Category Archives: Bill Bickel, Managing Editor
”Millionaire gets 16 years for DUI death… at home”
This one wins our “Misleading Headline of the Week” Award, and the article goes on to say “Convicted multi-millionaire John Goodman was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a DUI manslaughter Friday — but instead of living in a small cell with prison food and inmates, Goodman will be … Continue reading
Well, SOMEBODY was apparently distracted…
A law firm attempting to drum up clients for “distracted driving” lawsuits sent out a press release that began:A couple that sustained life-altering injuries during a 2009 car accident caused by a texting teenager is seeking to hold the person the driver was texting liable for their injuries by adding … Continue reading
Walmart Sued Over Racist Public Address Announcement
Back in March of 2010, when I was still writing the Crimeweek newspaper column, I reported that a teenage boy had slipped into the main office at a Walmart store in Turnersville, New Jersey, and announced over the public address system “Attention Walmart customers: All black people must leave the … Continue reading
(Updated) Why I Wouldn’t Want To Be Chief of Security At The Republican National Convention
Update: Because I’ve been reading mixed reports about whether handguns will be allowed in the Tampa Bay Times Forum during the convention, I phoned the person at the Forum who’s specifically in charge of Convention security and he told me that there is no correct answer: the Secret Service has … Continue reading
Murder Trial Ends in Mistrial After Reporter Accidentally Tweets Photo of Juror
In Topeka, Kansas, the judge presiding over the murder trial of Austin Tabor permitted cellphone cameras in the courtroom — with the condition that Kansas law, prohibiting close-ups that identify individual jurors, be adhered to. During opening statements last Tuesday (April 10), Ann Marie Bush, a reporter for a local … Continue reading
14-Year-Old Girls Commit Anti-Semitic Vandalism, Get Expelled From School and Publicly Exposed by Jon Lovitz
Three 14-year-old girls attending Nobel Middle School in Northridge California, who allegedly had been bullying a Jewish classmate, used maple syrup to write the word “Jew” and draw swastikas in front of her home (a home owned by her grandparents, Holocaust survivors). They also left feces on the doorstep (though … Continue reading
Ronald McDonald 1, Wimpy Mom 0 (and more Wednesday Morning Miscellany)
Ronald McDonald 1, Wimpy Mom 0: Last week, a San Francisco judge threw out a lawsuit by a mother who claimed their “unfair, unlawful, deceptive and fraudulent” advertising campaigns made it impossible for her not to buy Happy Meals for her daughter, thereby undermining her authority over her daughter and … Continue reading
Mother Faces a Year in Jail For Making Her 10-Year-Old Walk 4.6 Miles to School
When Jonesboro, Arkansas mother Valerie Borders goes to court on April 30, she’ll face child endangerment charges and a possible year-long jail sentence (and/or a $1000 fine) for ordering her 10-year-old son, Nequavion, to walk 4.6 miles to school after his school bus privileges were suspended — for a fifth … Continue reading

