Men in need of costumes allegedly rob western store

MINNEAPOLIS – A 23-year-old has been charged with first-degree aggravated robbery in connection with an Oct. 31, 2007 holdup at a western-wear store, where he and another man took belts and cowboy boots to wear to a Halloween party.

Jesus Orlando Sotelo, of Minneapolis, has also been charged with aiding an offender to avoid arrest.

Another man, 32-year-old Rodolfo Herrera Montenegro, of Minneapolis, reportedly implicated Sotelo in the crime. He has since pleaded guilty to other robberies and is in prison.

Montenegro told police they wanted to go to a Halloween party in style but the store, El Primo, was too expensive. So they bought gorilla and skeleton masks and robbed the store.

Sotelo’s next court appearance is on Halloween.

Legislators pick ‘Moby-Dick’ as official Mass. ‘epic novel’

BOSTON – The question of whether to choose an official book for the state of Massachusetts made for a whale of a debate.

The state House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill naming “Moby-Dick” the state’s official “epic novel.”

That was a compromise after some lawmakers questioned Rep. Christopher Speranzo’s proposal to dub Herman Melville’s 1851 classic the “official book,” given the state’s rich literary history.

“It really did open a lively discussion,” Speranzo said.

Rep. Cory Atkins said she was “appalled” and contended her district in Concord has “more authors per square mile than any other.”

“What about Louisa May Alcott? What about (Nathaniel) Hawthorne? How am I going to face my constituents?” she said.

The bill needs to pass the Senate and get the governor’s signature.

Speranzo, who read the book in college, sponsored the bill at the urging of elementary school students in his Berkshires district.

From Associated Press reports