Portland Prom Prank Probed

APRIL 24–Oregon educators want law enforcement officials to probe who was responsible for mailing parents a letter on school letterhead suggesting that they supply students with alcohol at post-prom parties. The letter, a copy of which you’ll find below, was sent this week to families of students at Portland’s Lincoln High School. Recipients of the missive were urged to consider opening their homes this Saturday for parties as “a safe, secure place for students to have fun,” adding if adults “provide the alcohol, you can have peace of mind knowing that they did not acquire it illegally. Condoms were included with the letters–which were written on Portland Public Schools stationery–since “STD epidemics have spread through other high school communities and we want to prevent such an outbreak as best we can.”

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Dave Thomas is rolling over in his grave

(AP) After two past rejections, the owner of Arby’s shaved roast beef sandwich restaurants is buying Wendy’s, the fast-food chain famous for its made-to-order square hamburgers and chocolate Frosty dessert, for around $2 billion.

Triarc Companies Inc., which is owned by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, said Thursday it will pay about $2.34 billion in an all-stock deal for the nation’s third-largest hamburger chain started in 1969 by Dave Thomas. Wendy’s had rejected at least two buyout offers from Triarc.

Thomas’ daughter Pam Thomas Farber said the family was devastated by the news.

“It’s a very sad day for Wendy’s, and our family. We just didn’t think this would be the outcome,” said Farber, 53.

If her father were alive to hear news of the buyout, “he would not be amused,” she said.

Thomas became a household face when he began pitching his burgers and fries in television commercials in 1989.

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Florida considers Christian license plate

MIAMI, Florida (AP) — Florida drivers can order more than 100 specialty license plates celebrating everything from manatees to the Miami Heat, but one now under consideration would be the first in the nation to explicitly promote a specific religion.

The Florida Legislature is considering a specialty plate with a design that includes a Christian cross, a stained-glass window and the words “I Believe.”

Rep. Edward Bullard, the plate’s sponsor, said people who “believe in their college or university” or “believe in their football team” already have license plates they can buy. The new design is a chance for others to put a tag on their cars with “something they believe in,” he said.

If the plate is approved, Florida would become the first state to have a license plate featuring a religious symbol that’s not part of a college logo. Approval would almost certainly face a court challenge.

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U.S. businessman aims to bring ‘badly needed’ fun to Baghdad

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Llewellyn Werner acknowledges he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers never have to deal with. Such as mortar attacks, stray gunfire and random looting.

But when you’re building your amusement park in downtown Baghdad, those risks come with the territory.

The California businessman is pouring millions of dollars into developing the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive U.S.-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum.

“The people of Iraq need this kind of positive influence. It’s going to have a huge psychological impact,” said Mr. Werner, chairman of C3, a Los Angeles based holding company for private-equity firms.

The mayor of Baghdad has granted Mr. Werner a 50-year lease on a development property for an undisclosed sum.

The 20-hectare swath of land, which sits adjacent to the Green Zone and encompasses the Baghdad Zoo, was looted, left without power and largely abandoned after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

In the years that followed, it became an occasional target for insurgent attacks.

However, in recent months, Iraqi families have begun to return to the area for weekend picnics. Renovations have already begun on the zoo, with cages being repainted and new animals arriving, including ostriches, bears and a lion.

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