Don’t get lost in northeast Pennsylvania--Apparently without much to do, cops in this area enforce "no cruising" signs. For instance: "No cruising 3 times past this point within 1 hour or 6 times past this sign within 3 hours between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. Monday through Sunday." One area worker who allegedly violated the notice got a $230 fine.

For Mental Health Day--Check out "Death Row Marv."--a $24 action doll portraying a death in an electric chair. "Feel the burn as the electric buzz fills the room and he starts to shake and convulse," declares an ad.

Reasonable question--"As long as the United States gives several billion dollars annually to Israeli’s armed forces, but makes Palestinian teens buy their own rocks, how can President Bill Clinton pose as a neutral peacemaker?--Letter to Montreal Gazette.

Wheels of ‘justice’ chew slow--A New Jersey lawyer went into federal court charging the state parole board was unresponsive to his request to discuss breaking the parole applications logjam. Officials declared, "Not so." Currently, more than 3,400 applications are awaiting review.

Let there be light--A trial is under way in Melbourne, Florida, to win the right of female high schoolers to have the same rights as male students. The suit began with a demand for lights on the young women’s softball field, as it is on the one for young men. The ACLU is pressing to include other area schools in the suit.

Things we worry about--The Los Angeles Times offers a weekly column on "learning how to succeed in personal finances." A recent one had us, and the Times, in a sweat. A young couple divides their time on the east and west coast with a house in L.A. and a Manhattan apartment. He’s a successful photographer and she cooks for well-heeled folks on both coasts. Together, they knock down $290,000 a year. But the only insurance they carry is medical. (We confess, we didn’t read on to find out why.)

Between rock and hard place--Doctors in England were urged to closely scrutinize Zyban. It’s said to curb such smoking withdrawal symptoms as irritability and restlessness. It was widely touted when it went on the market last summer, but reports are coming in from users of insomnia, sweating, tremors, and other side effects.

Lean back and breathe shallow--Fix-up jobs were ordered on 31 British Aerospace planes used by Quantas and Ansett airlines in Australia. At least five of the planes were affected by engine oil fumes leaking into the cockpits and cabins. Crew and passengers reported they suffered headaches, vomiting, breathing difficulties and loss of consciousness.  
 
 
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