In brief: City bans shops from selling pets

West Hollywood, Calif. – This famously quirky city that formally recognizes pets as companions and their owners as guardians put a leash on dog and cat sales Tuesday.

The West Hollywood City Council voted unanimously to ban stores from selling cats and dogs in a move aimed at curbing puppy mills and kitty factories.

Pet shops will be permitted, however, to offer animals from shelters.

West Hollywood officials acknowledged the new ordinance would have little bite – no pet stores in the city currently sell animals – but they’re hoping other municipalities will follow suit.

Professor hit woman in 2002

Peabody, Mass. – An Alabama professor accused of fatally shooting three colleagues last week had previously admitted in court to punching a woman in a tirade over a booster seat at a Massachusetts restaurant.

Citing a police report, WBZ-AM and the Boston Globe both reported Tuesday that Amy Bishop was charged with assault after the incident in 2002 at the International House of Pancakes in Peabody.

The police report says Bishop became incensed when she found out the other woman had received the restaurant’s last booster seat.

The Globe and WBZ say Bishop received probation for the incident.

Coney Island is coming back

New York – State-of-the-art new rides including a roller coaster and a pendulum will open this summer at Coney Island to jump-start the resurgence of the famed Brooklyn amusement park, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday.

“Coney Island is coming back, big time,” Bloomberg said at a news conference near the boardwalk where the decades-old Astroland rides were dismantled in 2008.

Luna Park at Coney Island will open on Memorial Day weekend with 19 rides.