Budget situation dire; FSU removing landlines from professors' offices

Citing budget reasons, the English department at Florida State University is in the process of removing all phones from professors' offices, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.  Landlines will also be yanked from faculty offices in the History and Modern Languages & Linguistics departments.

"I've never seen anything like this before," English department chairman Ralph Berry told the newspaper. "It's difficult to have an office and no phone.  I think if parents of students who are coming here knew how austere the conditions are here compared to five years ago, they would be shocked."

Berry said removing the phones -- about 40 -- will save between $12,000 and $16,000 a year.  Two years ago, the department yanked 33 phones to cut costs.

Students who want to reach a professor will have to know his or her cell phone number...or maybe see if he or she has a page on Facebook.

Gator extracted from backyard swimming pool

It pays to take a good look before diving into that inviting pool in your backyard.  At least here in Florida.  A Tallahassee woman found a three-foot alligator splashing around in hers earlier this week, according to WCTV.  Worth a look for the short video of a state wildlife officer wrapping duct tape around the gator's jaws.  Who doesn't love duct tape?  The wayward reptile was released back into nature, according to the TV station.

Sculptor's naked man is missing

Somebody stole a 6-foot-6 bronze naked man from in front of a Tallahassee restaurant, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. The missing fiberglass sculpture was taken sometime after New Year's Eve. The artist is not amused. He wants him back.

Blind man with throat cancer to be evicted

Frederick Nieman is blind, has throat cancer and is about to be evicted from his apartment because of the cockroaches, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. His landlords say his apartment is a breeding ground for the critters and they spread to the neighbors' apartments. But Nieman's church friends who help him clean his apartment every week say the landlords haven't done enough to get rid of the pests. What's more, the apartment complex is owned by a non-profit company that's loosely affiliated with another church.

A real live dancing Christmas tree

Anyone can cover their home in Christmas lights, but a Tallahassee woman has taken the idea one step further and covered herself in lights. And she dances too, as you can see in this WCTV-TV report.