Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday is expected to sign new Florida legislation to mark the celebration of Earth Day.

In the darkness and despair wrought by Hurricane Ian, there were flickers of light and hope.

But one South Florida python hunter has been experimenting with what some have dubbed “chicken of the Glades” — making meals, snacks and even sweets that could give the holidays that distinctive South Florida flavor. Siewe, a self-described herper — reptile and amphibian enthusiasts — moved from Indiana to South Florida to become a python hunter last year. The giant snakes are everywhere in South Florida, devouring mammals in the Everglades and disrupting the natural balance of predator and prey. In addition to the District’s paid python hunters, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also runs a python elimination program by employing contractors. Allowing the consumption of python meat might encourage more people to get involved in catching them, Kalil said.

But her favorite way to eat python is to pressure cook it for 10 or 15 minutes, sauté it with onions and garlic, and add it to pasta and sauce. Some of the Everglades pythons registered more than 100 times that. It always does this time of year, they stop moving around as much because of the cold.”Among those nine pythons Kalil says she’ll make jerky out of five or six. Even today she won’t eat pythons more than 7.5 feet long because she thinks there’s a bigger mercury danger in snakes that size. To make jerky, Kalil marinates the python meat in mojo sauce overnight and then puts in the dehydrator for 12 to 15 hours.

The NHC began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 19 at 5 p.m. Friday. Forecasters predict 2 to 4 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 6 inches across west-central and southern Florida, including the Florida Keys, through Sunday. The depression is expected to grow into Tropical Storm Sally once it is over open water in the Gulf of Mexico later in the day. It will be the 18th named storm of this over-the-top hurricane season. Sally could intensify to a strong tropical storm or even Category 1 hurricane as it approaches the Mississippi/Louisiana coastline early Wednesday morning.

Confronting the likelihood of more distance learning, families across the country are turning to private tutors and "learning pods" to ensure their children receive some in-person instruction. The race to set up learning pods threatens to vastly deepen inequities in access to education. In some cases, parents are paying thousands of dollars each to include their children in pods, promising teachers $40 to $100 an hour or more. A Facebook group on learning pods attracted more than 30,000 members within three weeks of being formed and launched numerous offshoots in states and cities. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has called learning pods luxuries that are not an option for low-income parents.

A wildlife trapper known as the Python Cowboy caught a 17-foot python in the Florida Everglades, and hes got the photos to prove it. Last week, Mike Kimmel went out to a secluded island where he spotted alligator droppings. He came upon what he said looked like an extra large python that made his heart pound. He said he will also receive a payment from Floridas Python Action Team, which pays people to remove the invasive species. Now, wildlife officials estimate there might be as many as 100,000 pythons living in the Everglades.

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – A K9 assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a search for a missing baby was bitten by a water moccasin in the Everglades on Thursday. As investigators and officers were searching the area, Heidi Sievers, Forensic Investigator (FI) and K9 Phi’s handler noticed that K9 Phi was limping. ​“The Pasco Sheriff’s Office is thankful for the quick actions of BluePearl in K9 Phi’s care," the Pasco Sheriff’s Office said. “Their professionalism and communication with FI Sievers and Cpl. While K9 Phi is a working dog, he is also a part of not only the Pasco Sheriff’s Office family, but also FI Sievers’ family, as our K9s live at home in off duty hours.

Ron DeSantis wants lawmakers to double fines for sewage spills into waterways and to lock an environmental-funding pledge into state budgets for at least the next three years. The proposals are the first of a series the governor said he will make ahead of the 2020 legislative session, which starts in January. Doubling fines for sewage spills would eliminate what DeSantis described as a slap me on the wrist approach to penalties for local governments. DeSantis also would like the Legislature to plug $625 million a year into the next three state budgets for environmental projects. Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said Wednesday hes excited to work with DeSantis on the environmental proposals.

A Burmese python recently captured by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission is the second largest snake ever removed by the agency. The state wildlife agency tweeted images showing Python Action Team Member Kevin Reich posing with the massive python, which measures a staggering 17 feet and 9 inches long. Thanks to leadership from @GovRonDeSantis, our #Python Action Team is on a roll! This is the second largest #snake they have caught! Full story: https://t.co/xK721HvD8Z pic.twitter.com/Y9yEAzBIet MyFWC (@MyFWC) August 26, 2019Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

WPLG-TV imageFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Florida Forest Service on Tuesday tweeted that a wildfire in the Everglades had grown to 31,500 acres -- nearly the double the size it was on Monday -- and the blaze is only about a third contained. The wildfire is located about eight miles west of the city of Weston. Florida Forest Service officials confirmed lightning started the wildfire Sunday night just north of a busy stretch of Interstate 75 known as Alligator Alley and a few miles west of a state highway. No buildings were in immediate danger. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.