ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Judge overturns La. town’s ban on fortunetelling

ALEXANDRIA, La.

A federal judge has struck down a central Louisiana ordinance banning fortunetelling, palm reading, astrology and similar activities in the city of Alexandria.

U.S. District Judge Dee Drell’s ruling last week concurs with a magistrate’s conclusion that the ordinance is unconstitutional.

Rachel Adams is a fortune-teller who says she accepts donations but doesn’t charge for her services. She sued the city after a police officer issued her a court summons in 2011 for violating the ordinance. A violation can result in daily penalties of up to $500.

The city argued the business of fortunetelling is a fraud and inherently deceptive, but U.S. Magistrate James Kirk concluded that fortunetelling is free speech protected by the First Amendment.

Adams says she is a fifth-generation psychic.

Wash. state trooper ends up with baby deer in his car

BELLINGHAM, Wash.

A Washington State Patrol trooper who responded to a report of a deer killed by a truck on Interstate 5 ended up with a 2-month-old fawn in his car.

The patrol says when Trooper Scott Brown arrived at the Bellingham scene last week, other deer in the area stayed back but the fawn — possibly orphaned by the collision — ran up to him. Trooper Mark Francis says the baby deer nuzzled against Brown and started “mewing.”

Unsure what to do, Brown picked up the fawn, loaded it into his patrol car and drove it to Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington.

Sarvey Executive Director Suzanne West says the fawn was severely dehydrated but is doing better. She says it had some minor injuries and might have been clipped by the truck that hit the adult deer. She says it’s possible that deer was the fawn’s mother.

West says the fawn now has a deer buddy.

California pain doctor duped by dog’s X-ray in sting

GLENDORA, Calif.

Investigators say a Southern California doctor saw enough from an X-ray to prescribe painkillers to an undercover cop but missed the tail showing it was an image of a dog.

Police and Los Angeles County deputies last week raided the Glendora urgent-care clinic of 69-year-old Dr. Rolando Lodevico Atiga after a two-month investigation that included three undercover deputies posing as patients.

One of the undercover deputies showed Dr. Atiga an X-ray to prove she needed pain killers. The scan of her German shepherd clearly shows the dog’s tail.

The Los Angeles Times reports Dr. Atiga examined the X-ray and asked if she wanted Vicodin, oxycodone, Valium or Xanax.

Glendora police Capt. Timothy Staab says Dr. Atiga is well known among drug addicts and was considered the doctor to go to.

Associated Press