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.

Only in Florida 7/16/2013

     America is a fast food nation. Even if you go to the absolute middle of nowhere, you are only 115 miles away from a McDonald's. While having a relatively cheap and abundant place to eat has both it pluses and minuses, one of those definitely in the minus column is that you are not guaranteed that the food will be great every time.Fast food has that name for a reason, and sometimes quality is forced to the wayside for quantity. When this happens, there is little that can be done, especially if you have left the restaurant. One of the things you can't do, however, is to stage a one person sit-in in the drive through demanding free food to make up for it.

     Thirty-four year old Kimberly Womack learned this lesson the hard way last week after she had a few too many and drove up to the drive thorough of a New Port Richey, Florida McDonald's at 6 o'clock in the morning. When she arrived, Womack demanded two free BigMacs, because she was unsatisfied with the ones she got when she was there previously. When the employees told her that they couldn't do that because they were only serving breakfast, Womack demanded that they give her two free Egg McMuffins instead.

     Told to leave, Womack decided to stand, or rather sit, her ground. Police arrived, and Womack told the officers that her rights were being violated because the restaurant wouldn't give her a free breakfast. While the officers were talking to her, she allegedly told them she thought it was only 4 A.M. and she had taken a Klonopin. The officers could smell alcohol on her, and when she failed a field sobriety test, Womack was arrested for DUI. She had a BAC of .108. No word was given on when she finally got something to eat.


Other news in brief:

We have a trio of bad parent stories:

Former Florida Gators linebacker Monty Grow arrested for leaving 3-year-old in car while at strip club

South Florida Sisters Gambled in Casino While Kids Sat in Running Car: Authorities

Florida Woman Leaves Kids In Car While She Attended Lil Wayne Concert

This is wrong on so many levels. Several children die every year here in Florida because they are left in cars in the summer heat. According to Florida law, you can leave children under six unattended in car for up to 15 minutes. However, you should never do this if it would place the child in danger or at risk, such as in full sun in the middle of summer with the windows rolled up. Leaving them in the car to run into a convenience store for a minute is ok, but depending on the weather, you better be quick about it. Also, if your child accidentally gets locked in the car, call the nearest police department. They will come, free of charge, and unlock the door for you.

Anyway, on a more humorous note:

Report: Woman being released pokes cop in eye - So close, yet so far

Lady Lake police: Couple steals steaks, speeds off in dirty golf cart - I have heard of lots of different getaway vehicles, but this is the first time I've ever heard of a dirty golf cart being used.