Watercooler Stories

City votes to crack down on bikini coffee

YAKIMA, Wash., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A Washington town voted 4-3 to draft regulations to crack down on bikini coffee stands by imposing rules similar to those governing other adult businesses.

Yakima City Councilman Dave Edler, who proposed the measure, said before Tuesday's vote his fears of inappropriate activities at the so-called sexpresso stands were further aroused by recent police reports of pole dancing and $5 "booty shakes" at some of the city's four bikini coffee shops, the Yakima Herald reported.

"This is adult business," he said. "I think it should be treated as such."

Mayor Micah Cawley, who voted against the measure, suggested the council meet with the owners of the businesses.

"Some people think I'm crazy for thinking they're going to come in and say 'Yes, that's all we're selling is coffee,'" he said.

Officer sues Amtrak over foot shooting

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A former Amtrak police officer claims in his Pennsylvania lawsuit the passenger rail corporation is liable for a woman taking his gun and shooting his foot.

The Philadelphia Common Pleas Court lawsuit filed by James Bullard said a 30-year-old woman he was attempting to remove from a 30th Street Station McDonald's for being disruptive March 9, 2008, grabbed his gun from its holster and shot him in the left foot, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

The suit does not detail Bullard's injuries but characterizes them as "severe," "permanent" and "disabling." It says the injury caused the officer "great physical pain and mental distress."

Bullard, 65, who is seeking damages under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, said the woman was able to grab his gun because his repeated requests for a holster to replace his worn one went unanswered.

Speed camera tickets parked car

NUTHALL, England, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- British police apologized to a man who received speeding fines after his parked car was twice photographed by a camera near his home.

Jeff Buck, 55, said he authorities accused him of exceeding the speed limit even though his car was actually parked in front of his Nuthall, England, home, the Nottingham Evening Post reported.

Buck said he contested the fines and police apologized, saying the camera must have been triggered by speeding vehicles passing near his parked car.

"I assumed the first time it happened that the police would put something in place to prevent it from happening again," Buck said. "I'm concerned now that every time someone triggers the camera I'll get these notices. I am amused by it, but also angry that I have to go to the trouble of contacting the police."

Buck said he has to park his car on the street because his home does not have a garage or driveway.

"It's amazing that whatever system is in place cannot tell the difference between a car that is motionless and one traveling at 37 mph," he said.

Coyote caught in Manhattan

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- New York parks officials say a coyote captured in the Harlem neighborhood was the third one spotted in the borough of Manhattan in the past decade.

Police said they received a call about the coyote wandering the streets about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. An emergency service unit tranquilized the animal and took it to the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, CNN reported.

"The coyote is under evaluation and observation," society spokeswoman Mary Dixon said.

Dixon said the animal, a female between 1 and 2 years old, will eventually be sent to a rescue center or returned to the wild.

New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said coyotes are known to visit Manhattan, the heart of the United States' most populated urban center, but only rarely.

"This is actually the third coyote that has been seen in the last 10 years," Benepe said.

Benepe speculated the coyote may have wandered into Manhattan along the Amtrak rail corridor or by swimming across the Hudson River.