The Cooler

So what caught my eye in this morning's news? Here you go.

A- Herald: The company we keep.

A former TV weatherman who testified 12 days ago in a Miami federal courtroom that Latvian “Bar Girls” swindled him out of $43,000 on Miami Beach was back in the spotlight Tuesday over suggestive photos and tweets sent from his Twitter account.

John Bolaris, who was suspended from his job as a weather anchor for Fox affiliate WTXF in Philadelphia last year amid his allegations that as a tourist in South Florida in 2010 he was drugged and robbed, apparently was asleep Sunday when his fiancée Erica Smitheman drunkenly took over his Twitter account and promised to send out nude photos of herself, the New York Daily News is reporting.

B- Herald: Gotta make up for no state income tax somehow.

Florida may be the slowest state in the union at counting votes, but Sunshine State drivers sure know how to hustle.

Speeding drivers are more likely to be ticketed in Florida than in any other state, according to a recent study of national traffic data examined by CarInsuranceQuotes.com and packaged online to sell auto insurance.

[...]

Florida also ranked 10th on the list of “worst states for speed traps.’’

C- Herald: They write letters.

Miami-Dade’s costly prayer

I was disappointed a few years ago when Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson decided to move on to a new career. Now I’ve learned that in 2004 she and Comm. Sally Heyman were responsible for substituting a moment of silence for a non-denominational prayer at the beginning of commission meetings.

Sorenson may have represented one district of the county, but I’m now realizing that she really represented all of the mainstream citizens as she and Heyman had the sense to know that religion has no place in county government.

The commission committee that recently voted 10-1 to reinstate the prayer practice didn’t learn anything from our recent presidential election. The country spoke against far-right-wing religious ideas. And this issue, lobbied by the Christian Family Coalition, will cost taxpayers $22,000 for preparation of a database of congregations and another $4,000 a year for technical support and maintenance. What’s wrong with this picture?

Diane Lawrence, Miami

D- Palm Beach Post: Life in South Florida.

RIVIERA BEACH — A toddler was grazed by a bullet tonight after multiple shots were fired at a residence in Riviera Beach, a city police spokeswoman said.

E- CBS4: Anything that's not tied down.

HALLANDALE BEACH (CBS4) – Several businesses in Hallandale Beach are being forced to shell out thousands of dollars after thieves brazenly ripped off their air conditioning units.

The thieves likely sold the parts for a few bucks.

F- NBC Miami: Your well-regulated militia.

Delray Beach Police said they arrested a maintenance supervisor who admitted to shooting ducks from the roof of an apartment building because he was tired of cleaning up their feces.

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