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Noteworthy

By TIMES WIRES
Published August 30, 2006

They're No. 1! But can they count to 10?

The new rankings are out, and when it comes to drinking, you can't beat Milwaukee. Forbes.com has the city ranked No. 1 on its list of "America's Drunkest Cities." "I have had people stay with me, and they can't get over how much we drink," said Milwaukee's Rick DeMeyer, who was celebrating his birthday. At a bar. "I guess we do." An official at the city's visitor's bureau says the city is working on ridding itself of its beer-guzzling image by building things like a new convention center. And a baseball stadium. Miller Park. Where the Brewers play. Looks like there's more work to do on that image thing. Most of the top 10 were cold-weather cities, and the top-ranked Florida city was (drum roll) ... Tampa, at No. 24.

Audience goes from cheers to tears

Sometimes, something looks a little less serious than it really is because it's happening to a clown. During a performance of the Royal Russian Circus in western Ireland, a clown was hanging from a cage that was suspended over the floor by ropes attached to a hot-air balloon. Then the hot-air balloon exploded, and the cage came crashing down, crushing the man. About 100 people, mostly kids, were in the audience, and initially thought the explosion and fall were part of the act.

DRIVERS ED

Get your paws off the steering wheel

Even if it appears your dog would really like to drive, don't let it. Even if it makes those sad puppy eyes at you. A woman in China was convinced that her dog would be an excellent driver, so she let it take the wheel. Being the responsible dog owner, she kept control of the gas and brake pedals. They didn't get far before crashing into an oncoming car. No injuries were reported, and the woman paid for repairs.

UPDATE

Big Dig death

The family of a woman killed in a Big Dig tunnel when 12 tons of concrete panels fell on her car filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and contractors that worked on the highway project. "It's hard to imagine a worse set of circumstances, where someone is simply driving along and 3,000- or 4,000-pound concrete slabs fall down," said attorney Jeffrey Denner, who represents Milena Del Valle's husband, Angel.

Misidentified victim

Whitney Cerak, 19, who was misidentified for weeks as a fellow student who was killed in a traffic accident, returned to her university classes Tuesday for the first time since the crash last spring. Cerak was severely injured in the April 26 crash, but identified as among the five people killed while fellow student Laura VanRyn was incorrectly thought to have survived. It took a month for family to realize the bruised, heavily bandaged patient was Cerak.

[Last modified August 30, 2006, 00:57:39]