This American crocodile found in Punta Gorda was about 10-15 feet long, according to a police report.
I was so happy to see this story at #1. After stories about traffic fatalities being the most-read on our websites over the past month, seeing this in the top spot was refreshing.
Easily the most-read story last week was the one about a rare crocodile -- yes, a crocodile, not an alligator -- living in Punta Gorda. And like so many of the residents in the area, the croc was a senior, estimated to be 70 years old.
Neighbors have seen him hanging around in the canal behind Pamela Drive in Punta Gorda Isles for a couple of weeks. But until he crawled onto a floating dock to show off his size and features, everyone thought it was an alligator.
If you get a chance, take a look at the photos with the story. Generally speaking, when you see American crocodiles, they tend to be far smaller than a typical alligator. But not this one. He's a big boy.
And for the record, the residents have named him George. Yup, George the Crocodile.
The residents will likely see him in a while. Ah, I crack myself up.
If you'd like to read the story and see all the photos, visit:
OK, on with the rest of the Top Five:
#2: Latest COVID-19 & Vaccine Stats -- For Here & Florida
OK, this is becoming a pattern. This story has been pretty much in the #1 spot since March but has fallen to #2 for the past four weeks or so. I suspect a big reason for this drop is that the Florida Department of Health is not releasing its daily numbers until late in the day, or even late into the night.
But we could see this story jump to #1 again. That's because late last week, we started adding the number of vaccine shots being given in each county. I'm guessing that people will want to see those numbers and see how the vaccination process is progressing.
If you'd like to get the COVID-19 stats every day in e-mail, just sign up for "Breaking News" at:
#3: Venice Regional nurse dies of COVID-19
Our doctors, nurses and other first-responders genuinely put their lives on the line nearly every day in the battle against coronavirus. We were saddened to learn that one of those first-responders -- a nurse at Venice Regional Bayfront Health -- passed away.
"The hospital family is tremendously saddened by the passing of one of our associates," Director of Marketing Julie Beatty said in an email. "This person will be dearly missed by co-workers here in the hospital and by loved ones in their family and community."
It can be easy to forget that there are thousand of people in our community who actively put themselves in harm's way to try to help us. Hearing of the passing of the Venice nurse was a wake-up call.
You can read the story at:
#4: Paper reports Mick Jagger, girlfriend buy home in Lakewood Ranch
Melanie Hamrick and Mick Jagger.
Apparently, thousands of you were just as surprised as me at this headline. Mick Jagger living in Lakewood Ranch? Seriously?
Yup, apparently it's true. According to the Bradenton Herald, Jagger, 77, bought a home for his girlfriend, Melanie Hamrick, a former ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre. The house sold for $2 million.
If you'd like to hear of the Realtor's experience in selling the home, visit:
Authorities remain on the scene of a fatal crash on Interstate 75 involving a Punta Gorda driver going southbound in northbound lanes near Jacaranda Boulevard in Venice. A Sun City man, 21, was killed. His passenger, still unidentified, was critically injured.
#5: Cops: Wrong-way crash on I-75 kills one
Just the other day, I was driving on I-75 near Venice and one of those electronic signs flashed, "Caution: Wrong-way driver reported in area." As soon as I saw that, I thought of this story.
A 37-year-old Punta Gorda woman was driving a Hyundai Santa Fe southbound in northbound lanes of I-75 at about 10:45 p.m. on a Monday, just north of the Jacaranda exit at Mile Marker 194. A 21-year-old man from Sun City was driving a Nissan Altima north in the northbound lanes at the same time.
The two cars collided, and the man died. He also had a female passenger in the car, and she was seriously injured, as was the woman driving the car the wrong way.
The FPH has not yet released the names of anybody involved in the crash.
To read the whole story, visit:
Ronald Dupont Jr. is the digital editor for The Daily Sun and the Venice Gondolier. He can be reached at ronald.dupont@YourSun.com.
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December 28, 2020 at 03:00AM
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