Monday 9/15/08

Human Interest News   —   Posted on September 15, 2008

By The Editors of WorldMag.com 

Air assault
Dumfries, Scotland, is going to the birds-and finally the town is prepared to do something about it. With seagulls’ increasingly aggressive behavior leaving the city’s residents on edge for the next bird attack, local authorities created a task force to destroy bird nests and drive the pests from Dumfries. According to The Scotsman, the birds are even “divebombing children,” prompting harsh rhetoric from Scottish Environment Minister Michael Russell: “Seagulls are a menace to Scottish towns and cities,” he told The Scotsman.

AARP vs. the aged?
Of all the places 63-year-old Bonita Brady figured she might face what she calls “age discrimination,” AARP was perhaps the last place she expected it. Even so, the Lansing, Mich., resident filed a lawsuit in August against the advocacy group saying that despite excellent job reviews, she was passed over for a series of jobs with the nonprofit group because of her age. She is seeking more than $25,000 in damages.

Going green
Three polar bears at the Higashiyama Zoo in central Japan are perfectly healthy, but they don’t look it. The bears, normally white, have turned green because of excessive algae growth in the bear pond. Zoo officials say the bears should lose their green tint by November.

Building bust
All across Savage, Minn., elementary-school students were crammed into classrooms while across town the just-completed $16.8-million elementary school sat empty at the direction of the local school board. Voters in the Lake-Savage district who had voted to build the school voted down a proposal to hire new teachers and pay for operating expenses for the upcoming school year by accepting a property tax increase. Instead, the school board says it will follow through on a promise to mothball the school until next year.

Giant chaser
Undeterred by the size of the intruder-and his menacing weapon-Elk Grove, Calif., convenience store owner Amy Anand wasn’t about to let a masked gunman rifle through her till. Despite training her employees to simply open the cash register and hand over cash to robbers, Anand had another plan. When the suspect-6-foot-5, 215-pound James Benefield, according to police-briefly looked away, Anand shoved the barrel of his shotgun toward the ceiling from behind the counter. In his reaction, police say Benefield accidentally broke the gun on the counter. As the smaller Anand made her way around the corner to confront him, police say Benefield bludgeoned Anand before he was eventually chased away by the woman. Anand suffered bruises but lost no money in the exchange.