Watercooler Stories

Family fights for Wilbur the pig

HOUSTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A Houston-area family says their Vietnamese potbellied pig is a pet, not livestock, and are fighting a neighborhood association's attempt to evict him.

The fight has made Wilbur, named after the hero of E.B. White's children's classic, "Charlotte's Web," a celebrity, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. Fans follow him on his Facebook page and watch him eat his three meals a day on Wilburcam.

Since Alex Sardo gave his wife Missy the pig for Christmas, the animal has grown from a tiny piglet to a heftier 65 pounds, and the couple expect him to grow some more, possibly to as much as 120 pounds. But they say he is as much a household pet as a dog or a cat.

The Thicket at Cypresswood Community Association in Spring, Texas, disagrees. The association told the Sardos Wilbur could not stay in April and this month gave them 30 days to get rid of him.

The Sardos have sued the association. Their lawyer argues that Wilbur is not livestock because he is not being raised for his meat or hair or to provide labor on a farm.

30-year prof quits over parking shortage

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A veteran Canadian professor says he's packed in his job out of frustration that Dalhousie University has 2,000 parking spaces for 20,000 people.

Professor Dan Middlemiss quit Monday and told the university he wasn't willing to leave home outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia, at 7 a.m. just to find parking before his 2:30 p.m. class, the Toronto Star's eastern bureau reported.

The expert in Canadian defense policy who works in the political science department said the situation was "ridiculous" and that the university didn't appear to have any plans to rectify the situation.

There are 17,000 students and 3,000 faculty and staff at the school, which has 2,000 parking spaces. The university also deliberately oversells the parking spots by 30 percent, the report said.

"It's just silly -- it's been 30 years of frustration," Middlemiss said.

While many staff and students use public transit, bicycles or walk, the parking shortage is chronic and Middlemiss said because of his suburban home's location, driving is the only viable option.

Ken Burt, the school's vice-president of finance and administration, told the Star building underground parking wasn't an option as the city sits on granite and excavation costs would be prohibitive.

"Our focus really shouldn't be on parking -- it really should be directing our resources to the students, to the research of our faculty and to running a university," Burt said.

He gave no reason why a multilevel, above-ground facility couldn't be built, the report said.

Feds take woman's lemon tree

WAUKESHA, Wis., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin woman says she's more than a little sour now that the U.S. government has forced her to turn over her lemon tree on grounds it could spread disease.

Bridget Donovan bought the tree online for $70 nearly three years ago and planted it in the yard of her Waukesha home, where she and her niece nurtured it, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

It grew and yielded lemons and seemed to be healthy.

Then she got a letter from the U.S. Agriculture Department.

"Unfortunately, Meyer Lemon Tree (the seller) shipped your tree in violation of multiple quarantine laws enacted to prevent the spread of harmful plant diseases and pests," the letter stated.

The Journal Sentinel said the tree had come from Florida, under quarantine at the time of the purchase because of diseases, and the government tracked where nursery stock had been shipped.

Last week, the Journal Sentinel said, she uprooted the tree, with five unripened lemons, and put it in a trash bag, as instructed.

A USDA officer met her at the school where she works to pick up the tree.

Alyn Kiel, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department, said about 1,000 citrus plant owners have been affected by the seizures.

Meanwhile, Meyer Lemon Tree, which lists a Georgia address, apologized and offered Donovan a free replacement tree.

"I just hope the USDA is correct in that these (replacement trees) are now compliant, and I don't have them show up again in three years," Donovan said. "I'll be on a citrus watch list."

Nude model arrested in Times Square

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A model who was arrested while wearing nothing but body paint in New York's Times Square was released without charges and says she did nothing "truly" wrong.

Zoe West, 21, stood nude at 44th Street and Broadway for 2 1/2 hours Tuesday while being painted by artist Andy Golub until police showed up and took the painted model into custody, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

West said she was released without charges after about an hour. Golub was not arrested.

"I don't believe there is truly anything wrong with what I did and with what he was doing," West told the New York Post.

Ron Kuby, Golub and West's lawyer, said his client should not have been arrested.

"New York State law prohibits public nudity, except if it's part of a play, performance, exhibition or show," Kuby said. "This particular sergeant who arrested Ms. West didn't get the memo -- or simply didn't care."