Tornado warning reissued until 8 a.m.

from floridatoday.com
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The National Weather Service in Melbourne has reissued a tornado warning for central Brevard County until 8 a.m.


The warning area includes Suntree, Viera, Patrick Air Force Base, Satellite Beach and Indian Harbour Beach
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At 7:34 a.m., the NWS detected a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado near Viera, which was moving east at 25 mph.

“They’re still some pretty strong storms in Osceola County that are moving east toward Brevard. The next line should be here in a few hours,” said Don Van Dyke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Another tornado warning was

“We’re monitoring for any signs of rotation.”

The overnight storm system also brought heavy rain to Melbourne before pushing offshore, officials said. That could set up the potential for a rain record as more showers move into the area today.

“By the afternoon, the thunderstorms will be clearing out," Van Dyke said.

Earlier this morning, the NWS issued a tornado warning for central Brevard County as rotating clouds were spotted about six miles southwest of the Kennedy Space Center, not far from the space shuttle Endeavour’s launch site. The warning expired about 5:15 a.m. with no immediate reports of any storm damages.

Melbourne police make prostitution, drug arrests

from floridatoday.com:

"The Melbourne Police Department arrested one woman on prostitution charges while two other individuals were arrested on drug charges Thursday night during a special operation by officers to target prostitution in the city.

All three arrests were in the north end of the city, near U.S. 1 and Aurora Road, Melbourne police said.

Those arrested were Mark Brantley, 46, on charges of sale of cocaine and possession of cocaine, Crimson Smith, 26, on a charge of solicitation for prostitution, and Marjorie Powell, 52, on charges of sale of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to sell and possession of cocaine."

Melbourne suspends gated street parties

from floridatoday.com:

"MELBOURNE — Melbourne will not allow gated street parties while the city takes a closer look at rules for the events and ways to curb problems created by their large crowds.

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"I think we're placing the city at risk and the citizens at risk," Councilwoman Molly Tasker said. "This will at least narrow some of that risk down."

A group that includes city leaders, business leaders, downtown groups and residents will look into what changes Melbourne should take for street parties. Recommendations should come back to city council in 90 days.

Attention focused on gated events after Meg O'Ween, an annual Halloween party hosted by the downtown restaurant Meg O'Malley's, most recently brought in an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people.

Police and other city workers say they were overwhelmed by the crowds, which in some areas were so tight that they had trouble getting through. One person involved in a fistfight was seriously injured after falling and hitting his head on the pavement.

Under the city's policies, gated events differ from other events hosted on public roads.

Groups can still get permits to shut down the street with barricades, similar to Historic Downtown Melbourne's Friday Fests and the spring Melbourne Art Festival. They cannot fence in the party.

But Melbourne City Council also put into place new rules that deal with all street events.

Those include:

# denying future requests to extend the hours for open containers and alcohol on the streets past midnight.

# ending amplified sound at 11 p.m.

# allowing party-goers to purchase only two drinks at a time.

# requiring 25 percent more restrooms for events, which have a sole purpose of drinking.

Staff had proposed ending the policy of having gated street events that allow businesses or groups fence off public areas and charge entrance fees.

The goal, however, is not to end street parties, which bring economic boosts to other downtown businesses and "keep local dollars local," City Clerk Cathy Wysor said, but rather to maintain control over them.

Owners of Meg O'Malley's said they want to work with the city to improve its policy for street parties.

"We've never been down there to be a bad neighbor," Meg O'Malley's co-owner LJ Burr said. "We've been down there to better business and the community."

Burr said he did not have a problem with some of the proposals, such as the bathrooms and alcohol sales.

But he did have concerns about eliminating the gate policy as well the proposed ending times for alcohol sales and sound.

Burr said events will still have to deal with managing crowds. Fences help manage the thousands of people who come each year to Meg O'Ween.

Meg O'Malley's has hosted 19 events in downtown Melbourne. Seven of those have been gated events"

Prostitution sting nets 4 arrests in Melbourne

from floridatoday.com:

"Melbourne police continued with an ongoing series of prostitution sweeps late Thursday, taking four women into custody along the city’s southern end.

The sting took place at about 5 p.m. Thursday, with officers patrolling the U.S. 1 corridor where suspected prostitutes are frequently seen.

By 9 p.m., Melbourne officers with the department’s Special Operations Unit took four women into custody.

Maria Aviles, 38, Jody Kea, 36, Shelena Keller, 26, amd Mary Tracy, 31 were charged with solicitation for prostitution. They were taken to the Brevard County Detention Center and Sharpes.

The prostitution stings continue as the police department’s effort to drive sex workers from the downtown Melbourne area."

Melbourne resident shoots neighbors pet cat

From floridatoday.com:

"Margaret Wetzel was leaving her house around sunset three weeks ago when she heard a loud metallic bang, "an ungodly cat scream" and five gunshots.It was the sound of her next-door neighbor, Bob Lester, a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran, shooting her 20-plus-pound cat, Harry.Wetzel said she ran outside when she heard the shots and met up with a neighbor from across the street who confirmed that he, too, had heard gunfire. She called police.Why shoot a cat? Lester said he was shooting at a wild pig and feared for his wife's safety, Wetzel said. Reached by telephone, Lester refused to comment.