Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie grants Riverside $20,000 for a library building. Construction begins on the downtown library at the northeast corner of Seventh and Orange Streets. The Mission Revival building is the work of the architectural firm of Burham and Blieser of Los Angeles; the general contractor is J. W. Carroll of Riverside.

Memorial Day weekend marked the debut of Mr. Carnegie’s Grand Tour of Washington, an annual automobile-based passport tour of Carnegie libraries throughout Washington State. Many of these buildings continue to house libraries and related cultural institutions like museums; others, like Carnegie’s Restaurant in Seattle, have been completely re-purposed. All stand as reminders of an important era for American public libraries. Visitors can pick up “passports” at participating locations and have them stamped during their visit.

Conceived by the Clark County Historical Museum (Vancouver, WA) as a way to celebrate the 100-year-birthday of its building (a 1909 Carnegie library), the Grand Tour developed into an initiative of the newly-established Carnegie Library Consortium of Washington, whose mission is to “identify surviving Carnegie Libraries in Washington State and promote public awareness and preservation around the world.” The Consortium has put together a slideshow about Andrew Carnegie which will be on display at participating locations, as well as a children’s storybook/coloring book featuring “Andy the Library Explorer” as he delves into the history of Carnegie libraries.

Raibin Osman

Raibin Osman appeared before a Washington County judge Tuesday on a charge of misusing emergency services. He said he called emergency dispatchers after the drive-through employee wouldn’t come back to the window to give him a juice box. “We ordered some food and we went home and our order wasn’t in there,” Osman said in the 911 call. “And my little brother is crying for his orange juice.”

Osman’s father, Raof, said the emergency call was an innocent mistake and that it escalated when the McDonald’s employee laughed at the poor English of his son-in-law. “We came back with our receipt and said, ‘Hey, can we have our order? We paid for it,’” Osman told the emergency dispatcher. “And she was like, ‘Oh, no, I can’t do anything about it.’ And she was laughing at my brother-in-law because he ordered the food and couldn’t speak English right.”

Meanwhile, the McDonald’s employee also called 911 after feeling threatened by the men. “I showed them that everything was correct and they got mad and told me to give them more food,” the employee said in the 911 call. “And I told them, I can’t give any free food away.” When deputies arrived, Raibin Osman admitted it was not an emergency call but said he didn’t know what number to use, according to the sheriff’s office.

Jared Ashley

John Rich and Jared Ashley can't settle their differences -- so now the cops are involved. Rich turned himself in to the Metro Davidson County Criminal Justice Center in Nashville, Tenn. this afternoon to face misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment stemming from an alleged altercation between the two. Rich and Ashley have both filed civil lawsuits against each other -- Ashley sued Rich for the alleged assault, and Rich sued back for defamation.

Rich, in a statement released by his lawyers, claims that since he can't reach a settlement with Ashley, he'd rather defend himself "through the legal process to the fullest extent of the law." He says, "I trust that the truth will come out through the process of our American justice system and that I will be completely exonerated at the end of the day."

Country star John Rich of Big & Rich was charged on May 28 with assault and harassment, E! Online reports. Rich allegedly smacked former Nashville Star contestant Jared Ashley in the face; he has denied the charges. "I trust that the truth will come out through the process of our American justice system and that I will be completely exonerated at the end of the day," the singer said in a statement.