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Odds & Ends
By Devin D. O'Leary
MARCH 1, 1999:
Dateline: Florida--Faced with a shortage of both parts
and money, NASA is taking back part of an exhibit it gave to an
Alabama museum for use again in the U.S. space program. The contractors
for NASA's space shuttle program last week contacted the U.S.
Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., and asked it to return
the forward assemblies from the shuttle's solid rocket boosters--currently
part of the museum's full-size space shuttle exhibit. Several
of the forward assemblies, which serve as propellant motors for
the spacecraft during lift-off, have been damaged or lost since
the space shuttle program began in 1981. The Clinton administration's
fiscal budget for next year represents a decline in NASA funding
for the fifth straight year in a row. Building new forward assemblies
would take three years and cost $5 to $10 million each. The used
equipment taken from the museum will eventually be replaced with
mock-ups.
Dateline: Alabama--Two very polite girls stand accused
of robbery in Birmingham, Ala. The two teenagers walked into a
shoe store and handed a note demanding money to an employee. "I'm
sorry to do this," said one girl. "You're so nice."
The worker told the girls he was waiting on a customer at the
moment, and they kindly offered to wait. The worker then calmly
walked to the back of the store and triggered a silent alarm.
The police arrived several minutes later and arrested the teenagers,
who were probably quite congenial to officers.
Dateline: Alabama--Elsewhere in Alabama, women aren't so
polite. A group of decidedly unsatisfied women took the state
of Alabama to court last Wednesday over a state law that bans
the sale of vibrators and other sex toys. The American Civil Liberties
Union spearheaded the suit in U.S. District Court on behalf of
Sherri Williams and other women who say their privacy rights have
been violated. Williams runs two "romance boutiques"
in Alabama, featuring candles, chocolates, lingerie and the occasional
sex toy. Last year, the Alabama Legislature outlawed strip clubs
and added language that barred the sale of items to enhance sex,
including vibrators and certain kinds of condoms. There is currently
a $10,000 fine and a year in jail for anyone caught selling such
items.
Dateline: New York--John Davila of Brooklyn, N.Y., was
indicted last Tuesday on charges of burglary, grand larceny and
criminal possession of stolen property. His crime? Stealing a
now-dead parrot from the Central Park Zoo. Davila, 24, boosted
the bird, a thick-billed parrot worth $20,000, from a cage in
the Central Park Wildlife Center last December. The rare green
parrot was recovered on Jan. 27 when Davila allegedly sold it
for $500. Unfortunately, the bird was on antibiotics for a respiratory
condition when it was stolen and died a few days later. Although
the bird is now--to use the immortal words of Britain's "Monty
Python"--defunct, no more, gone to meet its maker, Davila
faces up to seven years in prison if convicted in the theft of
the ex-parrot.
Dateline: Nevada--A 69-year-old man stands accused of murder
after beating his 73-year-old pal to death during an argument
over who was the better fighter. Owen Finnegan and Frank Ortiz
Ortega were drinking when they got into a squabble over who was
the better battler. The two punch-drunk seniors each bet $100
and went outside to decide the issue. Finnegan allegedly struck
Ortega, who then fell backwards and hit his head on the pavement.
Ortega suffered severe head trauma and died a day later. Finnegan
has been charged with first-degree murder--but on the plus side,
he won the bet.
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