TASERED TEEN GETS PROBATION FOR BUMRUSHING THE PHILLIES SHOW
Steven Consalvi, the Montgomery County teenager tasered by a Philadelphia cop after he ran onto the field during a May 3 Phillies game, was sentenced yesterday to probation for the stunt. Consalvi, 17, of Gilbertsville, was ordered by a Philadelphia Family Court judge to remain on probation for six months and to perform 80 hours of community service. If Consalvi successfully completes the sentence his record will be expunged. He was charged with defiant trespass, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after his little escapade at a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The video of the teen dashing across the field with the cop in hot pursuit was replayed on newscasts nationwide and became an Internet hit. [via DAILY NEWS]
DARTH ‘VADER PROJECT’ TO GO ON AUCTION AT FREEMANS
Surely, Darth Vader is one of the most memorable movie images of the late 20th century. The Jedi Knight who turned on his fellow champions of the Force to join the Dark Side and thus set in motion Star Wars evokes the image of Lucifer in Paradise Lost. Like the fallen angel of Milton’s epic, Vader, a tortured soul who wears a helmet and mask and speaks with an amplified voice, is as much a tragic figure as an evil one, defeated at last by his own son, Luke Skywalker. So it should come as no surprise that someone should dream up the idea for a Vader Project, allowing 100 of the best underground artists and designers working today to be given a scale Darth Vader helmet to customize as they saw fit. Nor was it a surprise that, when it came time to sell the “reimagined” helmets, the assignment went to Freeman’s pop culture department. The 100 helmets, ranging from a pink helmet titled Darth Vader Is Gay to a playful one called The Dork Side, will go on the block at noon July 10 at the gallery, 1808 Chestnut St. [via THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER]
SO FAR BP HAS SPENT $2.35 BILLION ON THE GULF SPILL
Embattled oil major BP PLC (BP) said Friday it has spent $2.35 billion to date to clean up, contain and payout claims and grants to the states on the Gulf of Mexico that have been impacted by the U.S.’s largest oil spill. BP said a total of 364,500 barrels of oil have been recovered or flared by its containment systems to date, with 16,830 barrels collected on Wednesday alone. The BP systems also flared 36.7 million cubic feet of gas. BP said the two systems continue to collect oil and gas flowing from the Deepwater Horizon’s failed blowout preventer and transport them to vessels on the surface. With the successful reinstallation of a cap on the blowout prevent on Wednesday, BP may be able to stick to its plan of capturing 53,000 barrels a day by early next week, nearly doubling its capacity to contain the leaking oil. The cap connects with the vessel via a mile-long pipe, helping siphon up to 18,000 barrels of crude a day. Government and independent scientists estimate that about 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day are flowing from the well. To date, almost 74,000 claims have been filed and more than 39,000 payments have been made, totaling almost $126 million. [via THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]