I find it a little strange I went on News 4 Jax to link you a story they started off with the 10 o'clock news about "RATS" are calling Hemming Plaza home. And I can't find the story? It's now 10:50pm they talked with everyone's favorite restaurant owner "Jerry Moran" and he gave his spin of why the rats are calling Hemming Plaza home. And Channel 4 was doing a live shot and you could see several rats here and there and in holes. The COJ is looking into the problem and has set traps because they can't use poison. <> OK here we go I couldn't sleep 3:45am 9/14/2012 so I came downstairs and turned on the computer. It looks as if Channel 4 has posted the story at "Dozens of rats call Hemming Plaza home
Published On: Sep 14 2012 12:02:57 AM EDT Updated On: Sep 14 2012 12:51:01 AM EDT."
QuoteI find it a little strange I went on News 4 Jax to link you a story they started off with the 10 o'clock news about "RATS" are calling Hemming Plaza home. And I can't find the story? It's now 10:50pm they talked with everyone's favorite restaurant owner "Jerry Moran" and he gave his spin of why the rats are calling Hemming Plaza home. And Channel 4 was doing a live shot and you could see several rats here and there and in holes. The COJ is looking into the problem and has set traps because they can't use poison.
Some of the stories that they lead with on Channel 4 are so stupid and non-newsworthy, I switched over to Action News at 10 and 11. Emily Turner seemed to get stuck with many of the poor stories, she must like them, she is still doing them.....
Yeah that story was very....stupid. Rats in a downtown! Wow, never seen those before. You havent seen rats until you been to downtown new york! LOL That was a silly story. I acutally hate the news media in the south. They are so dramatized and extra. I actually watch chicago news every now and then and they are very calm up north. They report the facts and leave it at that. Even the way they cover the bears and cubs are completely different. They dont get into anything in depth.
Quote from: mtraininjax on September 13, 2012, 11:18:20 PM
QuoteI find it a little strange I went on News 4 Jax to link you a story they started off with the 10 o'clock news about "RATS" are calling Hemming Plaza home. And I can't find the story? It's now 10:50pm they talked with everyone's favorite restaurant owner "Jerry Moran" and he gave his spin of why the rats are calling Hemming Plaza home. And Channel 4 was doing a live shot and you could see several rats here and there and in holes. The COJ is looking into the problem and has set traps because they can't use poison.
Some of the stories that they lead with on Channel 4 are so stupid and non-newsworthy, I switched over to Action News at 10 and 11. Emily Turner seemed to get stuck with many of the poor stories, she must like them, she is still doing them.....
I tried looking at Action News but they act like their sister station FOX 30 too much.
Had the same reaction. Switch to CBS 47 and they are doing a story about the Equestrian Center. How much of the $5,000,000 of private money has been raised? Still newsworthy today? Watching Lewis Turner doing the Mud Run. Aren't we still millions of dollars short? Would that save some library positions? Mow some medians? Provide a FIND match for a pocket pier/ floating dock? Is Tony Nelson in Federal Prison? A Board just gave a golden parachute to an Independent Authority to who for how much? Free parking for city council members. Still waiting for a letter of support from the Adminstration (RK) on Shipyards III. Who wants to be a 501-c?
I've seen rats in Hemming Plaza for years.
Rats and the city can't use poison? Who's bright idea was that? If you don't put out bait stations and poison you will have rats. I can say that from experience down town.
But news stations will always do stories on animals in downtown areas. It is because most people don't know what goes on around them. They'd be surprised what creeps around at night. I have seen raccoon tracks in the mud at down town Jacksonville construction sites. There is a possum that comes by once and a while. People in Atlanta were surprised when the coyotes were seen in Buckhead. They are out there.
I recently had rats in my attic. When can I expect my 15 minutes of fame?
Quote from: Overstreet on September 14, 2012, 08:01:59 AM
Rats and the city can't use poison? Who's bright idea was that? If you don't put out bait stations and poison you will have rats. I can say that from experience down town.
But news stations will always do stories on animals in downtown areas. It is because most people don't know what goes on around them. They'd be surprised what creeps around at night. I have seen raccoon tracks in the mud at down town Jacksonville construction sites. There is a possum that comes by once and a while. People in Atlanta were surprised when the coyotes were seen in Buckhead. They are out there.
Solution: Move the infamous San Marco panther to Hemming Plaza to eat the rats.
I love rats, they're quite good deep fried on a stick! ;)
Rats Recipe:
Ingredients
Fresh rats
Fresh herbs
Cooking oil
Chilli peppers
Butter
Peanuts
Preparation:
Blow the rat skin with a blowtorch.
Leave rats to cool down.
When they are cool enough, clean the rest of the skin with a steel wool.
Eviscerate the rats and split them.
Put all the good rat parts in a jar, with the fresh peppers, herbs and oil.
Leave this for half an hour in the fridge.
Deep-fry until brown in a mixture of butter and peanut oil.
Serve hot with some crunchy peanuts.
growing up in Riverside rats were quite the norm, some were as big as cats! and now in Springfield i see opposums and raccoons all the time!
Quote from: fsujax on September 14, 2012, 08:24:19 AM
growing up in Riverside rats were quite the norm, some were as big as cats! and now in Springfield i see opposums and raccoons all the time!
Did you happen to see Nature on PBS about Raccoons http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/raccoon-nation/full-episode/7558/ everyone should watch this!
the other night I came face to face with one, he was walking along my fence. It was actually pretty cool to see.
Quote from: duvaldude08 on September 14, 2012, 12:28:36 AM
Even the way they cover the bears and cubs are completely different. They dont get into anything in depth.
My guess is there is a bit of drama today about the Bears tho... ;D ;)
Quote from: fsujax on September 14, 2012, 08:35:59 AM
the other night I came face to face with one, he was walking along my fence. It was actually pretty cool to see.
8)
Local media is mediocre. To be expected.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on September 14, 2012, 08:50:30 AM
Quote from: duvaldude08 on September 14, 2012, 12:28:36 AM
Even the way they cover the bears and cubs are completely different. They dont get into anything in depth.
My guess is there is a bit of drama today about the Bears tho... ;D ;)
Man.. 7 seven sacks and 4 interception. Im sure he couldnt sleep last night LOL
Talk about a slow news day. Imagine that. Common rodents living in a park. Shocking.
Here's the story/video:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/Dozens-of-rats-call-Hemming-Plaza-home/-/475880/16600106/-/i8xu2rz/-/index.html
http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/_557781/uiconf_id/5926632/entry_id/1_qdwzrlkj
Rats in Hemming Plaza nowhere near as big and nasty as the ones that inhabit the Council Chamber.
Quote from: coredumped on September 14, 2012, 05:53:26 PM
Here's the story/video:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/Dozens-of-rats-call-Hemming-Plaza-home/-/475880/16600106/-/i8xu2rz/-/index.html
http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/_557781/uiconf_id/5926632/entry_id/1_qdwzrlkj
That is actually a good story and has a point. The vagrants do attract rats with all the trash they leave behind and they are as much of a problem as the rats. No trash left all over the place by vagrant and no rat nests outside city hall. I hope Browns budget allows for regular pest control in parks.
The vagrants and the rats rule downtown - or something like that.
Pretty much says it all.
I've lived over half of Florida through the years, both in the woods and in the cities and towns. It was odd that rats, coons, squirrels, humans, roaches, and birds were all around. Rats are similar to squirrels and birds, but also have an image akin to roaches in that nobody wants them around because they live in the ground, and are always lurking and hiding in the night. It is unfortunate that the media, who I suppose wishes to enhance the image of downtown, has unwittingly worked to trash it by illuminating this natural condition wherein rodents inhabit a downtown area. The rats have always been in the downtown parks, and will continue to be, unless poison is aggressively set to destroy them.
But the poison will kill other animals. Also, if some of the rats become immune to the poison, the local rat population might increase its rate of evolution according to the principles designed by nature and explained by Mr. Darwin, and gain in size and intelligence. Becoming stronger and more intelligent over time, and becoming more united under oppression, we might see the emergence of a Rat Army. We might see rats proudly standing on their hind legs, marching in protest twenty abreast down Laura Street, singing Rat solidarity songs. I can hear the march now, with the slow cadence.... Hooooumpha... Hooooumpha...... Hooooumpha. Just as with any population under siege, the Rat population will emerge stronger, and more united, willing to sacrifice their lives to achieve freedom from the yoke of the cruel creatures called humans.
There will always be food droppings in a downtown area as long as there are workers and individuals who eat lunch outside. If it becomes possible to remove the so-called vagrants from the park, you will have food dropped by the work crowd. Perhaps to decrease the food left for the rats, and therefore the rat population, the DVI ambassadors, who do a great job of cleaning up the downtown already, could be assigned to more carefully clean up the food droppings in the park once early each evening. Also, the city could place signs, asking park users to insure that all food scraps are placed in the garbage bags.
And if the local rat population does in fact evolve to more intelligence, they might respond positively to human requests that they simply make a quick sweep of the park to clean it of any dropped food missed by the downtown ambassador sweep. To some degree the rats are like vultures in that they clean the environment of items which we humans no longer want to be bothered with.
As usual, Ron is prescient. I want all of you to know that I have been retained by several rats to bring a class action lawsuit against those responsible for putting the local sub-specie in false light - a form of defamation. I expect to vigorously pursue all available legal remedies on behalf of my clients and other members of the class.
Well, seriously, folks, rats do enjoy a rather low image possibly because of their reputation as a carrier of another organism which, in turn, was responsible for a plague that, at various times over the years, has decimated large parts of the world's population - notably Europe.
Interesting our dislike for rats....are not squirrels rats with fuzzy tails?
Quote from: ben says on September 15, 2012, 07:51:33 AM
Interesting our dislike for rats....are not squirrels rats with fuzzy tails?
Yes, and pigeons are rats with feathers.
Hahahaha no lie at night its like real life wack a mole. ;D
Quote from: ronchamblin on September 15, 2012, 02:20:31 AM
It is unfortunate that the media, who I suppose wishes to enhance the image of downtown, has unwittingly worked to trash it by illuminating this natural condition wherein rodents inhabit a downtown area.
^This is a much greater problem than the rats.
It wouldn't surprise me if the increased rat activity has more to do with all of the rain we've been having lately... so I searched and found that Boston had a similar problem in 2010:
Quote
Rats! Record Boston Rainfall has Led to Rodent Problem
Apr 27, 2010; 1:00 PM ET
The deluge of rain in March has some residents of Boston smelling a rat, or possibly an entire pack.
The record-breaking rainy conditions have the rodents seeking higher ground, leaving the city's sewers and invading residential basements.
According to the Boston Herald, the city has received about 160 rat complaints from Feb. 22 to Apr. 22, including the record-breaking month of March.
"We didn't just have floods, we had a disaster," John Meaney, director of environmental services for Boston's Inspectional Services Department told the Boston Herald. "Any rats living in the sewers get displaced."
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/rats-record-boston-rainfall-ha/30843 (http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/rats-record-boston-rainfall-ha/30843)
Quote from: urbanlibertarian on September 15, 2012, 12:27:28 PM
Quote from: ben says on September 15, 2012, 07:51:33 AM
Interesting our dislike for rats....are not squirrels rats with fuzzy tails?
Yes, and pigeons are rats with feathers.
And the bums are rats with beards, bad breath, and torn clothing. ;)
(except the rats have better manners than the bums)