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Small clean leftovers coming in this morning at the Pier. It’s in the thigh to waist high range with weak conditions. Grab the small wave equipment and get a few before it’s gone. Check back to see what’s left this afternoon. Share on Facebook

Still some fun waves out there this afternoon. Looks to be in the waist high range with some plus set pushing in. The wind has come onshore a bit and is giving it a little texture. Could be worth a check right before dark. Check the updated weekly surf forecast for details! NEW POLES live [...]

Waves are looking really fun this morning at the Pier. It’s in the waist to chest high range and pretty clean. Maybe a tiny bit of morning sickness but we should stay in the fun range throughout the day. Check back for the afternoon update! Share on Facebook

Waves have come up since this morning. It’s now in the waist to stomach high range. The wind has come up but it still is a little weak. Might get fun towards the evening as the tide drops out! Share on Facebook

ORLANDO – The Marion County Sheriff’s Office sniper team took first place in individual as well as team competition during the Florida SWAT Spring Shootout held March 6-8. The top individual was Carlton Curtis. Also representing the MCSO, and placing sixth, was Mark Swarbrick, according to website www.floridaswat.org/sniper. Marion’s team excelled in competition in areas such as Walk in the Woods, Rifle Madness, Tower Challenge, Champion’s Challenge and more, according to the site. MCSO spokesman Judge Cochran stated in a… Read More »

Randall E. Alvord, Ocala, a Modern Woodmen of America representative, has attained the Fraternal Insurance Counselor (FIC) designation, according to a recent press release. The FIC title is an educational designation that can be earned by career life insurance representatives associated with fraternal insurance societies. Representatives devote more than one year to meet the examination and career development criteria set by the Fraternal Field Managers Association.

Recently, an official delegation from Ocala visited its twin town in Newbridge, Ireland. The delegation had the honor of marching in the St. Patrick’s Day parade and represented the Ocala community during many official activities over the course of a week. The delegation consisted of Ocala police officers Patricia Mraz and Ron Malone, and Brian Stoothoff with Ocala Fire Rescue. The trip was paid for by the delegation at no cost to the citizens of Ocala. The events during the… Read More »

Christian Pachas, a student of Wyomina Park Elementary School, is the winner of the Marion County Health Department’s first National Children’s Dental Health Month Poster Contest. More than 670 second-grade students from 35 classrooms across Marion County competed at the classroom and school level to design the best poster based on this year’s theme, “Rock Your Smile.” Pachas took home a $50 gift certificate for winning the contest. In addition to the overall winner, prizes were awarded in 11 subcategories:… Read More »

OCALA – Ocoos, a technology start-up company focused on promoting Internet commercial applications, has announced is is working with the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition to explore integrating IHMC research technologies into a marketing and commerce platform. Originally based in Gainesville at the University of Florida Innovation Hub, the Ocoos team relocated to Ocala to be near the scientific research team at IHMC. Since joining the community in 2009, IHMC has prioritized efforts to help build the presence… Read More »

After 50 years, the air has been taken out of men’s basketball at St. Johns River State College.

The school’s Board of Trustees voted 6-0 (with one member absent) to disband the program after a four-hour meeting Wednesday, despite a large majority of less than 100 in attendance objecting to the move after president Joe Pickens presented the case for better use of athletic dollars than basketball.

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BRUNSWICK, GA. | Here are a couple of unrelated things.

Let’s start with Luke or Trouper or whatever his name is.

Luke has all the markings of a hunting hound, mostly white with tan and brown markings like a beagle. He probably weighs about 60 pounds.

Our daughter Jessica found him Sunday and stopped him from wandering onto the Golden Isles Parkway north of Brunswick. She got him into her car, took him home and called us.

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PALM BEACH | Pleased with the success of its new overtime rules in the playoffs, the NFL voted on Wednesday to expand the rules to the regular season.

The rule, used only in the playoffs last season, allows both teams an opportunity to possess the ball unless the team that receives the opening kickoff of overtime scores a touchdown on the first possession.

Giants owner John Mara said the last time the league voted on the proposal, the owners’ main concern was to get the change passed, which resulted in a compromise of using it only in the playoffs.

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PALM BEACH -- Jaguars general manager Gene Smith said he is prepared to look to the draft for a defensive end.

Smith said that in response to a question about whether Jaguars defensive end Matt Roth has a chance to return to the Jaguars. Roth is a free agent who signed a one-year deal last season. He was a starter for the Jaguars, but finished the season on injured reserve with a concussion.

“I know he’s entertaining other teams and I’ve certainly encouraged him and his agent to do so at this time,” Smith said.

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With the change of seasons comes changes to the menu at Seasons 52.

The fresh grill and wine bar restaurant recently launched a new menu, featuring in-season artichoke, avocado, tomato and more in the recipes from Cliff Pleau, the senior director of culinary at Seasons 52.

The new menu selections include:

¦ Ripe Plum Tomato Flatbread, with fresh basil, roasted garlic and melted Parmesan cheese.

¦ Artichoke & Goat Cheese Flatbread, with leaf spinach, balsamic onion and roasted peppers.

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In our Amber Waves column, we taste beer other people make and tell you what we think about it.

But now, you get to be the critics.

Luciano Scremin at Engine 15 Brewing Co. invited us out to brew an Amber Waves beer, to be served Thursday during Jax Beer Week (April 2-7), with proceeds benefiting the St. Johns Riverkeeper.

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WSVN has a picture of a coyote running around a neighborhood just west of downtown Miami. I kid you not. See Item E. That and other South Florida news in this morning's Cooler.

A- Sun-Sentinel: Rick Scott has apparently not been as big a jerk as they had hoped for.

Though encouraged by Scott's focus on creating jobs, stressing accountability and holding down public spending and taxes, many Florida conservatives say they are disappointed on other fronts. Though it was a major campaign promise, Scott has failed to crack down on illegal immigration. He also reversed last year's cut in education funding, despite promises to pare state spending.

The tea-party movement, dominated by conservative voters who champion drastically reining in government expenditures, sent Scott to victory in 2010. But since he has started to tone down his tea-party rhetoric, he has seen a slight uptick in his approval ratings.

John Goodman's defense attorney Roy Black, considered one of the top defense attorneys in the country, tried to convince jurors over the past two weeks — in Goodman's trial for DUI-manslaughter and vehicular homicide — that Goodman's Bentley malfunctioned, he suffered a concussion in the crash and his high blood alcohol level was because of liquor he'd gulped at a friend's barn afterward to cope with the pain.

Prosecutors Ellen Roberts and Sherri Collins shredded each theory, presenting witnesses who saw him drink at a charity event and after party the night of the crash along with investigators and experts who supported their claims that Goodman drove drunk, left Wilson to die and took nearly an hour to call police.

Miramar-based low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has scored a spot in the top 16 on Consumerist.com’s 7th Annual ‘Worst Company in America’ tournament, according to a recent report.

Spirit, who made the tournament for the first time this year, beat out Delta Air Lines, a veteran tournament contender, as bracket favorite.

In this round of the basket-ball style tournament, dubbed the “Sweet 16,” Spirit is joined by Bank of America, Best Buy, GameStop, Apple and AT&T, among others.

I have been a senior citizen of Florida for two years. I lived all my life in New Jersey and never felt the need to carry a firearm. I carry pepper spray, which is neither lethal or permanent.

I know how easy it is to hit the wrong target with a gun. My biggest fear is living in a state that allows anyone to carry a gun. How do I know whether a person pulling a gun on me, for whatever reason, is licensed to do so?

I am thinking I would have a split second to decide whether or not to jump someone in the process of pulling a gun on me. In this case, who is the one "holding their ground?"

It's an archaic law. Now I must obtain a license to carry to protect myself from the other citizens who are licensed to carry. I don't want to be the one in a gunfight without a gun. Fear not, this will be a temporary measure until I can vote with my feet and move back to a civilized state like New Jersey.

WILLIAM DAMATO

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Residents in a South Florida neighborhood are on edge after spotting an unusual animal roaming their streets.

A wild coyote has been spotted running across driveways and streets in "The Roads" neighborhood of Miami along Southwest 11th Street and 12th Avenue.

A- Justice Building Blog makes sure we understand what to expect over the next several days as the Affordable Care Act goes before the Supreme Court.

Starting today the Supreme Court begins three days of historic arguments on the challenges to the current health care law. The case will receive a total of six hours of oral arguments, the most the court has scheduled in the last forty years.

B- Bark Bark Woof Woof comments on the role and effect ALEC has in the American legislative process and whether they'll be held responsible for the effects of the laws they help enact.

What's getting ALEC noticed is that it is the group that basically drafted Florida's Stand Your Ground law. Which makes me wonder if ALEC will be held accountable when, if not now in the Trayvon Martin case, someone decides to sue the state of Florida or one of its agencies over the law.

C- Eye on Miami posts a video of a recent heated exchange between developer Michael Swerdlow and the North Miami City Commission.

This video shows one angry developer with a lot to say. What does a developer always do when faced with something he/she doesn't like? They threaten to sue of course. I think Swerdlow needed the right lobbyist. What happened to Clifford Schulman or his other lobbyist, Ron Book?

D- You can enjoy a slideshow of the Wizard of Oz-themed March of the Winkies exhibit in Fort Lauderdale at Arterpillar.



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A- Man or Maniac? believes that the Sanford Police Department might be the real problem in the Trayvon Martin shooting.

This isn't the first time that the Sanford Police Department has failed to arrest an aggressor who clearly committed the crime; in 2010, they failed to arrest Justin Collison for beating up Sherman Ware, despite numerous eyewitnesses and video tape of the entire incident. Ware was a homeless man, and Collison the son of a Sanford police lieutenant.

B- Swampstyle is all over the place in his latest.

Contrived conventions like music week or boat week or art week or wine and food week are promotional events that reduce experience to a novelty that runs contrary to the cultivation of place and purpose. For most it may be nearly impossible to truly understand the swampy world we inhabit, and it sure is a distracting spectacle to watch.

C- Ernie's Italian Chophouse in Lighthouse Points gets a very favorable review from Jeff Eats.

Let me sum the food up this way…this was one of the best Italian outings I have had in South Florida.

D- Get familiar with "The Train That Built Miami" at Suntanned Mumford.

This is now, after years of debate about commuter rail, really, officially happening, and Florida is getting back something unequivocally central to its identity that has long been lost. Yes, it’s sustainable, smart urban growth, etc. etc. but it’s also symbolically heavy, for a state built on the symbolism of travel, escape, adventure, leisure, and fantasy. Florida was a tropical arcadia you traveled to by train, ending in Miami, the most glamorous city in the world.

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how that criticism ignores the fact that, among other things, the Herald endorsed Marco Rubio for Senator and has continued to defend Rubio from attacks. Still, many Cuban-Americans blindly and wrongly consider the Herald their foe when it comes to issues that concern them, even while they regularly excerpt large slices of Herald material that support their positions and display them on blogs like Babalu.

This morning, in yet another example of the above, the Miami Herald strongly urges the Pope to recognize the plight of the Cuban people, particularly Cuban dissidents, during his upcoming visit to the island.

The pope must make it clear that the church will never forsake its mission of defending the downtrodden. In Cuba, it has an obligation to stand up for the rights of dissidents. No improvement in church/state relations is worth an accommodation that calls the church’s moral authority into question.

It is unfair to burden the pontiff with expectations that no one can possibly fulfill about changing the nature of the Cuban regime. But it’s worth recalling the words of Pope John Paul II on his first visit to Haiti. Appalled by inhuman oppression and moved by the hope he observed in the face of ordinary Haitians, he declared forthrightly: “Something must change here.”

So it should be in Cuba.

The Herald's strong support of the concerns of the Cuban-American community doesn't mesh with the exile's portrayal of always being a victim of Fidel Castro, of American racists, of Democratic foreign policy or of a liberal media that just doesn't get it, so a certain number in the community tend to ignore these displays of support or dismiss them as few and far between.

That's a shame because if they stashed that self pity for a minute and acknowledged reality, they might realize that, in fact, a lot of folks do "get it" and actually "have their back." Not everyone is as consistent an advocate as the Cuban-American community would like, for sure. But there's a lot more people out there than they realize or even care to credit.


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A- Annush opines on the Trayvon Martin shooting.

If Zimmerman thought this kid was so dangerous, he should have feared for his life and avoid confrontation like a normal human. If he honestly thought he could be hurt by a can of iced tea or a bag of skittles, he should have stayed in his car to protect his own life.

But this black boy was wearing a hoodie so he was dangerous and was asking for it.

By that logic, let’s expect mass rapes at ULTRA because all the girls there are asking for it.

B- Salty Eggs reviews the performances of Kraftwerk and New Order at ULTRA yesterday.

Next was Kraftwerk, probably the most influential electronic act of all time. With a much larger crowd than had greeted New Order earlier, the legendary act took the stage through a blanket of darkness and with a tangible kinetic of intrigue. The meta-narrative explaining the band’s influence has been readily repeated: essentially their distinctive sound of repetitive rhythms, structural precision, and melody has been the sonic blueprint for electronic music since the 1970s. The fact that they were playing the biggest dance music festival in the world, which celebrates a sound they essentially pioneered, was highly apt and imbued their performance with a rich context.

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