New York lawsuit: Andy Warhol Foundation's banana use is unappealing to the Velvet Undergroud

NEW YORK (AP).- Legendary rock band The Velvet Underground sued the Andy Warhol Foundation on Wednesday, saying the banana design created by Warhol and used by group on its first album cover in 1967 should not be used by or sold for use by others.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan claimed the foundation slipped up when it licensed the design for use on iPhone and iPad products and has ignored repeated requests to stop licensing the banana image.

The lawsuit cited the success of the group's first record, saying it became known as "The Banana Album" because of the design and it has since become a symbol of The Velvet Underground. It asked a judge to declare that the foundation has no copyrights in the design because it is in the public domain and that the band be awarded any profits the foundation has received.

read full article at http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=52974

Lawsuit displays rift among Grove City, Minn., council, employees and residents

GROVE CITY — A civil lawsuit that questioned the legality of Grove City municipal employees joining a labor union has pitted residents, elected officials and staff against each other — costing the small Meeker County community dearly.
After spending thousands of dollars in legal fees, the city and the citizens’ group that sued reached a settlement last fall.
But the financial and emotional costs continue to mount and threaten to rip the small town apart at the seams.
Last month, a city councilwoman threatened to resign if calm isn’t restored.
On Tuesday a councilman did resign, in dramatic fashion, while alleging that the current council has “hidden agendas,” has conducted illegal meetings and has taken actions that are not serving the taxpayers and could ultimately lead to additional lawsuits.

Read full story at http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/88684/

Marijuana lawsuit dismissed

PHOENIX (KPHO) -
A medical marijuana dispensary may be coming to a neighborhood near you.
After a federal judge's ruling yesterday, card carriers said they are one step closer to getting what they want.
"By the thousands, hundreds of thousands, we see people come in here every day," said We Grow Owner, Sunny Singh, "We are not a dispensary. We don't have any marijuana here."
Since proposition 203 passed in November of 2010, medical marijuana cards have been issued but there have not been any dispensaries allowed to open.
A Federal law suit filed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has been standing in the way was dismissed by Federal Judge Susan Bolton Wednesday.
"It's a huge thing for us," said card carrier James Goulding. "I will be able to have far easier access to the medicine rather than either having to grow it myself or go patient to patient on Craig's list and stuff like that."
But not so fast, County Attorney Bill Montgomery said there could be some real dangers associated with opening a dispensary.
"Any person or business, who is dealing in medical marijuana, is trafficking in marijuana and that's a class two felony," Montgomery said.

Read  full story at http://www.kpho.com/story/16457908/mar

Lawsuits against VA center allege harassment

TAMPA --One employee claims she was harassed and intimidated because she is a Muslim from Syria. Another woman says she was forced to resign after rebuffing a sexual advance from a supervisor.

These are some of the accusations personnel at Bay Pines VA Medical Center have made in separate federal lawsuits against Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. One suit was filed in October, the other in November.

The VA doesn't comment on lawsuits, said spokesman Drew Brookie. An attempt to contact Bay Pines officials was unsuccessful.

Roula Baroudi, who has worked at Bay Pines for more than 15 years, is claiming she is being discriminated against at one of the nation's busiest veterans hospitals because she is a Muslim from Syria.

 Read full article at http://www2.tbo.com/news/prep-sports/2012/jan/03/menewso3-lawsuits-against-va-center-allege-harassm-ar-342993/

Ballot lawsuit

Virginia's strict rules for getting on the March 6 primary ballot aren't too popular, at least among presidential candidates who didn't make the cut.

Only two candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are set to appear on the ballot. Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry were cut from the list because they didn't meet the state's requirement to collect at least 10,000 signatures from registered voters including 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts.

Perry filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 27 against the Virginia State Board of Elections and the chairman of the state Republican Party, alleging that the stringent requirements are unconstitutional.

read full article at http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/301601/ballot-lawsuit?SESSd7c9d764710789a1a3eb9e03630d5a8e=google

Palm Beach County files lawsuit challenging state gun law

Palm Beach County Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the Legislature's ability to penalize local officials for regulating guns.
The Legislature this year passed a measure, backed by the National Rifle Association, that imposes $5,000 fines on city or county officials that try to enforce local firearms regulations. Local officials can even be removed from office.
The Legislature since the 1980s has maintained that only the state can enact gun laws, but local cities and counties did it anyway.

read full article at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-guns-lawsuit-palm-20111206,0,761214.story

Lawsuit Demands EPA Reduce PCBs In Spokane Rive

Environmentalists say the EPA has failed to enforce clean water rules on the Spokane River to reduce levels of PCBs. Two groups filed a lawsuit Monday against the federal government over the cancer-causing compounds.

The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River.

The Sierra Club says the Spokane River is the most PCB-polluted river in Washington. And the group argues the Clean Water Act requires regulators to create a clean-up plan for the river that sets limits on the toxic chemicals.

The Sierra Club and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy have filed suit in federal court in Seattle to establish that threshold. The Center's Suzanne Skinner says state regulators continue to issue permits to polluters on the Spokane River.

"It's a huge health problem," she says. "PCBs bio-accumulate in fats. Anytime you're exposed to them, you store them. And they also accumulate in the fish that are in the river, and so depending on where the fish are going... the implications can go everywhere."

A spokeswoman for the Washington Department of Ecology says it's hard to target specific sources because PCBs are so common in the soil and air.

She says her agency and the EPA have developed an alternative strategy for monitoring and cleaning up PCBs in the Spokane River.

Fish consumption advisories are in effect for several segments of the river. The commercial manufacturing of PCBs was banned in 1979. But the chemicals are slow to break down and continue to enter the river through storm water and industrial discharges.

On the Web:

Wash. Department of Ecology - Spokane River:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/urbanwaters/spokaneriver.html

Sierra Club - Spokane River Project:

http://www.washington.sierraclub.org/uppercol/spokaneriver/project.html

EPA - PCBs overview:

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/index.htm

Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network
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