Brickbats: January 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Sandy Snakenberg, a San Diego street performer whose act involves blowing bubbles, was performing in a park when two park rangers cited him for "littering in bubble form." Video shows one of the rangers telling Snakenberg that he will cite him again if he continues to perform and recommend that prosecutors handle it as a misdemeanor instead of a lesser offense. But the ranger added he's not eager to do that, saying he would "feel like the biggest idiot taking this to court."
A student at Missouri's Liberty Middle School was suspended for three days after posting a photo online of Dr. Pepper cans he had laid in the shape of a rifle. The district superintendent said there was "enough information to believe the video has caused fear to at least one student and understandably so."
U.S. Postal Service employee Saahir Irby was charged with mail theft. Irby worked at the Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center, which processes both outbound U.S. Treasury checks and those marked "return to sender." Officials say Irby stole 112 checks during a single work shift.
When freshmen at North Carolina's Riverside High School received their school-issued Chromebooks for the recent school year, the laptops—which had been stored in the school's storage shed over the summer—were infested with bed bugs. The school asked students to return the devices and recommended that parents inspect their homes for bugs.
Some Utah sheriffs say new rules would impose heavy burdens on volunteer search and rescue teams. The sheriffs say the rules, proposed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, would require at least 690 additional hours of training for some crews, much of it for scenarios that backcountry crews aren't going to encounter, such as active shooters, structural fires, drug overdoses, and exposure to hazardous materials.
Susie Holland's car was impounded, and she faces $30,000 in potential fines, for giving people rides to the Burning Man festival. The 61-year-old was among more than a dozen people caught in a sting by Nevada transportation officials and charged with violating a state law requiring a certificate to transport people for money.
Welsh farmer Howard Walters was sentenced to 12 months' probation and ordered to pay 3,500 pounds ($4,568) after a neighbor videotaped him allowing one of his grandchildren to ride in the cab of his tractor with him. Walters was already under an official warning from the Health and Safety Executive after he admitted to allowing his grandchildren to ride with him in his tractor.
The Scottish government is considering a ban on alcoholic beverage logos on merchandise and glassware. The proposal would bar brewery or alcoholic brand logos on T-shirts, pint glasses, and pub umbrellas, among other objects. Officials say it is aimed at reducing alcohol abuse.
Nadine Jean Baptiste, a supervisor at the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, and her daughter, Octavia Jean Baptiste, face federal charges including illegal acquisition or use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Prosecutors say Nadine Jean Baptiste used her position to steal the personal information of people who receive SNAP benefits on preloaded debit cards, which both she and her daughter used to make more than $191,000 in grocery purchases for themselves.
