Weekly Daily Brickbats Archive 2009 March 22-31

Mike and Cathy Grosse were shopping when they got the call from the Hamilton, Ohio, fire department. Firefighters had mistaken their home for a vacant house and knocked down the door during a training exercise. The firefighters caused some $1,000 in damage, but they say they'll pay to fix things.

A state panel has recommended Seminole County, Florida, Judge Ralph Erikkson be reprimanded for tossing a man in jail because he did not like the man's lawyer. Attorney Kendall Horween won a continuance that Erikkson had earlier opposed, so he increased the bail for Horween's client, Bob Lee Walton III, and had him jailed for supposedly interfering with the administration of justice.

A large and growing number of people on Georgia's sex offender list are not sex offenders. The law says that anyone who is convicted of false imprisonment or kidnapping a minor will be placed on the list. Take Darnelle Harvey. Almost 20 years ago, he robbed a restaurant and told a 16-year-old to lie down on the floor. That got him a false imprisonment conviction. So he's listed as a sex offender, making it illegal for him to live or work within 1,000 feet of a school, park, recreation center, or other place where children may gather.

Massachusetts' East Bridgewater Savings Bank claims to have no bad loans on its books. Bank officers say that's because they have very high lending standards. Those standards are too high, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The agency rapped the bank for not lending more and slapped it with a "needs to improve" rating under the Community Reinvestment Act.

The British government has unveiled plans to track every person who leaves the United Kingdom, even for a day. Travelers will have to provide their travel plans as well as detailed personal information before leaving. They face fines of up to £5,000 if they don't.