Hall of fame Health & Esports facility opens

Good morning, everyone, and welcome on into Fox Tampa Bay Live. I'm Regina Gonzalez. Thanks for spending part of your Thursday with us. We have a busy news day, so I want to get started and give you a quick look ahead at all of the live feeds, live events that we are monitoring and what conversations we've got coming up. So we're going to actually start in our nation's capital because we are following breaking news in D.C. where we just learned one person is dead and four others Others are injured after After a shooting about a mile north, Of the White House. So in just a few minutes, we'll tell you what police say happened when the suspect barricaded himself inside of an apartment building. They just gave an update that you may have seen on Good Day Extra. So we will rehash all of that information for you. And then we're going to stay to our north for just a moment again and head out to Brooklyn. Heartbreaking story that a lot of people have been keeping a close eye on overnight. Crews have been searching through the rubble after a deadly building collapse In just a few minutes, we're going to speak with Fox's Pete Dutta for an update on the search and investigation. We also want to let you know, it looks like media are setting up a podium. I think we're going to hear from the mayor around noon. So not likely that we'll have it in our hour here on Tampa Bay Live. But if we see the mayor stepping up with more information, we will take that for you at noon. But I mean, now that the sun has rose, remember, this happened as it was getting dark out. And you can see how crews are now Excavating the site, still looking through the rubble, just an overall shocking situation. So we will keep you up to speed on that. And then some more breaking news that we are following this morning. And Divya, CEO, resigning following reports of affairs that raise national security concerns. So we'll walk through what the company has confirmed. And who is taking over and then a couple of ribbon cuttings across the Tampa Bay area as we take it on home. This was a look not too long ago, a new animal clinic in Clearwater, expanding access to affordable veterinary care. We'll show you the services available to help keep your pets healthy and then always love checking in with Thaddeus Bullard. Titus O'Neill, WWE star, he is opening a new esports and broadcast arena at his Tampa school, Sly Middle Magnet. That's where students are gonna get hands-on experience that could turn their love of gaming into a future career. You'd be surprised how well the gaming industry is doing. I know a week from today, we've got a Grand Theft Auto debut for the first time in, I think, 13 years. So definitely gonna be cool to talk about that. We're gonna hear from Thaddeus at At some point, and this could be in our 11 o'clock hour or on the street. The stream at one and then a really cool conversation coming up as well. A retired Green Beret and an orthopedic surgeon joining us live to discuss helping veterans and their families find the care they need. Yesterday was Veterans Day. We said thank you. So how do we keep that support moving forward? Well, we'll talk all about it and get some fresh perspective from veterans themselves. And then we are going to speak with the creator of a new arts festival that is coming to St. Pete this weekend. Again, the Booker Creek Arts Festival, mixing business, art. Going to be so fun. So that'll be around 1145. But of course, if you are heading out this weekend, I know we're expecting some chilly temperatures. So we want to keep a close eye on that. Let's head out to the Sky Tower Weather Lab where we've got FOX 13's meteorologist Nash Rhodes in the house. Hey, Nash. Hey, Regina. Yeah, sometimes I give you the forecast this time of the year and it's sunny and the temperature hardly changes. This weekend is not going to be one of those stretches. We have chilly conditions finally arriving We're talking 40s and 50s out the door. Saturday and Sunday morning to give you an idea of how cold it's going to get. We're talking. 30s up in the panhandle. Again, this is Saturday morning, and this is on the heels of the strongest cold front that we've likely seen this season thus far. That'll be arriving again Friday night into Saturday morning. While it's going to be cool, I don't think we're going to see widespread rain chances on the leading edge of this front. We will, however, have these gloomy conditions for another day or two. Live view here from Siesta Key. It is 74 degrees with winds that are light at about 5 to 10 miles per hour. Not an ideal beach day. Today, we will have some spot showers. But coverage is not going to be widespread. There's a good chance that a lot of you will be completely dry for the start to finish up today and potentially the next two to three days of the forecast. Better rain chances return early next week. But Sky Tower vector scan will mainly be tracking showers and storms south of I-4 for the rest of today. Satellite radar imagery showing we have a big subtropical jet stream position directly overhead that is Popping in all that cloud cover moisture like a fire hose off the gulf and over our state. We also have a cold front off to our north and west. And this is going to be the first of two, kind of the one-two punch, so to speak. It's going to set the stage for the chilly conditions over the weekend. There's the first front. There's the second. Cooler weather at least lingers around through Sunday, but it's not going to stick around for quite too long. I do think this is going to be a one to two day stretch, and then we're back to regular programming by the middle of next week. Your forecast for the next three days showing Saturday, we struggle to get out of the upper 60s for reference. Sunday, a little bit warmer. All of that under mostly sunny skies. We eventually lose this cloud cover a bit more. If you're going to be heading out the door on Saturday morning, temperatures to the south will mainly be in the 50s back towards the coast. 40s the farther north you look. I think 42 degrees will be very realistic for areas like Crystal River up there in Citrus County. And the final thing I want to touch on will be how gusty and breezy it's going to be for the next few days. Friday into Saturday, especially, if you are planning on boating, we're looking at wind gusts between 15 to 20 miles per hour onshore. That means just offshore, it could be a little bit rougher than that. So expect choppy conditions in our bays and inland waters on Saturday. Sunday, small improvements. And then by Monday of next week, boaters should be much more happy with what we've got going on. Your seven-day forecast showing we've dialed down rain chances just a touch Monday and Tuesday, but at least for the weekend, after a very gloomy work week, Regina, I do think we finally start to get rid of some of these clouds and see the sunshine return for most of us. Listen, I just can't wait to wear a nice coat, a nice sweatshirt, but then I got to put it away again. Yeah, I got to go find it. I haven't touched it in months, right? I know, I know you've worked in a wintry... I have my coat and my winter boots and everything from West Virginia stored away somewhere as if I'll ever use it again. We'll see. Regina, whenever I travel anywhere cold, I have to make a pit stop back at my house to go find all these clothes that I've just buried, haven't touched in years. So yeah, living in Florida has definitely been a different experience for the past several years. Definitely, we'll take it, right? We'll taste the fall. Why not? Thanks so much, Nash, we'll talk to you soon. Talk to you later, thanks. All right, everybody, forgive me. In our little coming up segment at the start of the hour, I did not mention that we have a very significant update to a story that we have been following locally. And I wanna stress that FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer, I know Kelly Cowan been following this for a good day, Aaron Mesmer following this throughout the day. But we do have an update on the shooting that happened inside the Brandon Exchange Mall, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office within the last hour. Saying a 16-year-old is now in custody charged with attempted first-degree murder. So here on your screens, this is Deshaun Williams, detective saying they used witness interviews and surveillance video to identify him as the person who fired a handgun inside of the mall. Now, this was a look at some of the scenes, some of the photos that HCSO provided. So according to investigators, two groups got into a physical fight in a hall. hallway near the mall's family room, several people then ran into the main corridor. You can imagine how terrifying that is to hear that as you're going about your day shopping. Well, detectives say one person was knocked to the ground and Williams began firing. More than 100 deputies responded after the first calls came in around 5.15-ish yesterday evening. The sheriff's office saying the first deputy arrived just one minute. After being dispatched, so no one was reported hit by gunfire, thank goodness. One person had a minor injury from broken glass. Williams faces several additional charges, including a second offense of being a minor in possession of a firearm. So here's that mugshot again, also charged with evidence tampering and a probation violation. Investigators describe this as an isolated incident involving people who knew. One another, so they're still working to identify the others involved in the fight. Like we said, Erin Mesmer following this story for us throughout the day, so. We will check in with him most likely in the two o'clock hour during Florida Live. But I wanted to get you that update here locally. And then really quickly, before we head out to New York, we want to head out to Washington, D.C., where you can still see a very active law enforcement presence in this area. So. This is in Logan Circle, about a mile north of the White House, a neighborhood with homes, businesses, and a fitness center. And that's where police had been responding to multiple locations. Nearby schools were placed on lockdown. Streets have been blocked off. Well, we did just learn. That law enforcement was on scene within 30 seconds. DC Fire and EMS also responded right away. Officials say the suspect barricaded himself inside an apartment building. Negotiators were speaking with him when officers heard gunshots. So they believe they know who he is, but they are not releasing his name yet. It also wasn't confirmed in the latest press conference whether or not the suspect is deceased. It didn't sound like he was dead. So there's been a conflict between the suspect, the building's homeowners association. No exact motive just yet, but that could have been what a dispute involves and how it may connect. To the shooting so that all remains under investigation, but four people shot and injured another person shot dead. So just a really heartbreaking update that we wanted to bring you out of Washington DC. This is likely going to remain an active scene for a while and then we will go out live to Brooklyn and that is where we just got word that New York City Mayor Mamdani is most likely going to give an update around noon regarding the search and rescue efforts. It's just absolutely shocking to watch first responders spending the night searching through the rubble of a deadly building collapse and now investigators trying to figure out what caused the three story building to come down. So what we wanna do right now is we actually wanna head out live to the scene. That is where Fox's Pete Cudahy is joining us here on Fox Tampa Bay Live with an update. Pete, I know we heard from the New York City Mayor a few hours ago. He then said the death toll had gone up. What are those numbers right now? What are you seeing? Thanks so much for joining us. Good morning, Regina. Yeah, the latest update from Mayor Zoran Mamdani is that eight people have died and 17 others have been injured. And so those first responders who got here yesterday in the afternoon, they've been working around the clock and he credits their work, the FDNY, getting out here so swiftly within a minute of the first 911 call to possibly saving even more lives. Firefighters, EMS personnel responded and have worked tirelessly to secure the scene and rescue those who were trapped. Pete, you just look at some of this video. For hours. Oh, I was going to say, Pete, I mean, yeah. Oh, sorry. They were searching for hours. Tell me, I mean, now that it's daylight, you can really see just the impact of this collapse. Walk me through what kind of happened overnight. I know a pregnant woman was found safe. So many incredible stories. Well, what made it so difficult is that this happened around 4 o'clock yesterday. And with it getting darker earlier now, it made the search rescue really a lot more difficult for these firefighters. Now, we did know that there were two people recovered who were killed overnight. And that number skyrocketed in the morning to five, to then six, to then eight. But really, last night, it was an effort of looking through the rubble. They did know at the time there were people who were reported missing. Luckily, now at this point, there is nobody left reported missing. So the fire chief here in New York says that that's not gonna stop them from continuing to search. They say this could take another two or three days as they want to ensure that there's nobody left under there. Yeah, and Pete, I know that a huge part of today's conversation is gonna be how exactly could this have happened? I see here that the building had a store downstairs, an apartment, The government above it, what is kind of the talk of how this could have possibly happened at this moment? Do we know? Well, there's a really old building, but that's the million dollar question. And people are asking how could a collapse like this happen? It's a three-story building. And as you said, the first floor was a store. Above that, there were apartments. Now, next door to the building, there was construction being done on what would have been eventually a plan for a three-story building. However, the construction crew there was excavating, so they were digging into the ground. And what the Department of Buildings has confirmed is that this site has actually violations in the past. Now, the Department of Buildings is not saying that these two things are necessarily connected or that the construction caused the collapse. However, at the same time, they are saying that they are going to do a comprehensive review, both on the building that collapsed and then also on this construction site as well. Work has been stopped there. So at this point, it is open to investigation. We still don't know how this collapse happened, but they are looking into it and they're working with law enforcement to figure this all out And Pete, my last question to you is I know that FDNY chief talked about the danger of another possible collapse. How is that affecting the search and what does it mean for people in surrounding buildings? Well, it means that they have to be really meticulous when it comes to moving around this debris and that's what we've seen a lot today as you're probably seeing behind me right now. They're dumping as much debris as they can into these large trash containers to take it away. But it's a slow process because If you think that there may be anybody under there, you have to be very careful with how you move things. I mean, we even saw it last night in some of that video of the rescues where firefighters were barely moving. They were just in a long line, about 50 to 100 of them, helping passing somebody on a stretcher. And really, it is a little bit time consuming, but they have to do that and go the extra mile to ensure that whoever may be underneath, if there is anybody left underneath, is not getting hurt. Hurt or damaged by their efforts to rescue others or to clean up the scene, as you would say. Wow, yeah, Pete, I know we're playing some of that video from overnight for our viewers. I keep using the term heartbreaking, but it's shocking, heartbreaking, and you hope that these people will get answers sooner rather than later. I know you have other reports to do for other stations, we'll let you go. And I think we're getting an update from the mayor possibly around noon. Yeah, so the mayor will be speaking at noon. The one thing that may disrupt that, it is starting to rain right now, so we might see if that gets delayed a little bit. But as of right now, he is set to speak with updates at noon. All right, well, Pete Cudahy, thank you so much for your hard work and information. And we want you to stay safe out there. We'll talk to you again soon. Thanks so much. Thank you. All right, everybody. What we're going to do now is we are going to take a quick two-minute commercial break. We will continue to monitor all of those situations nationally. And like we said, Erin Mesmer is going to keep tabs on the latest arrests made in the shooting that happened at Mall and Brandon. So lots working. We'll keep you informed. But for now, we'll step away for a break. We'll be right back with more news. All right, everyone, welcome back into Fox Tampa Bay Live, where yesterday we honored our veterans the entire day. And today, we want to continue that conversation, talking about what support looks like after the thank yous, especially for someone still dealing with an injury or trying to find the right care. We've had tons of conversations about how that is not easy to navigate. Well, Hall of Fame Health is bringing military veterans, former NFL players, and their families into that conversation, including here. Here in Tampa tonight, and we have two very special guests joining us live in studio right now to talk all about it. We've got Marty Acosta, a retired Green Beret who served 12 years with the 7th Special Forces Group, and Dr. John Small, an orthopedic surgeon and Hall of Fame Health board member. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us. How are you guys? Thank you for having us. Yes, thank you. Thank you. I'm so excited to talk about this because like I mentioned, it's a big conversation about finding the right resources and veterans not really knowing where to start. But I always love a good story. Marty, before we talk about the organization, I want people to know your story. So what did the transition out of military service look like for you? For me, it was very challenging and difficult. I was entering a new space that I wasn't aware of. I had a plan in my career to do 20 plus years that got cut short. So now I'm in a situation that I don't know what to do. And at the same time, I'm getting out of the military because of medical reasons. So now I have to try to focus on my care, but also at the same time, what's going to be the next chapter? How am I going to be able to provide for my family? Yeah, Marty, thank you so much for sharing these photos. Are you able to describe, I mean, what had happened? So this happened in 2020. This was my seventh deployment. We were in Afghanistan, and we were doing an engagement, and something went wrong. The bad guys decided to show up and engage us. And that led to, I lost two brothers that day. I want to think about them, A-Rod and Javi. But it also left me with multiple injuries. And it put me in a situation that I needed to manage. And at the same time, I needed to find a good support system to help me get through it. And that's how I got connected with Hall of Fame Health. They were a big advocate in the beginning. To try to point me in the right direction and provide the information I needed to get to where I am now. Yeah, and Dr. Small, you can weigh in on this because obviously, you know, similarities, but a Green Beret and an NFL player can come from two very different experiences and walks of life. But when it comes to their health after their careers, where do you see common ground? Yeah. First of all, I'd like to say to Marty, thank you so much for your service. And I know he's going to respond to that, but I think I'm just humbled to be here with him and the fact that his service and kind of what he's done, I think are just amazing. So thank you. As far as the NFL sports and as far as the comparison and what are we trying to do, I think the commonality between Marty and what he went through and the NFL players, they're quite similar. They're all goal-oriented. They're all there to do a job. They're all, in a sense, sub-specialized players. And, you know, I think that... Commonality of, you know, you work until you get the job done or meet the objective. And I think where the... Issue is a lot of times when you're leaving the NFL or leaving the service, sometimes you can get lost. And so I think that is what Hall of Fame Health is trying to do is try to is try to give athletes and former Green Berets and special forces, give them a place to where they can have access to medical care that they deserve. Absolutely. You know, Marty. Thank you is the biggest thing we can say, just like Dr. Small said, because nobody should have to have gone what you have gone through. But you put yourself in danger and you chose it. And I know it's a tough transition to come back, just as like you said. In a job that demands so much of you, did you ever feel pressure to push through the pain and handle things yourself? I feel like I hear that a lot from veterans. And I mean, what would you say to someone who And who is still in that mindset. No, to agree with you, I want to agree with you because, yes, we tend to push through the pain. We try to numb it. We try to find that space in our head where we can just numb everything and push through. But unfortunately, when we numb certain things, we also numb the good parts. And what I want to share with my fellow veterans and the people still in uniform is that we have new methods. You know, you don't have to suffer in silence. Please raise your hand. And these types of facilities, treatments, and doctors are going to give you the opportunity to operate longer. And that's what I like to advocate and tell the other people. Absolutely. And kind of going off of that, Dr. Small, Access to care can sound pretty abstract. If a veteran or their spouse calls Hall of Fame Health today and says, listen, we need help and we don't know where to start, what actually happens next? Who qualifies? Are there costs? Tell me everything. Yeah, I think it's the network. And I think the availability, depending upon where the person is or patient, I think that will determine on how that's handled. However, I think if there's a specialist that's across the country, the country, then I think the effort will be made to get that person to the right position. As far as the process, I think the process is, I'm sure that we're handling these as much and as quickly and as efficiently as possible. And yeah, I just think it's definitely urgency and priority for us to get patients where they need to be and get the best care. And I mean, you know, Dr. Small, I know for someone who's been living with an injury for years, it's easy to think, this is my life now. I mean, I have to deal with it. I have to put up with it. But there are options. So, I mean, when might it be worth getting another evaluation? How do you talk someone through those options? Yeah, I think it's a great question. And I think that's a big area where I think sometimes we don't do so well. Some patients, you know, or military retired You know, have injuries and they keep sucking it up and they keep living with it and keep getting by the best they can. I think that in what I do in spine surgery, I think it's important if you are in a situation where surgery is recommended or you aren't sure of the evaluation that you had or what to do with it, you know, the Internet's out there. There's a lot of education and things that you can do. I do, but I think that... It's always important to get an opinion, second opinion, and the right opinion and get to the right person. Not every spine surgeon does complex spine surgery, and not every spine surgeon does minimally invasive surgery. So I think it's important to find the right person to get the correct evaluation. And then if you don't feel comfortable with what you just had, if you saw somebody, then get another opinion. Because I think that the bottom line is... To make sure that we've exhausted all that we can to try to get you, you know, as a previous service connected or NFL player to get you the best care and to try to maximize your function and your quality of life. I love that. Marty, how has your quality of life and how you felt, how has that improved since working with these fabulous people? I mean, you see me smiling, right? So I'm happy. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I am happy. I've discovered that I have a new 100% and that life is good. And they've helped me realize that what I had in front of me was not barriers. They were just obstacles, and we're finding ways to go through them or around them. That's awesome, I love to hear that. Talk to me guys, whoever wants to take it away about tonight. I know that this is happening, the Epicurean Hotel cocktails and conversations. Who will be in this room and what can we expect? Yeah, I think the room will be filled with ex-athletes, ex-military, there are people who are supporting this whole idea with the Hall of Fame Health, such as Medtronic, and there are other companies will be there, because we all want to learn, and I think the important thing is to be able to learn from each one of these encounters, and everybody will share With what they're. Experience has been and I think it's going to make us better at serving this group, whether it's military or ex football players, so. How can people watching us right now support you guys? Can they come tonight or give me the lowdown? I don't think it's open to the public. It is something where there's a certain amount of space. And I think in the future, that may be a possibility. But I think right now, it's in the early stages. And yes, so. Awesome. Hall of Fame Health, if anybody watching this may be in the shoes that you were once in, Marty, and they want to inquire about help and resources, how can they do that? Please go to their website. You'll have enough information there, enough contacts. And, you know, I encourage you to raise your hand and reach out. Well, gentlemen, thank you so much. Marty, thank you for your service, for sharing your story. Dr. Small, thank you for helping folks like Marty. We appreciate you guys coming in. We'll talk to you again soon. Thank you so much. Great. Thank you so much. All right, guys, we'll be back with more news after this break. All right, everyone, we are back here on Fox Tampa Bay Live. Just want to let you know that we are keeping a very close eye on Tampa City Hall this morning, where two items we've been following are on the agenda. City council members meeting in their capacity as the Community Redevelopment Agency Board, or CRA. Is really involved in this. So one item involves the Tampa Bay Rays agreement, more Tampa Bay Rays talks, specifically the documents needed to put the CRA's commitments under that contract into effect. The board previously directed its attorney to prepare those documents and bring them back. That item was continued from September and is back on today's agenda. Doesn't look like they're talking about it right now. And also on the list, an update on the Jackson House, which suffered kind of a more minor collapse a couple of months ago. But the Jackson House Foundation has submitted a written status report after board members requested monthly updates. So monitoring any discussion or action on both items and we'll bring you developments as they come for sure. All right, what I want to do now is bring you out to this really cool ribbon cutting today. Always love a good Thaddeus Bullard event. And video games could help open the door to a future career for students at One Tampa School, whether they're playing on screen or even running the show behind the scenes. WWE legend Titus O'Neil. Also known as Thaddeus, teaming up with his Bullard Family Foundation in Hillsborough County Public Schools to unveil a new esports and broadcast arena at the Thaddeus Bullard Academy at Sly Middle Magnet School. So students are going to get hands-on experience in competitive gaming, digital content, live broadcast production, all while building skills in teamwork, communication, problem solving. So I'm waiting for them to cut this ribbon here, but get this. The space includes a 22-foot LED wall, as you can see behind them, and a professional broadcast control room. So some of these students could eventually be coming for my job, pretty much. Let's take you out there for a look at how this new space is going to help students connect their interest to future opportunities. Thaddeus spoke not too long ago, so we want to make sure that you hear from him. Right after he cuts this ribbon, I'm raising the volume. With so much joy and pride in my heart about what we're getting ready to unleash to the world. Like I said, it's the first one in the entire country, if people are wondering how this Most things that I do it's got to either consist of a workout or food and in this instance it entailed both. I met Rick Elaine he had won an auction item and To work out with me for an hour he actually survived it hasn't been back since but Uh, But we ended up working out and taking a short tour after was of what we had accomplished here at the school and then Asked me if I ever thought about these sports and I said, well, yeah I have a room that we kind of play video games in and stuff like that and I brought him over here which it looked completely different than it does now and And uh... He said well, I think we can get with CDW and And see how we can help you and they invited me down to a lunch and all the right partners were in the room and they're just right place, right time and Michael Bach, I don't want to mess up his title, but he's one of the higher ups in the company. We were talking and they invited me to again, food and workouts usually kind of get me and I had an impromptu kind of telling them my story and where I came from and what I was doing over at the school and, uh, There was some tears in the room and there was some excitement in the room and next thing you know we're in Zoom meetings and I come back and I talk with Ms. Angela Brown, our great principal here, who's done remarkable things, taking our school from an F school for 18 years to now being a B school for the first time in 25 years, so let's give her a round of applause. Me and her are like brother and sister in a lot of regards so we fight about a lot of stuff and as you can see she's the amen corner as well but one thing we never thought about is having to be able to bring access of great resources to the school and she's the third principal that I've had a chance to work with. And all of those principles had the same concept in mind, but you got to be willing to think outside of the box, and I'm grateful that she's an outside-of-the-box thinker, and so is CDW. And so that's how we landed here today, and we have great partners. Thank you. We have come together for this. You see them all here in New Line. You see this screen here. I mean, we can put these kids anywhere in the world without them having to travel anywhere in the world. We run on a gaming system here, Unreal Engine, which allows us to basically do real-time broadcast and flip from... scene to scene, which I think we're going to do some of that today. I'm not sure. I'm not the technology guy. I'm just the guy that wants to bring technology here. But we have Horizon, Acer, eSports Integrated, Spectrum, for the furniture, and Eaton, and Logitech. So let's give them a round of applause for being here as well. I have some members here, I have a member of our, tell them you're calling back. We have a school board, one of our school board members here, Lane Gray, I wanted to acknowledge being here as well, as well as our head of community, I don't want to mess this up, but Mike Geddes, who basically makes sure all of our technology works, which today was It was a little bit of a, this almost didn't go off, someone moved it. CDW is here as well, thank them. Like I said before, New Line, Horizon, Acer, Esports Integration, Spectrum Industries, Eaton, and Logitech. I have some of my great board members from the Bullitt Family Foundation, which they, without any, all the things that I throw at them, They're the only people that can kind of reel me back in because they're looking at the budget and everything else. But Chris Parkes, Maya Perez, Johansay Pettis, and George Ludicare are here, give them a round of applause please. And now without further ado, I want to introduce one of our board members, but also the chief deputy superintendent of schools, Mr. Chris Parkes. Thank you. I didn't get the lapel pin. I didn't get that upgrade like Thad does. Maybe one day I can get that. It's not for the suits. No, it isn't. It isn't for the suits. We can take this off when we leave. No, it's such an exciting day. I mean, from those of you that had the opportunity to follow Thad's journey, what we've done here, from him first starting having birthday parties for kids randomly and coming here, compared to where we are today, when you walk on this campus and see the field, The hockey arena, the workout area, the spaces we have that are within the school, the leadership academy, it's just such an incredible journey. It doesn't happen without him pushing, and yes, it does mean we get to pull him back every once in a while too, but more importantly, it's about having the vision, and finding a partner like CDW that has that vision with us is so important to do that. We definitely have to coordinate and make sure it all works together. So I do want to thank the district and Ms. Gray as a board member because she has to be part of this and approving all this as well. And Mike Geddes, who's our CTO, our chief technology officer, who does that. Because without those two, it doesn't happen. I also want to talk a little bit about e-sports. E-sports is a little bit different than what some of us older people imagined what e-sports was. E-sports used to be your kids playing games and it was annoying. Now it's a multi-billion dollar industry. I mean, when video games get released now, the amount of money that's in there and design and playing and things like that is at a different level now. This isn't a playroom. Quite the opposite. This is an opportunity and a career path for students that they can have going forward. From a school district perspective, we couldn't be happier. We started to build e-sports arenas. We built one in our first high school down at Morgan High School in Waimama. However, it doesn't look anything like this because we didn't have dads, partners, and budgets. But that being said, we want to set this prototype so we know what it looks like, so that we can emulate that and do that at our future school. So we couldn't be happier that Mr. Bullard and that the CDW is here to sponsor and to support what we're doing here. But more importantly, show our kids there is a future in what you're doing. There is a future in playing the games, designing the games, hosting the games, viewing the games, all the stuff that goes along with it. It's such an incredible opportunity. For those of you that were here and saw the kids playing the games ahead of time, sometimes they don't know what they're learning when they're learning. Whether that's the social skills of playing with teammates, whether that's the ability to get in technology, whether that's the ability to be on the camera or behind the camera and how important all those roles are, that's what this is about. And the person that's responsible for kind of molding that and making sure they make English... Blend into what we're doing with partnerships. I make math blend into, hey, what's the percentage we've got to have here? How many points do we have to score in this amount of minutes? And you heard it. I have scored three goals in two minutes. Okay, that means I'm averaging this many goals per minute. Basic math, they don't know they're learning. It's such an important part of that that we can apply the eSports to every single arena we have here at Sly Middleback. And Mr. Bullard said it, but I want to introduce Ms. Angie Brown, a proud principal of Sly who I've known for... 20 plus years of working together at other schools and I just couldn't be more proud of the work that she's done. It is heavy lift to do the work and to partner with this stuff too. It's easy to think outside the box, but thinking outside the box takes time. And Angie's done a great job of finding that balance between the everyday work, making sure kids get what they need, and then adding that extra icing on top of it. So without further ado, Ms. Angie Brown. All right, some really fun and exciting times over there at Sly Middle Magnet, a new place to play, create, explore what could become a future career. He was just talking about how much esports has taken off a billion-dollar industry. And now this new esports and broadcast arena at Thaddeus Bullard Academy at Sly Middle Magnet in Tampa, it is going to be such a great place for kids to learn. And, you know, See if this is something that they wanna do with their lives as they get older. Look at that, Thaddeus Bullard promoting sports and eSports now. I would like to see somebody take on Thaddeus in a competition. Maybe not on the field, maybe on a video game maybe. All right guys, we are gonna take a break. When we come back, we are going to speak with a woman who is helping create an awesome arts festival that mixes business and art that's coming to the St. Pete area this weekend. So we will chat with her on the other side. A work of art can make you stop and look, but can it also get you to explore A neighborhood, discover small business and then keep coming back to that neighborhood or business. Well, that is the idea behind the first Booker Creek Arts Festival kicking off today in St. Petersburg's Edge District. Artwork popping up inside local shops, restaurants, other businesses, turning the neighborhood into a walkable gallery just like this, just like what you're seeing here. Well, we actually do want to head out live to the area because that is where Leslie Karan joins us to talk about the connection between our business and community and what we can experience this weekend. Leslie, thanks so much for joining us. Tell us where you are. It looks fun. Thanks for having me. I'm actually right now I got a call from Viv, Viv Apartments on First Avenue North that has a piece, Art Phraseology, an interactive piece that an artist did of all different kinds of idioms that you need to figure out. And there were a group of people in here that needed the codes. So I had to run down and give them the key to that. So you can walk with me now as I walk down First Avenue. The idea was to have an event where art was not just in tents on the street or in a park, but to be in all the different individual businesses in the Edge District to show the economic impact of the arts on business and just overall how good art is for a neighborhood, a community, the soul, etc. Yeah, I mean, that sounds like a great because think about it. I mean, and that's kind of what my next question was to you, which you just kind of elaborated on is what can happen when someone walks in to see a painting or an interactive piece of art like you just showed us and then discover, wow, this shop or restaurant is cool. I don't think I've ever been here before. Well, and that's exactly the idea. In fact, right now I'm gonna scoot into A little hotel called , which when I came through installing this art, a lot of my installers did not even know, you can see behind me some of the art, that this hotel was here. So it is a unique opportunity for people to see new businesses, see new places that maybe Maybe they don't live in St. Pete, but right outside the area, and it'll show you- What we have to offer along with the art and all the art. You can see I'm coming in another location where there's art on the wall behind me, all over any wall basically that we could fill. That's a piece by Carol Dameron, some other nice artwork and it's all for sale. And sitting right here, we have our plein air coordinator Richard Seidel, who is also signing up people that are going out on the streets today and paintings in the district. So it's a juried show awards to the Top winner, $10,000, $7,500, then $1,500 merit awards, and then there'll also be a People's Choice Award, where people go from venue to venue and get to vote for their favorite. And the top two vote getters get $2,500, and while you're in there, if you like the artwork, you can purchase it. Through the business, and that business gets to keep 20% of the sales price. I love that. So it's a win-win for the artist and the business. Definitely. Definitely. I want to Leslie, if someone is watching this right now, very interested, but doesn't know where to start or what they can expect when they walk into the Edge District, walk me through your best advice for someone wanting to participate today and throughout the weekend. We have your schedule. Well, what they can do, I've got a schedule. They can go to the information booth that's on 12th Street, 1210, 1201 actually, Central Avenue. Pick one up there. Everyone knows where the roundabout is on Central Avenue. So you could go to the roundabout and their directional signage and pick up a map. Everything's numbered and you can just go check out all All the different artworks. I love it. So like right now, just on between MLK and 11th Street where the roundabout is, I'm walking by Copa Coffee Kitchen Cocktails Cafe. They've got artwork next to them in Sands Market. They've got artwork in there and in fact, I believe already sold a piece, pure green artwork and all of them are identified by a QR They'll actually sign. Let's see if I can show you this way. There you go. There you go. Okay, they're labeled. I love it. Not the best at this. Matter of fact, men's shop, Ash Couture, and on and on. So it's just a good way to visit your neighborhood, visit the businesses, support your artists and realize that Art is a business and it's an economic booster. Absolutely. Leslie, this has been so much fun. Thank you for this walking tour around the Edge District. I know people are really going to enjoy this. Congrats on the first year of this event, and hopefully we'll be talking about more to come right after. Thank you, and visit the website, bookercreekarts.com, if you wanna make any donations or see what's going on for the rest of the weekend. Just do it there. Love it, bookercreekarts.com, Leslie, we appreciate you, we will let you get back to all of your walking and showing and creating. We appreciate you, thanks so much for joining us here on Fox Tampa Bay Live. Thank you. I appreciate it and hope to see you this weekend. Absolutely. All right, everyone, bookercreekarts.com or head out to the Edge District and do some walking and art shopping and supporting local businesses all yourselves. All right, we're going to get in one more quick commercial break before we wrap things up and send things over to the news at noon. So stay with us. Welcome back to Tampa Bay Live, everyone. As we slowly approach the noon hour, we are watching two major national stories very closely. I want to head out live first to Brooklyn, New York, where we are expecting a press conference from New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani any moment now. At last check, we could tell you eight people had died, 17 were injured, including seven children. Five of the injuries were described as life-threatening. Now, the building we know had a store at street level and apartments above it, firefighters spending hours searching through the rubble while also watching for the possibility of another collapse. We know the site has a history of violations, so we are standing by for the next briefing and any new information about the victims and the ongoing search. And then we're still getting a scene from Washington, D.C., where one person is dead And four others were shot and survived in the Logan Circle. neighborhood about a mile north of the White House. Authorities saying the suspect barricaded himself inside an apartment building. Negotiators speaking with him when officers heard a gunshot, they went inside and found him with a gunshot injury. So right now, it doesn't seem like we know whether or not the suspect is dead. We will definitely keep you posted and I know that is something that we are gonna continue to follow on the news at noon. Hey there, Linda. Hey, Regina. In fact, I think we're going to start with that. We are monitoring that news conference in Brooklyn, New York, and we'll take that when we can. But we're going to start with the situation in Washington, D.C.