Watercooler Stories

Judge: Jewish cop can wear beard

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- A U.S. judge has ruled the First Amendment gives a Las Vegas police detective who practices Orthodox Judaism the right to wear a beard.

Detective Steve Riback, who is not required to wear a uniform in his position at quality assurance, filed a lawsuit alleging religious discrimination by the Metropolitan Police Department for not allowing him to wear a beard and a yarmulke to work, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt ruled that Riback's beard is protected by his First Amendment rights, but he said it is up to a jury to rule on the yarmulke issue.

"Metro must allow Riback to wear a beard while in Quality Assurance, subject to the same restrictions on officers who wear beards for secular reasons," the judge wrote in his ruling.

The case deciding the yarmulke issue is scheduled to begin Oct. 20.

8/8/08 weddings popular in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- San Francisco officials said wedding reservations for Friday filled up minutes after they were made available due to the numbers of the date -- 8/8/08.

Officials with the city clerk's office said the date, which was made available for wedding reservations 90 days prior to Friday, quickly filled up because people considered the triple eights to be a sign of good luck, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"There were people camping out on our reservation system, waiting for the clock to hit midnight," said Karen Hong Yee, director of the clerk's office. "We tripled our current capacity and are doing 128 weddings that day."

"Sometimes New Year's Eve gets popular, and Valentine's Day is always big, but we haven't seen this much of a demand in a while," she said.

Owner fined for smoking in closed hotel

BLACKPOOL, England, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The owner of an English hotel has been fined for smoking on the premises at a time when the hotel was closed.

A court in Blackpool gave Patricia Coupeland, owner of the Cheers Hotel, a 12-month conditional discharge, The Daily Telegraph reported.

A health inspector saw Coupeland smoking during a visit to the hotel. She was cited and ordered to pay a 50-pound ($100) fine -- reducible to 10 pounds if paid promptly.

"I was in the dining room doing my paperwork and having a cigarette," Coupeland said. "It was closed as a hotel at the time and was therefore my private home. There were no guests. I only had a friend stay. The health officer came across as vicious and a person with attitude."

But the court agreed with the health inspector, who said Coupeland can smoke in her private apartment but not in public areas, even when the hotel is closed.

A self-employed decorator was recently fined for smoking in his own van while driving to work. The Rolling Stones reportedly ignored smoking regulations during a performance last year in London -- and none of their fans complained.

Obscene gesture toward Rome not a crime

VENICE, Italy, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- An investigation of an Italian politician who made an obscene gesture while citing the country's national anthem has been shelved, a prosecutor's office said.

The obscene gesture -- a raised middle finger-- made by Reforms Minister Umberto Bossi at a public meeting isn't a crime that can be tried by the tribunal of ministers, the Venice public prosecutor's office said. It didn't say if it would consider reopening the case.

Bossi, whose Northern League party wants autonomy or independence for northern Italy, made the gesture at a Veneto League congress July 20 when citing a line in Italy's national anthem that appears to say Italy is Rome's slave.

''Never again slaves to Rome,'' Bossi said, making the gesture.

He was condemned by friends and foes for making the gesture to criticize Italy's national anthem.

Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said the 66-year-old politician, known for his fiery separatist rhetoric, had evidently misunderstood the line in Italy's 1847 anthem, the ANSA news agency reported.

The line, "Where is Victory? Let her bow down, for God has made her Rome's slave," actually means Rome should secure victory as a slave in its bid for a united Italy, La Russa said.