Pretty in pink

BUFFALO, New York (AP) — Some snow in a Buffalo neighbourhood turned a deep shade of pink after a cloud of powder was released during demolition of a business that used to make food colouring.

As surprised parents and pet owners wondered whether to ban outdoor play, state health and environmental officials collected samples.

A demolition contractor says a pipe that contained about five pounds of residual red dye No 40 ruptured at a building being torn down near the former Buffalo Colour plant Thursday afternoon. John Yensan of Ontario Specialty Contracting says powder was carried by the wind across homes, cars and streets.

Authorities say the dye didn’t appear to pose a health problem.

A water truck was sent in to clean up.

Underwear thief

SALEM, Oregon (AP) — A Salem man caught while wearing his female neighbour’s underwear this summer has pleaded guilty to burglary.

Marion County Judge Albin Norblad yesterday sentenced 48-year-old Randall J Giesbers to three years probation.

Prosecutor Courtland Geyer sought a four-year prison sentence, noting that the victim repeatedly had the woman’s “intimate items” stolen in the year leading to the August arrest.

The Statesman Journal reports that Giesbers apologised in court yesterday to his family and the victim.

Defense attorney Jason Thompson says his client has been living away from his family’s home and will continue to stay away for now.

Giesbers was caught in his neighbour’s garage, wearing only the woman’s underwear.

Strip tease

SHEBOYGAN, Wisconsin (AP) — A 36-year-old Sheboygan woman who allegedly stripped in front of her kids in a drunken attempt to avoid a shoplifting arrest is going to jail.

As part of a plea agreement, Julia E Laack pleaded no contest to three charges including retail theft. The Sheboygan Press says she was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail.

Prosecutors say she stole beef jerky and a lighter from a convenience store in October. They say when police went to her home she began screaming at three children in her house, telling one teenager the incident was his fault.

As police tried to calm her, she allegedly stripped to her underwear and told the officers they couldn’t arrest her because she was going to be naked.

A message left with her lawyer Saturday wasn’t immediately returned.

NYC’s ‘skinniest’ house

NEW YORK, USA (AP) — A town house dubbed New York City’s skinniest house has sold for $2.1 million.

The red, 9 1/2 by 42 foot-long brick building on Bedford Street was built in 1873 on land used as an alley between homes. The town house was listed for sale last August at $2.7 million. The two-bedroom, two-bath home last sold in 2000 for $1.6 million.

A plaque on the narrow Greenwich Village home notes poet Edna St. Vincent Millay once lived there; so did anthropologist Margaret Mead.

The newly-sold building was listed on real estate websites Wednesday as a rental available for $10,000 a month. An e-mail seeking comment from the listed rental agent Wednesday was not immediately returned.

Free money

RICHLAND, Washington (AP) – Not even the police are immune from those offers of free money from African countries that are really scams.

Richland police could use another $4,000, but the department wasn’t tempted by the cashier’s check it received Friday in the mail from the country of Benin.

Officer Erica Tungesvik (TUNG’-gus-vik) says officers immediately recognized it as a bogus attempt to learn bank account information if the check were deposited.

An officer wrote up a report on the incident and Tungesvik says it serves as a reminder that if the police can be the target of such a scam, anyone can.

Fly-in

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) –Instead of a drive-in, two pilots used a south Minneapolis lake for a fly-in for lunch.

KMSP-TV reports the two small airplanes-rigged with skis on their landing gear-touched down on Lake Calhoun on Monday afternoon. The station says the two pilots then got out of the planes and walked to a nearby restaurant in the Uptown area.

An official with Park Police tells the Star Tribune that officers are at the scene trying to determine the circumstances of the landing.

A park board ordinance prohibits aircraft from landing on or taking off from water without a permit.

KMSP reports one of the planes is a fixed-wing, single-engine Champion.