Odds & Ends

Tiny house

HADLEY, MASS.(AP)>> AMassachusetts woman who has been living in a tiny house she built as a college student is leaving town after voters rejected a proposal that would have made her dwelling legal.

The Republican of Springfield reports voters at a town meeting in Hadley on Thursday decided not to legalize backyard cottages.

Sarah Hastings has been living in her 190-square-foot home on a parcel owned by another couple for the last year.

She built the home while she was an architecture studies student at Mount Holyoke College.

Some residents had objected to the tiny house because Hastings failed to go through the required permitting process.

She was given a day to move out. Hastings says she’ll try to find another location for her house.

Gucci afterlife warning

HONGKONG(AP)>> Gucci and its parent company apologized Friday after drawing heavy criticism for warning some Hong Kong shops not to sell paper offerings for the deceased that resembled the fashion brand’s luxury products.

The brand and its Parisbased owner, Kering, also said in a statement that they regretted any misunderstanding caused by the letters, which were sent to six shops last month.

After meeting with the shop owners, “Kering and Gucci would like to reiterate their utmost respect with regards to the funeral context,” the statement said.

In Hong Kong and some other parts of Asia, people burn paper offerings at funerals and during grave- sweeping festivals for deceased relatives to “use” in the afterlife.

Specialty shops near funeral parlors sell a diverse array of paper offerings, including bundles of “hell money,” mansions, iPhones, cars, cigarettes and designer handbags, cans of beer and soda, mahjong tables and dogs and cats.

The letters, which were sent as part of the companies’ global intellectual property protection efforts, did not suggest legal action or compensation because they did not believe the shop owners intended to infringe on the Gucci trademark, the statement said.

Gucci operates 11 boutiques in Hong Kong and is one of the brands most coveted by shoppers, including many visiting from mainland China, where luxury goods are more expensive because of higher taxes.

Boy steals bus

BANGOR, MAINE(AP)>> Police in Maine say a 12-year-old boy stole a school bus and went on a brief joy ride before being stopped by aman who followed the vehicle and took control of it.

Bangor police say John St. Germain and his girlfriend saw the bus being driven by someone who appeared to be too young to have a license. They began following the bus and called police.

They say that when the bus stopped at an intersection, St. Germain got out of his car and onto the bus, taking control of it.

The 12-year- old was taken into custody.

The Bangor Police Department gave St. Germain an award on Wednesday. Sgt. Tim Cotton says he probably saved much property damage and even injury or death to the boy. Paper offerings, copies of luxury items like cars, handbags and shoes usually burned to appease the spirits of the deceased, are seen for sale at a store in Hong Kong, Friday, May 6, 2016. Gucci and its parent company have apologized after drawing heavy criticism for a warning to some Hong Kong shops not to sell paper offerings for the deceased resembling the fashion brand’s luxury products.