Free Republic

The Fresno City Council president vows the Confederate battle flag will never legally fly over Fresno City Hall. Not that it’s ever likely to happen. Not that it’s ever happened as far as City Hall veterans can recall. Council President Oliver Baines on Thursday is proposing a law that would prohibit the city from displaying or selling the Confederate battle flag. The law would not apply to private organizations or individuals. California lawmakers last year passed a similar law that applies to state government agencies. The Confederate flag on South Carolina’s State House grounds was recently removed. Baines’ proposal comes...

Police in Mecklenburg County have issued an arrest warrant for Ric Flair’s ex-wife. Jacqueline Baines Beems was wanted for allegedly making a harassing phone call, according to the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office. According to the celebrity website TMZ.com, the warrant stems from a series of harassing phone calls Beems allegedly made in October to Flair’s girlfriend, Wendy Barlow Kidder. Kidder recently appeared with Flair on Celebrity Wife Swap. Flair and Beems were also involved in an altercation at the couple’s SouthPark condo in June 2012, when they were still married. According to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department report, Beems assaulted the former...

TAMPA - A 21-year-old Clearwater man , Benjamin Barnes, Jr, was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said. If convicted, Baines faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for a federal charge of attempting to board an airplane with a concealed dangerous weapon. He is currently serving a 30 day sentence after pleading guilty Monday to a state misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon. About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, airport security ran Benjamin Baines Jr.'s backpack through an X-ray machine and...

TIA Passenger Had Box Cutter In Hollowed-Out Book Photo provided by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. A security officer at Tampa International Airport found a box cutter hidden in a hollowed-out book on Sunday. By Thomas W. Krause of The Tampa Tribune Published: February 20, 2008 TAMPA - A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said. Benjamin Baines Jr. If convicted, Baines faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for a federal charge of attempting to board...

He forgot it was there: TIA Passenger Had Box Cutter In Hollowed-Out Book. TAMPA — A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said. About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, airport security ran Benjamin Baines Jr.’s backpack through an X-ray machine and saw the image of a box cutter, according to a report from the Transportation Security Administration. When searching the backpack, a security officer found a book titled “Fear Itself.” The book was hollowed out, and the box cutter was inside. After Baines was read...

Manchester — Ward 3 alderman Frank Guinta has upset Manchester Mayor Robert Baines in the city’s mayoral contest, election results show. With all 12 of the city’s wards reporting, Guinta received 10,115 votes while Baines, the city’s three-term mayor, received 9,579 votes, according to unofficial results. The Republican alderman beat the Democrat mayor in a surprising victory, and Baines has conceded defeat. Voters in Laconia, for their part, enacted a city tax cap by a 1842-1708 margin. The cap will limit the Laconia city council from increasing the budget by more than the federal Consumer Price Index. Matt Lahey was...