Only in Florida 7/22/2013

     Everyone dreams about doing something out of the ordinary, and Jenna Conti is no exception. The dreams most people have are pretty down to earth, such as getting a novel published, landing a great job, or buying the home they have always wanted. Conti's dream, on the other hand, is a bit out of the ordinary; she wants to be a mermaid. Not a real mermaid mind you, but one of the ladies who put on the mermaid show at the Florida Aquarium. To help her accomplish her goal, Conti purchased a custom made silicon mermaid tail to wear her communities public pool. However, Conti's plan has run into a bit of a snag.

     At first, the staff who ran the pool allowed her to swim with her custom tail. But when she returned for a second dip in the pool, she was told that, because of a rule barring swim fins, she would not be allowed to swim with her tail on. Hoping to be allowed as an exception to the rule, Conti brought forward a request to her home owners association's board, the FishHawk Community Development board. Unfortunately for her, the board voted to maintain the ban on swim fins, and by doing so, banning Conti from the pool while she has on her tail.

     Undeterred, Conti is still mulling over her options. One possible solution would be for her to become a licensed vendor with insurance, selling her time as an attraction at pool parties for children. However, Conti doesn't like the idea of charging fees, especially if the venue would be at the public pool. "To just swim with the kids, it's supposed to be for everybody," she said.


Other news in brief:

Video shows shirtless driver challenging other driver to fight - If you are going to fight someone, make sure they don't have someone with a camera near them.

Witness says man broke broomstick over girlfriend, threw bricks at her - while you have to feel bad for the poor lady who was beaten up, you also have to feel for the neighbor. All he probably wanted was a nice relaxing dip in the pool, not front row tickets to domestic violence theater.

Strip-club mom arrested on child-neglect charges - Since they knew she had 900 dollars on her, I wonder if they deliberately set her bail at 1000 dollars just to force her to stay in jail.

Police: UF linebacker Morrison arrested for barking at K-9 - This is on the edge of "Man bites dog" territory

Naked woman arrested after stepping off Lynx bus - I know it's been hot recently, but surely she could have kept something on.

Woman says boyfriend cut off her clothes with box-cutter - Nothing says I don't like your clothes like forcefully cutting them off you.