Watercooler Stories

Lego blocks fall from SUV, block traffic

CLARKSBURG, W.Va., March 6 (UPI) -- A mother revealed the thousands of Lego blocks that caused more than 2 hours of delays on a West Virginia interstate came from atop her sport utility vehicle.

Tiffany Lantz posted on the local transportation authority's Facebook page that the mass obstruction of Lego blocks that backed up traffic for hours Sunday on Interstate 79, near Clarksburg in Harrison County was the result of totes falling from the top of her Dodge Durango, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

Lantz said the colorful blocks belonged to her 11-year-old son.

"He cried it seemed like forever but I tried to recover as many as I could cause I don't have the money to buy him anymore," she said in the posting.

Police: Suspect tried to flee in toy truck

JONESBORO, Ark., March 6 (UPI) -- Police in Arkansas said a woman charged with driving while intoxicated allegedly struck a trailer home with her car and attempted to drive off in a toy truck.

Jonesboro police said witnesses reported Jamie Jeanette Craft, 29, was driving her 2001 Pontiac Grand Am at "a high rate of speed" around 5:30 p.m. Sunday when she hit the panel under the witness' Jonesboro trailer with her car, KAIT-TV, Jonesboro, reported Wednesday.

Another witness said Craft, who was wearing a white sweat shirt with no pants or shoes, argued with him and grabbed his daughter before trying to drive off in his son's Power Wheels battery-powered toy truck.

The man said he and his father forced the woman to leave the toy truck and she walked to her mother's house, where she was found by police.

Police said a portable breathalyzer test was administered and Craft, who officers said was having trouble standing, gave a reading of .217 blood alcohol content, nearly three times the legal limit for driving.

Craig was charged with driving while intoxicated, public intoxication, refusal to submit, disorderly conduct, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and driving while license canceled, suspended or revoked. She was jailed in lieu of $2,067 surety bond.

Lock picking class listing irks residents

OAKLAND, Calif., March 6 (UPI) -- The mayor of a California city apologized for a lock picking class being mentioned in her most recent newsletter.

Residents of Oakland, which saw a 40 percent increase in burglaries last year, said they were outraged to see Mayor Jean Quan's newsletter promoted a lock picking class that said lock picking sets would be offered for sale at the end of the lesson, the Oakland Tribune reported Wednesday.

The class, offered through website workshopweekend.com, is aimed at helping people who lock themselves out of their home, but many residents said they were upset at how it could benefit burglars.

"Of all the incredibly unbelievable things I've witnessed in my life, this tops the list," resident Julie Mills said.

Quan apologized Wednesday to any residents upset by the listing.

"I've heard from people who are upset about the lock picking class item," the mayor said in a prepared statement. "I understand their reaction and I apologize."

Quan said the newsletter is more than 20 pages long and includes numerous listings.

"I am ultimately responsible for what goes out," the mayor wrote, "and I and our editor will do a better job reviewing these listings in the future before sending them."

Football team shares on Craigslist

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, March 6 (UPI) -- A minority owner of the Indoor Football League's Cedar Rapids Titans in Iowa temporarily posted his 20 percent stake in the team for sale on Craigslist.

Mike Polaski, owner of the Jo's Roadhouse restaurant in Solon, put an ad on Craigslist Monday morning to sell his minority ownership in the team, but the ad was later taken down, The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette reported Wednesday.

"A downturn in my 'core' business [restaurant owner] has forced me to liquidate my 20 percent ownership in The Cedar Rapids Titans," the ad read.

Titans owner and general manager Chris Kokalis said Polaski was within his rights to make the posting.

"I think the way that maybe he went about it, we all wished was a little better," Kokalis said. "But it's his share. It's like you having ownership in Best Buy or Kohls and you wanting to unload your shares. He just used Craigslist as a way to seek interest."

Kokalis said anyone who offered to meet Polaski's $80,000 asking price would have to meet the approval of the team's four-member Board of Owners before receiving a final stamp of approval from the IFL.

Kokalis said a change in the ownership of Polaski's shares would not drastically affect the team.

"This is someone who has very minority ownership interest in the team," Kokalis said. "We've got people thinking that the team is being sold, which is not the case at all."