New York
Guards posted to protect graffiti art by Banksy
NEW YORK – A Brooklyn building owner has hired security guards and installed a metal gate to protect a work by the elusive British graffiti artist Banksy.
The New York Post reports that the rolling gate went up Friday over a wall in the Williamsburg neighborhood where Banksy spray-painted two geishas and a bonsai tree.
Cara Tabachnick, whose family owns the building, says the goal is to preserve the artwork “so it can be viewed and enjoyed.”
Banksy announced on his website that he would undertake a “residency” on the streets of New York this month.
Most of his works that have gone up have been tagged over by others, and some have been completely erased.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last week that graffiti ruins property and is “a sign of decay.”
Ohio
Teen left to care for family after 6 killed in car crash
A 17-year-old boy had to identify the bodies of his parents and four sisters killed in an Ohio car accident involving a police officer responding to a call about a robbery, a social worker helping surviving relatives said Saturday.
Majeda Mohammad, a case worker for Community Refugee and Immigration Services in Columbus, has been with the family almost constantly since the early morning Friday crash killed 39-year-old Eid Badi Shahad, his wife, 31-year-old Entisar Hameed, and their four daughters, who ranged from 2 to 16 years old.
They leave behind four sons, who are 5, 6, 12 and 17 years old.
The family are refugees from Basra, Iraq, who moved to the U.S. about three years ago and loved their new life in America, Mohammad said.
She said the 17-year-old, Mushary Badi, is in unimaginable pain after learning of the loss and identifying his family members’ bodies but that he already has begun assuming a caretaker role for his grief-stricken grandmother and younger brothers.
“He came home from the hospital and called for his youngest brother and he said, ‘I need to give him a hug.’ And he hugged his brother and cried,” Mohammad said. “Then he called each of them one by one and hugged them and said that he would take care of them. Then he told his grandmother not to worry and that she needed to eat and take her medicine.”
California
2nd ‘sea serpent’ this week found washed up on beach
OCEANSIDE, Calif. – For the second time in less than a week, a ‘sea serpent’ attracted gawkers on a Southern California beach.
This time the rare, snakelike oarfish washed up Friday afternoon in Oceanside.
U-T San Diego reported that it measured nearly 14 feet long and attracted a crowd of up to 75 people.
Oceanside police contacted SeaWorld San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Someone from NOAA retrieved the carcass, which was cut into sections for later study.
While it’s unusual to find the deep-water fish near shore, on Sunday a snorkeler off Catalina Island found an 18-foot-long oarfish and dragged it onto the beach with the help of a dozen other people.
According to the Catalina Island Marine Institute, oarfish can grow to more than 50 feet, making them the longest bony fish in the world.
They are likely responsible for sea serpent legends throughout history.
Pennsylvania
Mayor asks residents: Please don’t vote for me
PORT MATILDA, Pa. – A small-town mayor in central Pennsylvania has an unusual campaign message: Don’t vote for me.
Bob Wiser is running unopposed for a second term as mayor of Port Matilda, a community near Penn State University.
But the 70-year-old resident recently decided he’d rather leave the post. Yet he missed the August deadline for taking his name off the ballot.
Wiser tells the Centre Daily Times that he’s asking voters to write in a qualified alternative candidate.
Wiser says he’s enjoyed his time in office. But he says he’s lost interest and is tired of butting heads with the borough council.
If Wiser is re-elected Nov. 5, he could retire before his new term starts. Should that happen, election officials say the council will appoint an interim mayor.
Associated Press
