Weeki Wachee, Florida: Mermaids of Weeki Wachee

The siren call of the mermaids wooed the wrong kind of traveler this Memorial Day weekend in Florida. An alligator found its way into Weeki Wachee's Mermaid Spring and had to be removed by a professional gator handler....

Weeki Wachee, Florida's beleagured City of Mermaids has temporarily held off another threat to its existence, but that may end in a matter of days. America's last live mermaid attraction -- a 27-acre park built around a natural spring -- delivered a business plan this week to the land owners, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (aka Swiftmud), laying out how to repair and restore Weeki Wachee to profitability....

According to a recent article in the St. Petersburg Times, Weeki Wachee Springs is sinking irrevocably into a sea of red ink....

Great news from the wire. The mermaids have a renewed contract. The thought that the state will be "restoring" Weeki Wachee makes me a bit nervous though. When they did that to Sunken Gardens it was the end of gator wrestling and a great tacky gift shop.

"State water managers are buying, preserving and restoring one of Florida's largest natural springs, and will let Weeki Wachee Springs' famous "mermaids" perform their daily aquatic shows for at least 30 more years."

The price tag negotiated with the springs' current owner -- the city of St. Petersburg -- was $16.5 million.

The City of St. Petersburg plans to sell Weeki Wachee and the adjacent Buccaneer Bay to raise over $14 million for "for future parks, recreation opportunities, preservation and beautification."