Escaped Hamster Forces Plane to Land

Friday, September 29, 2006

Assoicated Press

INNSBRUCK, Austria —  It wasn't "Snakes on a Plane," but an Austrian Airlines jet made an unscheduled stop as a precaution Friday after a passenger sneaked a hamster aboard and the rodent escaped.

The flight from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to the southern Austrian city of Graz made a stop in Innsbruck so officials could search for the furry stowaway and make sure it didn't gnaw through any cables, the airline said in a statement.

It said the flight was diverted after a passenger notified the crew that he had brought a hamster aboard and had lost track of the animal. Passengers were ordered off the plane, and some were taken by bus to Graz. It was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the disrupted flight.

By mid-afternoon, a search of the aircraft still had not turned up any sign of the hamster, authorities said.

Austrian Airlines said the jet would remain grounded until the hamster was found "because it can't take off that way for safety reasons."

Formed in May 1989, the Homeless Action Committee (HAC) has extensive experience working with the street population in the City of Albany.  HAC has been a strong advocate in the community and has worked tirelessly to end homelessness in Albany.  HAC operates a permanent housing program and provides outreach and services to people who live on the streets of Albany.

HAC’s Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing program is for individuals with alcoholism who had been living on the streets for many years and who have been unable to maintain sobriety.  Each tenant has his/her own room.  Three meals per day are provided in a 24 hour staffed facility.  All tenants have improved their health, mental health, and many have dramatically increased their sobriety.  In 2001, 16 tenants were sober 25% or more of the time and 11 of the 16 were sober 50% or more of the time.  This housing has helped improve the quality of life for tenants, increased their self-esteem and stability.

 HAC also operates an Outreach Van program, which has assisted hundreds of people on the streets by providing them with compassionate human contact, a listening ear, food, clothing, blankets, referrals and transportation to area resources.  Crisis intervention services are provided.  HAC van staff and volunteers work diligently to get people off the streets and into treatment, shelter or housing.

*As always, do what you can to donate to a charity of your choice.  Remember a donation does not have to be in the form of money, time is just as valuable (if not more). 

FDA to consumers: Don't eat ANY fresh spinach

POSTED: 10:48 a.m. EDT, September 18, 2006

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Food and Drug Administration said Monday consumers should not eat any fresh spinach as investigators look for the source of E. coli bacteria that has sickened at least 109 people.

The initial FDA advisory late last week focused on bagged spinach.

Dr. Robert Brackett of the FDA told CNN, "We've expanded the warning actually to all of the fresh spinach. That's because we learned that some of the companies that produced the consumer bag spinach also produced larger food-service size.

Brackett said another concern is that restaurants or stores may use consumer-size bags of spinach to stock their salad bars or bulk bins.

"We want to make sure consumers are aware that they don't consume any of the fresh spinach. We don't know whether it came from the bag or another state. We just don't have the focus down that much yet," he said.

Spinach producers are voluntarily recalling their products. Brackett said the FDA does not have the power to order a recall but is working with the producers.

They do have the power to seize contaminated products, but Brackett said investigators can't do that until they determine the exact source of the contamination.

"It could come from the irrigation water, animals in the field, from the workers, from a piece of equipment that's contaminated. We just don't know," he said. "Until we figure that out, we don't want to go down the wrong road. We're looking at all possibilities."

The number of people sickened by the E. coli bacteria traced to fresh spinach has reached 109.

My take: Popeye is disappointed that he's not in syndication and has taken action to bring spinich back to the headlines

Anna Nicole Smith's son dies visiting mom in hospital

POSTED: 11:39 a.m. EDT, September 12, 2006

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) -- The 20-year-old son of Anna Nicole Smith died while visiting his mother in the hospital where the reality TV star and former Playboy playmate had given birth last week, a Bahamas police official said Monday.

Daniel Wayne Smith was visiting his mother in her room at Doctors Hospital in Nassau when he died Sunday, Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamian Police Force, told The Associated Press. He said an autopsy was under way.

Smith arrived Saturday night in the Bahamas, and apparently went directly to the hospital where he spent the night in his mother's room, Ferguson said.

"It would appear from our report that the mother had gotten up, saw him in the chair and he appeared to be sound asleep," he said. "She tried to wake him up, he was unresponsive, and she sounded the alarm."

Medical personnel arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene, Ferguson said.

Anna Nicole Smith, 38, gave birth to a healthy 6-pound, 9-ounce girl at the hospital Thursday, her Web site said.

"Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being," a statement on the site said. It said that drugs or alcohol were not believed to be a factor.

Her son had traveled to the Caribbean country "to share in the joy of his baby sister," the statement said. "Please do not make any press inquiries at this time so that Anna Nicole can grieve in peace."

Daniel Smith was the product of Smith's 1985 marriage to Billy Smith. The couple, who met while working together at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, Texas, divorced in 1987.

Daniel Smith had small roles in his mother's movies "Skyscraper" and "To the Limit."

Robin Bonnema, a spokeswoman for Trimspa, the diet products company that has been endorsed by Smith, said she did not know the name of the baby girl's father.

Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year.

She then feuded with Marshall's son, Pierce Marshall, over her entitlement to the tycoon's estate before he died in June at the age of 67.

In the long-running dispute, Smith had won a $474 million judgment, which was later cut to about $89 million and eventually reduced to zero. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Smith could continue to pursue the fortune in federal courts in California despite a Texas state court ruling that Marshall's youngest son was the sole heir.

Think what you want of Anna, like her, hate her ...just give her time to grieve.