Digest

Dateline Florida

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 29, 2007

Hope for soaking, 'Cause water rules may be here awhile

Don't expect to water your lawn at your leisure anytime soon. While current water restrictions expire July 31, it's likely that the Southwest Florida Water Management District board will decide next month to extend them. As of Thursday, the area is still 12 inches below normal for the last 12 months, and rivers and lakes are low. Bottom line: We need rain. The good news is we might see some today and Saturday. A weak area of low pressure will bring westerly winds and up to a 70 percent chance of rain today, and about a 50 percent chance Saturday, said Mike Clay, chief meteorologist with Bay News 9.

Elevator door severs finger

The Coast Guard airlifted a 16-year-old boy from a cruise ship Thursday after he caught his hand in an elevator. Patrick Galloway was inside the elevator when he used his right hand to try to stop the door from closing. The door closed anyway, and when the teen pulled his hand out, his pinky was severed, the Coast Guard said. A Coast Guard team hoisted Galloway into a helicopter and took him to Tampa General Hospital, where he was in stable condition. The incident happened aboard a Carnival ship about 120 miles southwest of Key West.

Robbery victim turns tables

Two masked gunmen apparently picked the wrong sandwich shop to rob. John Lovell, a 71-year-old retired Marine, was finishing his meal when two robbers came into the Plantation sub shop. After robbing the cashier, the men tried to shove Lovell into a bathroom and rob him as well, the Miami Herald reported. They got his money, but then Lovell pulled out his handgun and opened fire, shooting one of the thieves in the head and chest and the other in the head. One of the men died; the other was reported to be in critical but stable condition. White is not expected to be charged.

Crist names new mouthpiece

Gov. Charlie Crist promoted Erin Isaac from press secretary to communications director Thursday. Isaac, 29, will succeed Vivian Myrtetus, 36, who is leaving the governor's office to join a Tallahassee public relations firm.

[Last modified June 28, 2007, 23:31:52]