Watercooler Stories

Accused witch wins pride, loses lawsuit

RIVERHEAD, N.Y., March 15 (UPI) -- A New York educator denied tenure over claims she is a witch proved she has no other-worldly powers, but still lost a legal challenge on the tenure issue.

A U.S. District Court jury needed only a short while to deliberate before ruling against Lauren Berrios, but Newsday said the 37-year-old former reading specialist at Hampton Bays Elementary School left with her dignity intact.

"I stood up for my rights," she said after Tuesday's verdict.

Jurors said they ruled against Berrios after being convinced other circumstances were at play in the labor dispute.

Berrios' attorney, John Ray, said that while he was not able to win the $2 million lawsuit, he and his client could take some consolation from the outcome.

"We proved one thing," he told Newsday, "She's not a witch."

Wooden shed: Newest Swedish hotel amenity

KIRUNA, Sweden, March 15 (UPI) -- A hotel in Kiruna, Sweden, is in hot water with local authorities after being caught offering its guests simple wooden sheds to sleep in.

The unusual housing practice was revealed after a couple came to town expecting a separate room, only to learn they were to be put up in one of five wooden sheds constructed in the hotel's restaurant, The Local reported.

The upset couple contacted the authorities.

"Imagine our surprise when our room consists of a big room full of five sheds! We were expected to spend the night in one of these," the couple said.

Fire officer Peter Kangeda told The Local that visiting fire officials put an end to the practice, which violated fire safety laws.

"The sheds are just made of wood and have no fire protection," he said. "Hotel rooms should be separated into fire cells, protected from the neighboring room."

Ore. man wants $4,350 for snowball hit

PORTLAND, Ore., March 15 (UPI) -- A 46-year-old man filed suit for $4,350 in damages last week in Oregon's Multnomah County Circuit Court over a snowball hit he endured this year.

William Elich filed a lawsuit last Friday against Greg Scott Ely in the Portland court, alleging that the 32-year-old hit him with a snowball from his car on Jan. 16.

Elich alleges that the snowball broke his glasses and bruised his eyeball, the (Portland) Oregonian reported. He is seeking monetary compensation for the glasses, lost work wages and legal fees, along with $1,625 for non-economic damages.

Ely denies throwing the snowball. Elich insists Ely threw the snowball and needs to be held accountable for immature behavior.

"I don't need the money," he told the Oregonian. "He (Ely) needs to learn a lesson.

"This is a 32-year-old man acting like a 16-year-old."

Computer error misleads on cherry blossoms

TOKYO, March 15 (UPI) -- A computer error in Japan has been blamed for inaccurately predicting the blooming times for the nation's cherry blossoms.

The nation's Meteorological Agency made its annual blooming prediction last week, but the computer error -- discovered Wednesday -- rendered several predictions inaccurate, the Japan Times reported.

An agency official said predictions for four Japanese locations would be inaccurate and cherry blossoms would not be featured as early as projected.

"We're investigating the cause to determine the stage at which the error occurred," the official said.

Tokyo was expected to have cherry blossoms this Sunday, while other regions were predicted to bloom as early as Tuesday.

The agency's computer program analyzes regional temperatures and other factors to help make annual blooming predictions, the Japan Times said.