WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2007 | NEWS | WWW.KANSAN.COM THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
17
odd news
Woman sues ex-husband over baseball tickets
ATLANTA — A woman is crying "Foul Ball!" about the way her ex-husband is distributing their behind-home-plate tickets to Atlanta Braves games.
H. Elizabeth King, a psychologist, accuses her ex, Charles Center, a lawyer, of breaking their 2002 divorce agreement on how to divide the tickets.
Before their divorce, King and Center had four tickets to 27 home games as part of a threeway, season-ticket partnership. Under their divorce agreement, he got the first home game, then each got 13 games.
But one of the partners died last year and King's ownership increased to a full third.
At the court hearing Tuesday, King claimed that Center, who is in charge of dispensing the tickets to the partners, goes out of his way to give her games that conflict with her schedule, and implied he gave her day games because she had skin cancer.
Center testified that he distributed tickets the way he always had: sequentially, according to a mathematical formula, adjusted when people asked or if there were conflicting schedules.
Superior Court Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland ruled he would not cite Center with contempt and urged the exes to settle it out of court.
Associated Press
Witnesses see likeness of deceased man in tree
ROSEMONT, III. — Donald Stephens spent more than half a century at the helm of this Chicago suburb. Now, less than two months after his death, some say an eerie likeness of the late mayor's face has appeared in the peeling bark of a 50-foot sycamore.
The image is fueling speculation and wonder in the village of 4,200 residents - the town Stephens is credited with transforming from a tiny enclave of just a few dozen people to a bustling community with one of the nation's largest convention centers.
"He told me, you screw things up, I'm gonna haunt you," said Bradley Stephens, the mayor's 44-year-old son who was appointed to complete his father's term.
The tree was twice slated to be torn down. It was saved each time because Stephens intervened. Now, It's guarded by a barricade, and a single candle placed by well-wishers stands nearby.
Associated Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Teen drives car through front of N.Y. mail
MASSEQUA, N.Y. — Many teenagers spend their afternoons cruising around shopping malls, but one young man's jaunt through a corridor landed him in hot water with police.
Dwight Thomas, 19, crashed his car through the main glass doors at the Westfield Sunrise mall Thursday evening and cruised the corridor, knocking over a klosk and sending shopper scurrying before exiting the building and leaving his car, police said.
A passer-by restrained Thomas until police arrived and took him into custody, officer Thomas Brussell said.
There were no serious injuries. One person suffered minor cuts to the foot after stepping on broken glass, police said. The crash caused about $60,000 worth of damage, they said.
---
Associated Press
Man robs grocery store of whiskey, lettuce
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. — One robber's list of things to steal included whiskey, a thermometer and lettuce.
Police were called to a grocery store late Thursday after witnesses said a 46-year-old man from Brown Deer threatened employees. The workers said the man gestured as though he had a concealed gun and told them he would shoot.
Associated Press
The man left with 12 bottles of whiskey, two heads of lettuce and a digital thermometer, police said. Officers found a vehicle in a nearby neighborhood that matched a description given by store employees. The man was identified from store surveillance video.
celebrity buzz
Chili Peppers to headline Live Earth
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Vice President Al Gore announces a powerhouse lineup from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Snoop Dogg to Bon Jovi that will appear at the Live Earth concerts. Gore lobbied hard for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to take part in one of the July 7 concerts.
Actor Robbins jams with small-town band
The 48-year-old actor, who was in Edwardsville for his upcoming movie, "The Return," brought a guitar and played classic R&B at Laurie's Place on Wednesday evening.
EDWARDSVILLE, III. — Patrons of a downtown bar in this city of 24,000 people were surprised when Tim Robbins strolled in and started jamming with a local band.
"I have never had a big celebrity come in and sit in with the band," said Laurie Chavez.
Robbins had wrapped up a day of filming for the drama, also starring Rachel McAdams, before coming into the bar for the impromptu concert. The crowd, snapping pictures with cell phones and filming with camcorders, grew as the news of Robbins' minic concert spread
"I gave him a T-shirt and had him autograph my wall," Chavez said. "He then shook my hand. He fit right in here, without a doubt."
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers whispering to Al Gore when they accepted their Grammy Award for best rock album in February, that's the moment they committed to playing Live Earth.
Gore said he met with band members for more than an hour before this year's televised awards show,trying to persuade them to perform at one of the concerts.
While receptive to the idea, they weren't sure they could fit the July 7 concert into their schedule, Gore said Friday.
The former vice president, who lost the 2000 presidential election to George Bush despite winning the popular vote, is promoting the Live Earth concerts to raise climate change awareness.
"I was pushing and pushing them that no matter how difficult it was,that it was important."
Gore, who presented the
AL GORE Former vice president
"I was pushing and pushing them that no matter how difficult it was, that it was important," he said.
Grammy for the best rock album with Queen Latifah, said that amid their celebration for winning the award for "Stadium Arcadium,"band members "came over to me on stage
and whispered in my ear: 'We're in"
"That was the greatest place to get a confirmation that I've had yet." he said.
Associated Press