Stop with the sprouts already

I am a big fan of sprouts, but after all the various food borne illness outbreaks associated with sprouts, I am no longer going to consume them. Why take the chance? Sandwich chain Jimmy John’s keeps taking those chances, though they seem to have the best of intentions. They switched from problem-plagued alfalfa sprouts to… read more

Step away from the steroids

Random drug testing of Portland Police officers is scheduled to begin this year, but the Portland Police Association (the union) is up in arms about it. Why? Because the random drug testing will include testing for steroids. Plenty of other police forces around the country include steroids in their random drug testing, but the local… read more

Don’t tase me, bro

A Chicago man recently filed a lawsuit against the Chicago police, claiming he was wrongfully identified and tased unnecessarily. Josue Tapia was pulled over by police in May of 2010 for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, but he was allowed to go soon afterwards. He didn’t make it very far,… read more

Toy guns that kill

Toy manufacturer Henry Gordy International, Inc. has agreed to pay a $1.1 million penalty in an agreement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) over a toy gun set that allegedly caused several deaths. An investigation by the CPSC found that Henry Gordy knew about the defect in its “Auto Fire Target Set” but… read more

No pearl in these oysters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just issued a warning not to eat raw oysters from Washington State. Apparently a number of oysters from Hood Canal’s “growing area 4″ have been associated with a bacteria,Vibrio parahaemolyticus, to be exact, that causes illness. The oysters were distributed across 23 states. The “outbreak” in question affected, so… read more

Texting and driving in Bend

Seven weeks ago a Bend teenager riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Erik Mackenzie Conn. Conn claims he had been glancing at the speedometer and thus did not see the rider, who was riding a bicycle with his friend. Conn’s story may not hold up, as he… read more

Suing for cantaloupes

We’re always hearing about salmonella outbreaks and the like and the investigations to narrow down the culprit(s), but this is something new: Del Monte Fresh Produce plans to sue William Keene, Oregon Public Health’s senior epidemiologist, for, well, dissing its canteloupes. The company filed an ethics complaint and tort claim alleging Keene made misleading statements… read more

More off-duty Portland police antics

This is practically unbelievable–the head of the Portland Police Bureau’s traffic division, while off-duty, was involved in a road-rage incident in Idaho in which he allegedly pointed a gun at another driver. He was stopped by Washington State troopers but was not arrested. The incident is under investigation by the Idaho State Police. In the… read more

Having a field day

Anesthesiologist Frederick George Field was arrested late July on suspicion of sexually abusing two female patients who were under his care at the Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles. The incidents took place in 2007 and 2011 and allegedly involved touching in the genital area. The women were under anesthesia during the incidents and were… read more

Metrolink and cruel caps

It is difficult to forget the horrible Metrolink commuter train crash that took place in southern California in 2008. The crash was allegedly caused by the train’s engineer, who neglected to stop at a stop sign because he was texting and thus distracted. Just this week a judge made his final decisions of how the… read more