Good morning, Tampa Bay. You're shaken, but you're strong.
A shooting victim found in Seminole Heights Tuesday morning is believed to be the fourth murder committed by the same killer. Police asked residents to stay inside and keep their kids home from school as they swept the neighborhood; they released a vague description of a possible suspect, and a neighborhood watch meeting at nearby Ragan Park Community Center last night was packed with concerned citizens demanding to know what more the cops know and can do. Hold tight, talk to each other and keep your wits, Seminole Heights — this is why we first gathered around the fire, and looked to one another to keep the beasts of night at bay. Community has never mattered more.
Florida Governor and seriously not an ageless thing that sleeps in dirt Rick Scott presented the state budget for his final year in office yesterday, and it's… way less terrible for the environment and big business incentive-y than usual, at least on paper. The proposal includes provisions for education, fighting our state's insane opioid problem, and tax holidays for state residents. A cynic might suspect this kinder, gentler budget is part of a populist personal rebrand timed for the run-up to a potential U.S. Senate campaign. I am a cynic.
Cops are searching for two suspects who shot up a Zephyrhills police officer's cruiser and home in the early hours of Tuesday morning. It's important to have a friend, but you need the right kind of friend, and the right kind of friend is the friend who, when someone goes, "hey, let's go shoot up that cop car in the driveway," responds with, "hey, suicidal evil moron, fuck that, let's do literally anything else." Someone has the wrong kind of friend.
And finally, Fort De Soto is apparently ground zero for the impending snailpocalypse. But don't worry, we've got time. They're snails.
This article appears in Nov 9-16, 2017.