Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

A7
U.S. NEWS Tuesday 11 June 2019

Lawmakers aim for Pulse to be designated national memorial

By MIKE SCHNEIDER maintain control over it.
Associated Press Also backing the bill is U.S.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Only Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla.
days before the third an- “This is an important step in
niversary of the worst at- preserving an LGBT historic
tack on gay people in the landmark at a time when
U.S., members of central many of these sites are be-
Florida’s congressional del- ing destroyed,” Soto said.
egation said Monday they After the ceremony, sev-
were introducing legislation eral of the participants
that would designate as a joined other activists at the
national memorial the gay local Supervisor of Elections
nightclub where 49 people office to present 103,000
were massacred by a sup- petitions supporting a con-
porter of the Islamic State. stitutional amendment on
U.S. Reps. Darren Soto the 2020 ballot to ban the
and Stephanie Murphy, sale of assault weapons in
both Democrats, said at Florida.
a ceremony outside the A petition must be signed
former nightclub that the by 766,200 voters in at least
designation will preserve 14 congressional districts to
and protect Pulse for fu- appear on an election bal-
ture generations and give lot. Once 10% of that thresh-
it the federal recognition old is met, it can be sent to
it deserves. It will be three the Florida Supreme Court
years on Wednesday that Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla. makes comments during a news conference to introduce legislation for review. Organizers from
gunman Omar Mateen that would designate the Pulse nightclub site as a national memorial, Monday, June 10, 2019, in the Ban Assault Weapons
opened fire at the Orlan- Orlando, Fla. Now coalition said Monday
do gay nightclub on Latin Associated Press that the 10% benchmark
night. Mateen, who had modern U.S. history. How- to open a memorial and memorial and museum are had been passed. The co-
pledged allegiance to the ever, the mass shooting in museum at the site. About scheduled to open in 2022. alition is made up of survi-
Islamic State, was killed in a 2017 along the Las Vegas $14 million has been raised Soto said the national me- vors and family members of
shootout with police after a Strip became the deadli- for the $50 million project. morial designation would victims of the Pulse shooting
three-hour standoff inside est when 58 people were Six design firms have been allow the Pulse site to be- and the massacre at the
Pulse. killed. selected as finalists and come part of the national Marjory Stoneman Doug-
At the time, it was the Pulse owner Barbara Poma the winner will be chosen park system while still al- las High School in Parkland,
deadliest mass shooting in has established a nonprofit in the fall. The permanent lowing for the nonprofit to Florida.q
Hawaii budget includes $13M for

Waikiki Beach restoration

HONOLULU (AP) — The state budget passed by the Hawaii Legislature includes funding
for repairs at Waikiki Beach, officials said.
The legislature approved about $13 million for improvements to the crumbling Royal
Hawaiian seawall and other man-made structures at the state’s most visited beach, The
Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Sunday.
“This is the largest appropriation for beach improvements on Oahu in recent memory. It
allows us to move forward on several projects that have been discussed on and off for
decades,” said Dolan Eversole of the University of Hawaii.
The $13 million is sufficient to shore up the Royal Hawaiian seawall between the Waikiki
Sheraton and Royal Hawaiian hotels and return a seawall to Kuhio Beach, which officials
In this Dec. 31, 2013, file photo, swimmers float in the Pacific said have been failing for years.
Ocean as the sun sets off of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu on New
Years Eve. Waikiki’s overhaul is scheduled to start in late summer or early fall. Previously there was
Associated Press no timeline for replacing the structures protecting the beach from erosion. q