Digest

Dateline Florida

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 26, 2007

Gator's chomp cuts short Lab's romp, but there's a happy ending

Poor Princess probably didn't see the gator coming. The Labrador/doberman mix was frolicking in Lake Heron in Bartow last week when an alligator chomped down on her shoulder. "I just saw the ripple come up around her and it just snatched her, " Princess' owner, Julie Balliette, told the Ledger. Balliette clapped her hands, splashed in the water and made noise to scare the alligator. Somehow the dog got free. Balliette rushed her to veterinarian David Lee, who used one staple to close the wound. Lee said he was happy to see Princess after the tussle because alligators are "a lot stronger and faster and usually, dogs don't win." He wrapped her wound with orange and blue bandages, the colors of the Florida Gators.

St. Petersburg unsure where to put festival protesters

St. Petersburg officials still haven't decided where protesters will be allowed at Saturday's St. Pete Pride festival. They met Monday to discuss details for the morning parade, but failed to reach a resolution, city attorney John Wolfe said. Wolfe said he hopes to have the rules for protesters available this afternoon. The city originally created a free speech zone to house protesters of the gay pride event, but appears to be backtracking amid First Amendment concerns.

Corrections

- Studio @ 620 founder Bob Devin Jones calls city of St. Petersburg budget cuts "unfortunate" but said they will not be fatal to arts organizations, which he predicts will continue to attract community support. "When we get beyond this ignorant present, hopefully we can restore some of that funding, " he said. His quote was incomplete and the context unclear in a story Sunday on the budget cuts.

- The Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School is not the first charter school in Hillsborough County to work with high school students. A story Monday erred on this point.

- Men Sorn, a 23 year-old Asian Pride gang member, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for second-degree murder, 15 years for shooting into an occupied vehicle and five years for aggravated assault. The sentences will be served concurrently. A story Saturday misstated some details of the sentences.

[Last modified June 25, 2007, 23:57:45]