Watercooler Stories

Canadian sure he has 'Bigfoot' on film

NORWAY HOUSE, Manitoba, April 21 (UPI) -- Hundreds of residents of Manitoba's Norway House are convinced the Bigfoot legend is real after a strange creature was captured on videotape.

Bobby Clarke, a ferry operator, says he was taking a vehicle barge across the Nelson River at the northern end of Lake Winnipeg when he saw something on the shore. With his camcorder he shot a 49-second segment of a tall, dark humanoid figure moving on the riverbank.

"It's not a bear or human walking around," Clarke's father-in-law, John Henry, told CBC. "You can tell by the features."

People who have seen the video say the figure resembles past descriptions of the legendary shy, hairy giant long rumored to inhabit remote woodlands in western parts of North America.

Meanwhile, the Clarke family has stopped showing the videotape to weigh media offers from as far away as Florida.

Texans favor Internet over school books

AUSTIN, Texas, April 21 (UPI) -- The Texas House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to replace school books with the Internet.

Under the plan, instead of the weighty, often out-dated books, students would have laptops and current instructional material from the Internet.

"The world has changed," said Rep. Kent Grusendorf, an Arlington Republican and author of the legislation. "But go into too many classrooms in Texas and the instructional delivery to students is exactly the same as it was in the 1950s, the 1960s."

Grusendorf said he wants to see a quarter of all the state's secondary students with laptops or mobile computing devices in the next two years.

His bill would replace the current textbook review and adoption process to allow the State Board of Education to meet four times a year to more speedily review and approve instructional materials instead of once every six years, as it does now, the San Antonio Express-News said Thursday.

'Wine doggie bag bill to pass in Florida

MIAMI, April 21 (UPI) -- The Florida Legislature is poised to pass a "Merlot to Go" bill that would let diners take unfinished bottles of wine home from a restaurant.

Under current law, Floridians could be charged under an open-container law if police find the open bottle in their vehicles or on their person.

Proponents say the proposal would cut down on drunken drivers as diners would no longer be compelled to finish a whole bottle in one sitting.

The wine doggie bag bill has passed the state Senate and is ready for a vote of the full House, the St. Petersburg Times reported Thursday.

The Florida Restaurant Association supports the bill and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization said it is neutral. Restaurants would have to specially package the wine and provide a special receipt.

Breast-feeding moms protest Miami Beach

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., April 21 (UPI) -- Sixteen breast-feeding mothers and their babies showed up at a Miami Beach, Fla., commission meeting to protest the way a candidate was being treated.

The Miami Herald reported Thursday that only one breast was spotted during the session that included an open-mike debate.

The "nurse-in" Wednesday was held by mothers upset over criticism leveled at commission candidate Gabrielle Redfern for publicly breastfeeding her baby.

"It's insane. How is she supposed to raise her child and have a career if she isn't allowed to breastfeed her child when she attends meetings," said Ellen Sandoval of Hallandale, Fla.

In 1993, the Florida Legislature passed a law preserving women's rights to nurse in public, but there are still complaints.

"It's distracting. Why inside? Why not step outside to do it?" asked Joe Fontana, who heads a condominium association that frequently deals with the commission.