of issues.
Marco Lopez and Mike Fisher, who both retired from decades-long careers at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, are two challengers who will take on incumbent Sheriff Russ Gibson in the August 18 Democratic primary.
Lopez followed two decades in the U.S. Navy with 17 years at the Sheriff’s Office. Fisher has 39 years of law enforcement in, including 29 years in Osceola County, where he retired as a captain in 2016. They discussed their qualifications to be the Sheriff, how they will oversee the department’s budget, and how they’d tackle subjects like working with the homeless population, combating the opioid crisis and human trafficking, and eliminate cases of officer violence and brutality.
The winner in August will go on to face No Party Affiliated candidate Tony Fernandez in the November general election. To see the full discussion, go to the Positively Osceola Facebook page or just click here.
