0 Home & Garden A Florida man shares his secrets on how to train pooches to fetch these tasty critters. Sherri Lonon Patch Staff Posted Reply That seems to have been the reasoning behind Alex Schulze's decision to train his dog to dive in for the catch. The Florida man not only pulled off the feat, he's sharing his secrets on how to do so via a newly released video on YouTube. It seems Schulze, the co-founder of Devoted to the Ocean, had already trained his dog Lila to dive underwater to fetch toys. One day while he and Lila were out on the water, he decided to see if he could get her to ply those skills to lobster catching, he explained. See Also: Track 2 New Celebrity Sharks Watch: Gator Crashes Picnic Lunch Curiosity Almost Killed This Bobcat "Sure enough she caught a lobster on her first try, and the rest was history," he wrote. Happy to share his secrets with other dog … [Read more...]

0 Home & Garden Golfers at the Florida course reportedly did not play through. Sherri Lonon Patch Staff Posted | Updated Reply Golfers at an Englewood course got to see firsthand what happens when a new alligator tries to move into an old bull's territory. Lynn Sarles said she was out playing on Saturday at Myakka Pines Golf Club when the course's now-famous Goliath heaved himself out of the water to engage in battle with an intruder on his turf. "We were just golfing and we up on a high green and just saw them wrestling," Sarles told Patch. Not willing to let the moment pass her by, Sarles picked up her camera and started shooting. Close-ups weren't in the cards, however. "(I) zoomed in on them and got some photographs," she explained. "(We were) far enough (away) that we … [Read more...]

0 Home & Garden Mote Marine Laboratory has upgraded its tool that allows beachgoers to check on local conditions. Sherri Lonon Patch Staff Posted Reply SARASOTA, FL – As red tide blooms continue to appear in Tampa Bay area waters, Mote Marine Laboratory has announced upgrades to its Beach Conditions Reporting System. The reporting system is a real-time beach monitoring tool that enables residents and visitors alike to check on the conditions at 27 beaches along Florida's Gulf Coast. Data on the site is updated twice daily by trained volunteers, including lifeguards and park rangers. "The BCRS website was launched by Mote in 2006 to help beachgoers avoid the effects of naturally occurring Florida red tide algae, and since then it has incorporated many other kinds of beach information, such as wind direction, surf height and rip current monitoring," Mote explained in a media release announcing the upgrades. … [Read more...]

0 Home & Garden The homeowner came across the interloper early Thursday morning. Sherri Lonon Patch Staff Posted | Updated Reply ISLAMORADA, FL — The old warning to look before you leap took on a whole new sense of urgency for a Florida homeowner Thursday morning. It seems the Lower Matecumbe Key resident went out to his pool around 7:30 a.m. and found a rather sizeable American crocodile taking a swim. Eager to get the unwanted visitor out of his pool, the man called on the Monroe County Sheriff's Office for help. Officers who arrived on the scene didn't seem too sure how to trespass a croc from a backyard pool, so they called on the experts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to help, the sheriff's office noted on its Facebook page . FWC officers managed to bring the critter into custody without incident. Rather than go through the bother of paperwork, they opted to release the croc … [Read more...]

6 It all started with the trees. Larry Ellison , the world's fifth-richest man, wasn't happy the three redwood trees and an 80-year-old acacia in the backyard of a house down the hill from his Pacific Heights mansion were obscuring his view of the San Francisco Bay. Ellison's unhappiness led to a lawsuit, which was set to go to trial on Monday. Ellison (estimated worth $39.5 billion) claimed "irreparable injury" would be wrought on the value of his property should the neighbors not "restore Plaintiff's views and sunlight." He bought the home at 2850 Broadway in 1998 for $3.9 million; his main residence is in Woodside. The neighbors, Bernard and Jane von Bothmer , purchased their home on Vallejo Street for $6.9 million in 2004. They charged that Ellison had hired workers to cut their trees without permission, after they found the trees "topped" and three workers strapped to the redwoods. Ellison disputed the allegation. The … [Read more...]

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – One year ago, the body of Valerie Reyes was found in a suitcase in Greenwich, Connecticut. Wednesday, the man who kidnapped and left the New Rochelle woman there to die, pleaded guilty. READ MORE: Dr. Howard Zucker Stepping Down As New York State Health Commissioner Valerie Reyes (credit: Greenwich Police) With a signature on a seven-page plea agreement, 25-year-old Javier da Silva admits he kidnapped his ex-girlfriend and left her to die in a suitcase he dumped on the side of the road . “He really took away an innocent girl who is missed,” said Brenda DeGiacomo. She lives across from the New Rochelle home where Reyes vanished in January 2019. Relentless police work led law enforcement to da Silva, who dated Reyes briefly. Wednesday, on the sixth floor of White Plains federal court, he pleaded guilty to kidnapping Reyes and causing her death. Da Silva, in Spanish, said “after a violent struggle in her apartment, … [Read more...]