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1,775-pound pumpkin wins Calif. weigh-off

HALF MOON BAY, Calif., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- An pumpkin filling a pickup truck bed and weighing 1,775 pounds won Monday's weigh-off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., the self-described "World Pumpkin Capital."

For Thad Starr, 45, of Pleasant Hill, Ore., it was his third win as a pumpkin grower in what was billed as a "world championship pumpkin weigh-off." He high-fived his daughter Danika, 9, as his wife Katrina and son Derek, 7, joined the celebration, the San Mateo County Times reported.

"It's awesome," Starr said.

He will be awarded a prize of $10,650, or $6 per pound, but missed out on a $25,000 bonus since his oblong pumpkin failed to beat the world record of 2,009 pounds set by a Rhode Island grower in September, weigh-off organizers said.

Car museum gives 'Chris' discounts

TACOMA, Wash., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A Washington state car museum was giving visitors with "Chris" in their first or last name half-price admission for Columbus Day, the marketing director said.

The "Chris" visitors were being admitted Monday or $7 instead of the usual $14 at America's Car Museum in Tacoma.

"Christopher Columbus and automobiles ... now that's American," said Scot Keller, chief marketing and communications officer for ACM. "So if you're a Chris, Christina, Chrissie, Christine or Christian, Monday's a great chance to discover our museum at a special price. Adults get half off and kids [12 and under] get in free."

Keller said participants had to present some form of identification to prove their claim to the name "Chris."

Living room surrounds Columbus statue

NEW YORK, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A Japanese artist is marking Columbus Day in New York by giving visitors an up-close view of a usually far-off Christopher Columbus statue.

Tatzu Nishi, whose project was backed by the Public Art Fund, surrounded the 13-foot marble statue of Columbus, which is 70 feet up on a granite podium in a Manhattan traffic circle, in a replica of an 800-square foot modern living room supported by scaffolding, CNN reported Monday.

The "Discovering Columbus" installation encourages visitors to get close to the statue and lounge on the living room furniture for a new perspective on the 120-year-old likeness.

"The project is really about transforming an object that already exists, a monument that's been here in New York City for 120 years," said Nicholas Baume, director and curator of the Public Art Fund, "and giving people a chance to experience it in a completely new way to have in this case, a much more intimate experience."

Street named for KKK member may be renamed

SMITHFIELD, R.I., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Officials in a Rhode Island town say they are reviewing a request to change the name of a street named for a Ku Klux Klan leader.

Smithfield Town Council President Michael Flynn said Town Manager Dennis Finlay is considering a request to change the name of Domin Avenue, which was named for John Domin, who once held a leadership position in the local KKK, The Providence (R.I.) Journal reported Monday.

Flynn said city officials have received numerous requests to change the road's name from Roger Schenck, a Smithfield native who now lives in Hawaii.

Flynn said any recommendations from Finlay will go before a new council to be elected in November.