Michigan voters to decide on legalizing recreational pot
LANSING (AP) — Michigan voters will decide whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
A citizen-initiated measure wasn’t approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature before a 40-day deadline passed Tuesday. That means the ballot initiative will get a public vote in November.
Michigan has allowed medical-marijuana use for nearly a decade. If the ballot measure is successful, Michigan would become the 10th state to legalize recreational marijuana.
The proposal would allow people age 21 or older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana outside their home and grow up to 12 plants at home. A 10 percent excise tax on marijuana would be assessed at the retail level.
The Michigan Senate leader wanted legislators to pass the bill to make it easier to change later, but support was lacking in the House.
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Sheriff loses re-election, fires winning deputy
TYNDALL, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota sheriff waited a whole minute after polls closed to fire a deputy who undid his re-election bid this week.
Bon Homme County Sheriff Lenny Gramkow fired deputy sheriff Mark Maggs after Maggs defeated him by a vote of 878-331 in Tuesday's Republican primary election.
Maggs posted his time-stamped termination notice signed by Gramkow on Facebook after polls closed.
Gramkow didn't give a reason for the firing. South Dakota is a right-to-work state where employees can be fired without cause and the state's sheriffs have the authority to hire and fire personnel.
Gramkow declined to comment about the firing. Maggs planned to meet with the county commission this week.
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Serpent shocker: Snake slithers out while woman drives
WARRENTON, Va. (AP) — A Virginia woman was rattled when a snake slithered out of her car vent and disappeared into the depths of her SUV.
It was actually just a harmless garter snake, but Lora Goff was startled when the 2 1/2-foot long serpent entangled itself in her phone cord. She pulled over and called animal control Monday.
A Fauquier County Sheriff's Office spokesman says a responding officer with his own snake phobia tried to catch it, but it slipped out of sight.
Goff returned to work and put sticky rodent traps under her seat, but they remained empty during her 10-minute commute home.
The next morning, her husband discovered the snake alive and stuck to a trap.
Goff says he disposed of it in some fashion, she prefers not to know.
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SUV navigates rush hour in reverse
CANAL WINCHESTER, Ohio (AP) — Officials are speculating a motorist who navigated a highway while driving in reverse during morning rush hour may have had transmission problems.
The Ohio Transportation Department on Tuesday released a video showing an SUV going through traffic for little more than a mile backward up a ramp to U.S. 33 in Canal Winchester.
The vehicle turned onto another road, crossed an overpass, went through a traffic light and turned into a parking lot.
The SUV did not hit any vehicles.
The town is about 15 miles southeast of Columbus.
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