Week in review

Dairy detractors

For the next few days, Virginia's capital city is being transformed into a cow town, and PETA is protesting. The 2011 National Holstein Convention begins Wednesday in Richmond, with up to 1,500 people from more than 30 states attending. The convention runs through Sunday and includes a Holstein sale at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Milk is Virginia's third largest commodity.

The animal rights group PETA says it will protest outside the convention because of what it says is the poor treatment of milking cows on factory farms. Protesters will wear cow costumes and carry signs that read, "I am not a milk machine."

Stink bug salsa?

Dave Michener, principal of Hillsboro Elementary School in western Loudoun County, did the unthinkable this week: ate a taco topped with stink bug salsa as around 100 students cheered him on. "It was a fantastic experience," Michener told the Washington Post. "The bugs were obviously very crunchy, with a slight after taste."

Michener could only finish one of the beef tacos, which were topped with bugs sauteed in lemon and butter. Why did he subject himself to this experience? Well, he promised he would if the kids at his school met their goal of reading 15 to 20 minutes a day.

Railroad romance

If you're looking for love on the metro, Virginia is the place to go. According to TBD.com, Craigslist has ranked the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU stop on the Orange Line Metro as the top metro/subway station in the nation for "missed connections"-- a collection of posts riders write to strangers they find attractive, but don't have the courage to speak to. "I got on the train around 10 or so at Foggy Bottom right after work," reads one ad. "You are blond haired, about 5'5" with a great smile and gorgeous eyes. You were wearing a black and white dress with a pink sweater.... I feel like a fool for not even saying hi. Meet for coffee sometime?" If that sounds creepy, well, you've missed the train.

Golf carts get green light

Elkton Town Council is giving residents a new way to get around town. The Daily News-Record reports that Town Council approved an ordinance Monday night that allows golf carts on public streets with a maximum speed limit of 25 miles per hour. Elkton has ordered signs to be posted in areas where golf carts are now street-legal. The new rule will go into effect when the signs are posted.

The carts must have safety belts, a mirror, a braking system and adequate steering. If they're driven at night, the ordinance requires headlights, taillights and turn signals. Supporters say street-legal golf carts are a cheaper way to make quick trips around town than cars.

Colossal catfish

The big one didn't get away this time. Virginia game officials say the state could claim a new world record for the largest blue catfish: a 143-pound, 57-inch fish caught Saturday by Nick Anderson of Greenville, N.C., at the Kerr Reservoir along the Virginia-North Carolina border. The current world record of 130 pounds was set last year in Missouri. In March, the current state record was set when a 109-pound blue catfish was caught on Buggs Island Lake near the confluence of the Dan and Roanoke rivers.

Hammer robber

Police are looking for a man armed with a hammer who robbed a Wachovia bank in Dale City Tuesday, Patch.com reported. Police said the suspect, described as a black male over 6 feet tall, allegedly entered the bank with a brown t-shirt wrapped around his head and demanded money, then fled with the money in a black trash bag. Police later found the money and the man's clothing in the woods, but the suspect's status has not yet been released.

Homeless sue

Panhandling is a form of free speech, says a new lawsuit filed by a group of five homeless people against the city of Charlottesville. The Daily Progress reports that Attorney Jeffrey E. Fogel of the ACLU is representing the plaintiffs in a suit that claims the city's anti-soliciting law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and "criminalizes some speech... and not other speech... based on the content of the communication."

The city claims provisions that prevent solicitation from customers conducting businesses at vendors or within 50 feet of the two vehicular crosses on the Downtown Mall are fair and apply equally to everyone, from the homeless to representatives from nonprofits.