Odds and Ends

EASTLAKE, Ohio - Don't blame the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge if this northeast Ohio city isn't quite as jolly and bright for Christmases to come.

City officials say money - or a lack of it - is causing them to put costly holiday decorations up for sale.

In the last 10 years, Eastlake has spent $130,000 on holiday lights, displays and banners. Nearly $50,000 of the cost was offset by donations.

"In the foreseeable future, we're not going to have the kind of money to put on that kind of display," Mayor Ted Andrzejewski said recently. "I like the Christmas season, but we have to do it within our means."

Andrzejewski said he's willing to sell the decorations for the right price. His community about 20 miles northeast of Cleveland has a $3.2 million budget deficit.

Available items include snowball-throwing teddy bears that cost the city $7,025, an animated giraffe and a lighted peacock.

The city plans to string lights on trees in front of City Hall this year, but most of the decorations will be kept in storage.

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PHILADELPHIA - At the start of the holiday shopping season, The Philadelphia Inquirer inadvertently offered an early bird special of its own.

The early edition of Sunday's Inquirer, which is published on Saturday, was mistakenly priced at 50 cents instead of the usual $1.50.

"Mistakes happen," said Amanda Bennett, The Inquirer's editor. "I wish that wasn't the case, but it was. We'll move on."

Major retailers were notified of the mistake Saturday morning.

"They rallied and some put stickers on them that said $1.50," said Michael Probestle, vice president for circulation for Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., which publishes The Inquirer.

Probestle said retailers who lost money as a result of the misprint would be compensated.

About 80,000 copies of the early edition, also known as the bulldog edition, are sold at newsstands each week. The paper's total Sunday circulation is about 742,000, said Probestle.

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LOS ANGELES - A gallstone the size of a golf ball - about 16 times the size of a normal one - has been removed from a 56-year-old man, doctors say. The massive growth was the result of a stent inadvertently left in his body from a pancreatic operation more than a decade ago.

Gonzalo Medina underwent surgery Monday at a hospital in Los Angeles. The procedure "went fine," according to his doctor, Ian Kenner.

"In 30 years of treating gallstones, I have never seen one of this size," Kenner said, adding it was amazing that Medina wasn't killed by it. "It's a tribute to the human body, and in this case, a particularly resilient one."

More than a year ago, Medina began suffering from chills, stomach pain and fever. A scan taken in October revealed a stent had been left in his body during surgery 12 years ago, officials said.

Medina previously underwent a procedure that sends shock waves to the gallstone to fragment it while the patient is submerged in water. He will likely face more operations, doctors said.

"It took 12 years getting into this state, and now we are trying to get him free of problems," Medina's doctor said.

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TOWER, Minn. - You betcha it gets cold up here, but how will we know how cold this year?

This small northeastern Minnesota town that recorded the state's record low in 1996 - a pretty nippy 60 degrees below zero - is without an official weather observer.

The woman who previously held the post left in mid-October; she'd reported Tower's daily temperature and precipitation since 1972.

In the meantime, highs and lows are being recorded at a building in town that stands at a higher elevation than the official weather station. Colder air typically drains into the valley.

Tower, about 35 miles south of the Canadian border, and nearby Embarrass usually vie for Minnesota's daily low, forecasters say. Both towns are generally apart by a degree or two.

Mike Stewart, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service in Duluth, said the agency is searching for a replacement to fill the spot in the valley.

"It's not going to go by the wayside. It's very important to keep that going there," Stewart said Monday.

Embarrass still has an official observer, Stewart said. The low there was 8 below zero Monday.