Free Republic

SEATTLE – As part of Seattle's campaign to combat global warming, Mayor Greg Nickels plans car-free days throughout the city. He has enlisted the help of a group of eco-friendly moms to make his latest environmental push forward. Exact details about car-free days and locations will be revealed at the mayor's press conference Wednesday morning, but one of Seattle's favorite beach communities is expected to top the list. On some days you can't find a parking space at Alki Beach, but on one upcoming day people may have Alki all to themselves. "On Sunday, September 7, from 12 to 6...

WHEN IT comes to a city plan to keep concealed weapons from public places, Felix Arena, proud gun owner, has a few thoughts. First, he says, state law gives him the right to carry concealed firearms with a permit. So what gives Seattle the gumption to trump that? Second, he says, the plan would be hard to enforce unless the city wants airportlike security in parks and other properties. Wands and metal detectors cost money and are a hassle for crowds. Third: "It's just bulls - - -," Arena summed up during a break from his checker job at a...

Frustrated by the state and federal gridlock on solving Seattle's transportation problems, Mayor Greg Nickels suggested secession at a Thursday luncheon.

The son of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels was sentenced to three months in federal prison Friday for his role in conspiring to cheat the Nooksack River Casino out of more than $90,000. Jacob Nickels was one of 24 people charged in May in connection with a multistate casino-cheating scheme in which bribed employees dealt pre-recorded, unshuffled playing cards. Teams of swindlers, led by members of a San Diego-area family, fanned out to 18 casinos around the country to execute the "false shuffle" scam in games of blackjack and mini-baccarat. Prosecutors say the ring cheated casinos out of millions of dollars....

Seattle - In an open letter to Santa last week and a speech to children at Seattle’s Annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Westlake Center, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels last week offered a Grinch-like tone, grumbling about climate change threatening Santa, telling kids “I hope the reindeer can swim,” and blaming them and their energy-sucking video games for melting Arctic ice. As Nickels spoke, his assistants handed out stickers admonishing the crowd to “Save Santa.”

"Two dozen people cheated casinos in several U.S. states and Canada out of at least $3.3 million over five years by using technology and bribes to rig card games, federal prosecutors alleged in unsealed indictments." (snip) "The three indictments unsealed name 24 defendants, including the son of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, in an alleged racketeering enterprise dating from March 2002. The so-called Tran Organization allegedly was based in California."

An 84-year-old South Jersey woman hits the nickel slots for $10 million. By Troy Graham Inquirer Staff Writer One happy grandmother, Josephine Crawford of Galloway Twp. talks to reporters after her record win at Harrah's Atlantic City. One happy grandmother, Josephine Crawford of Galloway Twp. talks to reporters after her record win at Harrah's Atlantic City. Down to her last credits on a nickel slot machine, an 84-year-old retired waitress hit for an improbable sum of money Tuesday night. $10,010,113.48. The largest jackpot ever in Atlantic City. The largest jackpot ever on a nickel slot machine, nationwide. And certainly the...

Plot to cash in stolen nickels unravels when Florida store reports big deposit MIAMI (AP) - A plot to cash in 20 tonnes of stolen nickels fell apart when a grocery store reported an unusually large deposit in one of its coin machines and a tip came in about bags of buried money, court documents said. Four men charged in the theft of a U.S. Federal Reserve shipment made an initial court appearance Monday, as the FBI searched for 896,000 missing nickels, or $44,800. A total of $135,200 worth was found buried behind a stable and one of the men...

The search for $180,000 in missing nickels ended in the back yard of a Miami-Dade County house today. A joint task force including the DEA, FBI (news - web sites), Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detectives from the Miami-Dade County Police Department, found the nickels buried in the back yard of a home in an area near Miami known as the Redlands. Law enforcement officials searched the home this morning and found nothing. They searched a smaller house behind the main residence and reportedly found 88 plants believed to be marijuana. When agents went over the back yard with metal...

MIAMI, FLORIDA -- A truck driver has disappeared with the 3.6 million nickels he was hauling to the Federal Reserve Bank in New Orleans, police said Friday. Angel Ricardo Mendoza, 43, picked up the coins, worth $180,000, Dec. 17 from the Federal Reserve in New Jersey and was supposed to haul the cargo--weighing 45,000 pounds--to New Orleans for a trucking company subcontracted by the Federal Reserve, police said. On Dec. 21, Mendoza's empty truck and trailer turned up at a truck stop in Ft. Pierce, Fla. Miami-Dade police, the FBI and the Federal Reserve police are investigating.

Millions of nickels stolen from Fed Seen anyone cashing nickels like crazy? By Mark Potter, Correspondent NBC News Updated: 7:27 p.m. ET Jan. 14, 2005 MIAMI - The trail begins at the Federal Reserve building in East Rutherford, N.J.. In mid-December, a large tractor-trailer is loaded up and heads south, bound for the Fed in New Orleans. Sealed in back of the truck is $180,000 worth of newly minted U.S. nickels. They are in 900 bags and weigh nearly 23 tons. That's 3.6 million nickels — and soon they would just disappear. "Somebody actually went out and stole 3.6 million...

During the week, I accumulate about $3 worth of change in my trouser pocket. It mainly serves my kids and their needs for milk money and so forth. Toward the end of the week, I start to spend down the change, counting out large and precise amounts of it at stores. I've begun to notice something. In the entire pile, I seldom find a nickel. Look, here is today's change, scattered on my desk: 8 quarters, 11 dimes, 8 pennies -- and one nickel. That's absolutely typical. I began to ask around. Conclusion? Many retail change-makers are such numskulls they...

Seattle Budget Follies The fiscally incontinent Seattle City Council has approved the 2005 budget. The council changed little of Mayor Greg Nickels' 2005 proposed budget, except by adding almost $6 million in spending, with most of that going to streets and bridges, libraries and social services. The council would finance most of its additions through a 1.5 percent increase in garbage, water, sewer and drainage charges. The increase would cost the average homeowner about $16 more a year. In a nutshell, the council socked every homeowner with a fee increase on essential services, in order to: a) Protect $109 opera...

U.S. Mint Rolls Out New Nickels By JEANNINE AVERSA ASSOCIATED PRESS Today: March 02, 2004 at 15:35:41 PST WASHINGTON (AP) - Millions of shiny nickels sporting their first new look in 66 years are being shipped to the Federal Reserve, the supplier of the nation's cash, officials of the U.S Mint said Tuesday The new nickels - which honor the 1803 Louisiana Purchase on the back but retain Thomas Jefferson on the front - should start showing up in cash registers in several weeks, Mint officials said. A total of 180 million new nickels have been sent to the Federal...

#315 - Move Over, Gold... The Investment U E-Letter Friday, February 27, 2004 * * * * * * * Move Over, Gold... Here's why it might be time to start burying pennies and nickels in your back yard, too... By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud President, Investment U You need to make some room next to the gold buried in your backyard... Room for pennies and nickels... I'm only half joking. Starting this year, pennies and nickels may be worth more for their metal content than for their purchasing power. It's true... The U.S. dollar has been crashing in value in...

<p>By Sarah Brumfield, Associated Press, 7/30/2003 10:53 BALTIMORE (AP) A million-dollar mystery was solved early Wednesday with experts certifying that a nickel that had been missing for decades is the fifth 1913 Liberty Head nickel.</p> <p>Relatives of the late George Walton, a North Carolina coin dealer, took the coin to the experts at the American Numismatic Association convention that opened Wednesday. The relatives did not want to be identified.</p>

OKLAHOMA LOSS IN OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- (Senate - June 05, 2003) [Page: S7467] GPO's PDF --- Mr. NICKLES: Mr. President, over the past few months, we've seen the fall of Saddam Hussein's brutal regime coupled with the dawning of a new day for the Iraqi people. With major military combat operations in Iraq over and the security of our homeland bolstered, America and her allies are turning our efforts toward helping the Iraqi people build a free society. Like many Americans, I was thrilled and heartened by the dramatic images of U.S. troops helping Iraqi citizens tear down statues...

Fox News just reported that ABC reported that Nickles has called for a new Senate leadership challenge to Trent Lott!

Republicans on Capitol Hill and conservatives in Washington and around the country are discussing how best to call for Trent Lott's stepping aside as Senate Majority Leader.According to a knowledgeable Senate source, GOP members of both houses are extremely concerned that Lott's comments have so derailed the momentum gained from the 2002 elections that it would be impossible come January to make numerous confirmations for the executive branch, begin planning a legislative agenda that includes accelerating the Bush tax cuts and pushing through a prescription drug plan for seniors.Even more upsetting to Republicans is that realization that Lott's comments may...