WELLINGTON, Fla. (AP) - A South Florida man had some good luck, now he's hoping for even better luck. Louis Tolentino says he lost a winning scratch-off lottery ticket worth a-half million bucks. He hopes he'll be lucky enough for someone to turn it in. A clerk at the store where he bought the ticket confirms it was a winner. The clerk told Tolentino he had to cash it in at the lottery office in West Palm Beach. Somewhere along the way, he lost it. Tolentino says he panicked and retraced his steps. But there's been no sign of that $500,000 lotto ticket. Without his signature on it, it's finders-keepers. Anyone can cash in that ticket.
ZOO POOP FUEL
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Researchers at Tulane University could have the inside scoop
on beating the energy crisis -- zoo poop. The scientists are studying droppings
from hippos, giraffes and other plant-eating animals. The zoo doo contains
bacteria that helps turn plant waste into butanol, a type of alcohol that can
fuel engines. Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute,
says scientists scooping up zoo poop might look funny. But he tells New Orleans
CityBusiness that animals have been turning plants into energy long before
people ever thought about doing it.
PARKING STRIP SALAD
SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) - Seattle gardeners are curbing their appetites. The city is
encouraging the green-thumb set to plant veggies on parking strips. Those are
the strips of grass between the sidewalk and the curb. The city has lifted the
requirement for a permit for a strip garden. Gardener Jake Harris couldn't wait
to get his veggies in the ground. He tells The Seattle Times his mantra is "eat
your yard."
SWORD EXERCISE
CHINA GROVE, N.C. (AP) - Forza might sound like an import car model. But it's
more like swordplay for exercise. Jennifer Lambert teachers Forza at North
Carolina's South Rowan YMCA. The Salisbury Post reports her students use a
2-pound wooden sword, but unlike fencing there's no combat. While students might
be channeling their inner-swashbuckler, Forza gives a serious workout. Lambert
tells her new students they might have sore shoulder and back muscles when they
start. She has another warning for students as they swing their swords -- don't
stand too close to each other.
LONG TIME IN FAST FOOD NORTH
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) - It's fast food -- but a long career. Marlene Wickerink
and Janet Chapman are both saying goodbye to the Golden Arches. Wickerink and
Chapman are retiring from the McDonald's in North Muskegon, Mich. Between the
two, they have more than four decades of experience with Happy Meals, Quarter
Pounders and Big Macs. The franchise owner (Mark Dahlke) tells The Muskegon
Chronicle the women were great examples for their fellow workers. Chapman was
the voice of the drive-though lane. She says she'll miss McDonald's. She adds
she used to be shy before starting under the Golden Arches in 1988.
ROLLER SKIING
BEND, Ore. (AP) - It might be tough to think about the Winter Olympics during
the dog days of summer. But Torin Koos can't let a little thing like the lack of
snow interrupt his training for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. He's a
member of the U.S. cross-country ski team. He and some teammates are training
with roller skis in the area around Oregon's Mount Bachelor. The skiers say
roller skis come close to the snow variety, but with some important differences.
One skier tells The Register-Guard newspaper it hurts a lot more to fall on
pavement than snow. The roller skies also have brakes, something snow skis lack.
