Mich. district charging teachers for goods

BELLEVILLE, Mich., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Van Buren Public Schools district in Michigan is set to charge its teachers fees for having small appliances in their classrooms, teachers say.

Linda Lewis, the head of the district's teachers union, said those teachers who want a small refrigerator or coffee maker in their classrooms will be asked to pay a fee to the district for such a right, The Detroit News said Wednesday.

The fees, which range from $32 for a coffee pot to $182 for a mini-refrigerator, are an attempt by the district to save money during difficult economic times.

But Lewis and some of her fellow teachers said the added fees will do little to aid the apparently cash-strapped district.

"I know the district is in dire straights, but it does seem like using a teaspoon to bail out the Titanic," Lewis said.

"I don't think it's going to make a difference for the district, but it's going to make people who already feel bad feel even worse," fifth-grade teacher Pat Matkovic said.

The News said, according to Quality Education Data Inc., the average teacher nationwide spends $425 of his or her own money each year to buy supplies for the classes.

Tattoos exchanged for brothel discounts

COLOGNE, Germany, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The managers of a Cologne, Germany, brothel say they'll drop the cover charge for life for any customers willing to have its name tattooed onto them.

The promotion by Pascha, reputed to be Europe's largest brothel with 120 prostitutes working on 12 floors, would eliminate its $6 entry fee in exchange for inking its logo onto customers' arms in big blue letters. Managers thought the offer wouldn't be taken seriously but patrons are lining up for it, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

More than 40 men had come forward and the brothel's tattoo artist is working extra shifts to keep up with demand, the newspaper said.

The tattoo will get the bearer discounts on other services like lap dances but even tattooed customers will have to pay full price for the prostitutes' services since they're independent contractors, the Telegraph said.

Homemade festival food deemed a no-no

ALBUQUERQUE, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Regular participants in an Our Lady of Guadalupe festival in Albuquerque say city officials have banned all homemade food from the annual event.

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church parishioners said city officials said homemade cultural dishes such as posole and menudo could only be served at the Dec. 14 event if they came premade, the Albuquerque Journal said Wednesday.

To parish life coordinator, Sister Bernice Garcia, using canned items to create the traditional dishes is simply wrong.

"That's really like fake posole," she told the newspaper.

"The posole isn't going to have that homemade taste that it had in the past," parishioner Patrick Ayala offered. "But it will have to do."

City officials say the ban on homemade goods at the festival is due to health concerns since the event is open to the general public.

The Journal said due to its public nature, the event must follow city regulations regarding food service and do away with the festival's traditional potluck nature.

Quebec voter notices mangled English

MONTREAL, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Bilingual voter notices in the French-Canadian province of Quebec contain illiterate English translations, The (Montreal) Gazette reported.

In advance of the Dec. 8 provincial election, the chief electoral officer mailed notices to voters about electoral list revisions in both English and French.

On the front of the notice in English, voters are instructed to "see to back" for more details on registering. The back side advises "There are other ways to vote, stay inform," the newspaper reported.

English-speaking voters are warned they'll need "two proofs of identity," and if a name isn't on the electoral list, "go before the board of revisors."

Electoral spokesman Denis Dion told the newspaper the mistakes were made by a translation company that no longer has the contract, and said "we find it annoying to be criticized for minor mistakes."

The province has strict laws making French the predominant language in signs and advertising, and immigrants must agree to learn French.

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