WSLR News headlines for Friday, May 10th

A documentary on the phenylene crisis will be shown on WEDU-PBS. It focuses on two families in Sarasota dealing with the loss of a child due to the drug. The filmmaker wants to raise awareness, especially among young people who may unknowingly take the drug. The sheriff says phenylene is extremely dangerous and 112,000 people died from overdoses last year. Volunteers are needed for a clean-up at the Palmetto boat ramp. The Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Company has been fined $1 million for mishandling claims after Hurricane Ian. On WSLR-LP 96.5 FM in Sarasota, this is Mark Warner with your WSLR News Headlines for Friday, May 10th. A documentary by a Sarasota filmmaker that deals with the phenylene crisis will be screened next Thursday on WEDU-PBS, the Sarasota Herald Tribune Reports. The phenylene project was first shown at this year's Sarasota Film Festival. The documentary focuses on two families in Sarasota dealing with the loss of a child after taking the drug. The film's creator, K.T. Curran, said Sarasota County school leaders are working as fast as they can to show the film to students in the country. Curran said, quote, The biggest problem is that there are people who don't know they're taking it. I'm focusing on the kids who don't know they're ingesting phenylene. It's flooding college campuses. Kids are going to a party and taking a pill someone gives them and they don't know they're going to die. Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman says the synthetic opioid is 100 times stronger than morphine. In my 34-year career, I've never seen another drug that has the devastating impact that phenylene has. According to Drug Reinforcement Agency records, 112,000 people in the United States died from phenylene overdoses last year. Volunteers are needed for a clean-up at the Palmetto boat ramp on Manatee River. Time to meet will be tomorrow, Saturday, 7.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. All volunteers, whether divers, topside helpers, kayakers, or people on jet skis, need to check in and sign all waivers. Participation in a briefing is mandatory. Supply pick-up will immediately follow. This is an underwater clean-up for experienced scuba divers only. Low visibility, strong currents, and underwater hazards have made this a challenging underwater environment. If you are not qualified to dive, there will be plenty of volunteers needed to assist the divers. Divers will be focused along the Bradenton River walk and east and west sides of the railroad bridge. Divers will clean up areas on the west side of Palmetto Estuary Park and both sides of the DeSoto Bridge south of the channel. The Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Company has been fined $1 million by the State of Florida for mishandling claims resulting from Hurricane Ian. The fine for the St. Petersburg-based insurer is one of the largest in the state history. The order was signed Thursday, the news service of Florida reports. Violations include not paying or denying claims within the required 90-day period, not maintaining complete records, not providing interest owed to the homeowners, and not providing the required Homeowner's Bill of Rights. This has been Mark Warner with your WSLR News Headlines for Friday, May 10th.