BRICKBATS.

• Author: Oliver, Charles
• Position: Bird feeding violation; construction of concert venue; popcorn for hardware customers - Brief article

Brad Martell had been feeding birds in the backyard of his Melbourne, Australia, home for 20 years. Then a new neighbor moved in who didn't appreciate Martell's hobby. The neighbor complained to local officials, who fined Martell $200 for feeding wildlife. Martell reduced the amount he feeds the birds and moved the feedings to his front yard. But a few weeks later, he got a summons for nine more charges. It seems local officials had been covertly spying on him and caught him continuing to feed the birds.

Nashville officials spent $7.4 million in federal funds that were supposed to go to victims of a flood in 2010 to design a downtown concert venue. At least two members of the City Council at the time say they were unaware of that decision, and a local TV station reports the project was not mentioned in the "action plan" that council members voted on or in the analysis prepared for them.

For 25 years, Meanley and Son Hardware in San Diego has offered free popcorn to customers. That tradition has come to an end thanks to a local health inspector, who found the store was serving food without a license. The inspector ordered store owners to comply with local regulations, which would require installing a three-basin sink, or to remove the popcorn machine.

For his senior prank, Kylan Scheele listed Truman High School in Missouri for sale on Craigslist. The asking price was just $12,275. School officials suspended him for the remainder of the school year and barred him from taking part in graduation ceremonies. They say the ad was an "implied threat" because it mentioned a "loss of students coming up." Scheele says he was referring to the graduating class.

The operating rooms at the Veterans Administration West Los Angeles Medical Center have had to postpone surgeries and were closed for a total of 22 days between...