Good morning! You look well rested, and I hate you for it.
Florida's Constitution Revision Commission stopped in St. Petersburg yesterday as part of its every-20-years duty to look into possible changes to the state's single most important legislative document, and hundreds of folks lined up to have their say. While several topics were discussed, the post-Parkland drive for stricter gun laws — and, in particular, a statewide ban on semi-automatic military-style rifles — predominated. Some might call it "an end run" around the elected representatives who just recently refused to entertain a gun ban in the state legislature; others might call it "continuing the effort to keep some more kids from getting shot."
Remember that stabbing in a Tampa restaurant a couple of days ago? Turns out that, like 85 percent of restaurant stabbings, it was cell phone-related. When will we learn? (Also, I made that statistic up. Feels a bit low.)
#OTTERTERROR update: Days after two separate otter attacks on the Braden River, the Fish & Wildlife Commission posted signs warning those putting in at Manatee's famous Linger Lodge of an aggressive aquatic mammal in the area. We're still not sure if that's a deterrent or an attraction. "How aggressive could the little guy be, like aggressive enough to come right up to my canoe?" wondered somebody who's about to earn a nickname based on having fewer than 10 fingers.
And finally, a 12-year-old Hudson student was arrested for threatening to shoot up his middle school. A 12-year-old. That's it. That's where we are now.
This article appears in Mar 8-15, 2018.