STONEPORT — A group of oceanfront homeowners are soliciting donations toward the removal of a snowman they say is a nuisance and a potential safety hazard.

Via campaigns on several crowdfunding platforms, the group seeks to raise a total of seven hundred thousand marks in order to cover the commission of an engineering firm and the rental of bulldozers, excavators, dump trucks, and other heavy equipment.

“We hope the community will join together to tear down this monstrosity and restore the beauty of our shoreline,” said Claus Schmidt, a representative of the homeowner's group, in a video statement accompanying the crowdfunding campaigns.

In addition to blocking ocean views and marring the coastline, the group alleges that the snowman is a danger to nearby properties.

“Those arms just don't look sturdy; any day now they're going to fall down and crush the church like cardboard,” said Mr. Schmidt, referring to the First Episcopal Church, located across the street from the base of the snowman and directly beneath its outstretched right arm.

Not everyone in Stoneport agrees. “I think it's cute,” said Ruth Adelman, a lifelong resident who has declined to support the campaign. “Just the kind of landmark we need to put our town on the map. Maybe instead of tearing it down, we ought to give tours and sell postcards.”

One area man, who asked that his name not be printed, expressed skepticism about the pro-removal group's motives. “Look at those names. It's all the owners of the most expensive houses, the ones right on the water. Why should the rest of us pay out of our pockets to protect their property values?”

In response, Mr. Schmidt emphasized that the campaign aims to benefit the entire community. “You can see that thing from kilometers away in every direction. This is not an issue of one or two or a few houses. It affects everyone.”

The snowman was erected four days ago by a young woman whose identity was unconfirmed until she came forward yesterday.

Baek Seol-mi, a university student, said she was unaware of the controversy until she was alerted by comments on a picture she had posted to her social networking feed. “I was just having fun with my friends over winter break. I didn't know a snowman was such a big deal. I'm really sorry if it caused anyone any trouble.”

When asked if she planned to help remove the snowman Ms. Baek declined, citing obligations related to her studies. “With classes back on, I don't have the time to go all the way back there. I'm sure they can take care of it by themselves. Or just wait for it to melt?”

Ms. Baek did add, however, that she had contributed five marks to the removal campaign.

The crowdfunding campaigns will remain open for the next three weeks. It is estimated that the snowman will, if not removed, remain largely intact at least through late spring or early summer, due to its large volume and high density.

SAN NARCISO — In a press conference this morning, the Port Authority announced plans to hold an auction early next month, to sell the abandoned articles of clothing which have accumulated on the San Narciso Bay Bridge since early spring.

The decision was made in accordance with the authority's policy on lost items, under which items left unclaimed for a period exceeding sixty days are subject to disposal by public auction. The policy applies to items left in any facility under Port Authority jurisdiction including the Bay Bridge, the Ocean Ave Tunnel, and all Metro Line 3 trains and platforms.

Some of the items up for sale in the upcoming auction include:

• One pair of socks, black, size 9300mm/3600mm. Moderate damage, including holes 50-70cm in diameter in heel and toe areas.

• One string of sixteen plastic beads, blue-white in color and 1.1m in diameter each.

• One lace bra, white, band length 55m, cup size 16.9m. Light water damage to end of band and minor tears in lace.

• One women's two-piece swimsuit, top only. Synthetic fabric (lycra/polyester), turquoise-blue gradient pattern. Band length 60m, cup size 18m. Good condition excepting small stains from bird droppings.

• Eight pairs of panties, various colors and materials, sizes ranging 72m to 94m. All in good condition.

• One knee-high boot (left), black leather, size 10200mm/4000mm, shaft height 45m, heel height 8m. Surface weathered from saltwater exposure, inner lining in good condition.

• One bracelet, white plastic, 3.5m diameter, cracked.

Among the items set to be auctioned the single black leather boot has been on the bridge longest, being part of a pair that was left hanging from the suspension bridge's support cables in early March. Neither boot has been moved since then, but only the left boot is to be auctioned. The right boot has become home to a nesting population of reef egrets, an endangered species. City ordinances on wildlife conservation prohibit the disturbance of their habitat.

The most recent articles are the eight pairs of women's underwear that appeared one after another in late May and early June and remained with no owner coming forward to claim them, leading to speculation about organized pranks, sorority hazing rituals, or a copycat fad. Officials at the press conference declined to comment on any of these theories, although they did acknowledge that it was unusual for so many large articles of clothing to be left unclaimed. “It's not unheard of for someone to go swimming in the bay, leave a towel out to dry, and then forget to take it when they leave. But in these cases the owner usually remembers to claim the item within a few days,” explained Fernanda Ochoa, a Port Authority spokeswoman. “Items of this size in this location aren't exactly easy to miss,” she added.

The hosting auctioneer under contract, Maas Associates, is expected to make a detailed announcement of the auction catalog and schedule early next week.

Port Authority representatives stressed that removal and transport of each auctioned item would be at the expense of the winning bidder.

ROSILICA — With the North River frozen solid for the first time in over a decade, Rosilicans have taken to the riverfront in droves to enjoy skating, sledding, cross-country skiing, and other winter activities. Crowds have turned out in record numbers, especially in the vicinity of Central Park and Expo Centre.

“It's a real party out there,” said Andre Mankiewicz, a vendor selling coffee and hot chocolate from a truck on 3rd Street near the north entrance to Central Park. “It's wonderful to see so many people out here enjoying themselves, especially young couples and families with kids. I couldn't be happier.”

Perhaps the most eyecatching revelers today were competitive skaters Kai van Rijn (23) and Sara Weiss (25), who wowed midday crowds with an impromptu twelve minute performance up and down a three-kilometer stretch of river.

The show began around 11:00 when the pair set down a stereo on the roof of the 40-story NI Bank Tower, playing Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and warmed up with gentle loops around the river beside Central Park.

The performance soon picked up steam and hit an early high when Mr. van Rijn lifted Ms. Weiss approximately 25-30 meters and lept over the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Street bridges consecutively. Motorists on all four bridges stopped to look up at the spectacle.

Jay Yao, a financial analyst, was driving on the 1st Street Bridge at the time. “I was halfway across when I saw them barreling right at me. At first I was sure their feet would slam right into the bridge. But at just the right moment, he lifted her up and sailed right overhead. It was so close — I saw the fringe of her skirt brush against the towers. I was lucky I had my phone out.” Mr. Yao recorded and uploaded to social media a film of the leap, which accrued over ten thousand views in a matter of hours.

The performance continued as the two skaters joined hands and passed on either side of Willow Island, and took advantage of the wide span of river shortly after the island for their second highlight: a complex series of spins and leaps which saw both performers soaring as high as 40 meters over the ice.

The conclusion unfolded in front of the Memorial Pavilion, where a large crowd of onlookers was assembled. Ms. Weiss executed a perfect layback spin in front of the crowd before the two took a bow and departed to thunderous applause.

With citizens taking to the ice in record numbers, prospective skaters are reminded that difficult moves are best left to expert athletes like Ms. Weiss and Mr. van Rijn. “We urge visitors to the river to take care and follow appropriate safety guidelines, so that this special time is safe and enjoyable for everyone,” the Maritime Police announced in a statement.

Naveen Kaur, a student and first-time skater, was skating alongside Pine Blvd when she slipped and lost balance, falling onto a two-story waterfront warehouse and crushing it. Fortunately, Ms. Kaur suffered only minor bruises and no other injuries were reported. “Nothing hurt except for my pride,” she said, “I guess I need lessons.”

Forecasters expect that cold temperatures and icy conditions will continue until early next week, when a warm front is expected to move in from the west. Until then, Rosilicans will be able to enjoy the rare frozen river to the fullest.

SAN NARCISO — Operations at Pier 3, Port of San Narciso were interrupted yesterday after a stack of shipping containers fell and impacted a tugboat.

A group of nine women, who had been relaxing on the beach nearby, approached the pier at around 4:30 PM. They were seen by crane operator Prakash Rao, who was in the control cabin of a 60m container crane. “They all walked by right outside. The cabin shook around a bit. One of them even leaned down to peek inside the window,” he said. “She winked at me.”

Once on the pier, the women began picking up the stacked containers and examining them. “It was like they were looking for something,” said Philip Shin, a port supervisor who witnessed the event from across the water on Pier 2. “They would hold containers up to their ears and shake them, or squeeze them in different spots.”

The accident occurred when one of the women attempted to pick up an entire 5x2x2 stack of containers at once, but lost control of them. The containers tumbled off the side of the pier, where the tug Luca Siena was passing by. At least five containers impacted the Siena in the center and the port side, plunging it lower into the water and unbalancing it.

Quick action by the women on the scene averted disaster. One of them stabilized the stricken tugboat with her hands, preventing it from capsizing, while the others scooped up the fallen containers from the water and the deck of the Siena. Within minutes, the containers were again stacked safely on the pier, albeit not in their proper arrangement.

A total of six 12m shipping containers were severely deformed, while the Luca Siena suffered light abrasion on its hull and minor damage to internal cabin fixtures from the shock of the impact. There were no injuries.

The young women were later identified as Yuzhen Tsai (20), Eva Novak (20), Julia Lind (22), Ines Coelho (22), Xiaoyue Su (19), Mina Alvarez (21), Greta Solberg (21), Maria Pella (19), and Caroline Ledoux (21). All are students at San Narciso Polytechnic University, whose campus is less than 10 kilometers away from the port.

The students stated that they searched the containers in an attempt to locate goods they had ordered and believed to be stored in containers on the pier. “A lot of us had ordered new phones — that new folding one, you know? — and the order tracker said the shipment was sitting at the port. And Mina really needed it, her old phone's all scratched up from when she dropped it on a brick house. So we thought if they're sitting right over there, we could pick them up early,” explained Ms. Coelho. Ultimately, the group was unable to locate the correct containers.

Yesterday was not the first time an industrial accident at the container port has been linked to its proximity to the SN Poly campus. Last year, a forklift left in an open area on the pier was totaled after being stepped on by a student taking a shortcut back to campus. Industry analysts warn that further incidents could lead to an increase in insurance costs, which may cause freight forwarders to seek alternative routes.

KITAMURA — Yesterday afternoon, local roads and train tracks in Kitamura City, Aikawa Prefecture were blocked in several places by heavy snow accumulation, delaying traffic by up to one hour while the snow was cleared.

The previous night had seen snowfall of approximately 4-6 cm, with roads and tracks sufficiently cleared for traffic by sunrise. However in the afternoon a snowball fight broke out between a group of female high school students passing through the vicinity of Kawabata Station, scattering over a thousand cubic meters of snow around the area.

Nana Akiyama and Tomoe Shimizu, both third year students at Omori Gakuen High School, were returning home along Kawabata-dori when they decided to begin tossing snowballs at one another from opposite sides of the road. “There was no particular reason for it,” recalls Shimizu, “We were just having fun.”

The exchange resulted in only comparatively light damage. Fragments of snowballs that hit Shimizu scattered off of her clothing and struck the windows of an apartment building directly behind her, rattling residents but causing no lasting damage. A 4 meter snowball thrown by Shimizu at Akiyama fell short and came to rest on the road between them, blocking one lane of traffic.

The incident escalated, however, when one of Akiyama's 3 meter snowballs overshot Shimizu and struck another student, Sayuri Maeda, who was approaching the area along the tracks of the Aikawa Tetsudo Main Line along with a friend, Haruka Nishimura. Maeda retaliated immediately with another 3 meter snowball that missed Akiyama and struck a utility pole, disrupting power and telephone service to three nearby buildings.

“We've been rivals since middle school, and I think she was looking for any chance to get back at me,” explained Akiyama. Maeda, for her part, maintains that she did not see Shimizu, who was largely concealed by the apartment building she was squatting behind, so it appeared that Akiyama had thrown a snowball directly at her.

During the two-on-two battle that followed a total of seven snowballs ranging from two to four meters in diameter fell onto the tracks or the road, blocking them partially in four locations and totally in three.

Finally after a heated exchange of words, Maeda scooped up all of the snow from the Kawabata Station parking lot in both hands, dumping it onto Akiyama's head while Nishimura held her in place. Shimizu attempted to intervene but the petite girl was unable to extricate her friend from the grasp of the taller, athletic Nishimura. Maeda and Nishimura then fled the area.

A number of unoccupied vehicles from the parking lot were swept up in the snow and fell onto Akiyama. Two cars landed on the road, one on its side and one on its roof. The impacts totaled both vehicles, but caused no other personal or property damage. A third car landed on the roof of a residential building, severing TV antennas and destroying an air conditioning compressor. One additional car and four bicycles were later found by Akiyama in her clothing and returned to the lot. The car and two bicycles had fallen into her coat pocket and were relatively unharmed. The other two bicycles had become entangled in the threads of her scarf; their chains and several spokes were snapped in the process of untangling them.

Snowplows and work crews were deployed by the Kitamura City Government, Aikawa Prefectural Government, and Aikawa Tetsudo to clear the road and tracks. Aikawa Main Line trains were delayed in both directions by 49 minutes due to the track blockage; Aikawa Tetsudo provided financial compensation to travelers who were affected by the delay.

PALA CITY — Pala's beachfront tourist developments may become a victim of their own success, warn market researchers at Farnaby-Mond in a report published this month. According to their analysis, overcrowding at popular beaches is not only causing ecological damage but also undermining visitor satisfaction, threatening the long-term sustainability of Palan tourism.

The report cites results from an annual survey of visitors conducted by the Pala Tourism Promotion Organization, in which 46% of respondents expressed moderate or strong dissatisfaction with heavy crowds at beaches — a 15% increase from the previous year.

Holidayers at Rendang Beach this week echoed these concerns. Erica Gale (30) and her fiancé Antonio Scarabelli (32) were hoping for a carefree day on the beach but had difficulty finding a space. “There's hardly anywhere to lie down,” said Ms. Gale, “Little people on the ground everywhere, and it's so cluttered with all these buildings.”

Added Mr. Scarabelli, “I don't have any room to stretch my arms or legs without hitting anything. My feet keep banging into this hotel or whatever it is. This isn't relaxing, it's almost claustrophobic.”

Beth Garner (38) was able to secure a spot on the beach, but found her sunbathing short-lived. “I spread my towel out, and I had a magazine and a nice cool drink. But there was all this booming nonstop, and the ground kept shaking. My drink fell over and spilled. And then, some lady sat down and folded her legs over the whole area. Blocked out the sun all the way from the water to the seawall. I had to get up and move, and so did dozens of other people. It was a mess. I couldn't find another good spot, so I just went back to my hotel.”

But hotels are no refuge from overcrowding, as guests of the Rondeau Premier can attest. The newly-constructed beachfront resort hotel was “inundated” with guest complaints yesterday, when for much of the day its entire west wing was covered by the corner of a beach towel and its east wing was mostly covered by hair.

“This is a supposed to be an ocean view suite. It costs twice as much as a ‘city view.’ But outside the window it was completely black! We might as well have been in a cave,” said Farshad Alinejad (43), who stayed at the Rondeau along with his wife and two children.

Experiences like these are not limited to low-rise structures like the Rondeau; guests in the upper stories of high-rise hotels have also reported that at times their windows offer nothing but a close-up view of a knee, a hip, or a shoulder.

“Normally we are more than happy to move guests to a different room, but when we are fully booked this can be difficult,” explained a hotel spokeswoman. Reportedly, guests who complain of obstructed views are typically offered compensation ranging from vouchers for drinks at the hotel bar to discounts on future stays.

If the trend continues, the Farnaby-Mond report warns, the reputation of Pala's beaches will be tarnished, impacting revenues at waterfront businesses. High-end establishments such as luxury resorts and gourmet eateries will suffer the most, analysts say, as well-heeled consumers with the means to travel take their holidays elsewhere.

The report does not recommend any specific measures to alleviate overcrowding, though it does mention policies employed in other areas including the establishment of limited-admission beach areas and caps on total hotel bookings.