- We all hate those occasions when hordes of family members
descend on our home for a holiday or special event and we don’t have enough
rooms or beds to accommodate them all. The owner of a 24-bedroom home along
North Carolina's Outer Banks doesn’t need to be reminded of this fact and
that’s why this bold soul has gone to court to argue that having a house with
enough beds to sleep 50 people is still within the standards for a
single-family home. Homeowner Elizabeth Letendre owns the $4.6 million property
north of Corolla and she sued Currituck County last month because the county
ordered construction stopped in September 2016, three months after the state
Appeals Court also issued a stop-work order. It was the latest step in a
lengthy legal process and the court ruling overturned the county's original
decision in 2013 that the home complied with residential zoning rules. The real
beef, and what will make this an even more fascinating situation if and when
this house is completed, is between Letendre and her neighbors, who challenged
the county-issued building permit issued for the mammoth structure’s
construction. Work came to a halt last year and Letendre sought help in January
from the Currituck County Board of Commissioners, which declined to amend its ordinances
so she could finish the house. Even though Letendre County attorney Ike McKee
says the county had no choice but to abide by what the law says, that hasn’t
stopped this ambitious homeowner from forging on and looking to fight everyone
in her way…….
- Yup, Ricky Martin is still alive. The former Menudo member
and flash-in-the-pop-music-pan may not have much of a presence on the music
scene these days, but he’s continuing to pursue his acting career and has
secured a spot in the cast of the upcoming season of “American Crime Story.”
The show’s debut season was a critical success as it covered the infamous O. J.
Simpson trial - the first one, when he was accused of murdering his estranged
wife and her new boyfriend - and earned scores of awards for its results. The
show itself is set up as a true crime anthology series that will take on a
different case with each new season and the second season, “Katrina,” will be
all about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, presumably covering
topics other than whether or not George W. Bush hates black people. The third
season, in which Martin has been cast, will tell the tale of the investigation
into the 1997 murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace by serial killer Andrew
Cunanan. “Versace” is set to air in 2018, six months after “Katrina,” and
Martin has been cast in the role of Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s longtime
partner. Martin has worked with the show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, before when he
guest-starred in season three of “Glee” as a Spanish teacher. Fittingly,
another member of the “Versace” cast is “Glee” star Darren Criss, along with
Penélope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez. Their scripts will be based on the book
“Vulgar Favors” by Maureen Orth. The “ACS” train is clearly picking up momentum
and with its ratings and awards to tout, Murphy should be able to keep on
telling stories of various American crimes and scandals for quite some time……..
- Scandinavia is typically thought of as a chill,
reindeer-friendly region where the locals are kind and the snow is plentiful,
but no corner of the world is immune from the reach of terror these days.
Norway knows it well, have experienced a terrorist attack within the past
decade, and in the wake of this week’s terror-by-truck attack in neighboring
Sweden, life is changing in Norway’s capital. Police officers who normally
patrol unarmed have started carrying guns following the truck attack in
Sweden’s capital that killed three people. Oslo Police spokeswoman Marita Aune
confirmed that her department’s officers have already started carrying weapons,
with the department announcing in a tweet that the order to carry weapons would
be in effect until further notice. The message was directed to police in
Norway's largest cities and the Oslo airport. The approach now mirrors that in
Sweden, where police are typically armed. Being armed doesn’t necessarily
enable officers to stop an attack like the one in Stockholm, where a hijacked
beer truck plowed into a crowd in central Stockholm , leaving three people dead
and several others injured. Another of Sweden’s neighbors, Finland, also took note
as police increased patrols in Helsinki, the capital. The idea of unarmed
police officers isn't uncommon in Europe - it’s the case in Dublin unless
police have concrete knowledge that a crime involving a gun is happening - it
will be interesting to see to what extent that changes going forward………
- It’s the ages-old struggle of cost v. benefit. On the one
hand, there’s a woman’s need to earn a living by trying to cave in the face or
choke out her opponent at a key UFC pay-per-view event and on the other, her
need to look good and enhance her appearance through a boob job. Welcome to the
world of UFC strawweight Pearl Gonzalez, whom the New York State Athletic
Commission pulled from her scheduled fight at UFC 210 because of her breast
implants. Gonzalez was supposed to make her UFC debut against Cynthia Calvillo
and despite her surgically improved chest, she successfully made weight Friday
morning. However, it appears that Gonzalez was not informed of New York's rule
against implants prior to accepting the fight and although the state only
recently opened itself up to mixed martial arts events, it does have a portion
of the NYSAC's Medical Standards for Professional Boxers which states,
"Due to the concern over rupture, boxers who have breast implants are not
eligible to box in New York.” While it’s unlikely that she thought of someday
fighting in the Empire State and being unable to do so due to her increased cup
size crossed Gonzalez’s mind when she went under the knife, it’s still a funny
confluence of circumstances. The news left UFC officials scrambling to find a
replacement opponent and it leaves Gonzalez idle for more than a year, having
not fought since April 2016……..
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