Awesome!

Ethan Brown, 16, a junior at Jericho High School on Long Island, New York, is a hero among his classmates, the New York Post reported. Brown argued before the school board in March that his highly ranked school had 186 days in session — six more than the state’s required 180 — and that summer vacation ought to begin on Friday, May 26. “I was nervous, especially at first,” Brown said. “I almost sat back down before speaking but I’m glad I didn’t.” He noted that on a stormy day in February, the school did not close, and not a single snow day was used during the year. Superintendent Hank Grisham said Brown “did an absolutely incredible job. There is no requirement to give … snow days back to staff or the kids.” But the board was moved, and a day off was granted — dubbed the Ethan Brown Snow Day. “I’m getting a lot of thank-yous,” Brown said. In his upcoming senior year, he’s in line to take over the editor-in-chief position at the school newspaper. [NY Post, 5/25/2023]

Thong and Cheek

Protesters at the Massachusetts Statehouse bared more than their souls as they demonstrated against climate change on June 15, according to an NBC-10 Boston report. Shouts began to rain down from the public gallery just after 1 p.m. from eight members of Extinction Rebellion, an international environmental movement, followed by a warning: “We are going to be mooning you. … You can look away if you wish.” At that point, the octet turned their backs on the senators and dropped trou, revealing pink thongs and bare buttocks emblazoned with the words “stop passing gas.” The protesters continued with chants of “You’re a senator, not an ass, why are you still passing gas,” and “Butts out for climate” for about an hour before they were arrested and escorted out of the chamber. [NBC 10 Boston, 6/15/2023]

Reunited and It Feels So Good

• A first edition of George Orwell’s 1984 has been returned to the library … 65 years late. UPI reported that the Multnomah County Library in Portland recently received the return from an 86-year-old patron. The patron attached a note to the book, explaining that they meant to return it in 1958 after checking it out as a Portland State University student — they just “never got around to it.” But talk about excellent timing: The library just went fine-free. [UPI, 6/14/2023]

• Sheriff’s detectives in Kanawha County, West Virginia, made an odd discovery while executing a search warrant on an impounded vehicle in February: a 1965 class ring from Needham B. Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, bearing the initials “M.P.” Their investigation determined the owner was one Michael Pedneau, who told the Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette-Mail that he only vaguely recalls losing the bling some 50 years ago, perhaps on a trip to Princeton, West Virginia. “There’s probably 40 or 50 of us [classmates] who get together monthly for lunch,” Pedneau said. “We’re all old, so we enjoy swapping stories, and this is one I’ll share with them. I’ll show them the ring and we’ll have some fun around it.” [Charleston Gazette-Mail, 6/13/2023]

Up in Smoke

A dispensary in Baltimore faces fines for blowing smoke … literally. WMAR-2 in Baltimore reported that the Cookies dispensary opened May 27, only to be shut down less than a week later after a surprise inspection revealed a laundry list of violations, including “large plumes of medical cannabis smoke being blown from a large gun apparatus into the mouths of persons outside the dispensary,” according to the suspension notice. Cookies is part of a franchise, and Cookies San Francisco was the first to utilize a “Flame Thrower” smoke blower, created by Jeff Dick of Colorado. The blower has since become part of the Cookies brand. [WMAR-2, 6/15/2023]

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