New Jersey diner adding gratuities to kids’ bills
Wayne, N.J. (AP) – A New Jersey diner is adding an 18 percent gratuity to the bills of children who go there 
without their parents. Melissa Desch tells WCBS-TV she and her family have been eating at the Wayne Hills Diner and Restaurant for years and she was surprised when her 11-year-old daughter sent her a photo showing a 90-cent tip was unknowingly added to her milkshake bill. Desch doesn’t think it’s fair to treat minors different than adults. The diner’s lawyer says kids have been showing up in groups of 20 or 30, staying for an hour or two and most don’t leave a tip. He says it’s not fair to the waiters and waitresses. He also says the menu clearly states “management reserves the right to add 18 percent gratuity.”
Prankster tosses yellow dye into Lincoln Center’s fountain
New York (AP) – A prankster has thrown yellow dye into the fountain at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Photos posted on social media Saturday show lemon-yellow water gushing from the fountain, which sits in front of the Metropolitan Opera and is a popular tourist attraction that has been featured in movies including “Moonstruck” and “Ghostbusters.” The Daily News reports the fountain was turned off after suddenly changing color Saturday afternoon. A Lincoln Center spokeswoman says security notified the police, who are looking for the prankster. She says the fountain is being cleaned.
‘Real-life Iron Man,’ Harlem Globetrotter set Guinness marks
New York (AP) – A British inventor billed as a real-life version of the superhero Iron Man has hit the fastest speed in a body-controlled jet engine power suit at 32 mph (51 kph), a Guinness world record. The record keeper announced the feat as part of its annual Guinness World Records day. Other marks announced included a Swedish baker’s record for the world’s largest vegan cake, which weighed in at more than 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). Harlem Globetrotter Thunder Law successfully made a basket Sunday on a 50-foot high hoop for a new mark. It’s the 17th mark accomplished by the Globetrotters, and Law’s fourth individual record. Guinness says more than 600,000 people attempted to set records as part of the event.
Official: Town leader tried to bury his defunct auto garage
Sheridan, N.Y. (AP) – Authorities say a western New York town official has been cited for trying to bury his defunct auto repair garage in a hole. WIVB-TV reports that Louis Delmonte’s business in the Chautauqua (shuh-TAW’-kwuh) County town of Sheridan had been in rundown condition for years. So he borrowed a friend’s excavator and dug a large hole next to the building. The state Department of Environmental Conservation says Delmonte tore down half of the building and dumped debris in the hole before the agency received a complaint about the work. Delmonte was told he was illegally disposing of the building because the asbestos abatement required for all commercial demolitions wasn’t completed. Delmonte, who serves as the town supervisor, says he had received a permit to demolish and bury the building on site from a code enforcement officer.
Man drops cocaine in his hat while in court on a drug charge
Eagle, Colo. (AP) – Authorities say a man who was in a Colorado court for violating his bond on a drug charge is in even more trouble after a wad of cocaine fell from his hat while he was in front of the judge. The Vail Daily reported Wednesday that 43-year-old Juan Jose Vidrio Bibriesca was standing next to two other defendants at an Eagle County District Court podium when he took his hat off and a square of folded paper fell out. A police officer watched the paper filled with cocaine fall to the floor, and after reviewing surveillance footage, authorities determined it fell from Bibriesca’s hat. Bibriesca was then walked to the county jail. He was charged with narcotics possession and another bond violation. Booking documents don’t indicate if he has hired an attorney.
