News In Brief

AND WE'D LIKE IT NOW, PLEASE

"Take me to jail if you have to, but I'm not paying," a defiant Robert Challender said. Not paying what? Well, the $378,426.25 bill mailed to him by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The Reno resident arrived a bit late - OK, a month late - to reregister his 1978 car and fully expected to be charged a penalty: just not one that large. The DMV had installed a new computer system, and it billed Challender on the basis of interest accrued since 1900. But it wasn't, a spokeswoman says, a Y2K problem. The parties settled on a fee of $60 ... or what he would have paid if he'd been on time.

EXCUSE ME, CAN I TRUST YOU?

The police department in Marysville, Wash., is warning residents to be wary of anyone dressed as ... a cop. It seems a burglar broke into a local dry-cleaning shop and swiped, among other items, a freshly pressed police uniform. Anyone with suspicions about "the validity of our officers" is urged to go straight to - right - the police station.

Students share their - er - expertise about spring break

Right about now is the favorite time of year for many college students: spring break. In their honor, the Internet "portal" Switchboard.com conducted an unscientific survey of 132 students about their vacations in sunny climes. Some 35 percent said their choice destination was Fort Lauderdale, Fla. And when it comes to ways of learning about interesting activities while on holiday, the top answer was word of mouth (22 percent). But some of the most revealing findings were the services that vacationing students unexpectedly needed. Switchboard.com's survey determined that the second-highest response - a hotel - wasn't necessarily due to a lack of thinking ahead, but rather a failure to read the fine print about a tour package. What vacationing college students unexpectedly needed:

Takeout food 30%

Hotel 28%

Pharmacies 16%

Money wiring 15%

Post office 11%

- PR Newswire

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society