News and notes
By TIMES WIRES
Published September 26, 2006
Look, there on the Web, it's Super Max
Max Linn, Reform Party candidate for governor, may not win the election, but he could win a contest for most creative political ad. With the help of a San Francisco animator, Linn has been transformed into Super Max who does battle with FCAT Man (who looks a lot like Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist). The satirical cartoon is on Linn's campaign Web site (maxlinn.com) to draw attention to his campaign and his criticism of the FCAT. The cartoon shows Linn in a suit with a red, white and blue tie and FCAT Man in green tights, a helmet and a cape. It's the brainchild of Bad Monkey Studios, whose former clients include Howard Dean, Greenpeace and Moveon.org. Linn campaign manager Doug Friedline said that traffic to the Web site tripled to 2,000 hits since the cartoon was added Thursday.
Who scoops the poop at shelters for pets?
How do you create more hurricane shelter space for pets in a county with an estimated 400,000 dogs and cats? That's a big question, and there were no final answers Monday at a joint meeting of the Pinellas County Commission and the Pinellas School Board. Still, the group managed to share a few laughs when Welch Agnew, the county's assistant director of Animal Services, discussed a plan to house animals and their owners in three middle schools. After addressing concerns about cleanup of pet waste, Agnew was asked how many animals might show up. "It's a crapshoot, really," he said, prompting laughter. Agnew corrected himself: "It's a big guessing game." Commission Chairman Ken Welch offered dryly: "Nice recovery.'
Beltway bug sickens CentCom commander
More proof that Washington can be hazardous to your health: Gen. John Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command, was briefly hospitalized over the weekend for a stomach illness that appeared to be food poisoning. Abizaid, 55, was in Washington for meetings at the Pentagon and the Capitol. Stomach pain sent him to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where doctors held him overnight for observation. He was back at work Monday at MacDill Air Force Base. And no, he did not eat spinach.