BY HARRY RING
You don't have to be John Glenn - Reservations are now
available for the six-passenger Space Cruiser. Includes seven-
day preparatory program, and welcome-back dinner. Flights begin
Dec. 1, 2001, with departures on Mondays and Saturdays.
$98,000, round trip.
Law n' order (I) - In Roxbury, a Black community in Boston, plainclothes cop Michael Cox responded to a false call-in that a cop had been shot. He tried to chase down a presumed suspect. Meanwhile, a gang of cops swarmed in and grabbed Cox, who is Black. They beat him savagely, until they realized he was a cop. At that point they took off.
Law n' order (II) - The beating of Cox by fellow cops occurred four years ago. Police "investigation" since then has resulted in one cop being convicted of perjury. Now, with a civil suit by Cox pending, four others have been suspended from the force - with pay.
They've got a point - "WALL STREET WINS THE ELECTION" - That was the post-election headline on a CNN web site. Actually, it was a nothing article, but the headline, in big block type, was an eye catcher.
Zero IQers - At a St. Petersburg, Florida, high school, Jennifer Coonce, a four-year honor society senior, was suspended from school and dropped from the honor society. On the first day of a job internship, the boss had handed her a glass of sangria to join in a toast to a departing coworker. She took two sips.
Learning of this, school officials promptly applied the "zero tolerance" rule. Declared Coonce, "It's depressing."
Anyone seen Mickey? - Federal researchers concluded that at least 62 people were stricken with salmonella three years ago after drinking unpasteurized orange juice at Disney World in Florida. Previously, it was assumed that oj was acidic enough to counter the bug. They now speculate it could have been contaminated toads that got into the processing plant, or perhaps, impure water or improperly processed manure fertilizer.
Pity the poor crooks - A group of Russian officials were busted for helping companies dodge taxes. Police said more than $1 million cash was found in suspects' homes. Some 5,500 officials are being investigated for bribe-taking. The minister of the interior called for higher pay for law enforcement and other officials. Pointing to the ruble crisis, he declared: "A poverty-stricken official is always prone to crime."
Top of the news - "Supermodel-actresss Cindy Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber...have completed a remodel of the Malibu house that Gerber, 36, bought before he and Crawford, 32, were married.... Gerber purchased the house...for $1.85 million. The house has French limestone floors.... Comic Garry Shandling is a neighbor." -Los Angeles Times.
Note to readers - If you would like to see this column brighter and more varied, you can help make it that way. Simply clip appropriate news items and send them to: Great Society c/o Pathfinder Books, 2546 W. Pico Blvd., Los Ageless, CA 90006. Fax to (213) 380-1268. Thanks.