Here's Where You Can Try Iguana Pizza: Weird News & Oddities

The recent cold snap in Florida that caused thousands of iguanas to fall from their roosting places in a cold-stunned stupor presented a North Palm Beach County pizzeria owner with an unusual opportunity.

You’re making that face. You know what’s coming, don’t you?

When temperatures dipped into the 20s in early February, the iguanas were dropping like flies. With that many cold-stunned, immobile reptiles lying around, Florida wildlife officials saw their chance to be rid of thousands of the bedeviling invasive species. They offered trappers a one-time opportunity to collect them without a permit. More than 5,000 iguanas were removed from the state.

One of the trappers walked into Bucks Coal Fired Pizza with iguana meat and asked the staff to make him a pie. They called it “The Everglade,” and the pizzaiolo proclaimed it “the first iguana pizza in the history of mankind.”

A video of the pizza-making process from the moment the trapper walked into the pizzeria with a fistful of iguanas to the final taste test has been viewed about 40,000 times.

“It was never on the menu or anything,” a staff member who answered the phone at the pizzeria told Patch.

Still, the restaurant has been receiving about 200 calls a day about the iguana pizza, “trying to order it,” the employee said.

Now, the pizzeria is looking for a vendor who can legally provide iguana meat so they can offer it to diners, she said. “We do plan on getting this on the menu.”

• Watch the video: How To Make An Iguana Pizza And Actually Love It

‘Kill The Spiders’

A New York man has offered an unusual explanation after he was accused of arson in a fire that damaged his and multiple nearby homes on Uncus Lane in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 23.

Sean McDermott, 36, of East Moriches, New York, was trying to “kill the spiders” when he started a fire on the floor, then placed a loveseat over the flames, police said.

A neighbor saw the blaze and extinguished it, but McDermott kept relighting the fire, which eventually consumed the home and damaged several nearby homes, according to authorities.

Firefighters battled high winds, icy conditions and plummeting temperatures as they fought the fire and finally had it under control after about eight hours.

McDermott, who fled the scene in a U-Haul truck, remained at large for several days before he was captured

There were no injuries. It remains unclear if any spiders were killed.

• Read more: Man Accused Of Arson Was Trying To ‘Kill The Spiders,’ Police Say

A Sinkhole Crisis

Phillipsburg, New Jersey, is in the throes of a sinkhole crisis after the street opened up at a busy intersection, swallowing a dump truck, resulting in injuries to the driver, a hazmat team response, and an emergency evacuation of the area.

The sinkhole that injured the driver on Feb. 17 was the largest of several that had opened in recent weeks, prompting city officials to declare a state of emergency. Sinkholes also disrupted some of the city’s drinking water infrastructure and caused power outages.

The town says its state of emergency declaration is “proactive and administrative in nature and is intended to strengthen our ability to address conditions on the ground.”

City staff are consulting with utility companies and engineers to figure out what went wrong and decide how to fix the problem. The immediate focus is a careful investigation to make sure it doesn’t happen again and that repairs can be done safely, the city said in a statement.

• Read more: Town In Sinkhole Crisis After Street Swallows Dump Truck

These Buses Drive Themselves

These cute little buses drive themselves. Soon, they could be ferrying travelers around Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country.

“We have been working with self-driving technology successfully for many years — particularly at the airports — and believe autonomous shuttles offer a safe, efficient solution for moving passengers while we concurrently work to build a new AirTrain Newark and the brand-new Terminal B,” New York and New Jersey Port Authority chair Kevin O’Toole said.

The tests this spring will build on earlier tests on how well the buses get around objects, and will perhaps eventually be part of a unique airport experience at Newark.

“We are building a new Newark Liberty that meets the demands of the next generation of travel, so we must embrace a future that is inclusive of all the different ways we can move this region,” Port Authority executive director Kathryn Garcia said.

• Read the Patch Exclusive: These Cute Little Self-Driving Buses Could Be Your Next Airport Ride

Details Of Embezzlement Sentence

A former Illinois Big Brothers/Big Sisters CEO who embezzled thousands of dollars from the organization was spared jail and community service and was even allowed to take two resort vacations in Florida and Mexico this summer, a Patch investigation reveals.

Ted Brodeur pleaded guilty to felony theft charges on Feb. 10 and was placed on probation for 24 months by Will County Judge John Connor. Brodeur is subject to typical restrictions during his probation, including those prohibiting the possession of firearms and dangerous weapons, but was granted an exception to travel restrictions.

Connor noted in the sentencing order that Brodeur has repaid half of the $40,000 he stole from the organization that helps at-risk children in Will and Grundy counties to support his gambling habit.

Probation gives him another two years to pay the remaining $21,854 balance. The travel order covers vacations to Fort Myers, Florida, from May 30-June 6, and to Riviera Maya, Mexico, from July 22-28.

Brodeur became the CEO of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters chapter in 2019 after he retired as director of revenue and recreation facilities for the Joliet Park District, where he had worked for 30 years. He began collecting his government pension in January 2021.

• Read the Patch Exclusive: Big Brothers/Big Sisters Embezzlement Sentence Includes Resort-Style Vacations In Florida And Mexico

Witchcraft Threat Cited In Lawsuit

A former teacher at a New Jersey Head Start preschool claims she was discriminated against and retaliated against after raising concerns about mold in her classroom, according to a lawsuit.

Betzahy Gonzalez of Paterson said she reported a foul odor in fall 2023 after flooding left her classroom damp and humid. Her complaints were allegedly ignored, along with requests to move students during a deep cleaning with bleach.

The lawsuit says supervisors mocked her as “Ms. Know-It-All” and “Master Teacher,” and one threatened to “use witchcraft” to stop her complaints.

After Gonzalez took doctor-ordered disability leave, mold was found in her former classroom, where students and teachers reportedly experienced “coughing fits” and absences, according to the lawsuit.

She claims she later received retaliatory evaluations and was fired after the school year. Gonzalez is seeking $1.5 million in damages for alleged disability discrimination and retaliation.

• Read more: ‘Witchcraft’ Threats Hurled At Teacher After Mold Complaints: Lawsuit