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Stamp on ballot forges its way to postal fame

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 5, 2006

A stamp used to mail an absentee ballot in Broward County that was thought to be a rare find worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is definitely a fake, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. An incorrect number of border perforations and its thickness, printing method and inexact colors show it is a forged Inverted Jenny, said Mercer Bristow of the American Philatelic Society. The real 24-cent stamps were printed in 1918 with a World War I-era biplane erroneously flipped upside down. "The color, to me, was off. It looked more bluish-green than the blue of the genuine," Bristow said. The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum wants it anyway.

Man to finish jail time for killing corgi

A man who fatally shot the family dog because it wouldn't stop licking his face has been sentenced to about a year in jail. Thomas J. Costello, 53, shot his corgi during a dispute with his wife in January at their St. Petersburg home. Costello was upset because the dog kept jumping on his lap and licking his face, police said, and he also knew shooting the dog would upset his wife. Costello pleaded no contest Friday to charges of shooting within a building and animal cruelty. He will receive 315 days off his sentence for time he has served in jail since his arrest.

Clinics to distribute morning after pills

Some distribute candy canes and calendars this time of year. Planned Parenthood health centers will give out free morning after pills Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's part of Free EC Day, short for emergency contraception. The pills lower the risk of pregnancy when started within 120 hours of unprotected sex. Clinic locations: 8068 56th St. in Temple Terrace; 21-A Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. S in St. Petersburg; or 2250 E Edgewood Drive in Lakeland.

Off to Reno they go

If you're looking for a St. Petersburg City Council member this week, try Reno. As in Nevada. Six of the seven members (including Florida League of Cities president Rene Flowers) leave today to attend a National League of Cities conference. The trip, paid for with local tax dollars, includes dozens of seminars. One workshop is called "Innovative Ways to Pay for Services: How Local Leaders Can Use Creative Tools to Finance City Services."

[Last modified December 5, 2006, 09:53:13]