Florida may be the most interesting state to run an alt-weekly because the headlines more or less write themselves. There was a lot of wildlife among the most-trafficked stories in our news vertical, but cops trying to evict people, Tampa’s disgraced police chief and our asshole governor made the cut, too.
Florida researchers attached transmitters to Burmese pythons, and now they’re showing up inside native snakes
It appears some native snakes are snacking on arguably Florida’s worst invasive species. In August, Zoo Miami shared the Florida fauna win to their social media, showing an X-ray image of a cottonmouth, or water moccasin, with a visible Burmese python vertebrae and radio transmitter inside. Invasive Burmese pythons have been decimating Florida wildlife for nearly 40 years, which has resulted in decreased mammal populations and increased competition for food with natives like alligators and endangered Florida panthers.
Circle K gas stations in Florida will start selling weed, legitimately
As Bill and Ted once famously said, “Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.” The global chain of gas stations and convenience stores recently signed an exclusive deal with Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries Inc., one of the largest cannabis producers in the U.S, to sell marijuana from 10 of the company’s locations in Florida starting in 2023. According to a statement from Green Thumb, the company will lease space from Circle K locations for what is called “RISE Express” stores, which will have a separate entrance and will offer patients “a selection of branded cannabis products including RYTHM premium flower, Dogwalkers pre-rolls, incredibles gummies and & Shine vapes.”
The mystery of Tampa’s hairless creature has been solved
A photo of a mysterious, and truly miserable looking animal in Tampa went viral on social media in March and despite what many commenters have speculated, it’s not a hairless bear, or a chupacabra. The photo was posted to Twitter on Monday by user Blizzjuuheardd, along with the comment “Boy what the fuck is this shit. I’m getting out of tampa bro.” The post was shared nearly 20,000 times, with commenters saying it could be anything from the dog from “Coco” to a Florida Skunk Ape.
Miami New Times reached to Zoo Miami spokesperson Ron Magill, who confirmed that the animal is most likely a coyote with a bad case of mange, which can result in hair loss, scabbing and terrible itching for canines. Magill assured the publication that the animal poses no risk for humans, but small pets and children should avoid coyotes while outdoors.
Pinellas County Sheriff deputies tried to illegally evict renters in St. Pete
In June, Pinellas County Sheriff deputies tried to evict three renters from their house in the Historic Kenwood neighborhood. But as the St. Petersburg Tenant’s Union pointed out to the deputies in a heated interaction caught on video, the officers were attempting to carry out an illegal eviction. In the video, the officer insisted it was a final eviction, but was completely wrong about the situation. In the video one PCSO deputy was antagonizing the tenants and the activists, telling them the eviction was going to happen one way or another, and kept insisting that the eviction was not illegal, speaking over people when they were trying to correct the deputy on the law. All of the officers eventually backed off, after a Pinellas County judge told them that the tenants do have 90 days to move, under the law. Not all heroes wear capes.
Video shows alligator named ‘Big Head Fred’ eating smaller gator at Florida spring
Big Head Fred is hungry, and meat is back on the menu, boys. A summertime video posted to Facebook by Kayla Jane of Kayla Jane’s Crystal Kayaks shows a large alligator in Florida’s Silver Springs savagely enjoying a much smaller gator for lunch. “Big Head Fred is back at it again,” says the video’s caption, as the cannibal gator can be seen whipping around the motionless gator.
‘This is ridiculous’: Video shows Florida Gov. DeSantis yelling at Tampa teenagers for wearing masks at his press conference
Like an old man stumbling into a Hot Topic, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to yell at a group of teens for wearing something he doesn’t like. DeSantis was at the University of South Florida in March to announce funding for a $20 million cyber security program, when he noticed some of the students that would be standing behind him were wearing protective face coverings. In a candid video captured by WFLA, a frustrated DeSantis can be seen barking at the students, who reporter Evan Donovan says were actually students from Tampa’s Middleton High School.
“You do not have to wear those masks,” said DeSantis. “Please take them off. Honestly, it’s not doing anything. We’ve gotta stop with this Covid theater. So if you wanna wear it, fine, but this is ridiculous.” In the video, some of the students then removed their face masks, while a few kept them on through the press conference. Interestingly, the same scene showing DeSantis yelling at kids was muted in the official video for the conference posted on DeSantis’ Twitter account.
Video shows Tampa Bay man pulling an AR-style gun on Black landscapers
On July 7, a Clearwater man with a lengthy criminal history pulled what looks like an AR-style gun on a Black father and daughter who were landscaping a lawn across the street from him, according to a recent video shared across social media. In the video, David H. Berry of Fat Finger Construction can be seen holding the rifle and yelling at Jeremy Lee, while his daughter Carrie Lee films the interaction. In the past, Berry has been charged with at least three felonies, including battery and burglary, according to Pinellas County Court records. All were pled down to misdemeanors.
Memes shared within Tampa Police Department show staff celebrating chief’s resignation over golf cart scandal
Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor resigned after body cam footage showed her flashing her badge to get out of a golf cart traffic violation, and while some at TPD may be upset and disappointed with her sudden departure, others within the city’s largest department celebrated by sharing memes. The memes, which were first obtained by CL, were shared within TPD chats and cover everything from jokes about O’Connor’s golf cart scandal to suggestions for her replacement. While current and former TPD employees have anonymously told CL that O’Connor had a turbulent relationship with her rank and file staff, Castor maintains that O’Connor was well-liked, and actually “improved morale.”
This article appears in Dec 22-28, 2022.
