I hate it when newspapers publish phony stories on April Fool's Day. Call me Scrooge - sorry for the calendar-challenged analogy - but newspapers can have fun in print without purposely running stuff that isn't true. Ultimately, the joke - such as it is - is bound to be on the newspaper.

Check out this story from The Associated Press, as Exhibit A:

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Talk about a snow job.

Some residents of a Chicago suburb who remember all too well having to dig out from February’s historic blizzard apparently forgot the date Friday when they reacted angrily to a newspaper report that the city plans to charge for snow removal.

WBBM-AM says the Evanston RoundTable article provoked some irate calls to City Hall, whose staff explained that residents would not be required to pay $2.25 a day for snow removal and pointed out that Friday is April 1. April Fool’s Day.

In a posting on its website, the city announced the article was a spoof and said it was considering forwarding all 311 calls to the RoundTable.

Chicago experienced its third worst winter storm on record Feb. 3, with 20.2 inches of snow.