The Cooler

The Cooler is back from vacation. Enjoy.

A- Palm Beach Post: Life in South Florida.

BOYNTON BEACH — A pregnant woman and her boyfriend remained in serious condition at Delray Medical center late Tuesday after they were wounded in a Christmas Day drive-by shooting in the 100 block of Northeast 17th Court.

The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. near near Ezell Hester Jr. Community Park. Police found Kiara Andrews, 220, and James E. Williams, 22, in the front seat of a black 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with gunshot wounds, police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said late Tuesday.

B- South Florida Business Journal: Heading north.

Florida's effort to crackdown on pill mills has led to the same types of clinics popping up across state lines in Georgia, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Georgia now has 125 such clinics compared to less than 10 in 2010, according to the state's Drug and Narcotics Agency. More than 16,500 people die every year in the U.S. due to overdosing on opioid painkillers, which are now the nation's deadliest drugs outpacing heroin and cocaine combined, the Journal reported.

C- South Florida Business Journal: Not only good for our health.

The 10th annual ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon generated $52.2 million in total economic impact for the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County in 2012, according to a new study by the Sport Industry Research Center.

The three-day event, held during the last weekend in January, features a 5K race, half marathon, marathon and health and fitness expos.

The economic impact of the Miami marathon increased 26.3 percent from the 2011 event, according to the study. The increase is attributed to a rise in individual spending by international visitors and an increase in the number of non-local participants.

D- South Florida Business Journal: More money for Sam Zell.

Tribune Co., which is trying to emerge from bankruptcy court, is dropping the Associated Press news service for seven of its newspapers, including the Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel, TimeOutChicago.com reports.

[...]

Many Sun Sentinel readers may notice little difference because AP stories in its print edition appear to have been rare in recent weeks. However, a major advantage of the AP is its ubiquity with 3,700 employees, mostly journalists, and 300 locations, including every state capital.

E- CBS4: Dashing through the Keys, in a white, old open Toyota.

MONROE COUNTY (CBSMiami) – A 46-year-old Boynton Beach woman led deputies in the Florida Keys on a chase that reached speeds of 120 mph and left her sitting in her urine and feces early Sunday.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Laura Rager was southbound in her white Toyota at 73 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone at 2:23 p.m. when Deputy Juan Martin-Reyes spotted her, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. He turned around and attempted a traffic stop, backed up by Deputy Jon Huff.

Rager pulled over but just as the deputy was getting out of the car, she took off. She reached speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, crossing both the white and yellow lines of the roadway and forcing several vehicles off the road.

F- NBC Miami: More Keys women.

A Florida Keys woman was arrested after deputies said she drank a few martinis and then fired a handgun from her porch.

Beverly Richards, 58, was arrested late Sunday night and faces charges including improper exhibition of a firearm, discharging a firearm in public and use of a firearm under the influence of alcohol, according to online records. She was since released from jail.

[...]

Richards said she shot the gun after having a couple of martinis because she was angry that she would not be able to see her granddaughter on Christmas, according to Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies. Firing the gun, she said, made her feel better.

G- WPTV: Snuggle Alert!

One more warm day and then a significant cool front sweeps through the area tonight. That front will drop temperatures 30 degrees overnight, so a SNUGGLE ALERT is in effect. Temperatures warm up quickly again with another front for Saturday.

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