Democracy in action, from the intrepid reporters at KDKA-2, CBS (Pittsburgh):
In Westmoreland County earlier this month, 39 election races ended up tied. The county had to draw lots, using bingo balls to decide the winners. The bingo balls were loaded into what appeared to be a soda bottle. Numbers were chosen, and the Elections Bureau will try to track down the winners.
“We do our best to notify them. We put it out on the web. We try to go through phone numbers and call them, because we don’t personally know the people on the list. We’re assuming they’re registered voters. In some cases, they are. In some cases, they may not be,” said Scott Ross, interim Co-Director of Westmoreland County Elections.
Winners can turn down the office they were elected to if someone wrote them in for a job they don’t want.
Albuquerque, N.M.
On the campaign trail, with the Albuquerque Journal:
The sheriff says the rally was one of the biggest events of his mayoral campaign so far — about 70 people, including children, had gathered to hear him speak at Revel Entertainment Center in Northeast Albuquerque.
Before the event was over, Manuel Gonzales III had been grilled by an agitator, someone had flown a drone with a dildo dangling beneath it next to the stage, and a man had landed a glancing blow on the sheriff’s arm.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Responsible health policy, from the AP wire:
Sri Lanka’s health minister, who has faced criticism for consuming and endorsing an herbal syrup made by a sorcerer, has tested positive for COVID-19.
A Health Ministry official confirmed that Pavithra Wanniarachchi became the highest-ranking official to be infected with the virus. She and her immediate contacts have been asked to self-quarantine.
Doctors have said there is no scientific basis for the syrup as remedy for the coronavirus. It’s said to contain honey and nutmeg.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Legislating cryptozoology, from The Oklahoman:
State Rep. Justin Humphrey admits his legislation to establish a Bigfoot hunting season is primarily intended to draw tourists.
Humphrey said that he keeps an open mind. “I have been in the woods all my life and I have not ever seen any sign of Bigfoot,” Humphrey said. “I have never heard Bigfoot, but I have some people that I know that are good, solid people who I will guarantee you 100% have said they have.
“I want to be really clear that we are not going to kill Bigfoot. We are going to trap a live Bigfoot. We are not promoting killing Bigfoot. We are promoting hunting Bigfoot, trying to find evidence of Bigfoot.”
Monroe County, Mich.
Justice still in this world, from local news source Mlive.com:
A Grand Haven couple will have to pay for disposing of their son’s pornography collection. David Werking, 42, sued his parents, Beth and Paul Werking, after they tossed out what a judge called “a trove of pornography and an array of sex toys.”
“We have asked the Court for treble damages, which we believe are warranted given the wanton destruction of the property,” said the plaintiff’s attorney, Miles Greengard.
Rainsville, Ala.
Public-private enterprise in the Yellowhammer State, from the Gadsden (Ala.) Times:
A supervisor at the Rainsville Wastewater Treatment Plant is suspended pending an investigation of an illegal winery operation that was discovered at the facility, the town’s mayor announced today. While conducting a search, agents and investigators located a large amount of illegal alcohol, and a winery which appeared to be in operation for a long period of time.
The mayor said the winery equipment was separate, and did not involve wastewater treatment equipment.
Fugging, Austria
A town by any other name, spotted in the UK Guardian:
Residents of an Austrian village will ring in the new year under a new name — Fugging — after ridicule of their signposts, especially on social media, became too much to bear.
They finally grew weary of Fucking, its current name, which some experts say dates back to the 11th century. Local lore among the villagers, known as Fuckingers, suggests that a sixth-century Bavarian nobleman called Focko actually founded the settlement.