Florida the Rules are different here XXVIII

Our local evil MSM is ingenious. They know how to shut down an airport with honey!

TALLAHASSEE -- A food reporter's bag containing video and audio recording equipment, honey, an oyster shell and seasoning rub was blamed for prompting officials to close Tallahassee's airport for three hours and evacuate the terminal Monday.

The configuration of the electronic gear and organic material looked suspicious when Transportation Security Administration officers viewed it through equipment used to scan carryon luggage, said Tallahassee police officer David McCranie.

``Something indicated this was not your typical bag and they pressed the alarm,'' McCranie said. ``It's like winning the lottery but the lottery you don't want to win.''

Todd Coleman, food editor for Saveur magazine, was detained but later released after the bag was removed from the terminal and a robot opened it to disclose the contents.

``I was afraid they were going to blow my bag up,'' Coleman said. ``It would have blown my story up.''

Coleman had come to Tallahassee to visit his parents, who live here, and do a story on the food of nearby Apalachicola, Florida's oyster capital. The Apalachicola area also is famous for tupelo honey that Coleman had in his bag.

The airport reopened at about 10 a.m., and all incoming and outgoing flights resumed. Coleman was released but had missed his flight He expected to get back to New York City, where the magazine is based, about 10 hours late.

Explosives are organic in nature but rarely trigger an alarm because screeners can tell from X-ray scans that it is food, paper or some other harmless material. In this case the positioning of the honey, electronic gear and batteries looked like parts of an improvised explosive device, said Quinten Johnson, TSA security director for the airport.

Johnson said the bomb squad was alerted and the airport shut down only after five screeners examined the X-ray images and all came to the same conclusion.

Florida, Airport screeners and the MSM. A dangerous or more often funny mix. You got to love Florida.

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