MEDICAL MARIJUANA-LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES (AP) - L.A.'s medical marijuana clinics could be going up in smoke today. Pot dispensaries have been sprouting like weeds over the past year. The Los Angeles City Council has been considering an ordinance to regulate the pot clinics for months. That vote could come today. The ordinance would allow collectives, where pot is grown by members, to remain open. But pot dispensaries would have to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, churches and hospitals. California voters approved medical marijuana in 1996. But L.A. officials charge that many of the so-called clinics are making money by selling medicinal marijuana to people who don't qualify for it.

TURNPIKE TURKEY
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A wild turkey is getting a little revenge this week before Thanksgiving. Authorities are giving up on trying catch a wild turkey that calls Interchange 14B on the New Jersey Turnpike home. The gobbler is making a mess of traffic. It runs across toll booths, dodges cars, and sits on the toll collectors' parked cars. For now the toll collectors are putting parking cones on top of their cars, in hopes the turkey will find someplace else to sit.

NYC PARKING RELIEF
NEW YORK (AP) - It's a fight over New York City parking. But this isn't between a couple of drivers competing for a rare Big Apple parking spot. The New York City Council wants to give drivers a bit of a break in certain no-parking zones. The council has voted 47-2 to offer a five-minute cushion when the meter expires. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it would lead to "chaos" and more ticket disputes. However, the council has enough votes to override Bloomberg's threatened veto.

BRASS KNUCKLES BUST
TROY, Mich. (AP) - If you're going to court -- you might want to leave the knife and brass knuckles at home. Authorities in Troy, Mich., report Breanna Calvin was stopped at a courthouse security check when she set off the metal detector. Deputies searched her purse and say they found a knife with an attached set of brass knuckles. The 18-year-old was headed to court in a retail fraud case, Now, she's been charged with a felony, possession of a dangerous weapon. Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe says the young woman told deputies her boyfriend gave her the weapon for protection on the streets.

PENCIL PINCH
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) - Police have pinched a pencil perp. Officers in Bellingham, Wash., report busting Gregory B. Torrey for stealing a six-buck mechanical pencil. But Torrey had more than $600 cash on him at the time. So why did he take the pencil when he had enough to buy a hundred of them? Officers quote Torrey as saying he guesses he was "being stupid."

LONGEVITY CHECKS
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) - One Idaho company is paying for employee loyalty. Health care products company Melaleuca gives workers with five years of continuous employment five grand. Ten years -- $10,000. The longevity payments go all the way up to $30,000 after taxes for 30 years. It's not the only way workers at Melaleuca can pick up some extra cash. The Post Register reports employees are also rewarded for losing weight, having perfect attendance or achieving financial freedom.

by Jamie Friar

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)