Brickbats
An auction for 56 foreclosed properties in Utah fell through when the owners rejected the bids. Auctioneer Eric Nelson says the banks and private lenders who owned the properties decided to wait and see if they might get a better offer from the federal government.
Deanna Gonzales says she was in the shower when she heard shots fired. She didn't even realize police were in her Colorado Springs home, but they had just killed her dog. It turns out the cops had convinced her children to let them in. One of the kids locked the dog in the bathroom with their mother, but police insisted on going in there, where they say the dog lunged at one of them. Police did not find the man they were looking for, Francisco Aragorn. Gonzales says she's never heard of him.
In Chicago voter registration materials were sent to "Princess Nudelman." Beth Nudelman wrote back to say that Princess would not be voting in 2008 because she is a) dead and b) a goldfish.
The Federal Communications Commission is deciding who will get the channels it forced the satellite radio companies Sirius and XM to set aside for minority groups as a condition for approving their merger. Ars Technica reports that an Irish themed Internet radio channel is seeking one of the slots. Apparently its owners didn't read the order approving the merger: The only minorities being considered are blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders. Irish need not apply.
Tampa International Airport police learned from Canadian customs officials that Robert Christianson had some outstanding warrants, so as soon as he stepped off a plane they arrested him. His crimes: having a dog with no license and allowing a dog to run loose.
Police officers in Massachusetts earn up to $40 an hour directing traffic at highway work sites. Naturally, they are upset that new state rules allow civilians to do the same job. So they've been showing up at work sites to jeer the flaggers, try to distract them, and impede work on the projects.
Someone posted a warning about a possible police sobriety checkpoint on a message board devoted to events in Rockland, Massachusetts. A few weeks later, police Lt. Barry Ashton went on that same message board to say an investigation had revealed that the warning came from a computer in the home of the local school committee chairman. Ashton admits the warning was not illegal. He also admits he did not get a warrant or subpoena to obtain the information on who posted the message.
An Amtrak train running from Los Angeles to San Diego ran out of fuel about 15 miles from the station. That stretched the two-and-a-half-hour trip into four hours for the train's 83 passengers. "It's not uncommon for trains to run out of fuel here," Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham helpfully explained.