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Think you know the news? Pop quiz

Weird animal stories, political squabbles and arguments over music - who knew there would be a test on this stuff? Welcome to our annual news quiz. Answers appear on P age 6 . A makeup exam will be given in 12 months.

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 30, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo] Brandy, poses under a life-size statue of a grayhound at her home in Largo. Brandy, a Chihuahua, is the world's smallest dog, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

1. In her fight to retain ownership of a St. Bernard she adopted from the Pinellas Humane Society after Hurricane Katrina, prosecutor Pam Bondi and her lawyers have argued that the dog:

a. Was full of heartworms.

b. Has an extra toenail, proving it's not the same dog lost by a Louisiana couple.

c. Has grown so protective of Bondi that it must go to obedience school.

d. All of the above.

2. Which of the following is not being built or proposed for the Brooker Creek Preserve?

a. Athletic fields.

b. A water disinfecting plant.

c. Irrigation wells for private golf courses.

d. A water slide.

3. The GPV Sergeant 4x4, a super-sized, armored rescue vehicle purchased by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, weighs about as much as the Hubble space telescope and has creature comforts that include:

a. Air conditioning.

b. Cushioned seats.

c. A CD player.

d. A bathroom.

4. A 19-year-old disabled Tarpon Springs man was asked to leave the AMC Woodlands 20 theaters in Oldsmar during a screening of The Pink Panther because he was:

a. Talking on the phone.

b. Criticizing Steve Martin.

c. Laughing too loud.

d. Not laughing at all.

5. Largo City Manager Steve Stanton participated in a series of police training exercises in which he:

a. Broke his nose.

b. Broke his arm.

c. Bloodied his forehead.

d. Got Tasered.

6. After the loud and hard-rocking Next Big Thing concert left Coachman Park for Tampa, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard said:

a. "Good golly!"

b. "Good grief!"

c. "Good move."

d. "Good riddance."

7. A driver ticketed by Largo police Officer Kurt Iskra for playing his radio too loudly said that law didn't apply to him because he:

a. Has "excellent taste in music, okay?"

b. Was "listening to Bill O'Reilly, okay?"

c. Would "see you in court, okay?"

d. Knows "Frank Hibbard, okay?"

8. Property owners at Carillon Business Park, home to some of Pinellas County's largest corporations, asked state regulators to reconsider a plan to allow the county to create a 150-foot-tall hill, the highest point in Pinellas, out of:

a. Beach sand.

b. Marshmallow fluff.

c. Natural goodness.

d. Burned garbage.

9. A former Clearwater man who turned up in England posing as the Earl of Buckingham was given what nickname by the London tabloids?

a. The Real Jackal.

b. The Earl of Chicanery.

c. Sir Knavely.

d. The Dumb Yank.

10. The soil at the former Stauffer Chemical Superfund site:

a: Was finally cleaned up.

b. Sprouted wildflowers.

c. Was found to have curative powers.

d. Caught fire.

11. Former Dance Place owner Michael Pasquarelli was sentenced to 30 years in prison for swindling elderly widows even though he predicted the racketeering charges against him would be reduced to:

a. A misdemeanor.

b. Mouseketeering.

c. A crime of passion.

d. Nothing at all.

12. Largo made headlines recently when the Times reported that it is home to the world's:

a. Smallest dog.

b. Biggest cat.

c. Smartest parakeet.

d. Angriest retiree.

13. Residents in West Oldsmar complained of being overrun by:

a. Real estate investors.

b. Political candidates.

c. Coyotes.

d. Wild chickens.

14. After a feral coyote caught near Safety Harbor was fitted with a tracking collar and released, one resident said:

a. "Where's my shotgun?"

b. "If it doesn't bother me, I won't bother it."

c. "Good. It'll keep down the wild chickens."

d. "Are they whacked or what?"

15. A Clearwater mobile home park that threatened to evict a resident caring for his grandchildren while his son served in Iraq had a flag out front that said:

a. "No kids allowed."

b. "Don't tread on me."

c. "Git 'er done!"

d. "We Support Our Troops."

16. A citywide controversy broke out when some residents complained that the Dunedin High School band wasn't spending enough time on:

a. Marching.

b. Academics.

c. Pep rallies.

d. Playing the bagpipes.

Check your work

News quiz answers

1. d

2. d

3. a, b and c. The armored vehicle had no bathroom, but a SWAT team member said, "We're working on it."

4. c

5. a and c

6. d

7. b

8. d

9. a. Charles Stopford, who lived in Clearwater and Orlando before leaving for Europe in 1983, turned up in London after taking the identity of a dead baby and assuming the title Earl of Buckingham. His nickname in the British press, "the Real Jackal," is an allusion to the film The Day of the Jackal, in which an assassin steals a dead child's identity from a tombstone to obtain fake identification.

10. d

11. b

12. a. At 6 inches measured from the base of the neck to the base of the tail and 1 pound, 13 ounces, Brandy the chihuahua is owned by Paulette Keller.

13. d

14. d

15. d

16. d

[Last modified December 30, 2006, 06:21:32]