What would you do for a year's supply of beer? We find out one UF student's winning, and potentially deadly, answer in this week's ONLY IN FLORIDA.ONLY IN FLORIDA is our weekly roundup of the strange, bizarre and just plain ridiculous headlines from right here in the Sunshine State.
ONLY IN FLORIDA do car thieves try to steal unmarked police cars with a police officers sitting inside.
Down in Boca Raton on Tuesday, 23-year-old Traverse Verite thought he was breaking into an empty vehicle, with dark tinted windows, but when he opened the passenger door of the unmarked hybrid he found a police officer pointing a gun at him.
When asked why he tried to get in the vehicle, police said Verite repeatedly told them, "I just want to read my Bible and leave," an explanation that officers found less than credible. Verite faces a burglary charge. (South Florida Sun Sentinel)
ONLY IN FLORIDA does your next door neighbor keep you awake with the whir of helicopter blades.
A quiet residential community in Valrico, Florida, is fed up with a helicopter taking off at all hours of the day — not from an airport, but from a neighbor's front yard.
Officials with the Florida Department of Transportation tell ABC News they have located the owner and are sending out a cease and desist.
The FAA meanwhile says it has no private helicopter landing area registered to the address.
A landing pad on private property is required to be at least 500 feet from a dwelling or property zoned in a residential area, according to zoning records. It also requires special approval from the board of county commissioners. (ABC News)
ONLY IN FLORIDA do college kids risk their lives for beer.
Marathon native Michelle Sardina recently jumped off a 50-foot cliff into water to become the first-ever winner of the beer giant’s “How Far Would You Go For Free Coors Light” contest.
The 21-year-old was one of three grand-prize winners to earn a year's worth of the "silver bullet" in the form of 24 cases over the next 12 months. That should come in handy for her upcoming senior year at the University of Florida. (Florida Keys Keynoter)
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You can follow Melissa Ross on Twitter @MelissainJax and Patrick Donges at @patrickhdonges.
