IN BRIEF
PEST MEETINGS SET
Officials gear up to battle invasion of Mormon crickets
State agriculture officials are gearing up for an invasion of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets in Northern Nevada.
State Entomologist Jeff Knight says unusually high numbers of crop-eating grasshoppers are expected in Northern Nevada this spring.
Public meetings will be held across Northern Nevada in February and March on the possible use of certain pesticides to control the insect infestations on lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Meetings are set for Feb. 16 in Ely, March 4 in Reno and March 8 in Elko, Battle Mountain and Winnemucca.
GUNSHOT VICTIM
Boy, 3, finds gun under couch, shoots himself in the head
A 3-year-old boy found a gun and shot himself in the head Saturday in an Arizona community. Rural/Metro Fire Department spokesman Mark Cichoki said the incident happened at a residence in Queen Creek.
Cichoki said the boy found a gun under a couch or a bed and pulled the trigger. The child was taken by helicopter to Maricopa Medical Center.
Cichoki said the boy was breathing but suffered massive injuries.
LIGHT POLICE WORK
Man, suspected of thefts, tried to hide in a police station
Police say a man, suspected of stealing a bottle of schnapps from a Wyoming grocery store didn't have the best escape route planned.
Riverton, Wyo., police say the 26-year-old ran out of the store after grabbing the bottle of liquor and a package of cough drops this week and hid in a nearby building -- the police station. He ran out, but not before a dispatcher saw him. The man was taken into custody on charges of resisting arrest and shoplifting.
CONSUMPTION FEES
Group seeking to repeal the Phoenix City tax on groceries
A Libertarian group is trying to repeal the food tax adopted this week by the Phoenix City, Ariz., Council.
The "Don't Tax Our Food" group filed paperwork Friday with the City Clerk's Office. They will begin fundraising and collecting signatures to put a ballot measure before voters that would overturn the 2 percent sales tax on milk, eggs and other grocery items.
