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Posted on 10/09/2001 2:38:18 PM PDT by Brandonmark

Times columnist receives suspicious envelope

Firefighters sealed off the desk of St. Petersburg Times columnist Howard Troxler after he received a white granular substance in the mail. Some of the unidentified substance fell out of the envelope after Troxler opened it over his desk in the newsroom of the paper's offices, 490 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg. Troxler placed the envelope on his desk. Police and firefighters were notified. "I'm sure it's nothing, but the fire department says that in an abundance of caution, they're going through all of their procedures," Troxler, 42, said. "If nothing else, it's a good test." Police put the envelope in a plastic bag and inside a tin can and drove it to a state health lab in Tampa for analysis. St. Petersburg firefighters did not have any other reports of suspicious substances Tuesday. They do not want to take lightly any such complaints. Newsweek magazine reported on its Web site Monday that the American Media office in Lantana received a "weird love letter to Jennifer Lopez'' a week before the Sept. 11 attacks. Inside was what was described as a "soapy, powdery substance'' and a Star of David charm. The letter was handled by both Sun photography editor Bob Stevens of Lantana, who died of anthrax and Ernesto Blanco, a Sun mailroom employee who has tested positive for anthrax, according to unidentified workers cited by Newsweek.

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