ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) - Gene Farmer is battling the recession one hot dog at a time. He figured his love of grilling might generate some bucks out of franks. Now, Farmer has a brand new hot dog stand in the courthouse parking lot in Calhoun County, Ala. He says it's an honest way to make a dollar. He'll fix a frank just about anyway a customer wants. Farmer tells the Anniston Star newspaper his preference is with chili and onions. But what you won't get from him is a burger. Farmer says his cart couldn't handle the grease from grilling hamburgers as required by the local health department.
SHERIFF'S MINIS
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The L.A. County Sheriff's Department is going Mini. The
department is leasing 17 Mini Cooper electric cars for just 10 bucks a month
each. A spokeswoman for the sheriff says part of the deal calls for the
department to provide feedback on how the Mini's handle the maxi demands of law
enforcement. The trial period also gives the L.A. sheriff a chance to evaluate
alternative-fuel vehicles.
TOW TRUCK HEIST
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - It's one way to get your car out of the police impound
lot. Authorities charge Timothy Peare tried to steal a tow truck. According to
officers, Peare told them he wanted a way to get his car which had been
impounded by police in an eastern Pennsylvania township. Court records show
Peare was arrested earlier that same evening on a drunken driving charge. He now
faces additional counts including attempt to steal a vehicle and prowling at
nighttime.
7-YEAR-OLD'S ACE
HOLDREGE, Neb. (AP) - Second-grader Jake Kluver now has his first hole-in-one.
His granddad, Bill Patterson, says young Jake sunk his ace on the 126-yard 16th
hole at Nebraska's Holdrege Country Club. Jake already has years of experience
on the links. He's been golfing since he was three and is a member of the
Nebraska Junior Golf Tour. Mom, Michelle, says Jake's ace is even more
remarkable considering the boy is all but blind in one eye. She tells the
Hastings Tribune her boy's visual impairment is the result of a fishing
accident.
WASHINGTON MONUMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) - Visitors to the Washington Monument had to take the long way
down yesterday. An elevator that brings visitors to the top one of Washington's
highest points malfunctioned. A National Park Service spokesman says the
tourists had to walk down the nearly 900 steps back to street level. But taking
the hard way down also gave the visitors a chance to see a little something
extra. The inner walls of the Washington Monument have carved memorial stones,
commemorating everything from the Ladies of Lowell, Mass., to the New York City
Fire Department.
BEACH HOUSE-BANK EXECUTIVE
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - An upscale Southern California squatter gets the ax. Wells
Fargo is firing a bank exec after reports she partied and stayed at a bank-owned
$12 million beach house, in the exclusive Malibu Colony. The bank says the
executive violated company policy. Neighbors complained to the Los Angeles Times
the woman and her family were using a house that was supposed to be empty. The
previous homeowners had to turn over the 3,800-square-foot house to the bank in
May.
