ODDLY ENOUGH | Stinky 8-foot ‘corpse flower’ set to bloom in Ohio

ODDLY ENOUGH

Stinky 8-foot ‘corpse flower’ set to bloom in Ohio

COLUMBUS

Spring is in the air, and that means an unpleasant smell for one greenhouse at Ohio State University.

An 8-foot-tall rain forest plant that’s known as a “corpse flower” because it smells like rotting flesh is getting ready to bloom.

The Columbus Dispatch reports greenhouse coordinator Joan Leonard has been growing the flowers since 2001, and this would be the first of five to bloom.

Leonard says smelling the Amorphophallus titanium for the first time will be the culmination of a decade of work. But it will be a quick experience because the flower withers after a day or two.

She expects the bloom to open in May, revealing its umbrella-sized “petals.” When that happens, the university will have visiting hours to give people a peek at the rare plant.

Man bites dog — then sues over police canine’s act

PHOENIX

A 33-year-old man who bit back after he was caught by a Phoenix police dog is suing police.

Erin Sullivan alleges the dog violated his civil rights and used excessive force to capture him after he ran from officers in Glendale during a burglary investigation last year.

Police say Sullivan bit the dog back, injuring it.

The lawsuit names the cities of Phoenix and Glendale and four officers.

Precursor filings to the lawsuit sought $200,000 from Glendale and $250,000 from Phoenix.

Officials in Glendale and Phoenix have declined to comment.

Sullivan also alleges Glendale police refused to give him insulin to treat his diabetes. Sullivan’s attorney, Keith Knowlton, has said his client suffered a diabetic seizure in a Glendale cell.

Sullivan is serving eight years for convictions in the Glendale burglary.

Pittsburgh police say Macy’s ‘burglar’ was asleep

PITTSBURGH

Pittsburgh police say a man who triggered a burglar alarm at a downtown department store didn’t break into the store — he merely fell asleep in a restroom and didn’t leave before the store closed.

Officers were responding to the alarm Thursday night when police got another call from the man who told them of his plight.

Police located the man who had been locked in the store and verified his story.

WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh says police didn’t charge the man, so they’re not releasing his identity.

Associated Press