Friday, February 10, 2017

Drugs at the drive thru, casting the new Doctor Who and Paris gets a glassy makeover


- The Saint Louis University’s men’s basketball team suffered two losses in a single night. First, the Billikens lost 70-55 at St. Bonaventure and then, they discovered that they had also lost their team bus with many of their personal possessions. When players and coaches exited the arena after the game and went looking for their bus, it was nowhere to be found. That’s because their lush of a bus driver, Linda Edmister, had taken the bus 40 miles away to Randolph, New York, where apparently got liquored up at a local watering hole and was subsequently arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated, according to New York State Police Trooper James O'Callaghan. The Gasport, New York resident went H.A.M. at the bar, allowing her to register a 0.22 blood alcohol content, which is more than five times above the legal limit of 0.04 for New York drivers with commercial licenses. Put someone that drunk together with a vehicle that large and the results could be disastrous. In this case, it was merely a college basketball team being forced to sit around a well-maintained arena waiting for a ride to the airport. Once Edmister was arrested, the bus was returned to the St. Bonaventure campus, where players and coaches were able to retrieve their personal items before taking a new bus - with a sober, non-criminal driver - to the airport. Edmister did not resist arrest and was transported to a jail in Cattaraugus County, New York, during which time the bus company probably wasted no time launching termination proceedings. Oh, and police were able to track the bus because this drunk went on a booze run with a vehicle containing a litany of GPS-equipped items on board…….


- Paris is all about style. Even the city’s most popular tourist attractions have to look their best at all times and that’s why city officials want to replace the metal security fencing around the Eiffel Tower a much more aesthetically pleasing glass wall. Paris City Hall issued a statement laying out the plans to install see-through panels to replace the existing fences at the north and south of the famed monument that were installed for the Euro 2016 soccer event. Installing new barriers is always wise when Europe is sending tens of thousands of its best and brightest soccer hooligans to your town, but the barriers don’t have great visual appeal. This new proposal will be examined by the city's sites commission and will then require  approval from the environment ministry. The first public comments on the plan came from Paris tourism chief Jean-Francois Martins who practically pointed out that the glass would serve as an aesthetic upgrade from the metal fencing, which was "useful in security matters" but "spoils the view." This is actually just one small component of a larger, $3.2 million project announced in January to modernize the 128-year-old tower. As with all plans to change the appearance of world-famous historic landmarks, this one will take some time to carry out and as of now, no timetable has been set for the possible work……..


- When a choice role like Doctor Who is up for grabs, some quality candidates should come calling. With Peter Capaldi announced last month that he would be leaving the show, there is an opening for the title role and already, Danny Dyer has expressed an interest in playing Doctor Who once Capaldi exits stage left. Fans have speculated on all sorts of potential replacements for Capaldi, some even suggesting a female doctor, such as Tilda Swinton. Dyer’s name has also been tossed into the mix and now, the “Eastenders” actor has said that he would interested in playing the 13th doctor in series history. “I’d be interested in it. I could see myself in the scarf and all that,” Dyer said. “I think I could do it easy. I’d keep my accent too.” To get the role, he’s going to have to beat out rivals such as Paul McGann, Ben Whishaw, Richard Ayoade, Matt Lucas and Olivia Colman. Capaldi appears to be exiting the show on good terms and said shortly after announcing his departure from the show that one of the “greatest privileges” of working on Doctor Who had been the exposure he’d received from “the world at its best.” The remarkable string of different actors to fill the main role in an extremely popular show makes “Doctor Who”  an anomaly among successful television shows and casting the right actor this time around could breathe new life into the series…….


- There are plenty of hazardous materials contained inside food served at your average local McDonald’s restaurant. Insanely high levels of cholesterol, massive quantities of fat, food-like substances of varying qualities….but usually not drugs. That glaring exception only exists in a few select places, such as the McDonald's in the 800 block of Hurst Street in Center, Tex. That’s where a local went through the drive thru to purchase a Happy Meal for their 9-year-old child, only to leave the property with a little something extra to go with the cheap, foreign-made plastic toy and food inside. According to local police, after pulling away from the restaurant, the family found two prescription Tramadol pills in the child’s meal and for some odd reason, they went back to McDonald’s and also contacted police. It took the long arm of the law a full month to determine the origin of the pills, after which detectives confirmed that two suspects, Omeisha Williams and Artshia Radway of Center, were responsible for the Tramadol pills being placed into the meal. Not that McDonald’s is known for drawing in the best of the best to work in its kitchen, but these two clearly didn’t read the employee handbook and the pages about trying to drug children before they can enjoy their tiny cheeseburger and small bag of fries. The state health inspector was called in to examine the restaurant near the end of the investigation and a week later, a judge issued arrest warrants for Williams and Radway on charges of abandonment or endangerment of a child. Williams was arrested, but Radway has so far proven better at evading police than she is at keeping tabs on her prescription drugs and remains at large. All in all, quite an effort by these two women……..

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