Issues of Interest

HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK Pinellas County has seen an outbreak of 300 cases of Hepatitus A, followed by Pasco County with 230 cases and Orange County with 170 cases in the first four months of this year. The Department of Health urges vaccination against the disease.

BUG APP Just in time for lovebug season, University of Florida professor Mark Hostetler and his son, Bryce Jamm Hostetler, created a mobile app called That Gunk On Your Car. The app shows insect residues as well as the species that produced the splat. Users can search for a type of bug or look through a list of images that show what the bugs will look like just after they made impact. The app is based on a book Mark Hostetler wrote in 1997.

HIKER Kyle Rohrig completed a 1,100-mile hike around Florida, accompanied by his blind dog Katana. The dog lost her eyesight two months before the hike and Rohrig carried her most of the way. They began their trek from Big Cypress near Miami in January and finished April 1st at Fort Pickens near Pensacola.

FISH Due to damage from red tide in portions of the Gulf of Mexico, protections for red drum, snook and spotted sea trout have been extended. The protections go into effect May 11th and include all of Tampa Bay. Under the extension, snook and red drum will remain catch-and-release for through May 31, 2020. Spotted sea trout will be catch-and-release only, and includes no commercial harvesting through May 31, 2020.

TURTLE SMUGGLING A Florida man will spend a year in prison for hiding rare turtles in candy wrappers and socks and shipping them overseas. He was sentenced in South Carolina and the smuggling ring extended all the way to Hong Kong.