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Irregular News for 03.23.07 Watertown, NY -- A Watertown man is under arrest for selling stolen property at ReSale America. 20-year-old Arthur A. Cranney Jr. of North Orchard Street was arrested by Watertown City Police yesterday on charges of 3rd degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property. According to police, on March 3rd Cranney took two gold and diamond rings to ReSale America and sold them for $25. The rings were stolen from Billie Jo Hammontree of West Main Street. The value of the stolen rings is $3,000. Cranney is being held at the Metro-Jefferson PSB pending arraignment in City Court in front of Judge Harbeson. At the time of his arrest, Cranney was described by arresting officers as being impaired by drugs. source

Irregular News for 03.21.07 New York, NY -- Three workers in a New York City welfare office are suing, claiming the city failed to protect them from sexual harassment. The lawsuit claims office manager Serena Reaves-Cain harassed three female workers under her supervision. CBS 2 News has learned this isn't the first time Reaves-Cain has been accused of inappropriate behavior. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, claims co-workers gave Reaves-Cain the nickname "Lipstick Bandit" because she allegedly "kissed them on the cheeks, foreheads, and necks, and sometimes left red lipstick marks on them." The plaintiffs, Constance Trotman, Anitra Kincy and Clara Luz Badia, claimed Reaves-Cain "hugged the plaintiffs and pushed her breasts up against their breasts, and used the palm of her hand to spank them on the buttocks." The women also claim Reaves-Cain referred to the spankings as "pow-pows," and sometimes told them "come to momma" before hugging, touching or spanking them. The lawsuit seeks damages, claiming the city was negligent in employing Reaves-Cain, and ignored previous complaints about her. One of the complaints came in 2004, when Reaves-Cain supervised a welfare office in Manhattan. A co-worker in that office told CBS 2 she asked for a transfer because she felt harassed by Reaves-Cain. "She would come by my desk and pull my hair," the female co-worker said. "Sometimes she would grab my cheeks, pinch my cheeks. It was a constant, touchy-touchy, tell me how beautiful I was. It made me very uncomfortable." The former co-worker said she and Reaves-Cain started out as friends, and frequently ate lunch and took breaks together. Reaves-Cain is married and has children, according to the former co-worker. The co-worker said she filed a complaint against Reaves-Cain with the city's Human Resources Administration, and is contemplating a lawsuit. An associate professor at Pace University School of Law said the previous complaint could help the three women who filed suit. "It strengthens their case that the employer was remiss in keeping this person as a supervisor," Darren Rosenblum said. A spokeswoman for the city law department said the lawsuit was under review. A government source told CBS 2 News Reaves-Cain is still employed by the city but has transferred from the Bronx to another office. Efforts to contact Reaves-Cain at her mother's home in Yonkers were not successful. source

Irregular News for 03.21.07 France -- A man who ripped out his wife's eyes in a fit of rage was sentenced by a French court to 30 years behind bars today. Mohamed Hadfi, 31, tore out his 23-year-old wife Samira Bari's eyes following a heated argument in their apartment in the southern French city of Nimes in July 2003 after she refused to have sex with him. Ms Bari, who had demanded a divorce before the attack, was permanently blinded. Hadfi, a Moroccan, initially fled to Germany. He was finally arrested and sent back to France, where he was indicted for "acts of torture and barbarity leading to a permanent disability". Prosecutor Dominique Tourette demanded that Hadfi be sentenced to 30 years in prison, two thirds of which must be served in full, calling the defendant a "diabolic torturer". Once his sentence is served, Hadfi will be deported and barred from ever returning to France. His lawyer Jean-Pierre Cabanes meanwhile insisted there were extenuating circumstances. "This is the result of a marriage that was arranged, not chosen," he said, pointing to the gulf separating his client, who came from southern Morocco, and his young wife, who had grown up in France. Mr Cabanes begged the jury for leniency, claiming his client's action "appeared to stem from a mental illness." source

Irregular News for 03.21.07 Berlin, Germany -- A hapless German thief snapped his credit card in two while prying open a lock, inadvertently leaving behind his name and account details for police. "He tried to copy what he'd seen them do on television, but the flat-owner woke up and the criminal ran away," a police spokesman said on Wednesday. "The victim called up and read us the details off the card." "When we got round to the burglar´s house, the other half of his credit card was sitting on his kitchen table." The 29-year-old burglar was trying to open the door to his neighbour's flat in Moenchengladbach in western Germany, police said. source

Irregular News for 03.20.07 Los Angeles, CA -- Broward Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda is facing a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession after city police officers said they busted him for allegedly smoking pot in a Hollywood park Sunday afternoon. The judge played a role in the Anna Nicole Smith case when he briefly handled a small part of the paternity battle over the former Playboy centerfold's infant daughter. Korda, 59, was not arrested but was issued a notice to appear on April 26 in the satellite courthouse in Hollywood. Court and state law enforcement records show no prior legal problems for the judge so he could qualify for a first-time offender pre-trial drug diversion program. But the allegation he used an illegal drug could result in a complaint to the Judicial Qualification Commission and possible discipline, several legal experts said. If the judicial watchdog agency found his conduct violated judicial rules, he could face a reprimand or removal from the bench. Anyone can file a complaint with the commission. Korda could not be reached for comment despite messages left with his judicial assistant and at his chambers Monday. It was not clear if he had hired an attorney. His assistant said he was on the bench Monday presiding over a trial. Also unclear was whether Korda, a Family Court judge, would remain on the bench while the charge is pending. The Judicial Qualification Commission said Monday that no complaint has been filed with the agency so far and, at this point, it is up to Broward's Chief Judge Dale Ross to decide if Korda should continue to work until the case is resolved. Through a spokesman, Ross said he had not yet decided what to do. At about 2 p.m. Sunday, three officers who were in Stanley Goldman Memorial Park noticed Korda smoking a joint while sitting on the ground next to a tree in the park, Hollywood police spokesman Capt. Tony Rode said. "They said they smelled a very strong odor of what they found to be marijuana," Rode said. "They followed the smell to a gentleman sitting under a tree. He was actively smoking the marijuana cigarette as they approached him." The officers, who were in plain clothes and exercising while on-duty as permitted by department policy, said the joint tested positive for marijuana, Rode said. Most people accused of smoking pot are issued a ticket instead of being arrested, he said. "The overwhelming majority of people who are detained for a marijuana cigarette are given a notice to appear," Rode said. The judge, who lives in Hollywood, was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Police records said Korda had one marijuana cigarette. The officers did not know who Korda was until they asked his profession. "He at no time asked for preferential treatment," he said. Korda comes from a respected legal family and his sister, Miette Burnstein, was a circuit judge until her recent retirement. Korda was elected to the bench in 1978 and has worked in the Family Court division for more than a decade. He also served on the juvenile bench. He attended The Citadel military college in South Carolina before getting his law degree. A longtime child advocate, Korda has served for many years on the board of the Children's Services Council of Broward County. Korda has been accused of insensitivity. All of Broward's judges had to attend sensitivity training last year after a series of events involving several judges. The final straw, said leaders of local minority bar associations, was a December 2005 incident when Korda berated a woman seeking a restraining order for speaking her native Spanish instead of English. Korda eventually apologized. Lisa Metellus-Hood, former president of the Haitian Lawyers Association, and a critic of Korda's, said she thought clients appearing before Korda might be disturbed by the marijuana allegation. "Probably the public would be more taken aback because as judges, their job is to chastise people and tell them what to do," she said. Larry S. Davis, a prominent Hollywood attorney, said he has known the judge since Korda worked as a public defender at the state psychiatric hospital. "His whole career has been working with children and disadvantaged people," Davis said. "He fought for the underdog always." source

Irregular News for 03.20.07 Miami, FL -- A 35-year-old Orlando man can thank his 300-pound girth for helping save his life after he jumped off a cruise ship and drifted 20 miles for more than eight hours with a collapsed lung before rescuers found him in the Atlantic Ocean. Michael Mankamyer's family thought he was dead. The Carnival Glory cruise ship continued on its scheduled route toward the Bahamas after the Coast Guard arrived. And Mankamyer was left bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean. "We were hysterical," Gina Mankamyer, who described her brother as an average swimmer, told the Orlando Sentinel. "We were already thinking about having to plan a funeral without a body." Petty Officer Ryan Coon spotted Mankamyer about 75 yards from the Coast Guard cutter Chandeleur."I knew that was our guy," Coon recalled. "I hollered out, 'Man overboard, portside!' " His 300-pound girth likely helped him float easier than someone leaner, said Richard Rotundo, a professor at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine specializing in cell biology and anatomy. "Someone who is really overweight and has excess fat, their body density would be less than water," Rotundo said. Layers of fat also would insulate Mankamyer from the water, the professor said. Sal Wega, 16, Mankamyer's godson and cruise-ship roommate, argued with him before jumping over the side. Wega wanted to hang out at a teen club but Mankamyer wanted to stay in the room. Mankamyer called Sal and apologized for ruining the trip, the teen said."I'll always love him," Sal said. "He's my godfather." Mankamyer was rescued a little before 9 a.m. EDT about 30 miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Mankamyer, an imaging technician at Florida Hospital, suffered mild hypothermia and a collapsed lung but was in good condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. A witness told the Coast Guard that Mankamyer was drunk when he went overboard. source

Irregular News for 03.19.07 Australia -- Three children have won a share of the estate of a man said to be their sperm donor father after using tweezers to pluck his eyebrows for DNA testing as he lay dead in a hospital morgue. In a landmark decision, the NSW Supreme Court yesterday granted administration of Willem Wijma's estate to one of those children, ruling against his family's wishes. It is a judgment that raises questions about the legal rights of thousands of men who have donated sperm – and alarm among the men's families who face sharing their inheritance with a stranger. "I haven't heard of a case like this before," Leonie Hewitt of the Donor Conception Support Group said. Mr Willem's daughters from his marriage, Janna and Tineke, claimed the "sperm donor" children had ransacked their father's house, stolen and destroyed his will and showed "unseemly haste" in plucking his hair for DNA testing. But Justice Ian Gzell found Mr Willem, who died in October 2001 aged 75, with an estate worth about $500,000 including a house and car, had died without a will. The court was told Mr Willem and his family migrated to Australia in the 1950s but his wife and daughters returned to Holland after the couple divorced. He then fathered three children – Julie Mougalis, Jeffrey Sullivan and Scott Sullivan – with Constance Sullivan, whose husband, Ed, was infertile but did not know it. The children grew up believing Ed Sullivan was their father until their mother told them the truth in 1995 after Mr Sullivan died. Mr Sullivan also believed he was their father. Mr Willem's Dutch daughters claimed he told them in 1995 that he had a brief affair with Mrs Sullivan. Then, in the days before IVF, she had returned to ask him to be a sperm donor because she wanted children. Mrs Sullivan told the court the children were born out of love. Justice Gzell said yesterday Mr Willem, caretaker of the former Koala Inn apartment complex on Sydney's Oxford St, had never supported her children. "They were careful to avoid any public acknowledgement of their relationship," he said. However after the Sullivan children found out he was their biological father, they met Mr Willem and he "appears to have cared for them", the judge said. Friend Hendrik Korporaal, said that, shortly after confessing he was the father of the Sullivan children, Mr Willem discussed his will. He said Mr Willem told him: "I want the bulk of my things to go to my two daughters. You are my executor . . . I know that when I die the vultures will come out." Justice Gzell rejected any suggestion the Sullivan family had stolen a will and said evidence pointed to it having been destroyed beforehand. DNA testing proved they were Mr Willem's biological children after their solicitor plucked his eyebrow hair as he lay in Port Macquarie Base Hospital. source

Irregular News for 03.19.07 Baltimore, MD -- Baltimore police arrested a 7-year-old boy, handcuffed him, then hauled him off to the station house where they took his mug shot and fingerprints. He allegedly rode a dirt bike on a sidewalk. "They scared me," Gerard Mungo Jr. told The Baltimore Examiner before breaking down in tears. The incident brought new heat on a department already under fire for making what critics call frivolous or unnecessary arrests. Police commissioner Leonard Hamm, although noting the city's ongoing concern about the nuisance of dirt bikes, said in a statement Thursday that the arrest of the 7-year-old "was not consistent with my philosphy of trying to solve problems in the neighborhoods." Mayor Sheila Dixon said she intended to look into the facts behind Gerard's arrest. "As a mother and as a parent, I am bothered by it," she said. "I will get to the bottom of this." Dinkins, who turned 7 last month, was sitting on the bike with the motor off on a sidewalk near his home in east Baltimore when an officer grabbed him by the collar and pulled him off the bike, according to his mother Kikisa Dinkins, who witnessed the arrest. "I told them to let go of my baby," Dinkins recalled. "Since when do you pull a 7-year-old child by his neck and drag him?" Dinkins said she called for a police supervisor to intervene, but the confrontation continued to escalate after the supervisor arrived on the scene. "They started yelling at him, 'Do you know what you did wrong, son?'" Dinkins said. "He was so scared he ran upstairs." Police confiscated the dirt bike and placed her son under arrest. At the station, young Gerard was handcuffed to a bench and interrogated, before he was released to the custody of his parents. Police spokesman Matt Jablow said an officer saw Gerard riding his dirt bike on the sidewalk. The zero-tolerance arrest policy of former Mayor Martin O'Malley, now Maryland's governor, has become a contentious issue in Baltimore, with State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy, some judges and civil rights activists complaining such arrests occur most often in poor, black neighborhoods. Dixon, who planned to address the arrest at a press conference Friday, took office in January promising to put aside "simplistic" approaches to crime. Dinkins said the incident has scarred her son. "This has changed his life," she said. "He'll never be the same." source

Irregular News for 03.19.07 United Kingdom -- Figures reveal that thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money has been spent on paying for parking fines after traffic wardens targeted marked POLICE cars. The Metropolitan police paid Islington Council £1,400 in parking fines in 2006. The year before the figure was more than £2,000. In total, the police have paid Islington Council almost £7,000 in parking fines over four years, since 2002. The police have confirmed the figures include fines paid for marked police vehicles - easily identified by the blue lights on top and fluorescent stripe along the side. Councillor Richard Watts (Labour) who uncovered the figures, said: "It's bonkers! I think residents will be shocked to hear that their taxpayer's money, which should be going into the fight against crime, is going into paying parking tickets. "Police budgets are stretched and the last thing they should be worrying about is dodging traffic wardens. It's just another example of what a rip-off Islington's parking policy is. The council should immediately repay this money to the police." Campaigner Tim Newark, of the Local Freedom Party, added: "It is extraordinary. Traffic wardens should be trained and educated into exercising common sense and good judgement - they should not be ticketing police cars. "Their job is to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, not to raise revenue through parking fines. "It's a waste of taxpayer's money, and I hope the figures change this year now the council is supposed to be pursuing a new policy on parking." Detective Superintendent David Miveld said "Although Islington police take care to park lawfully, there will be occasions when operational demands result in police vehicles receiving parking tickets. These are considered on an individual basis and paid accordingly". Councillor Lucy Watt, (Liberal Democrat), executive member for environment, said: "Police officers are not given tickets when carrying out operations in marked police cars. "But when they use unmarked cars for investigations and these cars are illegally parked and unattended, parking attendants may not know they are police cars. Attendants may issue tickets, particularly if the cars are dangerously parked, for example, in the bus lanes around Tolpuddle Police Station. "We have an understanding with the police force to cancel any parking tickets issued to unmarked cars when senior police officers tell us an investigation was underway when they were issued. source

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Irregular News for 03.16.07 Laurens County, SC -- Authorities said an assistant high school principal and his wife, who is a middle school teacher, are accused of throwing a keg party where students paid $5 to drink. Prosecutor Jerry Peace said Thursday that John and Mary Clark turned themselves in to police and were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. John Clark, 54, is an assistant principal at Newberry High School. Mary Clark, 52, teaches at Newberry Middle School. Both were booked at the Newberry County jail and released after they posted bond. Peace said that the charges stem from a summer party the Clarks threw for their son at their lake house in 2006. Newberry County School District Superintendent Bennie Bennett said the Clarks are on paid administrative leave. They are both charged with contributing to the deliquency of minors. Peace said he didn't know how many students attended the party or their ages. He said beer was served from kegs, and students said they also drank some type of spiked punch. Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said, "It would be wrong for anybody to do it -- but for somebody that knows the rules and has to make children abide by the law in school and behave by the law -- to allow that to go on -- they're held to a higher standard and they should have known better." source

Irregular News for 03.16.07 Folcroft, PA -- A tenant in court defending herself from a civil complaint by her landlord suddenly had to shift gears. La Tina Osborne, a pediatric nurse, was speaking when she noticed that the plaintiff, Genevieve Zumuda, 77, appeared stricken. "As I presented my case, she just started shaking and her eyes rolled back in her head," said Osborne, 32. "When I noticed that nothing was changing, I went over there just to assess her and see what was wrong and I noticed that she wasn't breathing." Osborne placed Zumuda on the floor and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. A court clerk assisted. Someone went for help, and paramedics arrived and used a defibrillator to regain a heartbeat. Zumuda was taken to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, where she was in stable condition Wednesday. Osborne said it was the first time she had used CPR outside of work in the seven years she has had the training. She said she did not feel like a hero, and wanted the incident to be a lesson to her children. "When people are down, if you can help them, you help them," she said. Osborne has been Zumuda's tenant for nearly a year. source

Irregular News for 03.15.07 Japan -- Police found more than 4,000 pieces of lingerie in the home of a Japanese construction worker who used climbing skills developed on his job to steal women's underwear. Police believe that Shigeo Kodama, 54, amassed the 3,977 knickers, 355 bras and 10 pairs of stockings over a six-year period. He was arrested in February after he stole underwear from two houses, and police later raided his home. "Since he was a construction worker, as long as he had a place to put his feet he was able to climb, so he had no trouble getting up to the second floor of apartment buildings," a police spokesman in the western Japanese city of Hiroshima said. "He didn't steal any other kind of clothing. But as long as it was underwear, apparently anything would do," the spokesman added. source

Irregular News for 03.15.07 Billings, MT -- It turns out there are no such things as unicorns - and even if there were, they wouldn't drive trucks. On Tuesday, a Billings prosecutor had told a district judge that Phillip C. Holliday Jr., 42, claimed a unicorn was driving when his truck crashed into a light pole earlier this month. But on Wednesday, the chief prosecutor said it was all a misunderstanding. Apparently, Holliday told police an unnamed woman was driving when his truck hit the pole - not a unicorn. "Mr. Holliday has other serious problems, but this is not one of them," County Attorney Dennis Paxinos said of the unicorn alibi. The mixup occurred when a deputy prosecutor misunderstood an e-mail from a colleague who used the phrase "unicorn defense," thinking it was an actual statement from Holliday, Paxinos said. "Unicorn defense" is a slang term used by prosecutors when a defendant blames some mythical person for a crime, he said. "It's kind of a code (between prosecutors) and the code was misinterpreted," Paxinos said. Paxinos apologized "to the public, the court and to Mr. Holliday" for the confusion and said he has chastised the prosecutors involved. Holliday has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of criminal endangerment and drunken driving. He is being represented by a public defender. Kristina Copenhaver-Landon, director of the public defender's office in Billings, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. source

Irregular News for 03.15.07 Japan -- A curry that was boiled up with a rat in the pot has been served to 18 people at a noodle stand at JR Shin-Koiwa Station in Tokyo, the operator of the stand said. Nippon Restaurant Enterprise Co. (NRE), the operator of the noodle stand, has apologized for the incident. "We offer our apologies and will return the money to customers who contact us," a company spokesman said. Nobody who ate at the stand has so far complained about any health problems. Between 6:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, curry and rice and curry noodles were served to 18 customers at Ajisai Chaya noodle stand at JR Shin-Koiwa Station in Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, NRE officials said. At around 8:30 a.m., an 8-centimeter-long rat was caught by a ladle when the manager stirred the curry in the pot, prompting him to immediately close the stand. NRE officials said it is highly likely that the rat was mixed into the curry when the sauce was put into the pot. source

Irregular News for 03.14.07 Troy, MI -- She went in for an oil change, but came out with a brand-new car. Now a Michigan woman is suing the auto dealer, saying it took advantage of her bipolar disorder to sell her the $32,000 vehicle. Amy Berner tells the Detroit News she suffers from "impulsivity and difficulty in decision-making,'' and the dealer used that to get her to sign a $444 per month lease for a Mazda CX-9. Berner says she had gone to the dealer for an oil change for her car, which she had bought just six months earlier. Berner's husband says the dealer agreed to take the car back if it got a doctor's letter detailing Berner's condition. He says the letter was sent, but the dealer delivered the CX-9 anyway, and left the keys in the mailbox. Suburban Imports of Troy says it can't comment on the suit because it hasn't received any legal papers yet. source

Irregular News for 03.14.07 New Jersey -- At exactly 5:45:34 on April 18, 2004 a computer taken from the office of the attorney of Melanie McGuire, did a search on the words "How To Commit Murder." That same day searches on Google and MSN search engines, were conducted on such topics as `instant poisons,` `undetectable poisons,' 'fatal digoxin doses,' and gun laws in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Ten days later, according to allegations by the state of New Jersey, McGuire murdered her husband, William T. McGuire, at their Woodbridge apartment, using a gun obtained in Pennsylvania, one day after obtaining a prescription for a sedative known as the "date rape" drug. Jennifer Seymour, who worked for the State Police digital technology unit, testified thismorning how she examined the digital contents of computers and hand held devices obtained as part of the investigation. Her testimony was the strongest evidence yet in the state's circumstantial evidence case against the 34-year-old McGuire, who allegedly murdered her husband with a .38 caliber weapon, dismembered his body and placed body parts in three suitcases found in the Chesapeake Bay in May of 2004. While the jury has yet to see any fingerprint, blood or DNA evidence in the case, the evidence presented by Seymour illustrated how computers can be a valuable investigation tool. Seymour was still being questioned by Assistant Attorney General Patricia Prezioso when Superior Court Judge Frederick De Vesa gave the jury its lunch break. Testimony was scheduled to resume at 1:45 p.m. Seymour, now employed by the U.S. Department of Defense, testified how digital investigators can trace activity on a computer, including information the user has deleted. She testified that she isolated data that was accessed in the weeks leading up to the murder, by inserting the keyword "search," which showed activity by Google and MSN search engines, with the searches center-ing on poisons and gun laws. The murder took place the same day, according to allegations by the state, that a two-ounce prescription of chloral hydrate was purchased at a Walgreen's in Edison. A search on April 26, 2004 of the computer seized by the state found that the user accessed the site www.walgreens.com/storelocator. On Monday Yan Kim Lee, a pharmacist at the Walgreen's on New Durham Road in Edison, testified that on the morning of April 28 she filled a prescription for chloral hydrate for a woman named Tiffany Bain, on script signed by Dr. Bradley Miller of Reproductive Medicine Associates in Morristown. Melanie McGuire worked at the RMA office as a nurse, and at the time of her husband's death she was having an affair with Miller. Lee testified that she typically fills only about three or four prescriptions annually for chloral hydrate. In her testimony Seymour said she was able to trace e-mails on Hotmail accounts allegedly used by McGuire and Miller. She said the e-mails seemed to indicate the two had a romantic relation-ship, with such phrases as "I love you," and "I miss you." Seymour said that on Sept. 8, 2005, the State Police obtained eight computers, three laptops and eight hand-held devices as part of the murder investigation. In her testimony today, she said she examined the contents of a computer obtained at the office of McGuire's attorney, though she did not identify the name of the attorney. She also said she tested a home computer used by the Woodbridge couple, and a home computer used by her parents, who now live in Barnegat. The HP Pavilion computer obtained from McGuire's attorney's office had a 60 gigabyte hard drive, and not all of it was searched by Seymour. She told the jury that it is known in the computer industry that if information stored on a 12 gigabyte computer was put on paper it would create a stack of paper higher than the Empire State Building. The first person to testify Tuesday was David A. Barron, a forensics examiner for the state of Virginia, who participated in the initial murder investigation. Barron testified that he did not examine William McGuire's re-mains for chloral hydrate. He said his office no longer has the samples it used to test for alcohol and certain drugs. "The protocol is once we complete our testing we submit it to the investigating agency," he said. "My understanding is that it has been destroyed." Under cross examination by defense attorney Stephen Turano, Barron said no test for chloral hydrate was done on the remains. When asked by Prezioso if it is routine in autopsies to test for "every substance known to man-kind," Barron said, "We could do a research project on any case we receive, but we don't have the manpower." The state's second witness, Donna Todd, the director of the Kinder Castle daycare center in Metuchen where the McGuire's 4-year-old son was enrolled, testified for the state about the child's attendance record on April 28, 2004, the day the state alleges the murder take place. On cross examination by Joseph Tacopina she also testified about his attendance on April 29. Ac-cording to her records the boy arrived at the daycare center at 8:30 a.m. Todd told the jury that Melanie McGuire explained to her that she was obtaining a temporary restraining order against her husband, and told her about a fight the night before that ended when William stuffed a dryer cloth into her mouth. Tacopina asked Todd if McGuire looked "upset or crazed." "She did look upset," said Todd. source

Irregular News for 03.13.07 Chicago, IL -- Scheduling a meeting? Send an e-mail. Need that report right away? Send an e-mail. Are there serious issues in the department? Nothing a chain of e-mails can't solve. The volume of e-mails has exploded in recent years with over 170 billion now being sent daily around the globe, according to technology market researcher Radacati Group. That's two million every second. But many in business now worry this tool for easy communication is actually making it harder to communicate. "Some [e-mails] are very valuable, and some of them are just an excuse not to communicate or to protect myself from something that's going on," said Jay Ellison, executive vice president at Chicago-based U.S. Cellular. Two and a half years ago, Ellison was receiving an average of 200 e-mails a day, many of which went unopened. After getting cyber-indigestion, he sent out a memo to his 5,500 subordinates. "I'm announcing a ban on e-mail every Friday," Ellison's memo read. "Get out to meet your teams face-to-face. Pick up the phone and give someone a call. … I look forward to not hearing from any of you, but stop by as often as you like." The no-e-mail-Friday idea landed with a thud. "Jay's insane. He's crazy," said marketing director Kathy Volpi, recalling the initial impression she and others had. "Employees would queue up their e-mails, and then at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, they'd let them fly." Eventually, the policy won over staff members. Forced to use the phone, employee John Coyle learned that a co-worker who he thought was across the country was, in fact, across the hall. "I asked him where he was and he said I'm on the fourth floor, and I said, 'Well so am I,'" said Coyle. "We now have a working relationship that is deeper than he's the guy that provides reports." Public affairs manager Tyler Caroll, because of her gender-neutral name, used to get e-mails addressing her as a "he" or "Mr." Phone calls on a no-e-mail-Friday changed all that. "People were really surprised that they had a woman's voice at the other end of the line instead of a man's," said Carroll with a laugh. U.S. Cellular isn't the only company curbing e-mail. At PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based outsourcing company, e-mail-free-Fridays have changed habits throughout the week -- e-mail volume is down a whopping 75 percent -- and that's helped the bottom line. "What I think it's done is make us more efficient, and it's made us listen to our customers better," said PBD vice president Lisa Williams. The trend is seen as a backlash against a corporate "crackberry" culture of impersonal communications. Last August, 400 Radio Shack employees received their pink slips electronically. In 2002, now-defunct accounting firm Arthur Anderson dropped the e-mail hatchet as well. "I think it's been abused over the years," said Ellison. "We tend to use e-mail as a kind of a tool to hide behind issues versus getting up and talking to people." In addition to being impersonal and tedious, studies show e-mail can also be confusing and lead to misunderstandings in the workplace, particularly with bosses. "As a medium, it's inherently ambiguous," said behavioral science professor Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. "There's not as much information conveyed. The pitch of your voice, the speed with which you say something, the emotional tone that's carried in your voice isn't there." At U.S. Cellular, no-e-mail-Fridays have been such a success that the company recently instituted a new policy aimed at another corporate vice: no-meetings-Friday. source

Irregular News for 03.13.07 Sissonville, WV -- The parent of a Sissonville High School student is suing a teacher and the school board over a failing grade the student received on a leaf project in her advanced biology class. Officials with the state's largest teachers' union say they're closely watching the litigation for its potential to have far-reaching effects on how teachers hand out grades. The student is identified only as "L.H." in the lawsuit filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court. She is described as a scholar who maintained a 4.5 grade point average prior to the incident. The student's parent, identified only as J.H., filed the lawsuit last month on behalf of the student. According to the lawsuit, the student was given a failing grade for not turning in a biology project on the date it was due. The lawsuit says the girl was out of school that day on an approved student council trip to Jackson's Mill in Lewis County. "The plaintiff has a right to be out of school on approved school activities, such as student council, without being punished by a teacher who intentionally manipulated the grading system and used the grade as a form of punishment to make sure that the minor plaintiff's 4.5 GPA was destroyed," the lawsuit says. The student was scheduled to attend a student council conference from Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006 through the following Tuesday, Oct. 17. The leaf project -- an assignment in which students typically collect and classify leaves -- was due Tuesday. According to the lawsuit, the student had completed her project that Saturday and left for the student council leadership training at 10 a.m. Sunday. She returned from the trip after the end of the school day Tuesday. She turned in her project Wednesday morning. "At no time was the minor plaintiff told by the teacher that she would be punished for being a part of student council by being required to turn her project in prior to the due date," the lawsuit says. Attorneys J. Michael Ranson and Cynthia Ranson, who are representing the student and her parents, could not be reached for comment. Sissonville High teacher Jane Schultz, who is named in the lawsuit along with the Kanawha County school board, declined to comment because the case is ongoing. Nancy Walker, assistant principal at Sissonville High, also declined to comment. Jim Withrow, attorney for the Kanawha school board, said he stands by Schultz's actions. "The project was turned in late," he said. "The class had ample notice that late submissions would not be accepted. "Part of going to school is learning there are rules, learning there are deadlines. Unfortunately, this is a pretty good student. But sometimes you just have to learn from your mistakes." The leaf project was the most significant assignment of the semester, worth more points than the final exam. According to the lawsuit, if the student received a zero or any failing grade, her "A" in the class would drop to a "B." Originally, the student would have earned a zero for turning in the project late. However, Schultz decided to give the student half-credit. The student's parents were not content with the teacher's decision, calling it "an arbitrary and capricious act." The lawsuit contends that if the student had been absent because of an athletic event or had a disciplinary problem and was suspended from school, she would have been allowed adequate time to make up any missed assignments. "It was the intent of the defendant, Jane Schultz, to punish the minor plaintiff for being in student council by intentionally ruining her ‘A' average," the lawsuit says. The student's parents are seeking an injunction, punitive damages, and damages for "emotional stress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of scholarship potential." Bill McGinley, legal counsel for the West Virginia Education Association, said the union would be watching the lawsuit closely. "We're very interested in this," he said. "Especially in the notion of protecting the integrity of teacher's grading, as well as student responsibility. "It's a terrible thing that people want to clog up the courts with students and their leaf projects," he said. "The court has so much more important stuff to deal with." McGinley said he agrees with Withrow, the county school board's attorney, that students need to learn responsibility. "When they fail to meet a deadline and they start suing over leaf collections, it's not really teaching them important life lessons," McGinley said. Attorneys for the school board have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. March 29. The motion to dismiss could be heard at that time. source

Irregular News for 03.13.07 Saudi Arabia -- A man who accidentally built his house on the wrong plot of land in Saudi Arabia has been allowed by the landowner to keep the home. The man, who spent nearly $270,000 building the home, discovered while arranging for electricity to be installed in the house that he had mistakenly built his home on a plot of land belonging to another local man, the Arab News reported Monday. The second man initially refused to swap plots -- even when offered $27,000 in compensation -- and demanded that the trespassing house be torn down. However, the landowner agreed to the exchange after seeing the completed house, the Arab News said. source

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