Good morning. Please be aware that your reactions to today's rundown of yesterday's news may be gauged to determine your ideological compatibility with millions of people who all have minds of their own and think different things. It's simple, really.
It's alligator season! The Statewide Alligator Harvest Program began yesterday, which really means it began in earnest last night. Given the recent rise in gator attacks, people are more excited this year than ever to save the world by killing an animal. It's almost enough to make one wonder how the alligator population was regulated for the, oh, 200 million years they were around before we came along...
A film shooting in the region is looking for more extras. That's awesome. They're bringing money and jobs to the area. The not-so-awesome part? Even though the filmmakers are from Plant City, they nearly opted to shoot in another state because of the lack of incentives for movie production in Florida. Even though it's pretty much the only type of business incentive that shows an immediate return on a comparatively small investment. Which is what my movie is about, although I can't afford to make it in Florida. It's all very meta.
Some Largo residents are opposed to putting a zipline in at the Highland Recreation Complex; they're worried about what the influx of a potential 54,000 people annually will do to the area. As if 54,000 people are gonna go to Largo for anything short of Jesus muddin' in Gravedigger. (I kid! Largo's great. Barley Mow alone is worth the trip.)
And finally, folks are pissed that the Pop Warner football league has banned all outside drinks but coffee — including tap water — from area games, even though participants already pay hefty fees to join the league, then pay again to get into the games. A team leader fired back in an email thread, pointing out that Bucs games and Busch Gardens don't let you bring in outside drinks. Maybe the problem here is that somebody involved in a nonprofit program whose mission is "to provide fun athletic opportunities for children" thinks these things are on any level comparable. At all.
