Obscenity

DENVER -- Claiming that Colorado has become a haven for sexually explicit books, magazines and videos, a conservative group here is promoting an initiative on the November ballot that would give local communities more power to outlaw such materials.The measure, which won a place on the ballot after a petition drive gathered more than 80,000 signatures, has alarmed civil libertarians in Colorado, who say that its passage would mean widespread censorship of books and movies.But proponents of the initiative, Amendment 16, say that it is needed because dealers of pornography are moving to the state to take advantage of a relatively liberal free-speech clause in the Colorado Constitution.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- In the first conviction of its kind in the country, Fort Lauderdale record store owner Charles Freeman was found guilty by an all-white jury yesterday of obscenity in selling 2 Live Crew's rap album, "As Nasty As They Wanna Be."Freeman, a 32-year-old father of four, buried his head in his arms and cried as the verdict was announced.The panel of five women and one man, who ranged in age from 29 to 51, took less than 90 minutes to reach their verdict, which could send Freeman to jail.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Gregg Olson was the highest bubble as the Orioles reached the boiling point here last night.Obviously furious at home plate umpire Dale Ford, the Orioles' relief ace was the eye of the post-game storm following last night's 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins. After Olson (0-2) gave up a broken-bat, game-winning, 10th-inning single to pinch hitter Randy Bush, he berated Ford as he left the field.When he reached the dugout, the frustrated Olson made an obscene gesture at a roving television camera that was focused on him. Later, after cooling down in the trainer's room for 45 minutes, Olson first said he was unaware of what he had done, and then apologized.

The Howard County Liquor Board fined a north Laurel restaurant $1,000 yesterday and suspended its liquor license for seven days.The board said Good Guys Bar and Grill allowed female dancers there to dance obscenely, expose private body parts and let male customers touch them and stuff money into their scanty costumes.The liquor license suspension begins 9 a.m. April 18 and continues until 9 a.m. April 25.The County Council sitting as the Liquor Board fined the restaurant for allowing customers to place money into the dancer's costumes.

Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy yesterday apologized for his conduct on the sideline of Monday night's 33-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Cameras caught Levy screaming at officials at several points during the game, and, though he couldn't be heard, it was clear some profanity was being used.NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said that the league would review tapes of the game to determine whether Levy should be fined for violating league policy that prohibits players and coaches from using obscenities in public.

The National Science Foundation is paying more than $200,000 for a study whose results might be unprintable. The grant's title, "Expressive Content and the Semantics of Contexts," doesn't sound exciting, until you figure out what "expressive content" means. Christopher Potts, a linguist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will catalog and analyze the use of obscenities, vulgarities and racial epithets, as well as titles and honorifics. All are words or phrases that express emotion, or whose absence can convey an emotion, such as disrespect.

Cal Ripken Jr. , baseball's Mr. Clean, aired a little dirty laundry on a radio quiz show. Appearing on NPR's "Wait Wait … Don't Tell Me!" last weekend, Ripken was asked about the infamous 1989 baseball card bearing the image of teammate-brother Billy Ripken holding a bat with an obscenity scrawled on the end. The Ironman went on to reveal that Billy isn't the only Ripken who knows how to curse. Peter Sagal , host of the show, asked Ripken if he ever gets tired of living up to his good-boy image.

Anne Arundel County prosecutors have dropped the more serious of two charges against a former Broadneck High School teacher and basketball coach that were related to an alleged relationship with a male student. A charge of soliciting child pornography was dropped Friday against Erin Nicole Thorne, 28, of Arnold. The remaining count is displaying obscene material to a minor. "As the investigation continued after charges were filed, it was determined that the misdemeanor charge was the more appropriate count on which to move forward," said Kristin Fleckenstein, spokeswoman for the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office.

For the record: Julie Shanklin did not, as a 16-year-old girl in the 1970s, take up the hem of her Gino's uniform to make it a mini-dress. She was 5 foot 11, OK? And because she was so tall, the red-and-white dress was short on her, even by 1970s standards. "My mom was like, 'Is there any hem we could let out?'" There was not, so Shanklin paired her uniform with the ruffled bloomers her mother wore square dancing. "It would have been obscene. " Even with obscenity averted, Shanklin caught the eye of Harold Autry, also 16 and working as a cook at the same Gino's in Montgomery County.

TOKYO -- Some tasks simply cannot be automated -- even in Japan.In a bonded warehouse in the port of Yokohama's customs area, dozens of housewives sit at rows of desks, armed with coarse sandpaper practicing a peculiar skill: rubbing out the most explicit parts of pictures in magazines like Playboy or Penthouse.Following marked copies provided by supervisors, each woman scratches away the pubic hair and exposed genital areas from the photos on one page. Then she passes the magazine to the next woman, who scratches a patch or two from another page.