Saved in South Aftion for 17 yews Fetere plans... have my ovm resort somewhere holl — At ace z = news oft wt ugher NATHAN King, 12, is recu- perating in Helena, Mont., after carly-March — open- heart surgery to remove a pencil that he had fallen on lunging for a football. Ail told, before surgery began, King spent more than two hours with the — pencil embedded in his heart, and if anyone had removed it, he would have died almost instantly. Q]00 Craig J. Ziegler, 35, was sentenced to five years’ pro- bation in Pittsburgh in November for impersonating a Jaw-enforcement officer and then forcing a woman (a self-described former prosti- tute) to perform, a sexual act. The victim was outraged that Ziegler got no jail time for the assault and pointed out to reporters that the last time she was in court for prostitu- tion, she went to jail for seven months, 900 Zhang Guogiang, 27, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in February for swindling 50 people out of about $100,600, promising U.S. visas to people in the northern port city of Tianjin by showing them a photo of him with his bud Bilt Clinton. An Associated Press reporter in Beijing said the photo shows Clinton in a green casual shire with Zhang in a business suit past- ed in next to him as if they posed together, with che two men's images “clearly out of proportion” to each other. Variance approvals blasted ‘W acta Good Contributing Writer NORTH Vancouver District council has essentially told its resi- dents that bylaws are made to be broken, according to many com- munity activists. Six regular council-watchers on Monday night for the prev. on night for the previ- ous. week's approval of two contentious vafiance permits for large waterfront houses in Deep Cove. “The disgraceful actions of this council one week ago have sent a clear message to the pub- lic. that the district’s zoning bylaws are not werth the paper they are written on,” said Bnan Platts. The owners, he argued, deliberately built structures that violated the bylaws, and then applied for permits. The variances, cach more than 2,000 sq. ft. (186 sq. m) of THIS SAT. & SUN * MARCH 25 & 26 ¢ floor space, amounted to an area greater than most single family homes. One of the applicants, Rick Barbieri of 2882 Panorama Dr., made several changes to the approved plans of the house while it was being built. Those changes included the construction of a pool in the basement, an increase of the main floor level, conversion of a former attic into a bedroom, and the addition of a can- tilevered balcony. The variance permit, which pianning department staff did not endorse, was passed with only Coun. Lisa Muri and Coun. Ernie Crist voting against it. The building coverage, which is limited under district bylaws to 35% for a RS-3 zoned lot, was expanded to 52.6%. “Monster houses on the waterfront and in our neigh- bourhoods will be coming soon,” Maureen Bragg predict- ed at Monday’s meeting. She questioned Coun. Heather Dunsford’s comment 1 y ¥ ° 10am-Spmn that council has no business inside peaple’s homes. “Would @ marijuan2 grow operation be acceptable next door?” Gn the March 13 meeting, Coun. Janice Harvis described the bylaws as “guidelines,” and variance permits as “variations on a theme.” Coun. Bill, Denault and Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn argued that the bylaws are too complicated and too intrusive. “1 sy they are,” said Bragg, “if you wish to break them.” Others commented in the public input session on Monday night that council’s actions were an insult to those who go through proper chan- nels to get their houses approved. Eric Anderson told council that the approval of the permit shows a lack of wnderstanding of the process. “This council was elected on a platform of being more “business-like.” I would not ¢ that it is business-like to disregard the bylaws.” NEW WeERI atl Ta fOEITSO ayaa Awesome!: Terry Johanson, 36, received a fine and driver’s licence suspen- sion in a Nova Scotia court in December over his refusal ro take 3 breathalyzer test at a DUI stop in 1999. Johnson's excuse was that he was belching too much atthe time, as much as. several times a minute for nearly two hours after being stopped, and that belches throw off the machine's readings. The putice officer listed each arp. with the time, but finally just gave up and wrote the ticket. (In 1986, Johnson beat a similar charge by beiching repeatedly.) og0Q Leading Economic Indicators: According to a December Agence France- Presse report from Budapest, Hungarian physicians are increasingly relying on tips from patients to supplement their falling wages in the country’s free health-care system. The practice is so common that the phrase “onc final checkup” is widely used to indicate a brief visit to the examination room for the discreet moncy exchange. 900 In February Bloomberg News reported that the $23 mitlion Internet company Net).com, which went public in November, had scen its share price double in secent weeks, to nearly $4, despite the fact that the company plainly disclosed in Securities and Exchange Commission documents that it not only had no profits but no rev- enues, and in fact that it did no business of any kind. The company told the SEC that it might begin doing business soon, but maybe not, but ifit did, ic had no specific idea about what kind of work it would do. Qo0u0 Recurring Themes: Jn 1998, News of the Weird touted the increasing popu- jarity of therapeutic self- trepanation (drilling a hole in one’s head to improve blood flow around the brain) for stress relief. In February 2000, after unsuccessfully soliciting doctors to drill in her native England, Heather Perry, 29 and suffering from what she believed was a phys- iologically induced exhaus- tion, flew to Philadelphia to seek guidance from promi- nent trepanist Peter Halvorson. After boning up on the technique, Perry per- formed the 20-minute proce- dure that was witnessed by a camera crew from ABC News. Said Perry afterward, “(Tyhere’s definitely more than C mental clarity. 1 feel wonder- fui.” QaG Undignified Deaths: In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in October, a policeman shot a Upsy motorist to death at 3 traffic stap to prevent him from exposing himself to the officer, which according to local culture is a grave insult. And a 30-year-old repo man and a 19 vear-old man behind in car payucnts killed cach other in a gun battic io Miami, Fla., in February; the car that cost the two lives was a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice. 290Q An October New York Times cepert ceferred to the 75-mile steetch of 1-95 between West Palm Beach and Miarni (plus its connec- tor freeways) as the “impale- ment capital” of the country because of the frequency “save like” never before on 72 models in-stock FINANCING AVAILABLE OAG raGu: with which unsecured cargo fie. off of speeding tucks and cars, including the three times recently when metal rods skewered motorists’ bodies, tacking them to the insides of their cars (though all survived). Drivers com- plain also of having to dodge, among other things, flying car parts, surfboards, fawn mowers and washing machines. 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