Posts Tagged ‘lead’
Oh, the complexity and stress of being a modern crook!
A metal thief was caught after leaving a can of Polish lager covered with his DNA on the roof of a church he was raiding.
Saulius Ciuzas, 39, stripped £10,000 worth of lead from the 12th century church but left a near full can of Lech beer on the roof of the church.
He made off with 13 strips of lead from St Peter and St Paul Church in Algarkirk, Boston, Lincs., but church warden Peter Wilson found the can the morning after the theft on April 24 this year, Lincoln Crown Court heard on Friday.
Phil Howes, prosecuting, said: “Next to where the lead had been removed was a Lech beer can. It was upright and still had liquid in it. The can was linked to Ciuzas because his DNA was found on it.”
Lithuanian migrant Ciuzas lived 40 miles away in Lincoln but was tracked down and arrested…
He was jailed for 12 months after he was found guilty of the lead theft.
Tidying up after stealing includes a lot more than fingerprints on the chimney nowadays.
Mining town rejects nude dancing as a boost to the economy
Voters in the town of Lead, South Dakota, have rejected a proposal that would have allowed nude dancing at bars in its historic downtown, a move supporters had said would give an economic boost to the struggling mining town.
The proposed easing of the state’s adult entertainment law was defeated by a vote of 535-303, Lead City Commissioner Casey Borsch said in a phone interview. He characterized turnout for the referendum as “considerably higher” than normal.
State law in South Dakota already permits nude dancing in bars — provided it does not take place within a quarter-mile of any residence, business or community gathering place.
But city commissioners in Lead, a town of about 3,000 near Deadwood in the Black Hills, voted in January to adopt a more lenient standard, eliminating the quarter-mile rule for their city by means of a special ordinance.
The commission acted after the owners of the Wild Thing Saloon on Main Street, located a few blocks from the town’s opera house and public library, brought in nude dancers for two days in December to see how popular it would be.
The event reportedly drew hundreds of extra visitors into Lead, best known as the site of the Homestake gold mine.
Opponents of the easing, which the commission passed 3-2, gathered enough signatures to put the ordinance to a public vote. On Tuesday, they prevailed.
Not the first time we’ve commented on laws – up or down – dealing with the topic. Since residents of the town seem to have spoken in democratic fashion, I presume there will be no attempt to legislate or litigate around that referendum, eh?
Metal thieves turn towards religion in the UK
Time to return to divinely inspired leadership
Thieves in Britain are using Google Earth to target lead roofs on Church of England buildings to sell on the lucrative metals market, a Church spokesman claims.
About 8,000 churches have made insurance claims for lead theft worth about 23 million pounds during the past three years, the Church’s estate commissioner Tony Baldry said during a debate in Westminster Hall.
In many cases, churches have replaced their roofs only to be targeted again, in one case 14 times…
“The higher the price of lead, the more churches are stripped of it,” Baldry said.
The economic downturn, coupled with fears over sovereign debts in the euro zone, has seen investors turn away from paper assets in favor of base and precious metals.
Lead can currently sell for nearly $2,400 per metric tonnes on the metals market — up from below $900 at the end of 2008…
“Lead theft is one of the most serious threats at present to the Church of England’s churches,” he said.
Well, irrelevance and boredom is probably a bigger threat to the Church of England as an institution. But, I get the point about ancient and historic structures in danger.
An archaeological mystery in a half-ton lead coffin
In the ruins of a city that was once Rome’s neighbor, archaeologists last summer found a 1,000-pound lead coffin.
Who or what is inside is still a mystery, said Nicola Terrenato, the University of Michigan professor of classical studies who leads the project—the largest American dig in Italy in the past 50 years.
The sarcophagus will soon be transported to the American Academy in Rome, where engineers will use heating techniques and tiny cameras in an effort to gain insights about the contents without breaking the coffin itself.
“We’re very excited about this find,” Terrenato said. “Romans as a rule were not buried in coffins to begin with and when they did use coffins, they were mostly wooden. There are only a handful of other examples from Italy of lead coffins from this age—the second, third or fourth century A.D. We know of virtually no others in this region…”
“It’s a sheet of lead folded onto itself an inch thick,” he said. “A thousand pounds of metal is an enormous amount of wealth in this era. To waste so much of it in a burial is pretty unusual…”
“It’s hard to predict what’s inside, because it’s the only example of its kind in the area,” Terrenato said. “I’m trying to keep my hopes within reason…”
One of the most rewarding ways a student, a researcher, can spend their vacation time. Volunteering for an archaeological dig is truly an adventure in time.
California public warned against eating leaded candy – from Mexico
California health officials issued a public warning on Saturday against eating Mexico-made candy Hola Pop lollipops because they contain high levels of lead.
Tests done on La Original Lollipop showed lead levels as high as 0.25 parts per million (ppm), the California Department of Public Health said.
The state considers levels exceeding 0.10 ppm to be unhealthful.
La Original Lollipop candy is sold in two package styles. One is a round, clear plastic container with a bright yellow lid that contains 36 lollipops. The second is a strip of lollipops. Both contain Taramind, Orange, Strawberry and Pineapple flavors.
They don’t protect you from the flu either.
Must Libraries test books for lead content – or just ban children?
“Put on your rubber gloves!”
Daylife/Reuters Pictures
Librarians across the United States are making noise about new federal restrictions on lead that could take books out of the hands of children. Children’s books are covered by federal regulations on lead in items made for children.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission Improvement Act requires all products, including books intended for children younger than 12, to meet new standards calling for lower lead content…Paper, ink, covers and glues would need to pass lead content standards.
“While we understand the process the CPSC must carry out in order to ensure this law is properly enforced and that the safety of our nation’s children is protected, we believe the commission is wasting time and resources by zeroing in on book publishers and libraries,” said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association Washington office.
“It is our hope that this matter will be resolved soon, so that libraries can continue their efforts to serve children without the threat of closing their doors.”
Well, the CPSC postponed a lot of the crap regulations. This could give politicians a chance to write sensible legislation. What are the odds of that happening?
