NEWS & BLUES

Curses, Foiled Again and Again And Again and Again

Since embarking on a life of crime in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1985, Jack Mannino, 44, has been thwarted repeatedly and spent most of his adult life in prison. “I never got away with anything,” he stated while testifying in federal court after pleading guilty to bank robbery and agreeing to testify against his former partner, Gary Fama, to get a lighter sentence. The pair stole $5,658 and sped away in reverse, blowing the transmission in Mannino’s new Lexus only two blocks from the bank. They fled, but, in addition to the car, registered in his name, Mannino left behind his wallet, containing his driver’s license and credit cards. After hearing his testimony, Fama’s attorney, Elizabeth Macedonio, commented, “You must be the worst criminal in the history of criminals.” (The New York Times)

Chopstick-Licking Good
Japan Airlines began serving Kentucky Fried Chicken on some U.S. and European flights. The chicken, served in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide, is especially popular in Japan around Christmas time. On JAL’s menu through February, the Air Kentucky meal includes a breast, a drumstick, bread, coleslaw and lettuce. (Britain’s Daily Mail)

Super Outage
The power blackout that halted the Super Bowl was caused by an electrical relay installed to prevent a power failure, according to the company that supplied electricity to the Superdome. “The purpose of it was to provide a newer, more advanced type of protection,” Entergy Corp. executive Dennis Dawsey told the New Orleans City Council, explaining the relay was part of an upgrade to the Superdome’s electrical system undertaken in 2011 in anticipation of the championship game. (Associated Press) The 34-minute delay turned out to be the fourth most-watched television broadcast of all time, according to Nielsen Media. The ratings agency said the 107 million people who sat through the delay, which featured a camera trained at the Superdome ceiling to show that half the overhead lights had gone out, is more than watched the 2009 Super Bowl and the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. Super Bowl XLVII Delay was topped only by Super Bowl XLVII itself (109 million viewers), 2011’s Super Bowl XLV (111.0 million) and last year’s Super Bowl XLVI (111.4 million). (The Washington Post)

Investing in the Past
Scranton, Pa., decided to raise revenue by billing 7,800 property owners for delinquent garbage bills going back as far as 1999. Changing private collection agencies left the city without easily accessible records of which property owners had paid their bills before 2012. Now they know. Noting that the lines of people at City Hall paying or contesting their bills were 15 to 20 people deep at time, Treasurer Chris Boland said, “I imagine this will go on for a while.” (Scranton’s The Times-Tribune)

For Whom the Toll Tolls
In its first six months, Maryland’s Intercounty Connector reported racking up nearly $670,000 in unpaid tolls — four times the statewide violation rate. Vehicles that use the road without a transponder to record the trip and automatically deduct the toll from an account are photographed and their owners billed. Individual motorists accrued as much as $1,418, and one rental-car company’s debt amounted to $4,263. Officials said some people don’t pay because Maryland’s toll collectors lack enforcement authority, such as suspending vehicle registrations and referring scofflaws to the courts. State lawmakers promised to address collection methods this year. “We can’t afford to leave money on the table,” State Sen. Catherine E, Pugh said. “The ICC was a very expensive road to build.” (The Washington Post)

Gender Issues
A Canadian lawmaker who proposed designating safe parking spaces just for women received emails expressing outrage. “Some people perceive it as sexist, that, ‘I don’t need your help,’” said Stephen Chase, a city councilor and deputy mayor in Fredericton, New Brunswick, noting he got the idea after seeing such spots at a German parking garage. Insisting women-only parking has no public support, Mayor Brad Woodside announced his opposition, declaring, “It is our responsibility to provide safe parking for all of our citizens.” (The Toronto Star) Scottish police responding to a complaint of sexism against a Glasgow pub organizing an “Ugliest Woman” competition stood down after the Islay Inn’s George Hogg explained the contest was for “ugly men dressed up as women.” Hogg said that when two female officers investigating learned the facts, “they were amused.” (Britain’s Daily Record)

No Road to Somewhere
After receiving $29 million in federal stimulus money, the Army Corps of Engineers ordered a harbor built on the Aleutian island of Akutan. Its 58 slips remain empty because the harbor lacks electricity, running water and a road linking it to the fishing village two miles away. Officials estimate the road will cost at least $22 million because the route must be blasted through steep cliffs ringing Akutan Bay. Conceding that lack of infrastructure has prevented building harbors in the past, Steve Boardman, head of the Corps’ civil projects division, said an exception was made for Akutan because of the harbor’s strategic importance. Akutan has a brand-new airport on a neighboring island that also isn’t being used because access is difficult — except by boat. (Anchorage Daily News)

Invaders from Within
Thirty-six percent of the people asked about their privacy once police are permitted to use drones to track suspects said they’re “not too concerned” or “not concerned at all.” The Associated Press-National Constitution Center poll found that 35 percent of Americans are “extremely concerned” or “very concerned,” and 24 percent are only “somewhat concerned.” (Associated Press) As facial-recognition technology improves, businesses anticipate using signs and billboards able to identify people and track other ads they’ve seen recently, then adjust ads to their tastes and buying history. “Something has to be done,” Justin Brookman, director for consumer privacy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, insists, “because otherwise we are living in a world of ubiquitous identity where you can’t walk out your front door.” One proposal to regulate the growing “datamine” of raw video and photography is a comprehensive privacy law, administered by a “privacy commissioner.” (The Washington Times)

Inflated Statistics
The surge in popularity of inflatable bounce houses in the United States corresponds to a rash of related accidents.

A nationwide study published in the journal Pediatrics found fewer than 1,000 reported bounce-house injuries in 1995 but nearly 11,000 in 2010. That averages 30 children a day being treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions resulting from children falling inside or out of the bounce houses, or colliding with each other. More than one-third of the injured children are 5 and younger. (Associated Press)