courtesy of Holly Jacobs

Holly Jacobs' nightmare began in 2009. That's when naked photos of the Miami PhD student first appeared online. They soon went viral, appearing on hundreds of so-called revenge porn websites along with her name, phone number, and email address. Photos and videos were even sent to her bosses.

Jacobs has spent the past four and a half years trying to remove the embarrassing images from the internet. Two weeks ago, she filed suit against her ex and several revenge porn sites. Now Jacobs is urging Florida lawmakers to pass a proposal to criminalize what she calls "cyber rape." But with the legislative session ending tomorrow, House Bill 787 -- along with Jacobs' campaign -- hangs in the balance.

See also:
- Proposed "Revenge Porn" Bill Would Make Releasing Your Sex Tape a Felony

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By all accounts, Kiera Wilmot's science experiment gone wrong triggered just a tiny pop and a small amount of smoke at Bartow High School last week -- but her tale is certifiably blowing up the Internet today. Thanks to Reddit and Reason, thousands of people have commented on Wilmot's story, many asking the same question: How could an otherwise model student be expelled and charged with a felony over an experiment that didn't hurt anyone?

Riptide decided to call the Polk County School District to find out. The answer: The letter of the law demanded the punishment, and school administrators believe kids should learn "there are consequences to their actions."

We've also obtained a police report that indicates Wilmot mixed toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil -- a combination that has inspired hundreds of YouTube videos and generally produces a fairly unimpressive explosion.

See also:
- Florida Teen Girl Charged With Felony After Science Experiment Goes Bad

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via NBC Miami

Trying to be a daredevil good Samaritan and alcohol don't often mix.

Richard Brandenburg, 49, tried to help out a woman on Miami Beach yesterday who had lost her keys in a storm drain. So he downed half a pint of white rum and jumped into the sewer.

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via Miami Pet Assistance Coalition

Vinny the dog after being stabbed and beaten on Biscayne

Natalie Ramos was driving home from the gym early last Friday when she saw a woman on Biscayne Boulevard crying next to a dog and yelling for help. Ramos stopped and tried to calm the woman, who didn't speak English and pantomimed a series of stabbing gestures and kicks. The homeless dog, Ramos realized, had been attacked in broad daylight and stabbed in the neck.

Vinny the dog's ordeal highlights a growing problem in the area, where dozens of dogs roam free and suffer routine abuse. Those picked up by Animal Services still stand a risk of being euthanized, as efforts to institute a full no-kill policy in the city have stalled without funding.

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Norman Braman

Norman Braman likes to think of himself as a man of the people. The billionaire famously sued the county and the Marlins in 2008 on behalf of taxpayers pissed off over the disastrous stadium deal. When Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez raised property taxes two years later, it didn't put a dent in Braman's own bank account but he recalled Alvarez's ass anyway. Most recently, Braman has been battling Dolphins owner Stephen Ross over his request for nearly $300 million from county coffers. "This deal... is the same rip-off that the Marlins gave us only a few years ago," Braman said. "This is welfare for a multibillionaire."More »

On Tuesday, New Times reported the backstory behind the recent police and code enforcement crackdown in Wynwood, which has led bar owners to suspect that Operation Dry Hour is more about downtown clubs stifling competition than about safety. When we looked into the allegations, we found that downtown clubs do, in fact, have a close and lucrative relationship with police. The clubs have complained to both cops and local politicians about "unfair competition" from Wynwood bars. And police have admitted these complaints spurred them to action in the up-and-coming neighborhood.

But one downtown club owner accuses New Times of fomenting conspiracy theories. "This reporter likes half-truths as much as half-baked ideas," says Michael Slyder, owner of Mekka and president of the Miami Entertainment District Association. Click through for his full response to the piece.

See also:
- Wynwood Bar Owners Claim That Cops and Downtown Clubs Are Conspiring Against Them
- City of Miami Cracking Down in Wynwood, Strictly Enforcing 3 A.M. Last Call

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Luther Campbell teams up with b Condoms for safe sex campaign.

What time is it? Booty Time! What time is it? Booty, booty time!

But you better wrap it up before you have some fun, according to Miami hip-hop icon, community activist, and alternative weekly columnist Luther Campbell. As part of an endorsement deal with New York-based b Condoms, Uncle Luke is giving away 6,000 prophylactics to non-profit agencies providing social services in Miami's inner-city neighborhoods. It's part of a campaign to combat the disproportionate numbers of teen pregnancies, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in African-American and Hispanic communities.

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via Save the Fillmore

When Portman-CMC, one of two finalists for a billion-dollar Miami Beach Convention Center renovation, unveiled plans to raze the historic Jackie Gleason Theater and replace it with a hotel, residents were not shy about slamming the idea. More than 1,200 people signed on to a "Save the Fillmore" Facebook petition and flooded public meetings to argue that Miami's best mid-sized concert venue would die with the historic property.

The developers paid attention. Last night, Portman announced a new proposal to keep the Fillmore in place.

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What would you do if you found a bagful of $36,000 in sweet green cash sitting alone in Miami Beach? Would you swipe it? Would you immediately treat yourself to a shopping spree on Lincoln Road? Would you turn it in but keep a few thousand as a finder's fee?

If those ideas sound good to you, well, sorry, you're morally inferior to Rachel Castillo.

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photo illustration Miche Ratto

The "blowjob shots" were just beginning. It was after 3 a.m., and Shots Miami was living up to its name. Hundreds of customers sucked down slugs of brightly colored booze -- some from between each other's legs. All night long, partiers had flocked to the neon-painted bar on NW 23rd Street to don costumes and play drinking games. Like the rest of Wynwood, Shots was booming.

Amid the revelry, no one paid much attention to two men sidling up to the bar. They were clean-cut, in their 30s, and dressed in jeans and button-down shirts. After checking their watches, they ordered a pair of Red Stripes.

Moments later, Shots owner Oscar Zapata glanced at the surveillance cameras in his office and saw squad cars pull up. The 31-year-old raced outside. Cops were everywhere, pushing patrons out. When Zapata explained he was one of the owners, police slapped handcuffs on him and sat him next to the three bartenders who had served the undercover officers their beers. Zapata was hauled to jail, where he spent 15 hours -- all for selling booze at 3:10 a.m.

See also:
- City of Miami Cracking Down in Wynwood, Strictly Enforcing 3 A.M. Last Call
- Cops Arrest Six For Illegal Gambling Machines, Mistake Gramps' RoboCop Game For Maquinita

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