Postcards
- New meaning to ‘sleeping with the fishes.’
A Decatur, Ga., company that makes ecosystem-preserving, concrete artificial reefs has begun a side business: mixing cremated ashes into concrete “reef balls.” It costs $3,200 for the deceased to have their own reef balls, but it costs only $850 to cement the deceased in a community reef. The company donates the balls to government reef projects. According to the St. Petersburg Times, about 30 of the reefs already have been installed off the coasts of Florida.
- Righting past wrongs
In August, Greenwich, Conn., Municipal Clerk Anne Frank filed a lawsuit against the city for back pay. According to the lawsuit, Frank’s boss had an 11-year affair with his secretary, and, because they were so often unavailable, the secretary’s work was passed to Frank. Frank was expected to work overtime to complete the work without compensation.
- Going by the book
In November, a San Francisco motorcycle cop ordered a Fire Department Toys for Tots van towed for having expired license plates. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the van was actively collecting toys for the holidays.
- Good cop, bad cop
According to the Baltimore Sun, when Edwin Gaynor filled out an application to join the city police force in August, he admitted being involved in a carjacking and two robberies in Texas. Detectives questioned Gaynor, called police in Texas and found that the carjacking was still unsolved. They got a search warrant for Gaynor’s home and found relevant evidence to execute the Texas arrest warrant.
- Methinks he doth protest too much
To protest police officers confiscating his RV, which had been involved in a minor accident, Alan Martin, 49, laid down in the middle of a busy street in Daly City, Calif., in October. Officers shielded his body with their cars, but a man leading a high-speed chase, ran into the cars and drove over Martin. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Martin was in fair condition following the incident.