CHICAGO (AP) - The fantasy of every Elvis Presley fan -- well, at least the female ones. If you've got the cash, you may be able to buy what's said to be a clump of Presley's hair to run your fingers through. It's part of a memorabilia auction next Sunday in Chicago. Other items will include some of his clothes and -- if you're so inclined -- sweat-stained scarves. As for the hair, it may have come from Presley's Army-issue crewcut while entering the service in 1958. The auction house says another collector with hair Presley lost to an Army barber has checked it out and it matches what he has. So, how much is this clump of Elvis hair expected to fetch? In 2002, another clump went for $115,000.
COW TAIL DOCKING
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - If contented cows produce better milk, than California's
dairy industry may be in for a boost. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed
a bill banning tail docking. That's when a cow's tail is cut off to keep it from
slinging manure. The practice was done on less than 15 percent of California's
1.5 million dairy cows, but they apparently have a pretty good lobby. The tail
docking bill is one that Schwarzenegger ridiculed as a waste of legislators'
time as the battle raged over balancing the state's budget.
MAYOR ROBBED
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Not even a mayor is immune to street crime. But at
least Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson wasn't robbed in his own city. Johnson, who
is a former NBA star, says he was in San Francisco over the weekend for a
conference, put down his belongings near Union Square to help a man struggling
with HIS stuff, and somebody made off with his suit, a pair of shoes and some
personal items. Not the ones he was wearing, of course. You've got to hand it to
a robber who would steal from a former NBA player. Johnson is not notably tall
at 6-feet-1, but he played guard and presumably can still run pretty fast.
DOUGH MIXER DIVORCE
FAIRFIELD, N.J. (AP) - Most divorce disputes don't drag on 12 years --
especially over a dough mixer. But the dough mixer Karin Seruga and Richard Zinn
squabbled over is not your garden-variety kitchen standby. That is, unless
you've got room for a 6-foot monster that weighs two tons. Seruga and Zinn were
fighting over the U.S. trademark for a commercial mixer known as the Artofex
triple-action. It was invented in Switzerland nearly 100 years ago, and Zinn has
been using the Artofex name in his bakery machine business even though his
ex-wife owned the trademark. But recently a federal judge ruled in Seruga's
favor, and awarded her company $570,000 in damages. But guess what? Zinn's
lawyer says they'll appeal. It seems some divorces never end.
STOLEN CARVING
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - You've gotta ask, who would steal a chain saw carving?
And it's not like it's of Abraham Lincoln, or something. Somebody took an
8½-foot chain saw carving of former Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas
from a parking lot across from Ralph Wilson Stadium. It happened only a day
after it was unveiled. Police might want to talk to some of Thomas' burly former
teammates. The carving weighs more than 1,000 pounds, and would reportedly take
several strong people and a flatbed truck to whisk it away.
RISQUE' AD CAMPAIGN
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Any city hoping to attract visitors wants to seem
exciting, but some in Louisville, Kentucky, think a new ad campaign goes too
far. It dubs Louisville the "Possibility City," with one ad showing a young man
in Ohio who wants to find a girl with a risqué tattoo. Another ad alludes to
warnings on erectile-dysfunction medications, saying that happiness lasting more
than four hours is normal. Despite the criticisms of several city officials, the
marketing firm that created the campaign says the ads have gotten a positive
response.
