Over Half A Billion & Bringing Noise to a Quiet World

Over Half A Billion & Bringing Noise to a Quiet World plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. I recently rented a Prius Hybrid and was extremely pleased with both the gas mileage and the quiet. But there are a lot of people who are concerned that quiet running electric vehicles are causing more accidents since people cannot hear them coming. So in a very strange twist, electric and hybrid manufacturers are adding sound back into the vehicles. And not just car sounds. SFX: Warp engines... Yes, it may soon be possible to have your vehicle sound like the Starship Enterprise or a Sherman Tank just as our cell phones have ceased to ring like a phone and now are an extension of our personalities. It kind of boggles the mind. And speaking of mind boggling, 550 million eggs have been recalled. Food and Drug Administration officials said that there is no evidence a massive outbreak of salmonella in eggs has spread beyond two Iowa farms, though a team of investigators is still trying to figure out what caused it. FDA officials also said they do not expect the number of eggs recalled — 550 million — to grow. The CDC has said there could be as many as 1,300 salmonella illnesses linked to the eggs. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. My hubby and I decided to head to our local fair yesterday afternoon and were pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of food, drink, activities, and attractions available to fair goers. One of our first stops was the wine garden where they were giving cooking demonstrations by local chefs. How fun it was to watch these local chefs in their friendly cooking competitions while sipping a glass of chardonnay or merlot; supplied by several of our local wineries. Even the kids were able to get in on the cooking fun with free cooking demonstrations in the ag building, with the Potato Commission supplying cooking and game books. Ever think you would see a bunch of kids eating and enjoying vegetables simultaneously? Me neither, but they were. Some were even asking if they could have seconds! The fair is still someplace that families can go to have a good time and escape from the normal day to day hassles and routine. While, as we discovered, there are a lot of new and different experiences to enjoy at the fair, jousting by Knights of the Realm for one, it still manages to offer up the same pleasure, and warm memories as fairs of yesteryear. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.