Latest news with #VeroBeach
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Florida AG investigating drag show at bar owned by Vero Beach vice mayor
VERO BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said his office is opening an investigation into a 'sexualized performance advertised to children' that took place in Vero Beach last month. Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Linda Moore, the Vice Mayor of Vero Beach and the owner of the Kilted Mermaid, a beer and wine bar. Florida woman vanishes under 'suspicious' circumstances; car last seen in Tampa On June 29, the bar hosted a 'Pride Tea Dance' featuring drag performances and other entertainment. Uthmeier said there was evidence that during the event, 'sexualized adult performers wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children.' The subpoena is asking Moore to provide the following: Surveillance video recordings Documents identifying camera locations, retention policies, or personnel responsible for maintaining said recordings Employee work schedules showing which employees were working on the dates of June 28 to June 30 Documents identifying anyone who performed or provided entertainment on the premises on June 29 Copies of any guest lists, reservation logs, ticket sales records, entry logs or other documents identifying who attended the performance Documents identifying all individuals responsible for checking identification, verifying age, controlling admission, or allowing entry on June 29 Guidelines in effect on June 29 regarding age verification, admission policies, security screening, and ID checks Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Florida vice mayor faces subpoena over investigation into drag show held at her bar
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a subpoena to Vero Beach Vice Mayor Linda Moore in connection with a state probe into the "Pride Tea Dance" event held at her Kilted Mermaid bar late last month, according to a press release issued by the attorney general's office. The Vero Beach establishment shared a poster on social media ahead of the event that included the phrase "ALL AGES WELCOME." "Florida law protects children from sexualization. There is evidence that at the 'Pride Tea Dance' on June 29, 2025, sexualized adult performers wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children," the press release from the attorney general's office states. The Sunshine State attorney general "issued subpoenas to Moore and Kilted Mermaid seeking" materials such as any surveillance footage, materials pertaining to those who performed at the establishment on June 29, materials regarding event attendees and more, according to the press release. "Moore and Kilted Mermaid are required to produce the necessary documents by August 8, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.," according to the release, which links to a copy of the subpoena. Fox News Digital reached out to the Kilted Mermaid to request a comment from Moore, who co-owns the bar with her husband Rick Norry, but they declined to comment. "We have the event every year; it's our gay pride event, and it is all ages," Moore said, according to NBC News. "It's a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can't stay for the show." Sometimes parents wish to remain, Moore said, according to the outlet, indicating that she has a policy that the initial drag performance will be "really tame"— after the kids are gone performances can get "a little racy," she reportedly said, noting, "there's never nudity at any drag show." Fox News Digital reached out to the Florida attorney general's office, but did not receive a comment by the time of publication. "In Florida, we don't sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults," Uthmeier said, according to the press release. "The Office of Statewide Prosecution opened an investigation into this sexualized performance to determine the extent of the content and exposure to children." The bar is slated to have a "Drag Queen Bingo" event later this month, but social media posts by the Kilted Mermaid describe that event as "18+."
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Florida's attorney general targets a restaurant over an LGBTQ Pride event
Florida 's statewide prosecutor has subpoenaed records of a popular restaurant after it hosted an LGBTQ Pride event last month that the prosecutor's office says was open to all ages, even though a recent state law that restricts venues from admitting children to 'adult' performances has been blocked by courts. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier claimed in a statement Tuesday that the event at the Kilted Mermaid in Vero Beach had 'adult, sexualized performers in front of children." His office on Tuesday did not respond to repeated inquiries asking which laws may have been violated. The subpoena issued earlier this month asks for copies of guest lists, reservation logs, surveillance video and contracts identifying performers. The owner of the Kilted Mermaid, Linda Moore, is vice mayor of Vero Beach, which is located on the Atlantic Coast, more than 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach. Moore did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment. Florida's Protection of Children Act, also known as 'the drag show ban,' was championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. It sought to punish venues for allowing children into what it called 'adult live performances.' Though it did not mention drag shows specifically, the sponsor of the legislation said it was aimed at those performances. Venues that violated the law faced fines and the possibility that their liquor licenses could be suspended or revoked. Individuals could be charged with a misdemeanor crime. The law was challenged in 2023 by the Hamburger Mary's restaurant in Orlando which regularly hosted drag shows, including family-friendly performances. The restaurant claimed the Florida law violated First Amendment rights by chilling speech. In May, a three-judge panel for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to back a lower court's preliminary injunction that described Florida's law as overly broad and vaguely written. The case now returns to the Middle District of Florida for trial.
Associated Press
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Florida's attorney general targets a restaurant over an LGBTQ Pride event
VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida's statewide prosecutor has subpoenaed records of a popular restaurant after it hosted an LGBTQ Pride event last month that the prosecutor's office says was open to all ages, even though a recent state law that restricts venues from admitting children to 'adult' performances has been blocked by courts. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier claimed in a statement Tuesday that the event at the Kilted Mermaid in Vero Beach had 'adult, sexualized performers in front of children.' His office on Tuesday did not respond to repeated inquiries asking which laws may have been violated. The subpoena issued earlier this month asks for copies of guest lists, reservation logs, surveillance video and contracts identifying performers. The owner of the Kilted Mermaid, Linda Moore, is vice mayor of Vero Beach, which is located on the Atlantic Coast, more than 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach. Moore did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment. Florida's Protection of Children Act, also known as 'the drag show ban,' was championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. It sought to punish venues for allowing children into what it called 'adult live performances.' Though it did not mention drag shows specifically, the sponsor of the legislation said it was aimed at those performances. Venues that violated the law faced fines and the possibility that their liquor licenses could be suspended or revoked. Individuals could be charged with a misdemeanor crime. The law was challenged in 2023 by the Hamburger Mary's restaurant in Orlando which regularly hosted drag shows, including family-friendly performances. The restaurant claimed the Florida law violated First Amendment rights by chilling speech. In May, a three-judge panel for the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to back a lower court's preliminary injunction that described Florida's law as overly broad and vaguely written. The case now returns to the Middle District of Florida for trial.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Florida sea turtle nesting season: Reckless people blamed for false crawls on Vero Beach
An increase in sea turtle nesting season false crawls on Treasure Coast beaches has one conservation group urging residents to stay off the beach at night, be more careful if you do go, and don't scare away the animals. About 70% of turtles' attempts to nest were thwarted on a half-mile stretch of Vero Beach between Sexton Plaza Beach and Humiston Beach Park since June 1, said Kendra Bergman, executive director of Coastal Connections, a Vero Beach-based sea turtle conservation group. That touristy strip of oceanfront hotels and restaurants has attracted about 60 people a night, with a peak of 108, Bergman told TCPalm. About a quarter of them used white flashlights and many interacted with turtles, "ultimately influencing the turtle to not nest and return to the ocean," Bergman said. "Although not every false crawl is caused by humans, the human-influenced false crawls are a major concern and completely preventable," Bergman said. Florida sea turtle nesting season Avoid the beach after dark from March through October. In Vero Beach, the public beach parks close at 10 p.m. If you insist on going at night, do not use a phone or flashlight because the white light scares nesting sea turtles. Human eyes will adjust to the dark, and the moon gives off enough natural light to stay safe. Join a guided turtle walk or daytime turtle dig to search for live hatchlings that didn't make it out of the nest and release them into the ocean. Always view wildlife from a distance. If you insist on going at night, give turtles lots of space so you can watch the entire nesting process without disturbing them. False crawls, light pollution, lack of rain, climate change Other false crawl culprits — some natural and some human-caused — include coastal light pollution, beach furniture and other obstructions, and holes left in the sand and some natural beach composition issues. In June and July, the sand can become dry when there's no rain, said Lauren Maline, a biologist with Ecological Associates. The private consultant based in Jensen Beach documented higher rates of false crawls during a two- to three-week period in mid-June and early-July, when there was an unusual lack of rain, Maline said. "Extremely dry sand can inhibit the ability of our sea turtles to properly dig their egg chambers," Maline said. "During times of decreased rain, we often see more abandoned nesting attempts, where the turtles have sometimes started the nesting process, but then abandoned due to less-than-ideal conditions. " Recent rain "helped a lot in reducing the number of false crawls we are seeing each day," Maline said in mid-July. Loggerhead sea turtle nests For loggerhead sea turtles, it is not unusual for the false crawl rate to exceed 50% or even average 60% as it did on the Treasure Coast in 2024, Maline said. The percentage of successful crawls above the high tide line that result in nests averages 40-50%, and in 2024, it was: 37% in Indian River County 41% in Martin County 42% in St. Lucie County So far this year, it's been: 44.1% in Indian River County 49.1% in Martin County 53% in St. Lucie County "Data actually shows that as a whole, we are at a higher nesting success than last season," Maline said. "It is still early in the nesting season, so these numbers will change and this data only accounts for one species of the three that nest on our beaches." The other two are greens and leatherbacks. Loggerhead, green, leatherback turtle nesting numbers Loggerhead sea turtles have laid this many nests so far this year: 1,305 in Martin County 3,865 in Indian River County 3,930 in St. Lucie County Green sea turtles have laid this many nests so far this year: 64 in Martin County 243 St. Lucie County 666 in Indian River County Leatherback sea turtles have laid this many nests so far this year: 75 in Indian River County 218 in Martin County 245 in St. Lucie County What is the nesting behavior of a sea turtle? Sea turtles, which are on the federal endangered species list, live most of their lives in the ocean, but adult females lay their eggs on land. They often return to the same beach where they were born. They migrate hundreds to thousands of miles between feeding grounds and nesting beaches every year. Leatherbacks are among the most highly migratory animals on earth, traveling as many as 10,000 miles or more each year, according to NOAA Fisheries. The temperature of the sand determines the hatchlings' sex. Nests that are 81.86 degrees produce males while 88.8 degrees produces females, according to NOAA. Fluctuating temperatures will produce a mix. Gopher tortoises: Relocations spike amid development boom, but Florida running out of room Florida coral reef: Will fishing council let rock shrimp nets drag the rare Oculina Bank? Loss and degradation of nesting and foraging habitats due to coastal development, pollution and climate change are among the most significant threats to sea turtles around the world. Others include: Vessel strikes Entanglement in marine debris Bycatch from commercial and recreational fishing In some areas, killing and eating turtles and their eggs. Tim O'Hara is TCPalm's environment reporter. Contact him at This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida sea turtle nesting season false crawls on Vero Beach Solve the daily Crossword
