In brief: Five Western governors want more control of federal land

Las Vegas – Anticipating the bitter battle to come, governors from five Western states will meet in Salt Lake City today to devise strategies to persuade Washington to give them more control over federal land within their own boundaries.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, who will host fellow governors from Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming, said Western states need unity in their stance against federal control of millions of acres of land.

He says burdensome regulations restrict energy development and limit recreational access in states where the federal government owns a majority of the land. Washington controls 66 percent of acreage in Utah, the highest percentage of the five states.

“The governor is trying to set the table for a frank conversation among Western governors. The desire is to speak in a unified voice, because the issues involved are as broad as immigration policy and how to use public lands,” Ally Isom, a spokeswoman for Herbert, told the Los Angeles Times.

Last month, Herbert signed legislation authorizing Utah to seize federal lands in 2014 unless the federal government relinquishes ownership. Arizona lawmakers have passed a similar bill, which must be signed by the governor.

Man dies at 103 after living 94 years with bullet in his head

Turlock, Calif. – The man who held the Guinness World Record for living the longest with a bullet in his head has died in Central California at age 103.

The Modesto Bee reported that William Lawlis Pace died in his sleep at a Turlock nursing home Monday – 94 years and six months after his older brother accidentally shot him with their father’s .22-caliber rifle in 1917.

Pace learned in 2006 that he had been crowned the world record-holder in the category of unwanted cranial ammunition acquisition.

His son told a newspaper during a birthday party for his father last year that doctors in Pace’s native Texas left the bullet in place because they worried that surgery might cause brain damage.

The injury damaged one of his eyes and facial nerves but didn’t prevent Pace from working as a cemetery custodian.

Landlord sues over renters’ claim that house was haunted

Toms River, N.J. – A New Jersey landlord has filed a lawsuit against a couple who claim their rented house was haunted.

Landlord Richard Lopez is seeking damages in state court from Michelle Callan and her fiance. Lopez said their claim will scare away potential new tenants or buyers of the house in Toms River.

The Asbury Park Press reported that the couple fled the house in March. The couple said they found clothes mysteriously ejected from closets and heard all kinds of strange noises, including the sound of something being dragged through the basement.

The couple and the landlord also are in litigation over the security deposit.

Lopez has said the couple bolted because they apparently couldn’t afford the rent. The couple denies that.