CENTERPLATE: CEO RESIGNS OVER DOG’S MISTREATMENT: STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Sports catering business Centerplate has announced the resignation of its chief executive after video from an elevator security camera posted online shows a man kicking a puppy and yanking its leash.
The Stamford-based company, which caters to several professional sports venues, announced Tuesday the resignation of Desmond Hague, who admitted last week to mistreating the dog. The company said it doesn’t condone or overlook animal abuse and the board chairman apologized for any distress caused anyone.
Hague said in a statement that he is “ashamed and deeply embarrassed” by his actions, caught on camera in the elevator of a downtown building in Vancouver, British Columbia. He said he was frustrated at the time. He also apologized.
RECOVERY KNOCKS 21 FISH SPECIES FROM WATCH LIST: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Conservationists, fishermen and chefs are celebrating the rebound of fish that had been a mainstay of the West Coast fishing industry.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium said Tuesday it has removed 21 species generally known as ground-fish from its Seafood Watch list.
The list is meant to encourage food buyers to use only fish species that are being harvested at sustainable levels.
The 21 species removed from the list typically wind up as white-fish fillets.
Jennifer Kemmerly of the aquarium says the reclassification marks the turnaround of a fishery that had been so depleted it was declared an economic disaster in 2000 by the federal government.
PENN STATE STUDENT GAINS REP AS SQUIRREL WHISPERER: STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A Penn State student is gaining an Internet reputation as a “squirrel whisperer” for befriending, feeding and dressing up a furry little friend she has named “Sneezy.”
Junior Mary Krupa said that she’s able to dress up the squirrel in party hats, or get Sneezy to hold doll-sized props, simply by feeding the animal.
Krupa and Sneezy’s exploits are chronicled in a Facebook page titled “Sneezy the Penn State Squirrel.”
So far, the squirrel is proving quite popular. Its Facebook page has more “likes” than a page dedicated to the school’s official mascot, the Nittany Lion.
BOY, 11, FIGHTS OFF WOULD-BE KIDNAPPER IN AZUSA: AZUSA, Calif. (AP) — Police say an 11-year-old boy fought off a man who tried to force him into a van in Azusa.
Investigators say the boy was walking home from a Labor Day family gathering Monday night when the van stopped and a man jumped out of the passenger seat.
The man grabbed the boy from behind and attempted to pull him inside. The boy was able to fight the man off and escape without injury.
The van was last seen heading south on San Gabriel Avenue from Third Street.
The suspect was described as 20 to 40 years old, with a shaved head, a moustache and goatee.
Police say the van was a dark-colored, older model.
NEW YORK MAN GETS PRISON FOR FATAL ASPHALT TOSS: WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A New York man who threw a 10-pound chunk of asphalt through the windshield of a passing car, killing the driver, has been sentenced to two to six years in prison.
Alberto Plasencia of Yonkers, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in June. Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore says he was sentenced Tuesday.
Marie McSweeney was killed in April 2004 on the Sprain Brook Parkway in Yonkers. She was hit on the head when the asphalt was hurled from an overpass. Her car veered along the highway shoulder then crashed into the woods. Her 87-year-old mother survived.
The women had been heading to the Bronx to attend Mass.
Investigators reopened the case in 2009 after new information developed. The defendant was arrested by Yonkers cold case detectives.
WII VET, 86, BEATEN OUTSIDE OHIO HOSPITAL: CINCINNATI (AP) — An 86-year-old World War II veteran was recovering Tuesday after being beaten outside a southwest Ohio hospital where he was visiting his ailing wife, authorities said.
Police arrested 30-year-old Craig Phelps on charges of robbery and other counts including that he had a needle for heroin use. Phelps was being held Tuesday in Hamilton County Jail on $25,000 bond.
Police said Phelps tried to steal Paul Browning’s wallet outside Good Samaritan Hospital on Sunday. Browning was there visiting his wife of 65 years. Family members say the two met in Italy during World War II.
Phelps is accused of “slamming the victim against a wall, causing severe physical harm to his face,” a police affidavit stated. Family members say Browning was left bruised and swollen and required stitches in his mouth, and was expected to be hospitalized a few days.
Browning’s son, Marvin Browning, said he got jumped just after leaving the hospital to go to his car.
“He (Paul Browning) said, ‘I thought, I need to get away from there in case he came back,’” Marvin Browning said. He said his father drove home, and his family brought him back to the hospital for treatment.
His family members say he’s tough and will recover.
UMASS STARTS SEMESTER WITH GIANT CLAMBAKE: AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — The new school year at the University of Massachusetts has started with a record-setting feast.
More than 3,000 traditional New England clambake dinners were served on the Amherst campus on Monday.
Chefs prepared more than 3,000 lobsters, 6,000 little neck clams, 3,000 steamers, more than 6,000 ears of corn and 1,500 pounds of potatoes for students and staff.
There was no previous record for largest New England clambake, but Guinness World Record officials had set a minimum bar at 1,500 meals in eight hours. UMass reached that mark in about an hour.
Ken Toong, executive director of auxiliary services, says most of the food was locally sourced, and all waste, including plates and flatware, will be composted.
The $70,000 cost of the clambake was covered entirely by donations and sponsorships.
