Venting on Facebook costs angry beekeeper $370,000
Venting on social media proved costly for a Minnesota beekeeper, who now must pay $370,000 to a couple who sold him bees that later died.
A Traverse County jury made the award to Nancy and Keith Budke of Wheaton, Minnesota. The Budkes, in the bee business for more than 40 years, sold 75 Texas hives to Nick Olsen of Maple Lake.
When Olsen got the hives home from Texas, he found that the bees had died in transit. Olsen blamed the Budkes, claiming the bees were infected with several diseases. He took to Facebook and vented about the deal, saying the Budkes were "screwing" him, calling them names and warning others not to buy bees from them.
The Budkes sued Olsen for libel, bringing in expert testimony showing that the bees' health was normal and suggesting that Olsen's own handling of the bees was the likely cause of their death.
Traverse County District Judge Amy Doll ruled in favor of the Budkes and sent the case to a jury to decide damages. In a verdict issued late last month, the jury awarded the couple $105,000 for business losses caused by the libel, $240,000 for loss of reputation and $25,000 in punitive damages, for a total of $370,000.
It's the kind of case we can expect to see more of as social media continues to expand, said William McGeveran, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Law.
—Star Tribune
Theft of 500 pairs of running shoes devastates nonprofit
LOS ANGELES — It was bad enough when Christine Pajak noticed the locks on bins containing her organization's essential possessions — children's jogging shoes — were mangled. She looked inside and saw that hundreds of shoes donated to Students Run LA were gone.
It was even worse two days later. Despite bolstering security measures, she found a large hole cut into the gate that protected their bins. Someone boldly struck again at their headquarters at a school in Tarzana. It was a wipe out — 500 pairs of running shoes to be given to kids who can't afford to buy them were gone — jeopardizing the upcoming season for the 30-year-old nonprofit organization that teaches kids at 185 schools how to become runners and embrace physical fitness.
"I just couldn't believe it," Pajak said. "I couldn't believe that even after we took all those steps, that they came back and decided to take even more than what they took the first time."
These shoes are more than just material goods. They are necessary for the students who work nearly all year with the organization's trainers to prepare for the Los Angeles Marathon. Since its inception in 1989, Students Run LA has trained more than 75,000 students to participate, providing shoes, uniforms, transportation and bringing trainers to their schools.
This theft has set back operations at Students Run LA — not only do they need to replace shoes, but they are looking for a new and safer space to store supplies.
—Los Angeles Times
Georgia Democrats seeking early slot in 2024 primary
ATLANTA — Georgia Democrats are stepping up their campaign to land a coveted spot among the earliest states to vote in the 2024 presidential primary with a video highlighting the state’s diversity, history and emergence as one of the nation’s most important political battlegrounds.
The video unveiled Wednesday by the Democratic Party of Georgia featured clips of former President Jimmy Carter and civil rights heroes Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis before giving way to modern-day political figures.
Narrated by U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, the video also touts the party’s creation of a first-ever “voter protection” unit and Democratic victories in Georgia’s 2020 presidential race and the sweep by Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the 2021 U.S. Senate runoffs.
It’s Georgia’s latest volley in a competition to land an earlier slot on the presidential nominating calendar, which would give the state greater influence in picking the nominee — and focus more attention on the state’s most pressing issues.
The Democratic National Committee is allowing states to bid for earlier dates after Iowa’s disastrous caucus in 2020 led to sharp questions about whether the majority-white, rural state best represents the party’s diverse electorate.
Georgia is among 17 states and territories vying for the early slots as DNC officials prepare a final recommendation in August. A final DNC vote on the early-voting schedule is expected in September.
Leaders in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina are trying to preserve their places at the head of the line, while Georgia is competing either to usurp South Carolina or, potentially, win a spot if a fifth state is added to the early voting schedule.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
White House speaks with wife of imprisoned WNBA star
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke Wednesday with the wife of Brittney Griner, the WNBA star imprisoned in Russia on drug smuggling charges.
During the phone call, the president offered support and read Cherelle Griner a draft of the letter he is sending the Phoenix Mercury center. Griner sent a letter to the White House from jail on Monday, asking for more help in gaining freedom for herself and other wrongfully detained Americans around the world.
“(A)s I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote to Biden.
In response, the administration said it would use every tool at its disposal to help.
Griner, a 31-year-old Olympic gold medalist, was arrested in Feb. 17 after vape cartridges with an oil substance derived from marijuana were found in her luggage at an airport outside Moscow.
—New York Daily News
