(via Sploid)
"[T]he new telepaper won't be much competition for the twenty-cent street edition."Whew! Looks like you dodged a bullet there, mainstream press!
When the power goes out on a hot day, most people assume overuse of air conditioning is to blame.Wouldn't we all?
But from June 12 through July 7, four substation outages in Portland's westside suburbs and in North Portland were caused by adorably nimble, fluffy-tailed and overly adventurous squirrels.
All four outages were in PGE territory and one — the Oak Hills substation at Northwest Cornell Road and Twin Oaks Drive in Beaverton — was hit twice. (By different squirrels, of course.)
"This is clearly an unusual convergence of squirrel activity," said Steve Corson, spokesman for PGE. "We'd like to have a break from squirrels for awhile."
An Indiana Michigan Power spokesman says a squirrel got into a substation in Elkhart County and knocked out power to more than 4,000 customers.
Local legends suggest that Rheithrosciurus, which is thought to mostly eat giant acorns, can be savage. Hunters say that the squirrels will perch on low branches, jump onto a deer, gash its jugular vein, and disembowel the carcass.Um...yeah. Good luck with all that.
Berkeley's squirrels can relax: The city is not going to gas them to death.Sure. Punish the humans.
After months of deliberation by a specially convened squirrel subcommittee, the city staff has decided that the best way to control the chubby rodents is to stop feeding them.
The City Council unanimously approved a new city law Tuesday night that criminalizes the feeding of wildlife in city parks. Those caught throwing peanuts or breadcrumbs to squirrels, gophers or other critters could face a $1,000 fine, six months in jail or both.