Florida
Judge suspends city's homeless feeding ban
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A judge has suspended enforcement of a South Florida city's law that restricts the public feeding of homeless people for 30 days and ordered mediation on the issue.
The ordinance is aimed at keeping people from feeding the homeless in parks and other public places in Fort Lauderdale. Nationwide, people have objected to the ordinance and on Monday, hackers with the Anonymous group shut down the city Internet sites temporarily in response.
The decision Tuesday by Broward Circuit Judge Thomas Lynch came in a challenge to the ordinance by 90-year-old homeless advocate Arnold Abbott, who has been arrested after defying it repeatedly. Lynch wants the dispute resolved through mediation or trial by the end of the year.
City attorneys indicated they may appeal Lynch's ruling. More lawsuits are challenging whether the ordinance is constitutional.
Pennsylvania
Workers free inmate's arm from toilet
SHAMOKIN, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania prisoner is free - relatively speaking - after spending part of the weekend with his arm stuck in a toilet.
The News Item in Shamokin (Shuh-MOH'-kihn) reports that maintenance and emergency teams at the State Correctional Institution-Coal Township worked for several hours and wound up removing the toilet from its moorings to free the trapped limb.
They say the prisoner's arm became stuck Sunday morning when he reached into the toilet to fetch an item that had fallen in. They say removing the toilet allowed the man to pull his hand out of a connecting pipe and free his arm.
Officials didn't release the prisoner's name.
California
Surgeon removed wrong kidney, was disciplined
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A California surgeon has been disciplined for removing a prisoner's healthy kidney and leaving the diseased one intact.
The Orange County Register reported Tuesday that the state medical board placed Dr. Charles Coonan Streit on probation for three years.
The board said Streit, a urologist who has had his license for 41 years, relied on memory to decide which kidney to remove because he didn't have access to the patient's complete medical records.
The 2012 operation at Fullerton's St. Jude Medical Center involved a 59-year-old federal inmate. The hospital was fined $100,000 because CT scans were left in an office on the day of the surgery.
The inmate underwent a second procedure to have the cancerous kidney removed.
Texas
Pit bull owner drops uit over beagle killing
TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) - A Texas woman whose four pit bulls entered a neighbor's yard through a hole in the fence and killed their beagle has dropped a lawsuit against them seeking up to $1 million.
Emerald White claimed she was "seriously injured" as she tried to stop the Oct. 27 attack, and accused her neighbor, Tiffany Baker, of failing to securely confine and restrict their 10-year-old dog, Bailey, who died.
The Bakers then sought legal sanctions against White, saying her lawsuit was frivolous and noting her pit bulls were declared dangerous and vicious under a Texas City ordinance. Such a designation requires the posting of signs, fences and liability coverage.
The Houston Chronicle says the Bakers withdrew their sanctions request in return for White dropping her lawsuit, according to court documents released Monday.
Vermont
Judge receives public reprimand for shoplifting
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A retired Vermont judge has received a public reprimand for a series of shoplifting complaints made against him by three Montpelier businesses.
The Burlington Free Press reports the ruling by the Vermont Judicial Conduct Board prohibits 71-year-old Karl Barney Bloom from seeking another judicial office.
The board ruled Bloom, an assistant judge for 15 years, violated the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct. No criminal charges were filed.
An assistant judge is an elected position that does not require a law license. They do not preside over criminal cases.
Bloom didn't contest the charges, which he said had nothing to do with his July retirement. His term would have expired in February 2015.
Police records show a pattern of taking small items, such as newspapers, soup and coffee without paying.
Minnesota
Lenders' lawsuit against Target moves forward
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A federal judge says several banks suing Target Corp. over its data breach have a plausible case for negligence and can proceed with the lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson has allowed three of four claims made by the plaintiffs to move forward. The claims allege negligence, failure to provide sufficient security against data hackers and violation of Minnesota's Plastic Security Card Act.
The Star Tribune reports Magnuson Tuesday dismissed one count that claimed "negligent misrepresentation by omission" related to Target's security system.
The Minneapolis-based company faced a myriad of lawsuits following the 2013 data breach in which hackers stole millions of customers' credit- and debit-card records. The courts have consolidated all the federal cases into two lawsuits - one involving financial institutions and the other including consumers.
Iowa
Woman reports sandwich assault by husband
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Des Moines woman has told police that her husband used a sandwich to assault her.
The Des Moines Register reports that 21-year-old Marvin Hill II was arrested Tuesday. Polk County Jail records say Hill remained in custody on Wednesday on a charge of domestic abuse assault. Online court records don't list an attorney for him.
Initially Hill told officers that his wife had assaulted him. He said she awakened him about 1 p.m., holding a McDonald's McChicken sandwich. He later acknowledged that he became upset and threw the sandwich at his wife because he doesn't like them.
Officers say Hill's wife had mayonnaise on her shirt and face when they talked to her. She says Hill also smashed the bun into her face.
Published: Thu, Dec 04, 2014
