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Florida Community Asks Mermaid To Swim Elsewhere

By Mark Memmott

Published July 18, 2013 at 3:27 PM CDT

Jenna Conti, also known as Eden Sirene, before being asked to stay out of the water.

Jenna Conti just wants to swim.

In her custom-made mermaid costume.

At the Fishhawk Ranch community pools in Tampa, Fla.

But rules are rules, the local development district board says. And the rules say no swim fins in the pools.

So Conti, or Eden Sirene as she's known when she swims, has been left high and dry.

She "just wanted to really show some magic here in Fishhawk," Conti says.

Still, her dream lives on. She hopes to someday swim with other mermaids at the Florida Aquarium.

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Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

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