AP Features, May 4th, 2007
EAST
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) _ A man faces up to five years in prison for tampering with grape juice that made 40 people sick following communion at Calvary Baptist Church in Darien. Wendell Woodroffe, 29, pleaded guilty to charges that he poured dishwashing liquid into the juice at a CVS store. Prosecutors say he resented not being promoted.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The state's highest court said an adoption agency can't face punitive damages for withholding health information about birth parents. The ruling involved a couple who adopted 40 years ago and were told they were getting a healthy but demanding baby. The couple said they weren't told that the baby's parents and grandparents suffered from problems including schizophrenia, for which the son was later diagnosed.
SOUTH
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) _ Construction crews this week installed the highest beams of a new U.S. 90 Biloxi Bay bridge that will replace a span destroyed 20 months ago by Hurricane Katrina. The bridge will reconnect Ocean Springs with Biloxi. One lane of the new north bridge is scheduled to open by November.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) _ The West Virginia Troopers Association said it may phase out phone calls asking for donations and replace them with direct mailings. One goal would be to generate more money for college scholarships and anti-drug programs. State Police Captain James Merrill said a telemarketing firm now gets about 80 percent of the money collected.
MIDWEST
LAPEER, Mich. (AP) _ A vintage, fully automatic M-16 from the 1970s fetched $18,000 for a cash-strapped sheriff's department as a Texas gun collector beat out about 100 other bidders, police said. The Lapeer County department will use the money from the online auction to pay for recently purchased handguns, the undersheriff said.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The agency that runs the Twin Cities bus system announced $2.4 million in security upgrades in the wake of several violent crimes. Measures include a fivefold increase in the time that transit police officers spend on buses, to 1,500 hours per month, and better cameras on 240 of the buses. There were two homicides on Twin Cities buses since March.
WEST
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) _ Otero County ranchers and farmers want state Game and Fish officials to pay them for damages to forage, fences and crops caused by elk. They're also asking for permission to shoot some of the animals. Officials said they've issued a permit for a "depredation hunt" to a rancher in the Cloudcroft area, a decision opposed by an environmental group.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) _ About 10 percent of truckers heading south through the Salem area on Interstate 5 tested positive for controlled drugs during a three-day survey. Police said marijuana, meth and opium-type drugs were the most common. About 500 commercial drivers were asked to submit anonymous urine samples.
