Tribe files suit over construction

Tucson, Ariz. A tribe opposed to the construction of a complex of seven telescopes at a mountain peak that the tribe considers sacred filed suit Wednesday against the National Science Foundation.

The lawsuit by the Tohono O’odham Nation seeks an injunction to halt construction at Kitt Peak National Observatory, and for a judgment that the project is subject to federal historic preservation and environmental laws.

A tribal spokeswoman said groundbreaking began in September for the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescoping Array System, a complex of seven telescopes and support buildings, at the observatory.

The lawsuit said tribal officials told Kitt Peak management personnel during meetings in 2003 the tribe opposed all further development because construction would take place at a spiritually and culturally significant site.

“The National Science Foundation is defiant in delaying construction and complying with federal laws despite repeated demands by state, federal and tribal agencies,” said tribal chairwoman Vivian Juan-Saunders.

Airport worker locked in plane’s cargo hold

Milwaukee An airport worker loading baggage in Milwaukee got locked inside the cargo hold of an airplane that flew to Philadelphia.

The worker was “a little stressed” but uninjured after the unscheduled flight, a spokeswoman for Midwest Airlines said Friday. The cargo hold was heated and pressurized.

The man was stowing a wheelchair on the plane when other employees closed the cargo door because they did not see him, airline spokeswoman Carol Skornicka said.

“He knew where it was going,” she said. “He tried to get somebody’s attention, but it didn’t work. When it landed, he jumped out of the airplane and asked for a cigarette.”

He later flew back to Milwaukee – in the passenger compartment.

“He wanted to finish his shift,” Skornicka said. “We told him he should go home and rest.”

She said the airline would review its procedures.

Woman sentenced for killing Chihuahua

Naples, Fla. A woman has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for killing her neighbor’s Chihuahua with a shotgun, telling the dog’s owner she was horribly frightened by the pooch.

Wanda Ziglar, 49, of Golden Gate, pleaded no contest Tuesday to one felony count of animal cruelty. Senior Judge Jack Schoonover agreed to withhold a formal finding of guilt of the charge.

Ziglar was arrested July 31 after admitting she shot and killed the dog, which belonged to her then-neighbor, Marisol Olegnichar. Ziglar told deputies the Chihuahua repeatedly wandered into her yard.

She said in court that she grabbed a shotgun and fired two warning shots into the air to try to scare off the dog.

“I was scared by the dog. It came out from behind my garbage can,” said Ziglar.

The dog’s owner told Ziglar that she didn’t believe her. “There’s no way a 2-pound dog was going to scare you,” Olegnichar said.