Building dispute leads to mural
of crowned mayor on a toilet
North Providence, R.I. (AP) – A Rhode Island mayor says he’s not bothered by an unflattering public mural of him wearing a crown and sitting on a toilet that stems from a long-simmering dispute over a building he has called unsafe. North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi has been involved in a dispute with building owner Anthony Farina over the building, described by the mayor as a “health hazard.” Lombardi tells WPRI-TV the painting doesn’t bother him but Farina should question how he’s representing himself to the community. Mural artist Paul Morse says he has nothing against the mayor but was hired specifically to paint him on a toilet and wearing a crown. Farina hasn’t responded to a request seeking comment.
Driver tells police: Just a jogger,
not connected to wreck
Madison, Wis. (AP) – Police say a 19-year-old man flipped his car in Madison, Wisconsin, then fled the scene, removed some clothes and pretended to be a jogger unconnected to the wreck. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the unidentified man made a lane change Tuesday evening at the same time as another car. He overcorrected, hit the shoulder and his car overturned. Police Chief Mike Koval says the suspect fled and removed some clothing. When officers caught up with him, he told them he was an “uninvolved jogger.” Officers ticketed the man for failure to have control, hit and run and operating after revocation. Police say tests showed the man wasn’t impaired.
Budget surplus results in $68
checks for thousands in town
Langhorne, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania township with more money than it anticipated from increased property tax collection has decided to give the dividends to residents. Middletown Township in Langhorne sent 14,361 checks for $68 each to all owners of properties with structures on them. Efforts to keep town expenses down while increasing delinquent-tax collection led to more money than anticipated in the general fund. The township board of supervisors decided to divide a $1 million portion of the surplus evenly among property owners. Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Amy Strouse tells the Bucks County Courier Times it’s irresponsible for a township to hang on to that level of funding when it has “the opportunity to help people out a little bit.” Strouse says residents feel as though they pay too much in taxes.
Artist eying record for world’s
largest paper airplane
Fitchburg, Mass. (AP) – Residents of a Massachusetts city are hoping to set a world record for the largest paper airplane. The Revolving Museum of Fitchburg revealed a 64-foot-long (19.5-meter-long) plane at the Fitchburg Municipal Airport on Tuesday. There was no plan to fly the nearly 1-ton (0.9-metric ton) contraption. Fitchburg artist Jerry Beck tells the Sentinel & Enterprise he wanted to break the world record for the largest paper airplane to take flight but the hangar it was built in was too small to accommodate a wide enough wing span to support the glue-shallacked plane. A construction crane held the plane aloft. Two people measured the plane at 64 feet and 6 inches long, which Beck says makes it is the largest of its kind. He’s asking Guinness World Records to add a new category.
Man takes a naked stroll through the city
Burlington, Vt. (AP) – A man decided to take a stroll in the buff through a Vermont downtown on a simmering day. The Burlington Free Press reports the man wearing nothing but a hat, sneakers and a lime green tote bag walked around Burlington on Thursday afternoon. When asked why he decided to go outdoors underdressed, the man said, “It’s very hot.” He declined to identify himself. Vermont was under a heat advisory that day, with the National Weather Service predicting a heat index of 102 degrees. The man says he’s doing nothing but enjoying himself.
Wife credited with returning husband
to jail following error
Grand Junction, Colo. (AP) – Court records say a Colorado inmate, mistakenly released from jail, enjoyed less than two hours of freedom before his wife realized the error and made him turn himself in. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports James Rynerson was in custody late last month at the Mesa County Jail on a $2,000 cash bond while awaiting prosecution on menacing, disorderly conduct and trespass charges. Rynerson, 38, was released after Mesa County sheriff’s deputies at the Jail mistook him for another inmate, Marvin March. Mesa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Henry Stoffel said Wednesday that jail employees broke procedure when they failed to check Rynerson’s wristband and picture, and that an investigation is ongoing to determine whether jail policy around the housing list needs to be updated. He credited Rynerson’s wife for returning her husband to custody.
