Daily News Update with Rich Jones of WOKV : 7/5/2012

[TheCat]

Heat and storms again today.  Heather Zehr says afternoon temps will be in the mid-90's with the real feel temp between 105-110.  We'll be watching storms fire up along the sea breeze during your ride home with Hannity.  Heat and storms will be the story through the the weekend and into early next week.

Today's interview lineup:
At 6:11 we heard Stephanie Brown at the scene of a meth lab at the Motel 6 on the northside.
http://www.wokv.com/Player/101440591/

At 8:23 hear Scott MacFarlane in Washington on why Mitt Romney says the individual mandate is a tax.
http://www.wokv.com/Player/101440851

At 8:40 hear Fox's Jared Halpern on the message President Obama will deliver during a bus tour through two big swing states.
http://www.wokv.com/Player/101440921/

Our Top Local Story is the WOKV Tax Watch:  A 70 million dollar gap to fill and the new City Council President Bill Bishop wants to know how that will happen.  Bishop tells WOKV he's not getting a lot of specific answers from the Mayor.  Alvin Brown told Jacksonville's Morning News Tuesday he will meet the deadline and the budget will be balanced. 

Feeling upbeat about Jacksonville's economy.  The Jax Chamber says it has more than 50 active prospects in the pipeline with the potential of creating one thousand more jobs.  As we first told you Tuesday, CitiBank is adding 400 new jobs in Jacksonville.  They've  already hired 200 employees.  No city incentives were promised to CitiBank, which is planning to hire an additional 200 employees in the next few months.

Four million dollars in damage to Nassau county as a result from Tropical Storm Debby, and that's not the final figure.  Emergency Operation Center Director Danny Hinson says there are still areas storm crews can't access so they expect more damage estimates to be added on.  He says the worst areas are along the St. Mary's River.  Nassau County will make its pitch over the next few days to receive federal relief funding.

Clay County has been added to the list of eleven counties that will receive federal assistance in the storm recovery.  Fire Chief Lorin Mock says it will help the families near Black Creek who were flooded out.  The next is to establish a disaster recovery area.   The Red Cross has opened a shelter at Tynes Elementary School in Middleburg for displaced residents.
Rules are rules. That's what a South Florida lifeguard was told when he was fired after he rushed to save a drowning man.  And now the private company hired by the city of Hallandale Beach to provide lifeguard service is conducting a review to determine whether it did the right thing by firing 21-year-old Tomas Lopez.  He was let go for leaving the section of the beach his company is paid to patrol.  Lopez said he wasn't going to say no to someone who needed his help.

Tropical Storm Debby left behind plenty of standing water in northeast Florida and that has translated into a mosquito block party in some areas.  Biologists say there's been a 35 percent increase in mosquito population in St. Johns County since the storm.  Residents should make sure to drain anything around your house that can collect standing water to ensure mosquitoes don't lay eggs.

A small sign of progress for Jaguars fans hoping to have Josh Scobee back.  The Times Union reports the Jags have resumed contract talks with the kicker who was given the "franchise player" tag earlier this year.  Scobee has not signed the franchise tag and so far he has skipped all of the off-season workouts.  The deadline for a long-term deal is July 16th.

Our Top National Story: Mitt Romney is clarifying his stance on last week's Supreme Court ruling on the health care law's individual mandate.  Earlier this week senior advisor Eric Fehrnstrom said Romney viewed the individual mandate not as a tax, but rather as a penalty, a fee or a fine.  But in an interview with CBS News, Romney said he indeed views it as a tax, just as the Supreme Court did in upholding that provision of the health care law.

A House report says Countrywide Financial skirted the law and influenced members of Congress, staffers and top government officials by providing them with discounted loans.  Countrywide's subprime loans helped spark the nation's foreclosure crisis.  The report says the discounts were made from January 1996 to  June 2008.  Six current and former members of Congress who received discount loans were identified, but all of their names had surfaced previously.
At least 500,000 customers are still without power following Friday's storms in the Mid-Atlantic. At one point, more than 2 million homes and businesses lost electricity in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Indiana and Ohio.

The crown prince of hot dog eating maintains his title.  Joey Chestnut won for a sixth straight year at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island.

What's Happening Tomorrow:
http://www.wokv.com/videos/online/advertising/morning-news-video-blog/ldQ/