A16
News of the Weird NEWS THAT SOUNDS LIKE A JOKE
Wait times at emergency rooms are notoriously long, and Danny Konieczny's experience was no different on March 6 at The Villages Hospital in The Villages, Florida. The Lady Lake resident, 61, was at home earlier in the day when a neighbor called 911 to report Konieczny was drunk and suicidal. According to WOFL TV, first responders took him to the hospital, where he waited for two hours to see a doctor before getting exasperated and stealing an ambulance to drive home. Konieczny parked the ambulance in the driveway of the neighbor he thought had called the police about him, and when Lake County Sheriff's investigators tracked him down, they found Konieczny curled up in the trunk of his own car in his garage. Konieczny was put on no-bond status because he is still on probation from a 2017 drunk driving charge. [FOX5, 3/8/2018]
AN ESCALATING SITUATION
Things went from bad to worse for 30-year-old Isaac Bonsu on March 6 when he was charged in Alexandria, Virginia, with felony hit-andrun involving an unlikely victim. Fairfax County Police pulled Bonsu over for an equipment violation, but he apparently forgot to put it in "park" before exiting the vehicle. Bonsu can be seen on police dashcam video running in front of the car and then being struck by it. Unhurt, Bonsu jumped up and kept running, but police were able to catch him. The Associated Press reported that Bonsu was charged with driving while intoxicated (his third) and possessing marijuana along with the hit-
T he C oast News and-run. [Associated Press, ing yacht crossing the Atlantic. The note included an 3/6/2018] email address and invitation to contact the authors, but AWESOME! -- Environmentalists de- as of press time, the Valliscry all the debris washing es were still awaiting a reup on beaches around the sponse. [The Royal Gazette, world, but a discovery in 3/12/2018] January near Perth, Australia, has historians thrilled. THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES The Washington Post reportKayaker Sue Spector, ed that Tonya Illman and a 77, was out for a leisurely friend were walking along paddle on the Braden River the beach when she spotted in Florida with her husband "a lovely old bottle." Inside and friends on March 4 when was a damp note, tied with someone remarked, "Oh string. "We took it home and look, there's an otter." No dried it out ... and it was a sooner had the words been printed form, in German, spoken than the mammal with very faint German with a playful reputation handwriting on it," she said. jumped onto Spector in her Experts at the Western Aus- kayak and began clawing tralia Museum have deter- and scratching her arms, mined the note was 132 years nose and ear. "He wouldn't old -- 24 years older than the let go and I kept screaming. previous record for a mes- I kept beating him with a sage in a bottle. The note paddle," Spector told FOX13 was dated June 12, 1886, News. She later required from a ship named Paula. stitches, antibiotics and raFurther study revealed that bies treatment. It was the a German Naval Observato- second otter attack in two ry program was analyzing days, and Florida Fish and global ocean currents in the Wildlife has now posted area between 1864 and 1933, signs about the "aggressive and an entry in the Paula's otter" near the area. [FOX13 captain's journal made note News, 3/6/2018] of the bottle being tossed overboard. Thousands of THE LITIGIOUS SOCIETY other bottles were released Neldin Molina of Deninto the sea as part of the ver is dragging Hamburger program, and only 662 have Mary's restaurant in Tampa, been returned. The last one Florida, to court with a $1.5 discovered was in January million lawsuit alleging she 1934. [The Washington Post, was injured there by a drag 3/6/2018] queen's breasts. According -- It may not be the old- to WESH TV, Molina was visest ever found, but the mes- iting the restaurant in May sage in a bottle found by 2015 with friends and family 12-year-old Joseph Vallis when a drag show began. Moof Sandys Parish, Bermu- lina said drag queen Amanda, certainly traveled an da D'Hod pointed at her and impressive distance -- more began to approach her, but than 1,000 miles. The Royal Molina turned her back to Gazette reported that Val- signal she didn't want to parlis and his Warwick Acad- ticipate in the show. The suit, emy class were picking up filed in early March, alleges trash around Bailey's Bay that D'Hod then walked in on March 10 when he came front of Molina, grabbed her across a green bottle with a head and shook it, pounding plastic bag inside. He and his it violently against the perfather, Boyd, uncorked the former's fake breasts. The bottle and found a note dat- complaint said Molina began ed April 2014 that had been to experience headaches and set adrift from a French sail- neck pain and later went to the emergency room at Memorial Hospital of Tampa. The lawsuit also notes the restaurant failed to notify patrons of possible danger from the drag show. [WESHTV, 3/9/2018] OOPS!
The Carelse family of Lakewood, Colorado, picked up some groceries at the Walmart in Littleton on March 5, including a box of Quaker 100 Percent Natural Granola with oats, honey and raisins. When they sat down for breakfast the next morning, they told KMGH TV, Anthea Carelse noticed
that the "best by" date on the box was Feb. 22, 1997 -more than 21 years ago. Her husband, Josiah, ate his full bowl and didn't suffer any unpleasant consequences, but Anthea stopped after two bites. Josiah planned to return the box to Walmart. [KMGH TV, 3/7/2018] TOOT YOUR OWN HORN
March 3 was a big day in Key West, Florida, as competitors sounded off in the 56th Annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest. For 70-year-old Mary Lou Smith of Panama City Beach, winning the women's division was topped only by a marriage proposal (which she accepted with a hearty honk from her shell) from fellow competitor Rick Race, 73, also of Panama City Beach. The Guardian reports that the large shells were used in the 19th century by seafarers as signaling devices, and dozens of entrants show off their skills each year at Key West's Oldest House Museum. [The Guardian, 3/6/2018]
LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINAL
On March 12 in Northumberland, England, a car thief making a getaway in a Mini Cooper S discovered the small car was not small enough to navigate a narrow stone staircase in Carlisle Park. Northumbria police were called to the park around 11:30 p.m. where they found the car and its unnamed 31-year-old driver both wedged tightly between the staircase walls. Area residents speculated to Metro News that the driver might have been trying to re-enact a scene from "The Italian Job," a 1969 movie. "I'm sure the older Minis would have got down no problem," said Chris Stoker. [Metro News, 3/13/2018]
WAIT, WHAT?
An unnamed Russian woman stunned tourists and onlookers March 10 when she walked into the Red Sea and, with the help of a doctor and her partner, gave birth. From the balcony of her uncle's apartment in Dahab, Egypt, Hadia Hosny El Said photographed the events, as the doctor carried the newborn and its father walked alongside with the still-attached placenta in a plastic bowl. After a few minutes, the mother emerged from the sea to join her family, including a toddler, on the beach. El Said told The Daily Mail the doctor is Russian and specializes in water births. [The Daily Mail, 3/13/2018]
MARIJUANA CONTINUED FROM A7
found the most disappointing. Staff’s recommendation was to allow four dispensaries based on the city’s current city population, and begin with two. Some speakers at the meeting asked for more dispensaries. Others cautioned dispensaries would have a negative impact if allowed in the city’s low-income neighborhoods that already suffer from gang violence. Councilman Jack Feller, who was the one vote
MARCH 30, 2018
SDRVC welcomes new conservation manager By Angela McLaughlin
REGION — The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy recently welcomed Jonathan Appelbaum as its new conservation manager. Appelbaum graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Biology. After moving to San Diego in 2000, he eventually returned to UCSB to earn his master’s in Environmental Sciences at the Bren School of Environmental Sciences and Management with dual emphases in Conservation Planning and Coastal Marine Resources Management. He has experience working with a number of conservation-related organizations, including the Endangered Habitats Conservancy and San Diego Canyonlands, and volunteering for the San Diego River Park Foundation, San Diego Audubon Society Conservation Committee, I Love a Clean San Diego Committee, and more. As conservation manager, Appelbaum will be responsible for organizing and executing conservation programs for the conservancy, as well as leading habitat-restoration projects in the San Dieguito River watershed. He will play an active role in the conservancy’s efforts to improve water quality by participating in projects that implement regional water-quality programs. And with a history of working with watershed restoration and riparian habitats, Appelbaum comes very prepared for the job. “The position will involve a lot of outreach to the community — neighbors, project partners, government agencies and others — to make sure we are able to fund our projects and successfully implement them,” says Appelbaum. “The role of the community is a major one.” He says that forming and maintaining partnerships between community members, volunteers and the academic and scientific conservation communities is key. He feels strongly that educating the community and next generation will create valuable future land stewards and passion-
against recommendations for medical marijuana businesses, said few people would welcome dispensaries in their neighborhood. “I don’t think 90 percent of the 57 percent who voted (in Oceanside for recreational marijuana) would like a dispensary near them,” Feller said. Licenses for dispensaries will not be issued until police research is completed and recommendations on public safety are made. Mayor Peter Weiss said it will likely take 12 to 18 months. Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy said he would
Jonathan Appelbaum ate environmentalists. And he hopes that by keeping the philosophy of working collaboratively as a major component of the conservancy they may fill in the gaps in the stewardship of the watershed. Appelbaum added that he is also excited to work with the San Dieguito Citizen Science Monitoring Program, which he says has a lot of dedicated volunteers who perform high-quality, professional research. “To have that contribution from volunteers is amazing,” he said. “I really look forward to working with our citizen volunteers and being part of all of the amazing work that they do.” Executive Director Trish Boaz says they feel fortunate to have Appelbaum as a part of their team. “He is experienced and knowledgeable — he has great relationships with other people in our conservation world, and I think he is going to be someone that will bring a lot of benefits to the river valley,” Boaz said. Appelbaum says that he feels very passionately about being in the nonprofit conservancy side of things, as opposed to the for-profit, and he is thankful to be working in such a supportive community. “People want to adopt their watershed because it’s their home — it’s where they live and work— it’s important to them,” he says. “I am really excited that there’s a lot of community support for stewardship, and I’m excited to be working on a great team.” Visit www.sdrvc.org to learn more about the organization. like to do an apples-to- apples comparison of safety issues of California medical marijuana dispensaries. “The more time we have to do that, the better the recommendations,” McCoy said. The city will hear a second reading of the ordinance in April. Laws will go into effect in May, and business operations will be on hold until September or later. Oceanside will continue to allow delivery of medical marijuana to patients from licensed dispensaries outside the city.