Coral Springs weekly rewind: Catch up on the top stories you might have missed

From a snake stuck in a laundry basket to a $2 million parlay win, Coral Springs saw another eventful week of news.

Here’s a roundup of the top stories you might have missed:

• Snake rescue: Coral Springs Fire Department Station 80 staff used shears to free a pet python that got stuck in a laundry basket. What’s more, it marked the second snake rescue of the year for the department.
• City commission candidates: The race for Coral Springs Commission Seat 3 has started as three candidates have filed initial paperwork ahead of a November election to fill late Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer’s seat.
• Bank fraud arrest: A 21-year-old woman was charged with grand theft and giving a false crime report after police say she falsely claimed she was the victim of bank fraud. Investigators say surveillance footage showed the woman withdrawing $11,000 as part of a wire-transfer scheme involving a California victim.
• Charter school expansion: Renaissance Charter School at Coral Springs is asking the Broward County School Board to approve adding a high school to serve its 1,515 students. The board is scheduled to vote on the expansion at its May 5 meeting.
• School job cuts delayed: The Broward County School Board pushed a vote on cutting 856 positions to May 19. The reorganization plan aims to save about $40 million amid declining enrollment.
• Soccer club selected: A Coral Springs selection committee chose Springs Soccer Club to run the city’s official travel soccer program over Fort Lauderdale United and Parkland Travel Soccer. The City Commission will vote on the deal May 6.
• Murder indictment unsealed: A grand jury indictment was unsealed charging Stephen Bowen, 40, with first-degree premeditated murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife, Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer.
• Mental health manager: Coral Springs will hire a community mental health manager to connect residents with resources and conduct follow-ups on non-emergency cases. The position, funded by opioid abatement settlement money, would work alongside police and fire crews.
• Family seeks donor: A Coral Springs father of five and former youth football coach has battled kidney failure since 2022 and now needs a transplant to survive. His family has spent six months searching for a living kidney donor through Memorial Hospital’s transplant team.
• $2 million parlay: A Coral Springs bettor turned a $30.11 wager into a $1.98 million payout on a six-leg MLB home run parlay through Hard Rock Bet. It was the longest-odds seven-figure parlay payout in the sportsbook’s history.
• ‘Be like Nancy’: Coral Springs honored late Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer at its annual Earthfest by planting an Eagleston Holly tree in her memory. Officials also unveiled a banner celebrating her advocacy, and her family established an endowment.
• New Wingstop coming: A new Wingstop restaurant is expected to open at 5972 Coral Ridge Drive near Heron Bay, replacing Max Johnson Salon next to NY Pizza Place. The tentative opening is late September or early October.
• Community hub opens: Coral Springs reopened the former Fire Station 2, originally built in 1977, as a modern community center at 500 Ramblewood Drive. The $3.4 million project was funded in part by $1.1 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Florida Panthers Foundation.
• Soccer lawsuit drama: A company affiliated with Fort Lauderdale United Football Club is suing Sunrise Prime Football Club over a disputed $2 million debt linked to a 50% ownership buyout. The legal fight unfolded as both clubs bid for the Coral Springs travel soccer contract.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.