Ezra Often Doubles as a Prince

--There’s no place like home--make that two homes--for a wandering Labrador retriever. The dog divides his time between Nicole Bevis and Lou O’Neill, who live 1 1/2 blocks apart in Fairbanks, Alaska. The dog legally belongs to Bevis, who calls him Ezra. But last November, the dog showed up at O’Neill’s house. O’Neill adopted the animal and named him Prince. When Bevis read in the newspaper that a Labrador retriever had been killed near her home, she assumed it was her missing dog. But a few days later, Bevis opened her door and there was Ezra. After that, Bevis said, the dog would disappear periodically. She never knew the reason until she saw her pet in O’Neill’s pickup truck. Since then, the two have allowed the dog to continue his double life. “(Ezra) starts to whine, and I know he wants to get away and go to the other house,” Bevis said. “It’s strange that he can’t decide where to stay, but he cries out loud when he wants to go, so I let him go.” Maybe the dog likes a varied menu. At the Bevis house, the dog eats dry food, while O’Neill feeds him canned food.

--French Premier Jacques Chirac has come up with a timely campaign tool in the form of wristwatches. Supporters can strap Chirac to their wrists in two Swiss-made models--conservative blue with hands planted on the cheekbone, or black and white, with hands between the eyes. Chirac hopes to win a seven-year term as head of state in May by unseating President Francois Mitterrand.

--High school officials in Liberal, Kan., qualified for thousands of dollars in state funds simply by moving a flagpole. Under state rules, students must live at least 2.5 miles from the front door of a school before it can receive state money to pay for busing students. That left 10 to 15 students who live at Gaslight Mobile Home Park near Liberal High about 105 feet short of meeting the standard. Since flagpoles traditionally are located in front of schools, officials designated the north door as the school’s front door by moving the flagpole, which had been outside the south door. The move last week cost the school $500. But, officials say, it could qualify the district for $6,000 to $8,000 more in state money. Dale Dennis, assistant commissioner of education for finance, said it may sound bureaucratic to talk about where a flagpole is located, but that is one way to determine which door is the front door. “When you get into the larger districts, the difference between one side of a building and the other can be substantial,” Dennis said.