Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Help wanted: Butler, excellent pay LOS ANGELES, April 2 (UPI) -- There is a growing demand for butlers in Southern California, and properly trained domestics are earning as much as $80,000 a year. Advertisement As the number of millionaires grows, the demand for domestic help is putting such a strain on the service industry that well-trained workers can be particular about whom they work for, the Los Angeles Times said. With estates becoming more complex and closer attention being paid to hiring of illegal immigrants, staffing agencies can barely meet millionaires' needs. "I just filled nine positions, and I could have filled another nine immediately," staffing company owner Christopher Baker told the newspaper. Being a butler may carry some negative connotations, but Baker said the marketplace has made the career a likely career upgrade for the average man. "He could be making $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 a year at a mansion in Bel-Air with museum-quality furnishings rather than cooped up as a $9-an-hour computer programmer in a cubicle in mid-Wilshire," he told the Times. Advertisement Teen gained infamy by crashing parties NEW YORK, April 2 (UPI) -- A teenager from New York's Long Island has made a name for himself as a professional party crasher, even if it means fines and community service. Ryan Leli had to pay a $1,000 fine and spend 10 days picking up trash in Queens after he was caught sneaking into Shea Stadium with a fake press pass he'd made on his computer, the New York Post reported. Leli didn't get caught until after he'd gotten into the locker room and sidled up to his favorite Mets player, Mike Piazza, and had a picture taken with him. Piazza is no longer a Met. Leli has since been banned from Shea Stadium. The setback, Leli told the Post, will not deter him. Leli began crashing high-profile parties at age 14. Now 18, Leli has reportedly dined with Julia Stiles and Kirsten Dunst, joked with Kanye West, gotten career advice from Tom Cruise and hung out with Will Smith. He says one of his most prized possessions is a bona-fide photograph of him and Pam Anderson. Advertisement "I don't get nervous around them at all," Leli said of celebrities. "I just enjoy myself." Firefighters rescue trapped puppy NEW YORK, April 2 (UPI) -- A puppy that broke away from her owners and jumped into New York's Hudson River over the weekend was rescued by veteran firefighters. The New York Post reported on Bubba, the 15-month-old bull terrier that pulled away from her owners as they walked along the pier. The firefighters were finishing a drill on a neighboring pier when the emergency occurred, the report said. One of them donned a rescue suit and swam from the team's rapid response boat to the dog, which had gotten trapped under the pier. The owners, who did not want to be identified, were grateful for the rescue. Caribbean gelato popular in New York NEW YORK, April 2 (UPI) -- Businessman Alfredo Thiebaud opened the season's first Caribbean gelato cart over the weekend in New York, assisted by Rep. Jose E. Serrano, D-N.Y. The New York Times reported on the ceremonial opening, which marked the day the annual city permits went into effect. Thiebaud's dessert, known as "coquito," has become a popular summer treat in parts of New York. Advertisement Thiebaud, who founded the company called Delicioso almost 30 years ago in the Bronx, grew up as one of 13 children in Honduras. He came to New York when he was 20 to live with an uncle. At the opening, Serrano held up a scoop of Delicioso Coco Helado -- or in English, Delicious Coconut Ice Cream -- and said in Spanish this "may this be filled with something sweet for immigrants." Thiebaud wants to sell the Caribbean gelato to the Pentagon to be sent to troops overseas, as many families in the Bronx have children serving in the military.
