By Associated Press, Aug. 7, 2002
http://www.boston.com/news/daily/07/odds_curse.htm
LIVERMORE, Calif. — A man who put a curse on the city’s sewer system said he will remove it if the city apologizes.
Adam Fortunate Eagle Nordwall, formerly of Hayward, claims to have put a curse on the city back in the early 1970s, after he said officials mistreated a totem pole he gave Livermore as a gift.
The 20-foot totem pole depicts Robert Livermore, the town’s founder, sitting under an eagle, which is supposed to protect the city.
When officials went to install the pole, they cut several feet off the bottom and set it in concrete.
Nordwall said the act desecrated his work of art, and demanded it be restored. When city officials refused, Nordwall said he put a curse on the sewer system.
A week later, sewers in the city backed up.
Workers restored the pole, and in 1995 upgraded it with new paint.
But Nordwall said he will only lift the curse if the city apologizes during an official ceremony.