Your Florida Daily: Former school board member accused of stealing $100K from district, Orlando preps for Olympic trials

ORLANDO, Fla. – In South Florida, a former Miami-Dade School Board member was booked into jail, accused of stealing $100K with district credit cards.

State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said former Miami-Dade School Board Vice Chair Lubby Navarro used her district credit cards for personal purposes, like buying groceries, appliances, beauty products and vacations.

Navarro left her job in December 2022 and the state attorney says the investigation centers around purchases Navarro made in the year before her resignation.

“In this case, she left and they did not reconcile. Instead, (the purchases) were very suspicious,” State Attorney Fernandez Rundle said during a press conference.

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She said investigators found some of the purchases, like a commercial-grade refrigerator and a sofa, inside her home.

Investigators say she also purchased 178 gift cards to stores including Walmart, TJ Maxx, Party City and Office Depot.

Inside a 91-page arrest warrant, the details were even more bizarre. It shows Navarro also used a card to buy a pair of “artificial silicone pregnancy bellies.”

The warrant says after a bad breakup with her boyfriend, she sent the man’s mother a picture “showing off her pregnant belly” — which is assumed to be the fake plastic bellies.

The report states Navarro was caught on surveillance video buying Apple AirTags at Walmart, using a district credit card, for the purpose of stalking her ex.

“Lubby Navarro, who had been the vice chair of the school board and had worked for the school system since 2002, knew better. She knew better than to have gone down this very pathetic path.”

Navarro is being held in jail on a $2 million bond.

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United flight makes emergency landing in Florida after warning about possible door issue

A United Airlines jet was forced to land in Tampa after after pilots were alerted about a possible issue with a door.

According to an airport spokesperson, the plane involved was an Airbus A319.

A United spokesperson said the flight, from Sarasota to Chicago, diverted to Tampa “as a precaution (...) to address a possible mechanical issue.”

The plane carried 123 passengers and five crew members, according to data from tracking service FlightAware.

The plane took off about an hour later after the airlines said the issue was fixed.

Just last week, a plug that takes the place of a door on some Boeing Max 9 jetliners blew off of an Alaska Airlines plane shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.

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Orlando prepares for Team USA’s Olympic marathon trials

Orlando is getting ready to welcome some of the nation’s elite long-distance runners competing at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

On Thursday, city leaders described the impacts locals can expect to see on the roads for the big race day on Feb. 3.

Some roads will be closed for most of the day as the course winds through downtown Orlando and the nearby neighborhoods.

Officials say they’re still trying to notify everyone of the road closures, including businesses in the area.

The event, by the way, is expected to draw upwards of 60,000 spectators.

Find the full story here.

Random Florida Fact

In Miami, look out for buildings with an architectural style called Miami Modern (MiMo).

It’s generally defined as the post-war architectural style that gripped Miami in the 1950s and 1960s.

Back then, developers looked to deck the city with sleek minimalist buildings with fun, glamorous features.

The Vagabond Hotel is recognized as one of the finest surviving examples of a post-war MiMo motel.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places and in 2014, the motel was completely restored as a diner and hotel that is practically identical to how it looked when first opened in the 1950s.