Editorials
News of the Weird
Nothing in this name
EL PASO, Texas — A police officer’s name nearly cost her her job.
The problem was the way El Paso officer Christine Lynn O’Kane’s name appeared on her identification tag and e-mails: C. O’KANE.
“When you put it together, it spells ’cocaine,”’ said police spokesman Al Velarde.
O’Kane resigned from the El Paso Police Department on April 6, 2000, to take care of her ailing mother, the El Paso Times reported. She had a good service record, and her work file included a recommendation that she be reinstated if she reapplied in the future.
But when O’Kane reapplied with the department months later, she found it no longer supported her reinstatement.
Police management cited the “inappropriate” use of her name as the basis for their denial.
O’Kane had been using “C. O’Kane” in e-mails including a goodbye message to co-workers she sent in April 2000.
“In reading the (e-mail) header, it is clear that the intention was to refer to the drug cocaine,” states an April 2, 2001, e-mail from Assistant Police Chief Richard Wiles to the department’s personnel director.
O’Kane appealed her case to the Civil Service Commission on May 24, 2001, and the commission supported her position.
Convenient but limited
CHARLESTON, S.C. — You’ve heard of dialing for dollars. Well, fans of the minor league Charleston RiverDogs can now dial for dogs. And fries. And beer.
Under a new system the team is trying for the rest of the season, spectators can stay in their seats and order food and drink on their cell phones.
Developed by a Canadian company, CellBucks allows fans to have concessions delivered right to their seats. Minor league teams in Buffalo, N.Y., and Bowie, Md., are also trying out the system.
About 30 fans gave the system a try when it was first used Wednesday night. But some struck out because they hadn’t registered a credit card number and electronic-mail address first, Sharrer said.
Phone orders are limited to a special 10-item menu of meals, including beer, for up to four people. Prices range from $6 to $26.50, including tax and tip.
