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County delays plan for unfixed dogs

By TIMES WIRES
Published April 5, 2007

TAMPA 

Fido can rest easy, for now.

Hillsborough County commissioners will wait at least two more months before deciding whether to enact new animal control measures, including a proposal to charge pet owners an annual fee for every dog they have that is not fixed.

So-called intact dogs - those who still have their sex organs - have at least one pal in Commissioner Brian Blair. He said the county should do more to crack down on irresponsible owners of dangerous animals.

"I feel very, very bad about the victims, but with most (dog bites), it's the owners' fault," Blair said.

County records show that about 75 percent of more than 2,000 reported dog bites yearly are by unfixed animals.

CLEARWATER

DUI hearing postponed for Yankees executive

A Thursday hearing on a DUI charge against New York Yankees executive Steve Swindal has been postponed until at least May 10.

The 52-year-old Swindal, who had been designated as George Steinbrenner's successor as head of the Yankees, was arrested by St. Petersburg police on Feb. 15 and charged with driving under the influence. Police said he was weaving and driving 61 mph in a 35 mph zone. Swindal has pleaded not guilty.

He is also facing a divorce filing from his wife of 23 years, Jennifer Lynn Steinbrenner Swindal. She filed divorce papers that said their marriage is "irretrievably broken." She also wants to separate her interests in her famous family's business from his finances. The pending divorce makes it unlikely Swindal will head the team.

Elsewhere

WAL-MART PROTEST: When a work crew tried to unearth some gopher tortoises on the site of a proposed Wal-Mart recently, it stirred up more than soil. Local activists gathered in protest Tuesday at Tarpon Springs City Hall. The group's hand-painted signs said, "Bury Wal-Mart, not the turtles," "Wal-Mart is an environmental predator" and "First the turtles, next 800 trees, then our heritage and way of life."

CHIEF TO RETIRE: Brooksville will not take action against longtime police Chief Ed Tincher, but will allow him instead to retire at the end of this year. Tincher has been on leave since February while a consultant looked into a host of alleged misdeeds within his department.

LAND O'LAKES

Dispatcher's actions reviewed in 911 call

A 911 dispatcher is being investigated for his conduct during an emergency call for a choking victim who eventually died.

At 9:14 p.m. March 24, someone in Land O'Lakes called Pasco's 911 call center to request help for a choking victim, said Barbara DeSimone, Pasco County's personnel director.

An ambulance did respond. Even so, the choking victim died that night, DeSimone said.

DeSimone would not say what the dispatcher did - or failed to do - that sparked the investigation by Emergency Services.

[Last modified April 5, 2007, 01:37:43]