NEWS QUIRKS

Curses, foiled again

A surveillance video showed the man who stole two 24-packs of beer from a convenience store in Lake Wales, Fla., making his getaway. Before he made it to his car, however, his sagging jeans dropped, causing him to fall to the ground and sending cans of beer rolling in every direction. He got up and jumped into the vehicle and drove off empty-handed. (Lakeland’s The Ledger) A man handed a note to a bank teller in Okeechobee, Fla., demanding a sack full of cash. When the teller said she didn’t have a bag, the would-be robber, who was also bagless, left empty-handed. The Okeechobee County sheriff’s office said the suspect fled the scene on a bicycle and was apprehended within seven minutes, thanks to bank personnel’s good description of Joseph Price, 61. (United Press International)

Grass is always greener

Increasing numbers of Arizona residents are painting their lawns green to avoid high water bills and fines from homeowners associations that can amount to thousands of dollars. An average-size lawn costs $200 to spray with a vegetable-based dye that lasts three months before turning blue. Although painting lawns keeps the grass green, it still needs watering so it doesn’t die. Besides fear of citations from homeowners’ associations, the biggest boost to the grassspraying business has been the housing crisis, which prompted real estate brokers to find cheap ways to enhance the curb appeal of available properties. (The New York Times)

Speedy trial

After a jury in Hampden County, Mass., needed only three hours to find Charles L. Wilhite, 27, guilty of firstdegree murder, his attorney, William J. O’Neil, moved to have the verdict set aside, pointing out there was so much evidence against his client that the jury couldn’t possibly have considered it all that quickly. (Springfield’s The Republican)

Grievance of the week

After Scranton, Pa., Police Chief Dan Duffy made an impromptu drug arrest while off duty, the city police union complained to the state Labor Relations Board because Duffy isn’t a member of the collective bargaining unit. Noting “the work of apprehending and arresting individuals has been the sole and exclusive province of members of the bargaining unit,” the complaint states that the city failed to notify the union the chief would be “performing bargaining unit work.” Despite the grievance, police union president Sgt. Bob Martin said the chief is “morally and legally obligated” to act if he witnesses a crime and to make an arrest if necessary. “It’s not against the chief,” Martin explained. “The action is against the city.” (Scranton’s The Times-Tribune)

Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.