Highway Song's blog: "Stupid People"

HAYWARD, Calif. -- Authorities have arrested an alleged 911 cell phone caller who was believed to have made more than 27,000 emergency calls, overwhelming California Highway Patrol and Hayward 911 systems. The 911 calls started flooding in last May. The caller responded to emergency operators with bodily noises, muttering and pressing beep tones. "He completely overwhelmed our system," said Desi Calzada, manager of the Hayward Communications Center, which operates 911. "He delayed the answering of other 911 calls because we were answering his." John Triplette has been arrested night for investigation of abusing the 911 emergency line, a misdemeanor. The CHP communication center in Vallejo started getting bogus 911 calls last May, then the Hayward center began getting the calls in January. But before he was arrested, Triplette allegedly managed to call in another 10,000 calls to the police, as well as 4,000 to the Solano County Sheriff's Department, according to Lt. Chris Orrey, a spokeswoman for the Hayward Police Department. When the investigators finally tracked Triplette down at his home in the 24000 block of Amador Street, he told arresting officers he was sorry. When asked why he made the calks, he replied: "Because it's free." Dumbass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A middle school teacher accused of using duct tape to bind a student to his desk was suspended for more than a week without pay for the alleged incident. The Duval County School Board voted on Tuesday to suspend Kasey Goodin for 10 days without pay. The school board made its decision after hearing the teacher's version of what happened inside the Kirby-Smith Middle School classroom, WJXT reported. The district said Goodin told investigators the taping incident was a joke. However, board members didn't think it was funny. "It's just not funny for a child to be taped, whether it's in jest or it's a disciplinary measure," said school board chair Betty Burney. In Goodin's written account of what happened in the classroom, the teacher said, "There was a light-hearted mood in the class as I walked to the supply closet and removed a roll of purple duct tape and a roll of masking tape … The class was laughing. I was laughing. The student was laughing." WJXT was told Goodin took that duct tape and taped the student's leg to his desk before she used the masking tape to tape his hands and his face. "The masking tape was applied to the student's hands. The student immediately removed it, laughing throughout the incident. Within the next few minutes, the 'play' was over, the tape was removed," the teacher wrote in her statement. She ended her account stating, "This incident, was in reality, an opportunity to have fun with the students while getting a message to them. Looking back, I know that it was inappropriate for me to break the lines of formality." The student involved has since been removed from Goodin's classroom. "The reason why we didn't go for something as severe as dismissal, it did appear at least it started out as something more lighthearted," said Duval County Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. Board members said the teaching position at Kirby is the teacher's first job and she has shown good behavior in the past. "I understand that it was a young teacher. I just felt that we needed to send a stronger message," said Burney. Burney was the only board member who voted against Goodin's 10-day suspension, saying she didn't think the punishment was harsh enough. Board members also voted that the teacher should get counseling.

HONOLULU -- Honolulu police said they are investigating the death of a baby on the H-1 Freeway. Witnesses said that they saw a man throw the infant from the Miller Street pedestrian overpass, but police said they are not sure if the child was alive or dead when the man threw the child. It appears the child was hit by at least two cars, officials said. Police arrested Matthew M. Higa, 23, nearby on Prospect Street. They took him to the Honolulu Police Department's cellblock. The man was wearing hospital scrubs. Officials from Queen's Medical Center, which is located near the scene, said he is not a patient. As the man was taken away by police, he yelled, "Thank you for everything" to KITV camera crews. Police said they are not sure where the infant came from, and they are checking local day care facilities in the area to see if anyone is missing a child. H-1 Freeway was closed at the Vineyard Boulevard off-ramp, routing traffic onto city streets. Police reopened all lanes of the freeway at about 4:30 p.m. The police had kept the mauka most lane in the Ewa-bound direction between the Lunalio offramp and the Miller Street overpass closed as crews clear the scene. Major backups were reported on all surface streets. Motorists said the main roads in Honolulu, such as King Street were gridlocked with traffic, moving at a very slow pace.