A highlight of the recent upmarket surge in Brooklyn as a residential and retail favorite was the asking price for an ordinary parking space in a garage at 845 Union Street in the Park Slope neighborhood: $300,000 (also carrying a $240-a-month condominium fee and $50 monthly taxes). That's similar to the price of actual one-bedroom apartments in less ritzy Brooklyn neighborhoods like Gravesend, just a few miles away.

Compelling explanation

Saginaw, Mich., defense lawyer Ed Czuprynski had beaten a felony DWI arrest in December, but was sentenced to probation on a lesser charge in the incident, and among his restrictions was a prohibition on drinking alcohol — which Czuprynski acknowledged in March that he has since violated at least twice. However, at that hearing (which could have meant jail time for the violations), Czuprynski used the opportunity to beg the judge to remove the restriction altogether, arguing that he can't be "effective" as a lawyer unless he is able to have a drink now and then. At press time, the judge was still undecided.

Science!

Scientists at Columbia University and the New York Genome Center announced that they have digitally stored (and retrieved) a movie, an entire computer operating system and a $50 gift card on a single drop of DNA. In theory, wrote the researchers in the journal Science, they might store, on one gram of DNA, 215 "petabytes" (i.e., 215 million gigabytes — enough to run, say, 10 million HD movies) and could reduce all the data housed in the Library of Congress to a small cube of crystals.

Perspective

American chef Dan Barber staged a temporary "pop-up" restaurant in London in March at which he and other renowned chefs prepared the fanciest meals they could imagine using only food scraps donated from local eateries. A primary purpose was to chastise First World eaters (especially Americans) for wasting food, not only in the kitchen and on the plate, but to satisfy our craving for meat (for example, requiring diversion of 80 percent of the world's corn and soy just to feed edible animals). Among Barber's "WastED" dishes were a char-grilled meatless beetburger and pork braised in leftover fruit solids.

Least competent criminal

An officer in Harrington, Del., approaching an illegally parked driver at Liberty Plaza Shopping Center in March had suspicions aroused when she gave him a name other than "Keyonna Waters" — which was the name on the employee name tag she was wearing. Properly ID'd, she was arrested for driving with a suspended license.

Economic indicators

"Bentley" the cat went missing in Marina Del Rey, Calif., on Feb. 26 and as of press time had not been located — despite a posted reward of $20,000. ... British snack food manufacturer Walkers advertised in February for a part-time professional chip taster, at the equivalent of $10.55 an hour..

Heads above the rest

In his third try of the year in January, Li Longlong of China surpassed his own Guinness Book record by climbing 36 stairs while headstanding, beating his previous of 34. Among the Guinness regulations: no touching walls and no pausing more than five seconds per step.

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