Lead Stories
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Earlier this month the newsletter of a senior citizens’ home in Hartford, Connecticut, asked residents to “please stop throwing rice in the garbage disposals,” yet the Spanish-language version read, “You have to get used to the fact that you do not live in Puerto Rico, where leftovers were given to the pigs….If [using the garbage can] is too hard for you to do, move and continue with the customs of Puerto Rico.” Manager Carmen Aponte, who is of Puerto Rican descent, later apologized.
Last November a Nigerian transportation official urged citizens to concentrate on the rules of the road rather than rely on auto charms to keep them safe….Last month the governor of Trang, Thailand, issued a similar decree when informed that drivers used charms to overcome evil ghosts at major intersections….And in January the Kanda Myojin Shinto shrine in Tokyo began selling its own prayer charms to ward off computer viruses.
People Different From Us
Last month a woman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to six months in jail and 65 lashes for unlawful sexual activity after being raped by her sister’s husband….In Whittier, California, a Mexican immigrant found a purse and cell phone, returned them to their owner, and was shot to death, allegedly by the owner’s brother-in-law, after asking for a $50 reward….And the public school system in Highland Park, Texas, has announced that it will sell permanent naming rights to dozens of its buildings and facilities (though it will not accept offers from corporations).
