Positive: A man in Seattle, Washington spent the past two years living in a treehouse of his own design. The man, who is homeless, created a platform within a public tree where he cared for a rat, a ferret, and a squirrel. The man is 52 years old and had put a tent, stove, shelves, and a counter on his platform. The man was recently told by authorities to leave his treehouse due to the safety issues (no one wants to get sued). The man didn’t know what to do, until two kind citizens decided to buy him an RV. They 20 year olds found a RV for sale and the owner offered to sell it to them for $500 to help the “squirrelman.” When the man came to deliver the trailer and saw the squirrelman, he agreed to sell it to him for a penny. Now the squirrelman has a permanent home, much to his pleasure. His only problem now is finding a parking spot for his new RV. If you live in the Seattle area or would like to help the squirrelman (David Csaky), please contact Joshua Trujillo (joshuatrujillo@seattlepi.com) a journalist and friend of Mr. Csaky.

Negitive:

Oh Florida, not again. My home state has let me down once more with the beating of a helpless teen in Central Florida. A teenage girl, a resident of Polk County, was lured into another girl’s home where she was ambushed by six teenagers. The girl was beaten severely and it was videotaped by one of the assailants. The six female assailants took turns beating the girl (who never struck them back) while two male teens stood guard. Seven of the eight teens involved will be tried as adults for battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping. The names of the assailants are Mercades Nichols, Brittini Hardcastle, April Cooper, Cara Murphy, Britney Mayes, Kayla Hassell, Zachary Ashley, and Stephen Schumaker. There is currently a gag order on everyone involved in the case and bail for each is set at $30,000.

What I think:Normally, I believe that minor’s names should not be released in criminal cases, but this case has made me appreciate exceptions. This attack was ruthless. The poor victim (who couldn’t have weighed more than 110 pounds) was flung around the room, knocked into the wall, punched and beaten, all for comments she left from a MySpace account that is now believed to have been hacked. What is even sicker is that these teens videotaped the proceedings. This is as sick as a pedophile taping their attack on a child or a rapist videoing a rape. Not only is this stupid, but dangerous and highly incriminating. I hope these kids face stiff punishment for what they did (the ones tried as adults have the possibility for a life sentence).