Connecting US Cities

92-Year-Old Alleged To Be Zodiac Killer Has Died

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:14:42 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO -- The man           Lafferty claims he and other
alleged to be the Zodiac           lawmen investigated the
Killer in a new book written       suspect in the early 1970s
by a former California             but were stymied by "power
Highway Patrol officer has         brokers" in Solano County.
died.                              Although the man Lafferty
The book, "The Zodiac Killer       named is in the Napa County
Cover-Up" by Lyndon Lafferty,      sheriff's database of people
suggested that the infamous        of interest in the case,
serial killer was now 91           authorities told the
years old and living in            Chronicle he was not a
Northern California. But a         suspect.
report in the San Francisco        One neighbor who lived near
Chronicle says that man died       the man for 40 years said
of a heart attack in February.     there is no way he could have
He was 92.                         been the Zodiac Killer.
"I can't say my suspect is         "It's utterly ridiculous,"
absolutely the Zodiac, but I       Nora Del Ross said.
am 98% sure we have the right      The San Francisco police
man, and he's been our             formally closed the case in
suspect for 40 years,"             2004.
Lafferty told the Chronicle.       The Zodiac Killer got his
"His having died really            name from his taunts of
doesn't change anything in my      newspapers and police in
book."                             letters and puzzles.
The Zodiac Killer is blamed        "The police shall never catch
for at least five slayings in      me, because I have been too
1968 and 1969. There was           clever for them," he wrote in
never an arrest in the case.       a letter to the Chronicle.
Three killings occurred in         "I enjoy needling the blue
Vallejo. Teenagers David           pigs," he wrote.
Farraday and Betty Lou Jensen      Detectives thought they might
were shot to death in              have had a break two years
December 1968. Darlene Ferrin,     ago, when a partial DNA
22, was shot and killed seven      profile was taken from
months later at Blue Rock          envelopes containing the
Springs Golf Club. Her             letters.
companion, Michael Mageau, 19,     The genetic evidence seemed
survived.                          to clear the only suspect
In "The Zodiac Killer Cover-       ever named by police --
Up" Lafferty claims the            Arthur Leigh Allen of Vallejo.
killer was living in Solano        Allen, who was never charged,
County. The book uses aliases      died of a heart attack in
and does not identify the          1992.
alleged killer by name.

1 dead in fatal Bozrah crash

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:07:00 +0000

BOZRAH, Conn. (WTNH) --One         Nathan Williams, 36, of
person is dead following a         Taftville was pronounced dead
fatal accident in Bozrah.          at the hospital. Police said
According to police, the           he lost control of the
accident happened on Route 82      vehicle.
on Noble Hill Road.                The extent of injuries to the
Both the driver and passenger      passenger, Sue Lorette-Sands,
sustained injuries, and they       43, of Norwich are unknown.
were taken to a local              The exact cause of the
hospital.                          accident is still under
The driver of the vehicle,         investigation.

What’s going on / Music Friday To-Do: Hinder, Trapt, The Dreaming

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:12:46 +0000

Hinder plays at Juanita's          43 people instead of just
Friday night.                      three. It's like, 40 times
HINDER, TRAPT, THE DREAMING        more awesome." More tales of
9 p.m. Juanita's. $25 adv.,        tour debauchery followed at
$30 d.o.s.                         some length, including an
SEPT. 12, 2057, NORMAN, OKLA.      episode at a "Malaysian
: Despite multiple hip             albino colony" that left this
replacements, two-and-a-half       reporter both dumbfounded and
liver transplants, full-scalp      deeply shaken.
hair plugs and innumerable         But the fast times caught up
facelifts and paunch-              with him eventually. There
abatements, Austin Winkler is      were the normal inner
as devastatingly studly as         conflicts and ego clashes,
ever. The Hinder frontman          sure, but there were also
still cuts an intimidating         hang-gliding mishaps, boating
figure, even at age 81 and         disasters, international
even though he is swathed in       incidents of various sorts.
what can only be described as      So in the end, was it all
a huge-ass pile of scarves.        worth it? Winkler takes a
He sits at the bar of              deep breath, a faraway look
O'McFlannagin's Irish College      in his eye.
Pub on a quiet weekday             Suddenly the door swings open
afternoon, stirring his drink      and a bleached-blonde, black-
with a bejeweled pinky finger.     leather-clad crone walks in
"You know these guys used to       and sidles up to the bar, a
sponsor us," he says,              few seats down from Winkler.
referring to his Jgermeister       He eyes her discreetly, then
and Kombucha spritzer.             whispers to the bartender:
Winkler is feeling reflective,     "Skyler, hey, Skyler!" The
sharing anecdotes from his         barkeep looks up, Winkler
many decades as a rock 'n'         nods to him and then he
roll wildman. "Our first           fiddles with the stereo. A
album was called 'Extreme          moment later, the Hinder
Behavior,' " he says. "But         classic "Lips of an Angel,"
were we really that extreme?"      comes on over the speakers.
He pauses, lost in thought,        The wizened old hag begins to
as the fading afternoon light      sway, her lips mouthing the
from the window glints off of      words to the bombastic power
one of his five pairs of           ballad hit: "I gotta whisper
sunglasses. A slow half-smile      / 'cause I can't be too loud."
creeps across his unnaturally      Winkler sees his opening.
taut visage as he begins to        "Was it worth it?" he
answer that rhetorical query.      chortles, getting up to take
"I once had a 43-way. It's         a seat next to the geriatric
like a three-way, only with        enchantress. "You tell me."

2-year-old girl in stroller hit by construction truck in Surprise

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:07:01 +0000

A 2-year-old girl was flown        in critical condition,
to the hospital Wednesday          Surprise Fire Chief Mike
after she was hit by a large       White.
construction truck in              The mother was uninjured.
Surprise, officials said.          Officials said the truck
The mother was pushing the         initially left the scene but
toddler in a stroller near         came back once police
Parkview Place and Post Road,      contacted the driver after
just south of Bell Road, when      witnesses provided a
she was hit by the truck           description of the truck.
around 12:30 p.m., said Sgt.       Surprise police continue to
Bert Anzini, a Surprise            investigate.
Police Department spokesman.       Check back  with azcentral.
The child was flown to             com for updates.
Phoenix Children's Hospital

Palmer Teenager Killed in Old Glenn Highway Crash

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:09:41 +0000

A Palmer teenager was killed       around 12:16 p.m. Wednesday
after an afternoon crash on        at Mile 12.5 of the Old Glenn.
the Old Glenn Highway,             Related

according to Alaska State          Palmer Driver Severely
Troopers.                          Injured in Old Glenn Highway
AST said the crash happened        Collision

Arizona Legislature’s website hacked; group claims responsibility

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:16:29 +0000

Malicious Security, an             about securing the website,
anonymous "hacktivist" group,      officials have to balance
is claiming responsibility         enhanced security with public
for a Tuesday afternoon            access.
security breach to the             Azleg.gov provides the public
Arizona State Legislature's        with information about the
website, azleg.gov.                progress of House and Senate
Nearly 300 documents were          bills, contact information
downloaded from the website        for legislators, and calendar
and uploaded online. This was      information for events at the
the first security breach for      Capitol.
the state Legislature.             Officials are continuing to
Most of the documents were         investigate the extent of the
already widely available on        breach.
the site for the public's use,     Both Malicious Security and
however, the breach in             Anonymous, another group of
security is concerning,            hackers, tweeted about the
according to Michael Braun,        breach in the state
the executive director for         Legislature's website Tuesday
the Arizona Legislative            afternoon.
Council.                           In a press release from
"We're concerned. We always        Malicious Security from
try to be safety conscious,"       earlier this year, an
Braun said. "We have what we       anonymous writer said the
thought was a fair amount of       group would not remove
security, but we're always         original data from a website
trying to keep up with that."      they hack, they would only
Additional funding was             deface it to point out a lack
appropriated in the last           of security.
legislative session for            In June, a separate group of
upgraded IT infrastructure.        hackers, known as LulzSec,
Braun was in a meeting             broke into the Arizona
planning for the upgrades          Department of Public Safety's
when he found out about the        computers. LulzSec downloaded
breach.                            and released hundreds of law-
Though the state is concerned      enforcement files.

Alaska Earthquake: Anchorage and Southcentral Residents Shook with Magnitude 4.6

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:32:01 +0000

Anchorage and Southcentral         around 7:02 a.m. about 8
residents were shook with a        miles southwest of Anchorage.
magnitude 4.6 earthquake on        The Alaska Earthquake
Wednesday morning, according       Information Center listed the
to the United States               quake's depth at 37 miles.
Geological Survey.                 The National Oceanic and
USGS had a preliminary             Atmospheric Adminstration
magnitude 4.7 quake then           said a tsnumai will not be
minutes later at magnitude 4.      generated.
8 when the quake happened

Two Navy Ships Collide off Southern California Coast

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:52:59 +0000

SAN DIEGO -- Two Navy ships        power.
were damaged in a collision        The accident appears to have
about 120 miles off the            been caused by a steering
Southern California coast,         malfunction aboard the Essex,
but no one was injured, the U.     the Navy said.
S. Navy said Wednesday.            An underway replenishment is
The amphibious assault ship        a complex and delicate
Essex collided with the oiler      operation in which a supply
Yukon during an underway           ship transfers fuel and other
replenishment about 9:20 a.m.      materials to a second ship
No one was injured, the Navy       while both are on the high
said.                              seas.
The Essex is on its way to         The force of the water
San Diego after 12 years as        between the two ships can
the Navy's only permanently        sometimes pull the two
forward-deployed amphibious        vessels together.
assault ship.                      Replenishing at sea allows
The Essex has been homeported      the Navy to continue a
in Sasebo, Japan.                  forward presence without
The Yukon is a Military            returning to port.
Sealift Command oiler ship         The Essex is due in San Diego
with civilian mariners and U.      on Thursday.
S. Navy personnel.                 The Yukon is homeported in
No fuel spilled and both           San Diego.
ships remain under their own

Bus vandalism cancels Windham classes

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:44:30 +0000

WINDHAM, Conn. (WTNH) --           a school bus," Whitney said.
Public schools in  Windham         "So we're doing what we can
are closed today due to            to run around the state and
vandalism to school buses.         get fuel caps." To go with
Assistant Super. Pamela            the tedious task of cleaning
Barker-Jones says the              the fuel and tanks is an
vandalism was discovered           estimated two hours' worth of
Wednesday morning at the  M&J      work per bus. There's still a
Bus Co . on Tuckee Rd.             chance the vandals can be
"One of the dispatchers came       identified. "We have
in early this morning and          surveillance cameras,"
went to fuel a bus, and            Whitney said. "We have
noticed the cap was missing,       somebody going back through
and there was dirt all over        them right now, to see if
the outside of the tank,"          there's anything on there."
said Maintenance Director          And with optimism that, like
George Whitney. "He proceeded      the sun, the buses will come
to walk around the rest of         out tomorrow. "Definitely,
the buses and find that the        definitely," he said. "Well,
caps were all missing."            if he tells me he's going to
Scratch marks seem to              get it done, he's going to
indicate where somebody            get it done," said Windham
grabbed up sand and gravel         Schools Superintendent Ana
and put it in to the fuel          Ortiz. The unexpected closure
tanks. As many as 30 of the        means the last day of classes
company's 47 buses were            for some 3800 kids grades pre-
affected and as of late            K through 12 will be June 14.
morning only two fuel caps         The last day for staff will
had been retrieved. "We've         be the June 15, which is a
got people running around,         professional development day.
trying to find fuel caps           M&J bus has operations in
because it's not like you can      eight locations in
just run down to your local        Connecticut.
store and get a fuel cap for

Midweek line

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:52:07 +0000

Two days to go. But first, an      Briella, which jumped 394
open line. Final words:            spots, to No. 497. Briella
* NEW LEADER FOR ASMSA:            Calafiore stars in
University of Arkansas             "Jerseylicious," a reality TV
President Donald Bobbitt           show about battling stylists
announced today that he'd          at a beauty salon in Green
recommended Corey Alderdice,       Brook, N.J. She's also in a
assistant director for             spinoff called "Glam Fairy."
admissions and public              Brantley was the fastest
relations for the Gatton           rising name for boys, jumping
Academy of Mathematics and         416 spots to No. 320.
Science in Bowling Green, Ky.,     Brantley Gilbert is a singer
as the new director of the         who had a No. 1 country hit
Arkansas School for                called "Country Must Be
Mathematics, Sciences and the      Country Wide".
Arts in Hot Springs. Current       * SLIMEBALL REDUX: Another
Director Janet Hugo is             botched and misleading stunt
retiring in June. The UA           by right-wing provocateur
Board of Trustees must             James O'Keefe.
confirm Alderdice's selection.     * AS THE HOUSING AUTHORITY
The competitive residential        TURNS: The agency formerly
school has about 200 students.     known as the Little Rock
* HILLCREST NEIGHBORHOOD           Housing Authority is in
SQUABBLE: I've written             turmoil. Its executive
previously about the eternal       director, Shelly Ehenger, is
squabble over what the state       suspended because she
schools for the blind and          suspended someone else. That
deaf will do with an asbestos-     suspension turned on a memo
riddled building once              about rampant employee
occupied by Easter Seals that      unhappiness. An outside
sits on 10 acres owned by the      counsel, Arkie Byrd, was
school at the end of Lee           hired for $180/hr. to get to
Avenue in a residential            the bottom of it. She's
Hillcrest neighborhood.            gotten to the bottom of
Easter Seals keeps trying to       things before, a $10,000
convert the building into          report occasioned by
cash. The governing board is       Ehenger's complaint about a
running out of patience. This      remark and anger displayed by
week it indicated Easter           Commissioner Brad Walker.I
Seals must renovate the            link it, you decide. You'll
building and serve students        find the word "dysfunctional"
there as its land lease            therein. I'd second that. No
requires, or the lease will        action was taken by the board
be revoked. Waiting in the         of commissioners following
wings is an offer by Doug          receipt of the report.
Martin, a Hillcrest resident       * THE LYING LIAR: U.S. Rep.
who works for Stephens Inc.,       Tim Griffin announced that
to buy the acreage and use it      he'd voted to renew the
for one single-family house,       Violence Against Women Act
with most of the acreage           today. What he didn't tell
being put in a conservation        you is that he refused to
easement. He'd pay $1 million      vote for the Senate-passed
for the building and land,         bill, with bipartisan support,
with about half of that            opting instead for a version
necessary to pay for               that the president also
demolition. Further meetings       opposes because it weakens
are planned.                       protections for immigrant
* THE CAT'S OWWW!A Logan           women and Indians provides no
County man said he was trying      protection for same-sex
to shoot a stray cat (oh,          couples. Domestic violence is
that's OK), but shot a 29-         domestic violence, except to
year-old neighbor instead.         thugs like Tim Griffin who
* I'VE MET MANY DOGS NAMED         thinks some people — gays,
MAX BUT THIS BEATS ALL:            Indians and immigrants among
Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan,,      them — are less deserving of
this report on the fastest         equal protection.
rising names for newborns: