Pasco Sheriff's Deputy found dead

When it is your job to save people, that should include YOU! Everyone you work with would do it for you and you would do it for them. That should tell you that you should not be last on the list of lives to save! #BreakTheSilentService and #TakeBackYourLife

Pasco deputy, a wife and mother of three, died by suicide at home, sheriff says

Tampa Bay Times
By Langston Taylor
Published 6 hours ago
Updated 1 hour ago

There have been 37 law enforcement officers who have died by suicide so far in 2019, according to the nonprofit Blue H.E.L.P., which was started in 2015 to collect data and offer resources and help to officers and their families. It reported 160 deaths in 2018 and 159 in 2017.

Pasco sheriff’s Deputy April Rodriguez, a wife, a mother of three and a grandmother, died by suicide, said Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco at a Monday news conference. [Pasco County Sheriff’s Office]

A Pasco sheriff's deputy and mother of three has died by suicide, said Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Deputy April Rodriguez, 43, was found Sunday morning. She is the latest in what Nocco called an epidemic of law enforcement suicides.

Rodriguez didn't show up for work that morning, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies attempted to contact her, then went to her apartment, where her coworkers found her.

“She was a good person, with a great heart, and loved her children very much,” Nocco said.

She was the third first-responder in the Tampa Bay region to die by suicide in the past two months. A Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy and a St. Petersburg Fire Rescue firefighter both killed themselves in December.
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Sheriff in Florida Issues Warning to Stop Shooting at Hurricane Irma

It is really tense right here in Central Florida, especially when most of us know folks in the areas about to be hit hard by storm surges. Here are some things that I hope make some of us laugh at this nightmare.

Florida sheriff's office warns people not to shoot at Hurricane Irma

Yep, that's Florida! That was on USA Today. Here are a few more

In other news, boat owners ride out hurricane in boats, because "they float."

WENY NewsFort Myers, Florida -- It's generally considered dangerous to attempt to ride out a major storm in a boat. But a look around the Fort Myers Yacht Basin Saturday evening revealed several boat owners remaining on board. 

We even talked to one man who plans to stay aboard throughout Hurricane Irma. 

We asked the brave mariner how he plans to deal with a potential 10-foot storm surge. "My boat floats...I'm going to be on top of it."

Hurricane Party 
South Beach

Shouts of “F— you, Irma!” rose from a group of some 20 surfers as they drank beer, white wine and champagne on the beach. 

“Block party, baby!” artist Jona Cerwinske, announced.

They’d reluctantly left off surfing by late afternoon, after the Atlantic Ocean began to churn.

“It’s like a washing machine out there,” noted George Granizo, 51, as he abandoned the water.

The surfers said they’d gathered on the beach to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of one of their friends, who’d died while surfing.

In defiance of Irma, Fort Pierce's infamous Archie's Seabreeze parties

Everyone at the bar had more to say about it than just liking the hot wings and cold beer — though owner Patty McGee said Budweiser has awarded her 21 years in a row for selling the most Budweiser in a four-county area.

"Thank God for Patty," said Frances Pollari, an island resident and Archie's regular. "Look at us, we're all happy. If we were isolated in our homes, we wouldn't be happy. God bless her."

Pollari and Feeney touched on why Archie's Seabreeze has thrived   for 70 years. It's more than just hosting the best hurricane party on the Treasure Coast, it's perhaps its close and raunchy family.

Besides being open 365 days a year, Archie's is  known for staying open close to a hurricane. They even made t-shirts for Hurricane Irma.  

Veterans go to war against budget cuts

Veterans go to war against budget cuts

By Carl Orth The Suncoast News

Published: July 17, 2009

Updated:

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco County veterans are going into battle against a proposal to cut the budget of the county veterans services office by about 60 percent and lay off four of its six staff members.

Some 54,000 veterans call Pasco home. So the Pasco Veterans Council launched a petition drive to protest drastic cuts at the Division of Veterans Affairs before county officials finalize the fiscal 2010 budget, in September.

"We need to stand up and speak up for what we think is fair," said James Bradley, president of the veterans council.

But property tax revenue has been plunging along with home values, Pasco officials say.

"Something has got to give," said Dan Johnson, assistant county administrator for public services. The preliminary budget numbers represent a "worst-case scenario," he emphasized.
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Veterans go to war against budget cuts


"Something has got to give" did he really say that when he's talking about veterans? Did he really say that when there are two military campaigns going on? Did he really say that when we have veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq needing as much help as they can get? Something has got to give? Well he must have forgotten they already gave and that's why we call them veterans!