National Roundup

Ohio Family hopes stolen swine statue is returned CINCINNATI (AP) -- A life-size swine statue has disappeared in the city once dubbed "Porkopolis," and its owners are hoping the thief will have a change of heart and return their beloved concrete pig. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Maggie Gieseke and her family had kept the heavy, 2-foot-tall statue for a decade in their front yard in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood. Sometimes they dressed it up, giving it a white beard and red hat for Christmas, a bow for Valentine's Day or bunny ears at Easter. It was wearing only eyeglasses when it disappeared Saturday. The family has posted a flier announcing the "pig-napping" in hopes that the pig will be returned to its post of honor, with no questions asked. Ohio State law ends labeling of pit bulls as 'vicious' COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Pit bulls will no longer be labeled as "vicious" dogs under a new Ohio law. The measure that took effect Tuesday changes current law that defines a vicious dog as one that has seriously hurt or killed a person, killed another dog or is among those commonly known as pit bulls. The new measure removes the reference to pit bulls from the definition and requires evidence to prove pit bulls are actually vicious. Gov. John Kasich signed the measure in February. Some dog wardens opposed it because of frequent pit bull attacks. Others have said pit bulls are not inherently vicious. The measure takes effect less than a week after a 3-day-old baby was killed in northwest Ohio by what a dog warden described as a pit bull mix. Ohio Court: Gay Ohio student may wear T-shirt to school CINCINNATI (AP) -- A gay student who sued his Ohio high school for prohibiting him from wearing a T-shirt designed to urge tolerance of gays will be allowed to wear the shirt to school whenever he chooses. A judgment agreed to by Maverick Couch and the Waynesville Local School District was entered Monday in federal court in Cincinnati. It allows the teenager to wear the "Jesus Is Not A Homophobe" T-shirt and says the district must pay $20,000 in damages and court costs. The lawsuit alleged that the district northeast of Cincinnati had violated Couch's freedom of expression rights. The district did not immediately return calls Monday seeking comment. Couch said the shirt is a statement of pride and he hopes other students now know they can feel pride, too. New York FBI: 10 more charged in NY rail pensions case NEW YORK (AP) -- The FBI says 10 more people are charged in New York's alleged Long Island Rail Road disability pension scam. FBI spokesman J. Peter Donald confirms that six of those charged were arrested Tuesday morning on Long Island. He says one arrest has been made in Florida. Manhattan court appearances were expected later Tuesday. Authorities in October said that hundreds of Long Island Rail Road employees may have cheated their way to big pensions through a $1 billion fraud by paying off doctors to say they were unable to work. Eleven people were charged with conspiracy in October, including two orthopedists and a former union official. The LIRR's president has said the Railroad Retirement Board acted as a rubber stamp without consulting the railroad. The LIRR has cooperated with authorities. Ohio Judges to study Holocaust leadership issues MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) -- More than 450 judges across Ohio will participate in a fall leadership training program focusing on the Holocaust and the failures of German police and judges in the Nazi era. The program was developed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. It was highlighted Monday in suburban Cleveland at a Holocaust museum education and fundraising luncheon. Holocaust Museum Director Sara Bloomfield says development of the program began in part when a law enforcement officer saw images of police in museum displays and wondered how they went from protecting to persecuting citizens. The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports the training encourages judges to reflect and safeguard democracy. Two years ago, the Ohio Supreme Court hosted a lecture by a Holocaust museum historian on a similar topic. West Virginia Coal miner sues Alpha over wrongful firing BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) -- A coal miner who says he was fired for enforcing safety standards that slowed down both production and the sealing of the Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia is suing Alpha Natural Resources. The State Journal says Glen Farley accuses Virginia-based Alpha and its Performance Coal Co. subsidiary of wrongfully terminating his $79,000-a-year job last month. Performance has until June 10 to file a response in Raleigh County Circuit Court. Alpha didn't immediately comment Tuesday. Farley, of Clear Fork, says he held many jobs at Performance and other former Massey Energy subsidiaries for 11 years. Alpha bought Massey last summer. Farley accuses Alpha of following Massey's old habits, punishing workers who identify safety hazards and slow down production. "The same persons who operated the Massey Energy subsidiaries, specifically Performance Coal Company, are still operating those subsidiaries," the lawsuit contends, "and old habits die slowly, if at all." The lawsuit says Performance ostensibly fired Farley because he borrowed a tractor for personal use. Farley says he had permission. Farley also maintains he was fired despite an outstanding evaluation of his performance. The lawsuit says a decision he made in March cost Performance "substantial money" because it forced the relocation of a natural gas line. Farley says he shut down a job at a Workman's Creek mine because he discovered that a road crew had uncovered the line. On April 1, he shut down a washed-out road that led to an Upper Big Branch Mine portal because he considered it unsafe for vehicles with rubber tires. That decision slowed down the sealing of the mine where 29 men died in an April 2010 explosion. The action also created more work for management because it required modification of a federal order closing the mine, the lawsuit said. Published: Wed, May 23, 2012