Leaving Arizona: Sarah Palin’s vacation compound in Maricopa, Arizona, went on the market in early January, listed at $2.499 million. Palin purchased the home in 2011 for $1.695 million, prompting rumors she might run for Jon Kyle’s Senate seat when he retired in 2013 or wait for John McCain’s retirement. The 7,971-square-foot stucco house sits on 4.4 acres of desert landscaping and faux grass.
And the earth is flat: A North Carolina town rejected plans to rezone land for a solar farm after two residents warned local officials that it would cause cancer, stop plants from growing and suck up all the energy from the sun, leaving everyone to freeze, according to the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald.
No room at the shelter: In mid-December, a Kentucky town booted women and children from its only homeless shelter to keep them from “tempting” the men. The shelter’s fundamentalist Christian director told a local news station that an exception could be made for women and children accompanied by male relatives. The women were sent to a shelter in a town 30 minutes away, according to AlterNet.
Steakless state dinner: NBA champ John Salley, a vegetarian since 1990 and vegan since 2008, recently challenged first lady Michelle Obama, an advocate of healthy eating, to take PETA’s 30-day vegan pledge. “Vegan eating is not just a slam dunk for human health; it’s also the most effective way to combat climate change,” Salley wrote to the first lady. There’s been no word on menu changes at the White House.
Vegetarian humanitarian: Ellen DeGeneres, another famous vegetarian, recently won Favorite Humanitarian at the fan-based People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles. DeGeneres said the award “sums me up perfectly as I am both a human and an itarian.”
City hall brawl: The mayor of Alabama’s largest city and a city councilor beat each other so badly during a backroom brawl at Birmingham City Hall that both landed in the hospital. The two were reportedly fighting over an undisclosed personal issue.
Sneeze attack: In Joliet, Illinois, a woman was jailed on a battery charge after she “intentionally sneezed” in a bailiff’s face, spattering her with a “mucus type substance,” according to a police report. The sneezy assailant was in a Will County courtroom for a traffic case. The offensive discharge came after the bailiff repeatedly reprimanded the woman for putting her feet on the seats and speaking loudly while the judge was on the bench.
Listen up: Among the many 2016 trend reports WiG received in early January was this dispatch from Voices.com: 2016 is shaping up to be another year of growth for the voice-over industry. Listen for these trends: Out with the “announcer” guy and in with the “girl/guy next door” sound. And scripts with more story.
Climbers down: In 2015, for the first time in 41 years, not a single person stood on the summit of Mount Everest during an entire calendar year. After a record 358 permits were issued to climbers at the start of the year, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal in April, claiming 8,000-plus lives across the country and a record 18 (or 24, the numbers vary) on the mountain, according to London’s Telegraph.
No hats allowed: An executive producer for the program Good Day Chicago on Fox 32 Chicago banned female reporters from wearing hats during live outdoor shots, saying that women “look a lot better without hats.” But his heart isn’t all frozen. There’s an exception when the thermometer reads 20 degrees or colder, Chicago media critic Robert Feder reported. Male reporters are exempt from the ban.
Rubio’s growing support: Sen. Marco Rubio recently hit the presidential campaign standing 3 inches taller than his usual 5’10,” thanks to a pair of black boots with seriously high heels, reported The Hill. Rubio must have grown tired of looking like a pip squeak next to his former mentor Jeb Bush, who’s 6’3,” The Donald, who’s 6’2” and Ben Carson, who’s 6 feet tall.
The love boat: Melissa Etheridge recently announced she’s headlining a concert cruise departing Tampa on Oct. 31 and traveling to Key West, Florida, and Cozumel, Mexico. She’ll be sharing the stage with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Cains, Lucy Angel, New Howell, Olivia Lane and DJ Tracy Young. Is this the replacement for the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival?
Say what? Wayne State University’s Word Warriors list is out with words the school thinks we should use more often in conversation and prose. The list includes “absquatulate,” “anathema,” “epigone,” “puerile,” “rumpus,” “sockdolager,” “sybaritic,” “torpid,” “turpitude” and “delectation.” WiG’s resolution for 2016 is to use all of these words in its continued coverage of the 2016 presidential race.