Watercooler Stories

'Prince of Pot' weds in Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 26 (UPI) -- Canada's "Prince of Pot," Marc Emery, has married in a traditional ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Park rose garden in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, married his long-time assistant, Jodie Joanna Giesz-Ramsay, before a crowd of 50 guests, The Vancouver Sun reports.

The Sunday wedding followed a ruling Friday by the Supreme Court of Canada that complicates the ongoing U.S. attempt to have Emery and two employees extradited to face drug and money-laundering charges. The court unanimously voted to put new restrictions into effect that require extensive proof of guilt before an accused party can be extradited.

"I'm really optimistic," Emery said. "What I wanted has come to pass. I'm finally going to get a chance to test Uncle Sam's case. They're talking about keeping me in jail for 35 years.

"The court is saying no judge should be a rubber stamp for that process. They must consider the evidence and I think when they look at my case they'll realize, wait a minute, no one has prosecuted him in Canada because they don't believe they have any chance at success."

Mass. graves sliding toward Green River

GREENFIELD, Mass., July 26 (UPI) -- Remains buried in about 50 graves in a Greenfield, Mass., cemetery, including those of Gov. William Washburn, have been sinking towards the Green River.

Officials running the public cemetery said the Republican governor, who served from 1872 to 1874, and his fellow deceased will have to be moved to keep them from falling 80 feet into the river, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

"There's little we can do to prevent nature from taking its course, so we have to move the remains to protect them," said Alan Blanker, president of the Green River Cemetery Co., a non-profit group that oversees the public burial ground. "We need to do this as soon as possible."

Blanker had sought to move the remains, which are mostly from the 19th century, after they began shifting following the collapse of part of a 10,000-square-foot bluff in March, but the Greenfield Board of Health insisted that the cemetery notify the nearest living relatives of the deceased first. However, a Probate Court judge has ruled the bodies of those people whose relatives cannot be reached can be moved so long as their names are published in a local newspaper.

Homeless man rewarded for returning bonds

DETROIT, July 26 (UPI) -- A homeless Detroit man who returned $20,738.88 in savings bonds he found in a dumpster to their rightful owner has been rewarded with cash and a job.

Charles Moore, who found the bonds while sifting through clothing in a dumpster outside a local church, was given $100 by the family of Ernest Lehto, who bought the bonds in the 1980's, The Detroit News reported.

But the rewards did not stop there. Two suburban businessmen, inspired by Moore's actions, awarded the man $1,200 for his honesty and found him a job, WXYZ-TV, Detroit, reported Tuesday.

The 31 savings bonds, with a total face value of $8,900, had matured to $20,738.88 after being purchased for $4,450 about 20 years ago, the Detroit News reported.

"The lesson of it all is; best policy is honesty and honesty pays off," Moore said.

Brothers battle over war re-enactment

OAK GLEN, Calif., July 26 (UPI) -- San Bernardino County has agreed to hear an appeal against an Oak Glen, Calif., farm owner who wants to expand his Revolutionary War re-enactment business.

The appeal was scheduled after the county Planning Commission gave Jim Riley the go-ahead to add 30 buildings to his colonial-style farm and be allowed to host overnight lodging and camping facilities for his Revolutionary War re-enactments, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. The expansion would allow Riley to host 1,224 daytime visitors, nearly three times the population of the small California town.

The complaint against Riley's business was filed by a neighbor -- his older brother, Dennis.

"We're all for farming and gardening and teaching kids, but we don't want to abuse that by having too many people in at any one time," Dennis Riley told the Times. "He took it too far... It sounds like a bloody war over there."

The conflict over the farm has even led to a recall campaign against Supervisor Dennis Hansberger, who some have accused of being overly supportive of Jim Riley.