Leaving dog poop not a crime

School-age pranksters everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief. A former Democratic Party activist in Colorado was found not guilty of illegally using a noxious substance when she left dog feces on the doorstep of Republican U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s office. Kathleen Ensz, who was the vice chairman of a state Senate district for her party, resigned from the job last fall. Ensz’s lawyer said her prosecution was due to politics, telling the Rocky Mountain News , “She was the first person prosecuted in Weld County for leaving dog crap.”

A porn star’s blog led to the firing of a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper. The woman, who goes by the name Barbie Cummings, posted video footage and a blog entry claiming she had oral sex with the 10-year-veteran trooper during a traffic stop, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel , which posted an exclusive video interview with the woman. She said the trooper gave her the video of the encounter, as well as something else to remember him by: a speeding ticket.

People’s private parts would be shielded from the public eye under an Assembly-passed bill in the Nevada Legislature. The “video voyeurism” measure would ban photographing or videotaping and then publishing the “private areas” of others against their wishes, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal . Unfortunately for singer Britney Spears, whose bared bits were caught by paparazzi, the bill isn’t retroactive.

A Georgia lawmaker charged with driving under the influence after hitting a utility pole Sunday was named “Legislator of the Year” two days later by James magazine, which covers Georgia politics. Magazine publisher Matt Towery, a former Republican lawmaker, said the magazine chose state Rep. Ben Harbin (R) before the crash but still considered him the right choice. “We were sorry that the timing was the way it was, but there is just nothing you can do about that,” he told the Atlanta bureau of The Associated Press .

The California Bureau of Unclaimed Property has $5 billion in unclaimed funds, as well as a list of those who haven’t claimed their property, including Disneyland, the governor’s office … and the Bureau of Unclaimed Property. After learning that the bureau listed itself on its Web site as the owner of $6,703.50 in unclaimed funds, the state quickly removed the entry, The Oakland Tribune reports. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t have notified ourselves,” said a spokeswoman from the office that oversees the bureau.