Category: July

CHICAGO — The search for an elusive alligator in the Humboldt Park Lagoon is over. Eight days after it was first spotted, the reptile was captured overnight less than 24 hours after the city hired a expert from Florida to find it. Frank Robb was brought in after several attempts to capture it failed. “I…

CLEARWATER BEACH — Florida Man trudged over the crowded sugar sand, between sunbathers on beach towels and water-winged kids digging with plastic shovels. A few people peered at him from behind sunglasses. What was he doing? “Livin’ that dream,” he told anyone who engaged with him on a recent Monday. “Livin’ that Florida dream.” In…

JULY 10–An inebriated motorist assured Florida police that he was not drinking while driving, but only swigging from a bottle of Jim Beam bourbon when his vehicle paused at stop signs and traffic signals, according to a police report. This Florida man, 69, was arrested two weeks ago for driving his Mercury Grand Marquis while under the…

TAMPA, Fla. – People have been seeing more of their animals since the coronavirus tethered them to their homes. Dogs bark through Zoom meetings. Cats are our “coworkers.” Majid “Magic” Esmaeili has a few hundred squawking parrots for company. His only company. His email to the Tampa Bay Times recently arrived with the subject line…

He was trolling along the weedline and discovered something fishy. Jorge Bustamante was looking for king fish or mahi mahi off Pompano Beach Monday but found a marijuana brick instead. South Floridians have a name for his unusual but not unheard of type of find: Square grouper. In a series of social media postings on Instagram, Bustamante…

A Florida man who allegedly resisted arrest after being caught illegally feeding an alligator named Hank in his neighborhood pond described the 10-foot beast as a “good boy” and a “good friend.” Paul Fortin, 67, was issued a citation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) over the incident in May at a pond…

A lot of weird things happen in Florida, and we’re here every week to wrap up the weirdest. This week: pirates, indians, a homeless woman who wanted to pass on her homeless skills to the children, and an astounding theory on Bigfoot. Keys Man Arrested for Pirating Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate’s life for Jamie Spering. The…

A Florida man pelted his girlfriend in the “head and face area” with sweet and sour sauce packets Sunday because he was angry she had “bought the wrong food from McDonald’s,” a felony battery complaint said. Jesus Oscar Ferrer Jr., 30, attacked his girlfriend — with whom he has a child — in the couple’s…

At least 12 greyhound racing dogs in Florida have tested positive for cocaine, and their trainer has had his license suspended. It’s at least the second instance this year of racing greyhounds testing positive for cocaine. The dogs raced at Bestbet Orange Park in northeast Florida near Jacksonville. The state is home to 12 of the 19…