The Cooler

A rooster gets thrown off the island, and other stories, this morning in your Cooler.

A- Herald: Killing them softly.

In a letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Thursday, PETA expressed concern over the prescribed methods for hunters participating in a new eradication program to euthanize Burmese python with either ``a blunt or sharp hand-held device.''

The group argued that while American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines for euthanasia approve of ``cranial concussion'' for reptiles, it also advises following up by cutting off an animal's head or otherwise severing its spinal cord.

B- Herald: Home is where the homeless are.

Three years ago, few cared about the ragtag outcasts living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

Now, two lawsuits and a groundswell of national media coverage later, potential housing options for the convicted sex offenders are being negotiated among state and local officials, with legal challenges poised to fly through the courts. Even Gov. Charlie Crist has pledged to do his part to find a resolution.

But there is just one snag no one seemed to see coming: The sex offenders themselves are reluctant to leave their ramshackle abodes, no matter how deplorable their isolated existence has become.

C- Herald: Video, Mr. Clucky gets the boot.



D- Herald: A guide to the 9 top pizza places in South Florida. No Spris.

To qualify as makers of new-generation gourmet pizza, these restaurants do Old World style baking in a brick or stone oven that might burn wood, gas or, in the case of the Brooklyn-style, coal.

In the words of baking guru Peter Reinhart, ``crust is at least 80 percent of the pizza experience. The crust is the unifier . . . and the toppings play off of it.''

E- Sun-Sentinel: Chan Lowe.

F- WSVN: Skippy succumbs to the rules of Darwin. On word for Ms. Carroll: leash.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A woman is in anguish after her dogs wandered over to a lake where an alligator attacked them, killing one.

Neighbors said they heard a commotion on Sunday. When they looked to see what was going on, it was too late. "It was pretty heartbreaking," said Karen Carroll, whose dog Skippy, a cocker spaniel mix, was mauled to death by the alligator.

G- TC Palm: "Frat house with guns."

SUBURBAN WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- It was an anonymous letter sent to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw that started a review. The letter contained allegations of Lt. Paula Kronsperger sleeping with numerous higher ups to rise to a position of authority.

The letter, at this point largely comprised of rumor and innuendo, names names and paints a picture of the department being like a frat house with guns.

[...]

Sources say Kronsperger did have an affair with a deputy who helped save her life during an altercation in Belle Glade. She would later become his superior and he was transferred after the department became aware of the affair.

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