Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe No jail for California woman who fed bears LAYTONVILLE, Calif., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in California agreed to drop charges against a woman who fed bears on her property if she stays away from the animals for three years. Advertisement The prosecutors said Lynne Gravier, 77, of Laytonville, who pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of feeding big game, will be cleared of the charge in three years if she abides by orders to cease feeding the black bears, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday. The California Department of Fish and Game said Gravier's home was condemned last year after she was found to have been feeding corn meal and peanut butter sandwiches to bears on her property. The department said Gravier also put out wading pools for the bears. "The end result to me was very positive," said Gravier, whose home was condemned following an Aug. 24, 2010, raid. "I'm glad that it is over and I can go on." Advertisement Gravier, who authorities said will not be allowed to return to her home, said she will abide by the instructions of prosecutors but she plans to continue advocating for black bears. Madoff's clothes made into iPad cases NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A New York man said his iPad cases, made from clothes once belonging to fraudster Bernie Madoff, have been receiving a lot of interest from Wall Street. John Vaccaro said he purchased the Ponzi schemer's clothes at an auction and used the items to create iPad cases, which his company, Frederick James, sells for $500 apiece, the New York Post reported Wednesday. Vaccaro said the first five Madoff cases, made from a Christian Dior sweater and a Bergdorf Goodman cardigan, "sold almost instantly, just by word of mouth." "A Wall Street lawyer wanted to give them as Christmas presents," he said. "I've made 31 so far, and only have a few pairs of pants, sweaters and sweatshirts left," Vaccaro said of the cases. He said he has some ideas about why there has been so much interest in the Madoff iPad cases. "People want these because he's somebody who did something bad," Vaccaro said. "Given the economic situation of the past week, I think there's an interest in the financial sector in Madoff that there might not be for other celebrities." Advertisement Crew was not seeking Buddhist lobsters GLOUCESTER, Mass., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts blogger apologized for saying a group of lobstermen was seeking to recapture lobsters released by a Buddhist group, calling it a "joke." Joe Ciaramitaro, a Gloucester dock owner and blogger at goodmorninggloucester.org, said his Monday entry, titled "The Crew of the Degelyse Sets Out to Catch Liberated Buddhist Lobsters" and including video of the lobster boat crew talking about catching the 534 lobsters released by the Buddhists Aug. 3, was meant as a joke, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday. Ciaramitaro said he was not serious when he told news media the Degelyse crew had been at the drop site attempting to catch the lobsters. "They didn't fish anywhere close to that," he said of the boat's crew. "It would be physically impossible for them to move that amount of gear in that amount of time." Ciaramitaro apologized to anyone who did not understand his entry was a joke. "I was obviously wrong, and people did not understand with the outlandishness of it all that it was a joke," he said. "It's on me." -0 Man gets master's degree on 90th birthday BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Florida Atlantic University said a man became the oldest person to get a degree from the school when he received his master's on his 90th birthday. Advertisement The Boca Raton school said Menachem Henri Hager of Fort Lauderdale received his master's in liberal studies Tuesday, his 90th birthday, and became the oldest person ever to receive a degree from the school, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Wednesday. FAU President Mary Jane Saunders described Hager during the ceremony as "a true inspiration to us all." Hager, who received his bachelor's degree from the school in 2003, said he plans to pursue a doctorate of philosophy.
