Bread to brew: Maine friars closing
bakery to open taproom
Bucksport, Maine (AP) – Two Maine friars say they are closing down their iconic bakery to open up a brewery. The Bangor Daily News reports Friar’s Bakehouse in Bangor will close Friday after more than 18 years. Franciscan Brothers Donald Paul and Kenneth Leo say they plan to open their new venture, the Friar’s Brewhouse Tap Room, this month. The brew house will be located in Bucksport, much closer to the brothers’ monastery. Paul says the 40-minute commute to Bangor was a big strain for the two. The two began selling their homebrew beer in 2013, and had been considering opening a separate business to highlight their brews for the past six years.
No course for a horse: Man rides
onto California freeway
Long Beach, Calif. (AP) – Authorities say a drunken man rode his horse onto a California freeway. Los Angeles news station KABC-TV reports that the California Highway Patrol stopped the man early Saturday on State Route 91 in Long Beach. Officers administered field sobriety tests, which registered blood-alcohol levels of 0.21 percent and 0.19 percent – more than double the legal limit. The man was arrested and booked for riding a horse while under the influence. The white horse, Guera, wasn’t hurt and was released to the man’s mother. The California Highway Patrol offered a message to the public on Twitter: “No, you may not ride your horse on the freeway, and certainly not while intoxicated.”
Dry ice is ‘die ice’ for New York City’s rat population
New York (AP) – New York City is using dry ice to reduce its rat population. The Daily News says the program is in effect citywide after a successful 2016 pilot and the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of frozen carbon dioxide to kill rats. The health department’s pest control director, Ricky Simeone, says dry ice is effective on rats but doesn’t harm birds of prey. On Monday, exterminators buried smoking dry ice in burrows in a park flower bed. The rats are trapped inside, suffocate and die within minutes. Some rats may escape, so an area is typically treated three times. Staff from the housing authority and the parks, sanitation and education departments also have received dry-ice training. All of those agencies are involved in the city’s neighborhood rat reduction plan.
Nothing to see here!
Police clear T-Rex walking student
East Lansdowne, Pa. (AP) – Police in a Philadelphia suburb received an unusual report about a dinosaur on the loose. But officers in East Lansdowne did not panic and took things in stride when they realized what was happening. They posted a video showing a person in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume “taking their kid to school” on Tuesday. Officers concluded their report: “No problem. Clear.”
Jazz hall’s signature sousaphone
stolen in New Orleans
New Orleans (AP) – Be on the lookout for a wraparound tuba: Someone has stolen the signature sousaphone belonging to Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Creative director and musician Ben Jaffe wrote about it on the traditional jazz venue’s Facebook page, saying he bought it after Hurricane Katrina to replace one lost to the 2005 storm. A photo shows him playing the brass sousaphone, which has “Preservation Hall, New Orleans” painted on the bell. He says it was taken Saturday, after a performance at New Orleans Airlift. Jeanette Jaffe said Thursday they’ve received multiple calls since the message was posted Wednesday, but none led to recovery of the instrument. She says some callers even offered their own instruments. There’s a reward. Sousaphones can cost up to $13,000.
