The Cooler

Here's your AM news review. Enjoy.

A- Herald: Church and state.

The ACLU of Florida on Wednesday formally opposed a proposal to reinstate opening prayers at Miami-Dade Commission meetings.

The proposal, by Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, is scheduled for a final vote Tuesday.

In a letter to commissioners, ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon and John de Leon, president of the organization’s Greater Miami chapter, urged commissioners to keep their opening moment of silence, warning that prayer could be “divisive” and lead to a possible lawsuit.

B- Herald: Lizards on the Freedom Tower?

Hundreds of colorful animals are taking over the Miami Dade College Freedom Tower Friday night at the opening of the ForEverglades exhibit, coinciding with Art Basel.

Red alligators, almost 20 feet long, will guard the entrance to the Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd., with nine alligators scaling the Freedom Tower.

ForEverglades is an installation created by artist William Sweetlove of Belgium and the Cracking Art Group of Italy.

C- Herald: Morin.

D- Herald: Remember, these are usually the same people who oppose sex education for teens.

Control gun curiosity

Once again The Herald is spewing gun control in its Nov. 23 editorial, Guns and children. It’s a shame that a child has lost her life, but it’s not the gun’s fault. The Herald says a gun should be stored unloaded in a safe place, now does that really make sense? A gun in the house is for protection. What would you do when an intruder breaks into your home? Call time out, I have to load my gun!

The real answer to gun safety is education. When a child is taught to handle a gun, and allowed to go shooting with a parent, they are no longer curious about it. An uneducated child, when they see a gun, wants to pick it up and play with it.

Richard Persson, Miami

E- NBC Miami: Freaking out.

Fort Lauderdale hotels in recent days have gotten phone calls from prospective tourists, who are concerned their planned vacations could be ruined by beach erosion.

The worry comes from seeing nationally televised images of the destruction from churning waves in the city, including a crumbling sidewalk and seawall, officials say.

“We’ve had tourists calling hotels asking if they should change their reservations,” said Matt Little, city spokesman. “They’re worried what they see on the news is indicative of the entire beach.”

Concerned about the misperception among tourists, the city now is reminding the public it’s not the whole beach that’s affected. The damaged stretch of A1A, about the length of a football field, is a small portion when compared to miles of beaches in the city.

F- WPLG: When nature attacks.

SOUTH FLORIDA - A swarm of Africanized bees went on the attack, killing two family pets while their pregnant owner stood by helplessly.

"The nest was like inside the fence on the other side," said Lauri Deane. "I let both of the dogs out back here."

Deane is traumatized by what happened next. In just moments, the bees attacked her dogs.

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