Free Republic

<p>NEW ROME (AP) -- Onlookers cheered state officials as they took down the only traffic light in this central Ohio village known for decades as a speed trap.</p> <p>"It's wonderful," said Mayor Jamie Mueller, who has been trying to improve the image of the village since becoming the first mayor elected in New Rome in more than a decade. "It's another step in the right direction."</p>

(The Hague) -- In a simple but solemn opening day ceremony, the twelve crimson-robed justices of the newly-established World Traffic Court held their first session at the Palace of Vehicular Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Chief Justice Joseph Ndemnegango (Ghana) quickly gaveled the court to order as he and his fellow barristers from Sweden, Bulgaria, Japan, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Canada, Lesotho, Malaysia, Yemen, Turkey and France heard their first case, Ferguson v. New Rome, Ohio, an appeal of a $150 fine levied against Mabel Ferguson of Paterson, New Jersey by the Mayor's Court of New Rome, Ohio. Ferguson was...

The lucrative speed trap business is coming to an end for the village of New Rome and its 60 residents. A law signed by Gov. Bob Taft last week eliminates mayor's courts in villages of fewer than 100 residents. The mayor's court in the tiny town on Columbus's western edge takes in hundreds of thousands of dollars in traffic fines every year on speeding tickets written on a 1,000-foot stretch of U.S. 40 where the speed limit drops by 10 mph. After the law takes effect in about 90 days, the New Rome cases will be heard in Franklin County...

Seabrook City Councilwoman Margaret Kidd Duncan quit the panel today after she had been requested to resign following a traffic stop last month in which she cursed at police officers. Duncan resigned as mayor pro tem Monday. City Councilman Mike Laible asked Duncan, 40, to resign the council post during a special council meeting Tuesday evening. His request was met by applause from about 150 people who packed the council chambers. Laible's motion was approved by council members Pete Braccio, Rick Sammons and Jack Boteler. Councilman Larry Bonnin was absent. Duncan voted against the motion. City Attorney Kim Mickelson, however,...

WALDO, Fla. -- Some residents of this northern Florida town are beginning to think their police chief might be getting too successful busting speeders. Business leaders, who are embroiled in a bitter war of words with the law-and-order chief, say he is hurting business because people are too scared to risk driving through Waldo's speed traps. For Chief A.W. Smith, there is no compromise. "Slow down and see our city or speed up and see our judge," he said. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1709826

Target practice (or how to end radar speed traps) A GOOD story deserves a good airing. What follows was spotted in Bike magazine, which had spotted it in Pilot magazine. Two members of the Lothian and Borders traffic police were recently having a pleasant time out on the Scottish moors, trapping speeding motorists with a radar gun. Suddenly their equipment went crazy, registering a speed of over 300 miles per hour. It then locked up completely. Seconds later the startled boys in blue understood why, as a low-flying Harrier jet screamed over their heads. Upset that their radar gun...