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The Latest Breaking News from Brickbat

Brickbat: The (Artificial) Grass Is Greener

In 2015, in the midst of a drought, California lawmakers banned cities and counties from prohibiting synthetic grass. The logic behind the law was that artificial turf was better for the environment because it saved water. But state lawmakers now argue artificial turf is bad for the environment because it…

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Brickbat: Tiny Homes, Big Problems

In March, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state would spend $30 million to build 1,200 prefabricated tiny houses across the state, including 350 in Sacramento, in an effort to ease the state's housing shortage. He promised the houses would be ready this fall. But local media in Sacramento report…

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Brickbat: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

An employee of Michigan's Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital, which is run by the state Department of Health and Human Services, alerted a local TV station that children being treated there had not been allowed outside in three months and that the windows to their classrooms had been covered up. The…

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Brickbat: Be Careful Where You Point That

Jarrod Belcher was stunned when he found out Alabama's Jefferson County School system had suspended his 6-year-old son for pointing his finger like a gun while playing cops and robbers with another student. The school system gave his son a class 3 violation, the most serious and the same one…

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Brickbat: Born Behind Bars

An inmate in the Montgomery County, Tennessee, jail gave birth alone in her cell despite having called for help. The woman, who wasn't named by the media, called for help at 11:31 a.m., and a deputy notified medical staff. A licensed practical nurse examined her and left to consult with…

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Brickbat: On Record

When U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Morris, a Special Forces soldier, applied for a concealed carry permit, his local sheriff's office contacted him about several arrests on his record. Morris was confused: He's never been arrested. But his record showed he'd been arrested on several charges, most seriously aggravated…

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Brickbat: Lockdowns Down Under

The government of Victoria, Australia, has agreed to pay about $5 million (about $3.2 million U.S.) to settle a lawsuit brought by residents of Melbourne public housing who were forced into a hard 14-day COVID-19 lockdown with no warning in July 2020. Some 3,000 people may be eligible for compensation.…

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Brickbat: Sorry, I Was Aiming at Your Dog

Tina Hight has sued the Columbia County, Arkansas, sheriff's office, Sheriff Mike Loe and Deputy Brian Williams after Williams shot her while trying to hit her Pomeranian dog. Hight called 911 for help in August 2022 for what she described as a domestic violence situation. But bodycam video shows when…

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Brickbat: You Pay for Our Mistake

First, the city of Atlanta demolished a house owned by Everett Tripodis without properly informing him. Now, city officials are suing him to recoup the $68,000 they claim to have spent tearing down the house. The city wants to force the sale of the lot to pay for the demolition.…

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Brickbat: Adding Insult to Injury

Andy Malkinson spent 17 years in a British prison for rape before DNA evidence connected another man to the crime and a court freed Malkinson. But under British law, Malkinson would have to pay the government for housing and feeding him for 17 years. Under the Criminal Appeal Act of…

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Brickbat: It's Not Easy Being Green

Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said that since 2000, 15.7 million trees have been felled on land managed by Forestry and Land Scotland to make way for wind farms. She said that represents about 7,858 hectares (19,417 acres) of trees. The government is looking to more than double the…

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Brickbat: Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates have ordered the arrest of a man for filming an "arrogant" TikTok video in a luxury car showroom. The video showed an Asian man in Emirati dress accompanied by assistants carrying large sums of cash. The man tosses money at employees and mocks a…

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Brickbat: Medically Questionable

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, the nation's health ministry, has told surgeons theymust consider a patient's race and ethnicity when determining the order in which patients get surgery. The new system creates what is called the Equity Adjuster Score, under which people of Maori and Pacific Islander descent will…

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Brickbat: Oh, You Meant Those Too?

The Telegraph reports that police in the United Kingdom have failed to solve any burglaries in almost half of the neighborhoods in England and Wales in the past three years. Last October, all of the chief constables in England and Wales promised to have an officer respond to every reported…

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Brickbat: Bad Cop

Former Doraville, Georgia, police officer Miles Bryant has been charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of a 16-year-old girl. Prosecutors said that isn't the only crime he has committed. In a bond hearing, they said that on at least one occasion he used his badge to gain access…

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Brickbat: Keep Looking

A report by the British Children's Commissioner found that police in England and Wales strip-searched almost 3,000 children between 2018 and mid 2022. More than half of those searches took place without a legally required appropriate adult present. And the searches did not always take place in police stations but…

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Brickbat: Move It Along

For almost 20 years, stone benches have graced the sidewalks of San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. They were first placed there by residents to make the place more attractive and to give them places to socialize. The sidewalks are very wide. One local TV station measured the distance from the…

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Brickbat: OK, Everyone Is Welcome

Centennial Elementary School in Washington has backed off a plan to create a "safe space" club open only to "black, indigenous and people of color" students. After the club was announced, several white students expressed an interest in joining. Meanwhile, some parents said the idea of a racially segregated club…

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Brickbat: Do You Know Who I Am?

The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission has found that two Detroit judges, Demetria Brue and Debra Nance, violated judicial ethics when they used their positions to try to get a discount on bicycle rentals during a conference on Mackinac Island, threatened to accuse the owner of assault when he refused, and…

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Brickbat: Want To Know Why the Rent Is Too Damn High?

Michael Markellos and his mother own a 10-unit apartment complex in Chicago. He said his tax bill last year for all 10 units combined was $23,674. This year, the bill is $128,282 dollars, up 440 percent. "I was outraged. These are basically simple one-bedroom units for college graduates who work…

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Brickbat: Maybe Your Next Flight Should Be on a Train

The French government says it will ban flights between cities connected by trains if the flights take less than two and a half hours. Officials said the move is aimed at increasing train ridership and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The ban will begin next year and will last three years,…

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Brickbat: You Can't Stay at the Y.M.C.A.

Mooresville, N.C., officials have ordered Josh's Farmers Market out of its location on two acres at Lowe's YMCA. The farmer's market isn't open year-round—only for specific periods during the year. The market's website says its fall season is Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, and its winter season is Nov. 25…

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Brickbat: Gassed Up and Ready to Go

The European Parliament has voted to ban cars with internal combustion engines by 2035. The plan must still be approved by the European Council, which is expected to OK the law. A center-right coalition in the parliament had proposed a 90 percent ban, which would allow 10 percent of cars…

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Brickbat: Loosie, You've Got Some Explaining to Do

The Canadian government will require an anti-smoking message to be printed on every individual cigarette. The requirement is expected to take effect in 2023. The exact message hasn't been decided, but Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett said the current proposal is "Poison in every puff."

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Brickbat: You Will Do What's Good for You

Rhode Island state Sen. Sam Bell has introduced a bill that would require all unvaccinated residents of the state pay a $50-a-month fine. The fine would apply to everyone eligible for the vaccine. Bell's bill would also force unvaccinated Rhode Islanders to pay double their state income taxes.

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