UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Dog mauls Super Bowl tickets

AVONDALE, Ariz., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- An Arizona man said his 3-year-old Labrador retriever was so excited for the Super Bowl that he devoured two very expensive tickets to the game.

Chris Gallagher, of Avondale, Ariz., said he asked that a courier slip the envelope containing two Super Bowl XLII tickets under his doormat but the envelope was instead inserted under the door -- and into the waiting jaws of his dog, Buddy, The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.

Gallagher said the tickets, which he purchased for friends, were valued at $900 apiece.

However, he said the seller assured him that the tickets can be replaced in time for game day.

The dog owner said the tickets were only the latest of Buddy's many victims, which have included sunglasses, shoes and footballs.

"He's a troublemaker," Gallagher told the Republic. "But he looks at you with those big eyes and you can't be mad for long."

The Super Bowl, sending the New England Patriots against the New York Giants, is Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.

Police: DJ torched station over play list

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Fire officials in Austin, Texas, said a volunteer DJ torched a community radio station after the songs on his play list didn't get any air time.

Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye said Paul Webster Feinstein, 24, a volunteer at 91.7 FM KOOP, was charged with second-degree felony arson after he allegedly set fire to the station Jan. 5, causing $300,000 in damage, the Austin American-Statesman reported Tuesday.

Nye said Feinstein told investigators that he was "very unhappy" when the play list he created for the Internet program, which streams overnight while the station is off the air, was changed against his wishes.

"We knew there was a disagreement, but I would characterize it as a little clash of personalities over types of music to be played and not a big blowout," he said.

"(Feinstein) had a dream of a career in radio and was very disappointed about where it had led him," Nye said.

Feinstein could face two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if he is found guilty.

No flip-flops, vinyl for city staff

VAUGHN, Ontario, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Flip-flops, vinyl clothing, plunging necklines, tube-tops and miniskirts have been declared fashion taboos for employees of a Toronto suburb.

After days of debate that began last week, city councilors in Vaughn, Ontario, north of Toronto, also nixed ill-fitting clothes and "attire deemed inappropriate or fashionably questionable," the Toronto Star reported Tuesday.

The city had a business casual dress code for summer months, and addressed the other three seasons Monday night, with Mayor Linda Jackson making a pitch for discretionary wearing of flip-flops, the newspaper said.

Jackson said there were certain situations, such as recovery from surgery that can call for less constricting footwear.

Ultimately, the council decided such situations would remain within a manager's discretion, and that offenders wouldn't be fired, but diplomatically rebuked, the Star said.

City attorney Janice Atwood-Petkovski said the dress code wasn't about censorship.

"We're just saying, that great little spandex skirt that you like to wear to go dancing ... may not be the best thing to wear to work," she said.

'Yo Gabba Gabba!' attracts older fans

NEW YORK, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- "Yo Gabba Gabba!," a show on U.S. cable TV network Nickelodeon, is gathering unexpected fans in older age groups.

The show, which airs during the pre-school-oriented "Nick Jr." block, counts college students and parents among its die-hard fans, in addition to the target audience of young children, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

"We watch it under the guise of 'research,'" said Brad Searles, 38, whose 7-month-old son is not yet old enough to appreciate television.

"'Yo Gabba Gabba!' is ill," Emerson College junior Daniel de Lara wrote on his blog.

The show's creators, Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, both 36, said their intention was to create a show they would enjoy watching with their children.

"It's really a hybrid of so many shows, from 'The Electric Company' to 'Pee-wee's Playhouse' to 'H. R. Pufnstuf' to 'Sesame Street' ... all the things we really loved watching as kids," Jacobs said. "We definitely wear our influences on our sleeve. But we hope that we're not parodying them or ripping them off but rather paying homage and trying to do something new."