Posts Tagged ‘florida’
And sometimes you do a story just for the headline
An 18-year-old Florida woman was only slightly injured when she was shot by her friend’s oven, police said.
Yes. An oven. She was trying to cook waffles and didn’t know her friend was storing ammunition in the oven. So we got to write this totally straightforward headline:
Woman shot by oven while trying to cook waffles
Quotation of the year
“I refuse to let my professionalism and my femininity be defined by a piece of fabric.”
— Melissa Medley, Enterprise Florida
Florida answers critics of ‘sexist’ logo: ‘It’s just a cartoon’ (M. Alex Johnson/NBC News)
Police Blotter of the Day: Honestly, officer, that’s not cocaine
FORT WALTON BEACH — A man who pulled out his pants pockets to show a Fort Walton Beach Police officer he wasn’t carrying drugs didn’t count on a plastic bag of cocaine falling to the ground.
Full story (Northwest Florida Daily News)
Police Blotter of the Day: Teens broke in, cooked gizzards
Two 14-year-old boys were arrested Saturday night for breaking into a Chinese restaurant and cooking chicken gizzards, police said.
“I guess they couldn’t find any money so they decided to cook some food,” Gainesville Police Lt. Jorge Campos said.
Full story (Gainesville, Fla., Sun)
What do you report, and what don’t you report?
Over at msnbc.com, I’ve written up the gruesome story of a sick person who has coldly and methodically dismembered at least six cats since October and left their remains on a Florida golf course.
The details of the story are horrifying, raising a serious question: How much is enough in a news story?
Here’s what I chose to report:
Police Blotter of the Day: Woman kept crack pipe in Bible, cops say
… Tonya Levette Sutton, 42, was arrested late Sunday on narcotics possession and public consumption after she was spotted walking on a public street with an open container of Colt .45 malt liquor, according to an arrest report obtained by TCPalm.com.
Sutton was approached by officers and taken into custody, but when police searched her purse they made an unholy discovery.
Inside a small bible was a crack cocaine pipe that appeared used and had drug residue, the report said. …
Full story (WTVJ-TV of Miami)
Police Blotter of the Day: Credit card thief spends $717 at Burger King
Since Aug. 25, the thief used the card up to several times a day but at just one place: the Burger King at 175 N. Federal Highway in Boca Raton, near Mizner Park. That averages about $14 a day spent at the restaurant. …
In February, the Broward Sheriff’s Office was searching for a credit card thief with different cravings. That thief, nicknamed the “Marlboro man,” had been breaking into cars since 2008 to steal credit cards, which he then used to buy cartons of cigarettes.
Full story (South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Police Blotter of the Day: Masked teens ‘just wanted to have fun’ at McDonald’s
“Police surrounded the restaurant while the boys were still ordering their food and at least eight officers waited with guns drawn for the boys to come out.
“‘They had all types of guns out; AK-47[s] and stuff, it was crazy,’ said a witness.
“Police did not expect to see two teenagers coming out of the restaurant, with food in hand.
“‘They said they just wanted to have fun. These kids came out with masks on and we had guns drawn and it could have gone in a bad direction. Luckily things worked out,’ said Sgt. Kirk Zilke.”
Full story (WFTV-TV of Orlando, Fla., via UPI)
Police Blotter of the Day: Burglars Rob High School of Computer, French Toast
“Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but that doesn’t mean you should break into a school to get it.
“Four men have been arrested after they were caught roaming the halls of John Ferguson High School in Miami with some interesting stolen loot.
“Along with a computer and an iPod headset, the men were also carrying two trays of French toast.”
Full story (WTVJ-TV of Miami)
