10-year-old miniature dachshund named Spork has been declared vicious by the city of Lafayette in Colorado -

Reading - 10-year-old miniature dachshund named Spork has been declared vicious by the city of Lafayette in Colorado -

A trip to the vet has sparked a legal drama that has a Colorado couple afraid they will lose their dog.

A 10-year-old miniature dachshund named Spork has been declared vicious by the city of Lafayette in Colorado, CBS station KCNC-TV reports.

The Walker family has spent $6,000 to save their dog and they plan to go to trial. There's a lot at stake: Spork could be euthanized, the family could be forced to move or Spork could be kenneled.

"He's our baby," said Spork's owner Kelly Walker. "We've had him for 10 years."

In August 2009 Spork was at the Jasper Animal Hospital for what's described as routine dental surgery. Spork was in Kelly Walker's arms and nervous.

"He was defecating on my arm and the floor," Walker explained.

At some point while in the animal hospital lobby Spork bit the vet tech in the face. Walker didn't actually see it happen.

"I knew about it when she turned around with her back towards me and I said what's the matter and she said he bit me," said Walker.

At the animal hospital Walker was told Animal Control would be contacted.

"I was crying. The dog was shaking," said Walker. "It was a horrible experience."

For the Walkers, the situation would only get worse. A few weeks later the city of Lafayette served them with a vicious dog citation.

"We found a Daily Camera article from 2007 that said of 33 tickets like this have been issued, 26 resulted in euthanasia or relocation," said Tim Walker, Kelly's husband.

State law regarding vicious dogs actually exempts veterinary professionals from dog bites. The Walkers hired an attorney.

"When we filed a motion to dismiss these charges under state law the municipality of Lafayette said 'we can assert home rule. We can govern our own people,'" said Jennifer Reba Edwards, the attorney for the Walkers.

The case goes forward in April. The Walkers say they will fight with all they've got to save Spork's life.

"You can't take your dog to the vet and end up a criminal," Tim Walker said.

On Tuesday Dr. Donald Dodge, chief veterinarian and founder of the Jasper Animal Hospital, released a statement.

"Jasper Animal Hospital has not advocated for, or participated in any way in subsequent decisions by the City of Lafayette to prosecute Spork's guardians. We remain very worried about everyone concerned -- the dog, his guardians, and the injured technician. We consider this incident a tragedy, and we sincerely wish the very best for everyone concerned, Spork in particular," Dodge said in the statement.

Read more -http://wbztv.com/watercooler/spork.dachshund.lafayette.2.1514616.html

FDIC reports 27 percent jump in problem banks during the 4th Q of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 -

Reading - FDIC reports 27 percent jump in problem banks during the 4th Q of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 -

The number of "problem" U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry's recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said the industry overall eked out a profit of $914 million for the quarter, benefiting from a healing economy, but said the improvement was concentrated in the largest banks.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said the profit was a huge improvement over the $37.8 billion loss the industry reported in the fourth quarter of 2008. "It's not that this was a strong quarter. It's simply that everything was so bad a year ago," Bair said in a statement.

Smaller institutions are still struggling with deteriorating loan portfolios, especially with loans tied to commercial real estate. The FDIC set aside an additional $17.8 billion during the fourth quarter for expected bank failures.

Regulators have closed 20 U.S. banks so far this year and 185 since January 2008, as banks continue to struggle with loan portfolios stocked with souring loans.

Read more -http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Regulators-report-27-percent-rb-3180263608.html?x=0&.v=1

Dodgeball Guinness World Record set by University of Alberta - 1,200 students, staff and faculty -

Watching - Dodgeball Guinness World Record set by University of Alberta - 1,200 students, staff and faculty -

1,200 students, staff and faculty at the University of Alberta unofficially smash the Guinness World Record for most players in a single dodgeball game at the Universiade Pavilion better known as "The Butterdome" in Edmonton, Alta. on February 5, 2010. The former record was 450. The event was organized by the U of A students' union. Video by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal

Dr. Ron Paul's Addresses CPAC - END THE FED! - Ron Paul for President in 2012! -

Watching - Dr. Ron Paul's Addresses CPAC - END THE FED! - Ron Paul for President in 2012! -

Shock! - Libertarian darling Ron Paul won the CPAC straw poll tonight - Beat Romney AND Palin -

Reading - Shock! - Libertarian darling Ron Paul won the CPAC straw poll tonight - Beat Romney AND Palin -

Libertarian darling Ron Paul won the CPAC straw poll tonight, taking 31% of the vote in the multi-candidate field. Mitt Romney came in a distant second place. Sarah Palin came in third, drawing single-digits.

Only 2,395 straw poll votes were cast by what organizers said was 10,000 attendees at this year's CPAC.

Results from the full field, and a link to the complete poll after the jump.

Haley Barbour: 1%

Mitch Daniels: 2%

Newt Gingrich: 4%

Mike Huckabee: 4%

Sarah Palin: 7%

Ron Paul: 31%

Tim Pawlenty: 6%

Mike Pence: 5%

Mitt Romney: 22%

Rick Santorum: 2%

Read more -http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/straw-poll-results-post.php?ref=fpa

Michelle Obama on Friday announces $400 million+ in Fed $ to help bring more grocery stores nationwide? HUH? -

Reading - Michelle Obama on Friday announces $400 million+ in Fed $ to help bring more grocery stores nationwide? HUH? -

First lady Michelle Obama on Friday took her campaign against childhood obesity to a city once dubbed America's fattest, announcing more than $400 million in federal assistance to help bring more grocery stores to underserved communities nationwide.

Obama, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited the Fairhill Elementary School in North Philadelphia to discuss access to healthy, affordable food.

Improving access to stores that serve fresh foods is a key part of helping to solve the problem of childhood obesity, Obama said. About 23.5 million Americans live in "food deserts," where they don't have supermarkets and end up buying less healthy foods from places like convenience stores, she said.

Six years ago, she said, Pennsylvania invested about $30 million in fresh food financing, investments that have helped create 83 supermarket projects across the state.

"If you can do it here, we can do it around the country," said Obama, who visited a grocery store in North Philadelphia earlier in the day.

Speaking to an auditorium of several hundred students, Obama announced plans for tax credits, loans and other funding aimed at helping to bring healthy food retailers to underserved rural and urban communities. Funding would go toward construction and expansion of grocery stores and other projects.

"We know it won't be easy to solve this obesity crisis," she said. "But if there's anyone out

there who doubts that it can be done, I would urge them to come to Philadelphia and see what you have done here."

In 1999, Men's Fitness magazine named Philadelphia the fattest city in the nation. But Obama praised the city and its school district for their efforts to reduce the number of obese children.

Earlier this month, the first lady announced the public awareness campaign against childhood obesity, an effort she dubbed "Let's Move."

The campaign is geared toward helping parents make better food choices, serving healthier food in schools, making healthy food more available and affordable, and encouraging children to get more exercise.

Some have criticized her for using her own daughters—Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8—as an example.

The girls were starting to get off-track before the family's pediatrician gave her a warning, she said. That prompted her to make changes—no more weekday TV, more attention to portion sizes, low-fat milk and more fruits and vegetables.

On Friday, both Obama and Geithner both praised the recent weight loss of food-loving Gov. Ed Rendell, a former Philadelphia mayor, who joined them on the school's stage.

Calling him "Mr. Svelte," Obama said, "Every time I see him, he gets smaller and smaller."

"It's good to see the governor looking like an athlete again," Geithner said.

Earlier Friday, Obama visited a $15 million Fresh Grocer store that opened in North Philadelphia in December though a public-private partnership created to increase the number of supermarkets in underserved communities.

She walked through the aisles, ordered a strawberry-banana smoothie and shook hands with shoppers

Read more -http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_14432751

Crew member aboard a ship housing 2010 Olympic security forces is bring treated for Leprosy -

Reading - Crew member aboard a ship housing 2010 Olympic security forces is bring treated for Leprosy -

A crew member aboard a ship housing 2010 Olympic security forces is bring treated for leprosy, CTV News has learned.

The crew member has been treated and health officials stress there is no risk to the public.

Leprosy is typically characterized by skin rashes and nerve damage. It is easily treated with antibiotics.

Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, told ctvbc.ca that a crew member aboard the Statendam tested positive on Thursday.

The crew member visited a doctor aboard the ship, who in turn referred the case to a dermatologist in Vancouver.

Samples were sent to a lab and came back positive. The results were then reported to Vancouver Coastal Health.

The crew member was immediately treated.

Leprosy is not highly contagious to begin with, and there is no risk of the disease spreading 24 hours after treatment, Daly said.

Daly said the crew member had no contact with passengers and there is no indication that it spread to any other crew members.

Notices went out to passengers Friday morning to allay any concerns.

Daly declined to say where the crew member is from other than to say the person is not Canadian. She declined to say whether the crew member is presently aboard the ship or not.

The 2010 Integrated Security Unit is made up of more than 15,000 members, including police and military officers.

The bulk of the security force members from out of town are being housed in cruise ships berthed at the Ballantyne Pier in east Vancouver for the duration of the Games.

The Statendam is operated by Holland America Line.

Read more -http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=47200.html#olympic+enforcement+staffer+treated+leprosy?cid=rssctv

Eleven 2010 Games police officers removed for alleged misconduct One officer charged with shoplifting -

Reading - Eleven 2010 Games police officers removed for alleged misconduct

One officer charged with shoplifting -

Eleven officers with the 10,000-member Integrated Security Unit police force providing security for the 2010 Olympics have been ordered to return home because of allegations of misconduct, including one senior officer charged with shoplifting and two police officers under investigation by the Vancouver police.

Staff Sergeant Suzanne Denise Marie Martel from Ottawa was charged with a single charge of theft under $5,000 over an alleged shoplifting incident in a retail store in Burnaby while off-duty.

Martel, a 19-year veteran was part of the 2010 ISU detachment composed of municipal and RCMP and Canadian military officers brought into Vancouver from various parts of the country. Seven police officers and four Canadian Forces officers have been sent home. Martel is the only one to be criminally charged.

ISU spokesman Staff Sergeant Michel Coté said two other officers are under investigation by the Vancouver police department.

Coté said the other officers were sent back to their home detachments because of alleged misconduct. Those misconducts can range from not showing up for shifts on time to drunk and disorderly behaviour, according to Coté, but he could not confirm exactly why the officers were sent home.

Coté said he could not confirm whether the two incidents under investigation by the Vancouver police occurred on the cruise ship organizers have brought in to house the large security force. He denied that alcohol, which is allowed in the temporary officers' quarters, played a factor in the alleged incident under investigation by the VPD.

“There's lots of rumours and innuendos that's been going on in terms of life on the ship. I'd like to make it clear right now there have been allegations of sex trade workers brought on the ship. I can emphatically state today that is absolutely not true,” said Coté. “None of those incidents took place. It's disturbing to paint our security workforce with such a large brush.”

Coté said Canadian military and police officers are working 24/7 in difficult circumstances and living in very cramped quarters.

Security for the Games composes one of the largest budgets in putting on the Olympics. The federal government has committed just under $1 billion to provide security for the Games but has not guaranteed that number will not go up before the end of the two-week event.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Constable Jana McGuiness confirmed the investigation against the two officers.

“As the investigations are ongoing, there are no further details to release at this time,” she said in a statement.

The ISU has released information about two security breaches that happened on the first few days of the Games.

On Feb. 15, a suspicious item inside a bag that went through the x-ray machine was picked up by the owner who disappeared into the crowd. Coté said the item was suspicious but was not considered dangerous. By the time the screener alerted the supervisor who contacted the supervising ISU officer, the bag had left the screening area before a secondary hand search could be conducted.

Despite a sweep of the venue and bringing in extra personnel to search, neither the person nor the bag were located at the B.C. Place Stadium.

“Unfortunately the bag was gone. We regret that. It's totally unacceptable,” Coté said.

As a result of that incident, Coté said protocols and procedures have been changed so the police officer supervising the screening will take a more hands-on role if something suspicious is spotted by the screening machines.

Earlier this week, the RCMP confirmed a man carrying fake credentials was able to wander into the VIP area near where U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden was sitting during the Opening Ceremonies.

Read more -http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/768403--11-games-police-officers-removed-for-alleged-misconduct

64 Students safe after Canadian boat S.V. Concordia capsizes off Brazil - “Everybody is safe” -

Reading - 64 Students safe after Canadian boat S.V. Concordia capsizes off Brazil - “Everybody is safe” -

All 64 students and crew aboard a sailing ship that operates as a floating classroom for a Nova Scotia school are safe after a night in lifeboats off the coast of Brazil.

“Everybody is safe,” said a spokesman for the Brazilian Navy on Friday morning. Asked if anyone was sick or injured, he said, “Everybody is fine.”

The S.V. Concordia, a three-masted sailing ship, sank to the bottom of the Atlantic in “hard winds” and swelling waves, he said. “It has gone to the deep.”

The 48 students, eight teachers and eight crew were due in Rio de Janeiro Friday afternoon, he said.

They abandoned ship for lifeboats equipped with blankets and food at 5 p.m. Thursday, Rio time (2 p.m. Toronto time). A Brazilian Navy helicopter spotted them three hours later and dropped medical supplies.

Three merchant ships answered the distress call and reached the lifeboats first.

Three lifeboats carrying about 48 people were rescued by the merchant ship Hokuetsu Delight, said Capt. Cmdr. Maria Emila de Moura Estevao Padilha, communications director of the 1st Naval District.

Naval planes and the tug Sea-Admiral Guillobel remained at the scene where the Concordia sank after the rescue, Estevao Padilha said in a news release.

The life boats are sturdy and safe for the open seas, the spokesman said. The ship sank about 300 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil.

The students were on a course taught by West Island College International, based in Lunenburg, N.S., and had left Recife, Brazil, on the Concordia Feb. 8. They were due in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Tuesday.

Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre helped with logistics after receiving the Concordia’s distress beacon. Kate Knight, head of the school, said everyone was picked up between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Friday morning by Brazil’s Navy.

“They spent a significant amount of time” in the small craft, Knight told CP24. The life rafts are equipped with blankets and food and are designed to keep people safe until a rescue, she said.

The sailors are aboard two Brazilian merchant marine ships en route to Rio, she said.

Maurice Tugwell, a retired Acadia University professor, is among the rescued, his family said Friday morning.

“The Tugwell family were notified last night that the Concordia had sent out a distress signal and we were later notified that everyone aboard the ship had been rescued off the coast of Brazil, after spending several hours in life rafts,” Tugwell’s children posted on his voyage blog.

Knight “ensured everyone was kept up to date with as much information as was available.”

On his blog, Tugwell described an international crew led by Capt. Bill Curry, with an Australian second mate, Polish engineers and an Alaskan ship’s doctor.

West Island College, founded in 1984, provides students from around the world with experience sailing as well as classroom instruction.

The ship was expected to dock in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Tuesday. The voyage was to continue to South Africa.

The Concordia was designed and built for the school’s Class Afloat program in 1992. It is classified as a 100A-1 Yacht, the website said. The crew consists of two officers, two engineers, a bosun, a bosun’s mate, a cook, a cook’s mate and a medical officer.

“Concordia is one of the most sturdy ships on the water,” Pat Grieve, an alumnus of the Class Afloat program of 2003-04 said in an interview.

“It has sailed Cape Horn, the roughest seas in the world. It was not just a ship. For 10 months and 32,000 nautical miles, it was our home.

“The oceans can be very unforgiving,” said Grieve, who lives in Cobourg, Ont. “There is no doubt the crew was more than capable. The training is rigorous and precise.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said of the incident, “All crew and passengers have been recovered and are uninjured. This is good news. I thank Brazilian authorities, who led a search and rescue operation and acted swiftly to assist the ship and its passengers.”

Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Simone MacAndrew said Canadian diplomatic personnel are working with the Brazilian government to monitor and assist with the situation.

She said consular officials are ready to provide assistance to any affected Canadian citizens.

Canadians with friends and relatives who were aboard in can contact the department’s Emergency Operations Centre in Ottawa by calling either 1-800-387-3124 or 1-613-996-8885.

Read more -http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/768065--students-safe-after-canadian-boat-capsizes-off-brazil?bn=1

Police accused of sending agents provocateurs to Olympic protests in Vancouver -

Watching - Police accused of sending agents provocateurs to Olympic protests in Vancouver -