John Houghtaling, inventor of the coin-operated, vibrating Magic Fingers bed, has died in Florida at age 92, his son says. Paul Houghtaling said his father died Wednesday at his Fort Pierce, Fla., home after apparently falling and hitting his head, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Magic Fingers beds became commonplace for American travelers in the 1960s, who fed quarters into the bedside coin boxes at motels across the country, activating small motors that gently shook the box springs as a relaxation service, the newspaper said. It was probably the first guest-room amenity after the TV, and almost ubiquitous in motels in the 1960s and into the 1970s, Ed Watkins, editor of Lodging Hospitality magazine, told the Times.

St. Lucie County school officials are considering a new zone plan that would give Port St. Lucie parents what they want - neighborhood schools with minimal busing in two south-county zones, where most students would be white and affluent. The plan expects that growth in Fort Pierce and northern St.