Catch me on Audrey's Show

Last August I had the privilege of being a guest on the Audrey Chapman show; see my blog post about it.  Today I had the honor of being invited back for a second appearance.  We recorded it today, and it'll air on Saturday, April 24 at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, on WHUR-FM at 96.3 -- heard up and down the East Coast from Florida to New Jersey -- and via the Internet at http://www.whur.com.
Audrey has a great touch.  I've not had the pleasure to meet her in person, but if I were looking for a counselor to tell my troubles to, Audrey would be high on my list.  She's empathetic, she's widely read and well informed, and she has a knack for getting to the core of an issue in a heartbeat.  Try and catch the program; it'll run about 45 minutes, and it's focused on my new book, Empowering Your Sober Self. 

Girl, 8, asks cops for help with drunken mom

"Help me. My mother is drunk, and she crashed her car," said an 8-year old Tampa FL girl to troopers last week who were checking on a car wreck.

With the girl inside, the mother had sideswiped two other vehicles before hitting a parked car head-on and coming to a stop. The girl got out of the wreck, unhurt, and approached the first officer on the scene.

"Ever time she drinks she gets like this," said the girl. The mother was booked for drunk driving, child abuse, and related charges. Source.

Fed brief backs "sober houses"

Boca Raton, FL: Federal prosecutors here filed a brief opposing a city zoning rule that would bar "sober houses" from residential neighborhoods.

Filed on behalf of the owner of two large "sober house" apartment buildings, the brief says the facilities are housing for the disabled and therefore clearly exempt from the city's zoning jurisdiction.

Opponents argue that the facilities provide treatment and are commercial in nature, and therefore should be confined to commercial districts.

Read details here. Another angle on sober houses, here.

Special plates for DUI drivers?

A Florida state senator has introduced a bill to require drivers convicted of DUI offenses (Driving Under the Influence) to show pink license plates with "DUI" in big letters.

"Maybe it will embarrass people and keep them from drinking and driving," said Mike Fasano (R). "Maybe they'll think twice." The bill also says police "may stop any vehicle that bears a DUI plate without probable cause to check the driver."

"Pink plates would hold out individuals for punishment as well as ridicule. We are very opposed to it," said Larry Spalding, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida.

About 840,000 of Florida's 15 million licensed drivers have an active DUI sanction on their driving records, said Frank Penela, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles spokesman. A small percentage of those have limited driving privileges, such as permission to drive only to and from work, Penela said. Source.

Man strangles grandmother for drug money

Daytona Beach, FL: A 20-year old man with an addiction to crack cocaine strangled and killed Linda Hummer, his 59-year old grandmother, to obtain drug money, police say.

The man's family says they tried to get him into treatment, but they could not afford to pay the fees at the private centers. But a counselor at the Serenity House center said that the man, Christopher Culp, probably would have qualified for outpatient treatment there. Culp had been attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Culp was about to begin an intake assessment at Serenity House when he said he had to go get a soda. He never returned.

The intake counselor told the press, "People are very ambivalent sometimes about seeking help." Details.

Question: Isn't Serenity House violating a patient's confidentiality here? Or does a person have to "sign on the dotted line" before confidentiality attaches?

Crack cocaine: So easy to get, she thought it must be legal

Palatka, FL: A 50-year-old North Carolina woman complained to police that the crack cocaine she had just purchased wasn't very good.

Police arrested Eloise D. Reaves (photo) after she approached the Putnam County sheriff's deputy at a convenience store Friday, complaining to him that a man had sold her "bad crack" that contained wax and cocaine.

Reaves reportedly pulled an alleged crack rock out of her mouth and placed it on the deputy's car for inspection.

Reaves was informed by the police that she could be arrested if the crack tested positive for cocaine.

The woman was charged with possession of cocaine and bonded out for $1,504. Source.

Evolution at work

Orlando, FL: After smoking crack, a man got naked and apparently dove into a swamp to wrestle an alligator. Sheriff's deputies heard his cries for help and pulled him free of the gator's jaws, minus most of an arm, and with deep bites to his left leg. "We don't know whether he'll make it or not," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Details.

Frat life: Beer, urine, vomit

Screaming, sobbing and moaning were coming from the Sigma Alpha Epsilon frat house. Police found pledges crawling on their hands and knees and wearing items such as diapers and women's underwear. The house smelled of beer, urine and vomit. Three men were taken to a hospital.

Following this Oct. 26 incident at University of Central Florida, the national board of the fraternity disbanded the chapter. "Our board does not feel it's worth the effort to rehabilitate the group," a spokesman said. Source.

About time. When will the rest of the Greek world take a hard look at itself and reach the same conclusion?

NASCAR chief skids around sobriety test

NASCAR boss Brian France was driving recklessly, ran off the road, hit a parked car, and smashed into a tree, a witness told Daytona Beach police, but officers found no evidence of anything amiss. He just spilled a soda and took his eyes off the road for a moment, France claimed. Daytona Beach police chief Mike Chitwood told the press he's investigating whether officers, who spent 90 minutes with France after the incident, gave the auto racing celebrity preferential treatment. Chitwood said police did not administer a sobriety test. Gory details.

Foley hides out a bit longer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former U.S. Rep.Mark Foley is remaining in treatment for alcoholism beyond his initial 30-day stay, his attorney said Wednesday. Source. More on Foley.

Translation: Expect him out the day after the election.

Federal prosecutor accused of alcoholism in fatal crash

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- An assistant U.S. attorney, Michael Gallagher, is accused of slamming into the back of an SUV in Saint Johns County and killing 23-year-old Coty Hastings (right). A civil lawsuit filed by the victim's family accuses Gallagher of being an alcoholic and says his "gross recklessness" caused the crash that killed Coty. The lawsuit is asking him to admit "that [he is] and have been, for the past one year preceding the accident, a functioning alcoholic." And "that [he has] been counseled by [his] employer, the United States Attorney's office... about [his] abuse of alcoholic beverages." The suit doesn't allege that Gallagher was under the influence at the time of the crash, only that he had an alcohol problem. More.

Highly effective Teen anti-tobacco campaign gasping for funds

A few years ago, Florida's SWAT clubs (Students Working Against Tobacco) launched what many consider the most effective youth anti-smoking campaign in the nation. SWAT's edgy TV ads, many of them focused against the tobacco industry, were credited with bringing down the rate of teen smoking in Florida. Then state legislators raided the tobacco settlement account that funded SWAT, cut its budget from $70 million to practically nothing, and prohibited the clubs from running ads. From 1995 to 2003, the tobacco industry had given about $1.4 million to officials running for public office, says Common Cause of Florida. Only 10 of Florida's 160 state legislators were not recipients. Officials deny there was a connection. Now tobacco use among young teens is on the rise in the state. Read the full story from the Sarasota FL Herald-Tribune.