Odds and Ends – Friday August 24, 2018 – August 30, 2018

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(Argentina Airport Police via AP)
(Argentina Airport Police via AP)

Argentina airport evacuated due to grenade-like pot grinder

Buenos Aires, Argentina (AP) – It looked like a grenade and triggered the evacuation of an Argentine airport. But it turns out that it was just a marijuana grinder. The head of Argentina’s national airport police security said Tuesday that the grenade-shaped object found at Astor Piazzolla airport in the coastal city of Mar del Plata was actually used to break pot into smaller pieces for smoking. “Someone must have discarded the artifact before boarding on a plane,” Alejandro Itzcovich told local TV. He said that authorities “confirmed that it was not an explosive and we’re now trying to determine who the owner of this object is.” Photographs showed an officer in a bomb suit holding the grinder in his hand while colleagues looked at it and smiled. Several flights were delayed due to the evacuation in Mar del Plata, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of the Argentine capital. In 2016, flights were also delayed at Bellingham International Airport in Washington State after a marijuana grinder designed to resemble a grenade was found in a man’s carry-on luggage. Something similar happened earlier that year at California’s Sacramento International Airport.

Judge orders man who knocked over toilet to shovel manure

Painesville, Ohio (AP) – A judge known for unique sentences has ordered a man who knocked over a port-a-potty to clean manure out of animal pens at a county fairgrounds in Ohio. Judge Michael Cicconetti recently suspended most of a 120-day jail sentence for 18-year-old Bayley Toth, who pleaded guilty and was convicted of criminal mischief, in favor of the creative punishment of cleaning up waste from animals at Lake County’s fairgrounds. The Municipal Court judge compared Toth’s actions to those of an animal, saying “you act like an animal, you’re going to take care of animals.” Authorities say the Painesville man spent a night with friends knocking over objects, including a port-a-potty, at a park. Court officials say Toth defended himself in the case. No public phone listing could be found for him.

Hawaii judge evicts Oahu nudists
from rental house

Honolulu (AP) – A Hawaii judge has ordered the eviction of the tenants of an Oahu rental home that advertised naked parties and gained the ire of neighbors. The judge sided with the property manager, citing lease violations, multiple disturbances and running a business out of the Nuuanu home, Hawaii News Now reported. Neighbors have complained of the so-called Freedom House’s loud parties, like naked yoga, and a fire that consumed a car. Neighbor David Brown said he frequently reported the parties to police. An attorney for property manager Sakuma Realty said the home operated as an illegal business, which advertised online. The renters have denied that allegation. “It’s just a website that I decided that I could have to have people come together,” tenant Brent Thomas said. Tenant Amy Highmoor said the property manager and neighbors are retaliating because of their alternative lifestyle and her complaints about the home’s condition. “I’m a naturalist. This is my religion and I have a right to be nude,” Highmoor said. “I am not offensive.” Lawyers for both sides will work out a moving date for the tenants.

Pawn shop buys violin for $50,
finds out it’s worth $250,000

Somerville, Mass. (AP) – A violin bought by a Massachusetts pawn shop for $50 has ended up being worth about 5,000 times that. WFXT-TV reports a new employee at the LBC Boutique and Loan in Somerville had no idea what he was buying when he paid for the Ferdinando Gagliano violin, which was handcrafted in 1759 and is worth $250,000. Store manager Dylan McDermitt says the bows alone are worth $16,000 to $18,000. Police say the violin was stolen during a house break-in and has since been returned to its rightful owner. They say the seller had no criminal record and they’re still investigating. McDermitt says in the future shop employees are going to ask people who bring in violins to play them so they know the instruments are theirs.