Nice to know cops can't talk their way out of speeding tickets, either. Though not for lack of trying.
On her MySpace page, Baltimore City Officer Cynthia Sobotka recounts her efforts to avoid a ticket when stopped in Boydton, Va. for driving 80 mph in a 65 mph zone. By her own account, she was on a road trip to North Carolina, driving a van with a bunch of beer-drinking buddies in back.
"The Officer (a female) asked me for my license and registration," Sobotka wrote. "And hoping it would keep me from getting a ticket, I also gave her my Police Identification card from work. She smugly handed my ID right back and sneered, `Here, I'm not gonna need this.' I knew right then that this wasn't going to turn out well for me.
"Tells me she understands that I'm a Baltimore City Police Officer, but they have a no tolerance policy and everyone gets ticketed. I promptly signed my citation and advised that we, my department, also have a no tolerance policy and asked if she planned to visit Baltimore City any time soon. She didn't find this nearly as funny as me and my cheering section from the back of the van. Then she asks me why I was driving 80 mph anyway. ... I couldn't resist and responded, `Obviously because I didn't see you!' Again, the laughter from the chain gang in the rear of our `short bus' drowned out any comment she may have made after that. Needless to say, I now have to appear in court and plead to the judge for no points."
She got a $75 fine, Virginia court records indicate.
Through a police spokesman, Sobotka acknowledged the MySpace page was hers but declined to comment. Spokesman Sterling Clifford had only this to say: "From what I gather, I'm pleased to see she was acting as a designated driver."
Lesson for the rest of us, who'd never dare get mouthy with a Baltimore cop: If it's Officer Sobotka, give it a try. She seems to have a sense of humor.
Never fear, fries are here
Once the City Council trans fats ban takes effect, where will Baltimoreans get their fill of fries? There's already an upscale alternative at Salt, the Butchers Hill tavern that serves duck fat French fries.
While the animal fat may be only slightly better for you than the hydrogenated stuff, it's said to be quite a treat. "Lipid of kings," says the foodie Web site Chowhound.
Naturally the Butchers Hill tavern would leap at the chance to promote this $9 starter, which comes with "a trio of aioli," right?
