A Lot of Work Remains & Cell Phone Law

A Lot of Work Remains & Cell Phone Law plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy says - much work remains to be done – as negotiators work on climate change agreements. Some have criticized the process of the Copenhagen meeting as cumbersome. But, according to Lamy, procedural difficulties are inevitable when leaders confront problems which are global - while remaining accountable largely to domestic politics.

LAMY: This process is not an end in itself. It is designed to help members negotiate, engage in substance on closing remaining gaps which remains the sine qua non condition for being able to conclude next year.

As of January 1^st, Oregon will join Washington in banning driving and talking on your cell phone unless you are using a hands-free device. Police in Oregon will be able to pull you over if you're caught holding your cell phone to talk, text or dial while driving.  And it’s a steep fine. $142! Oregon's cellular phone ban is stricter than Washington’s. In Oregon it's considered a primary offense, meaning law enforcement officers can pull you over for simply violating the cell phone ban.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

I know we’ve talked about this one before but it deserves a second mention especially at this time of year; when everyone is looking for a donation of some kind and most of us are in the right frame of mind for giving. I’m not saying don’t be generous, I’m just saying be careful in your giving. Don’t become a victim of a scam or fraud.  Never give a caller or doorbell ringer money, whether it’s cash, checks, wiring money or debit card numbers. And even more importantly do not give out personal account information or social security numbers over the phone or the internet. Prevalent this time of year are non-solicited calls from charity groups, and granted not all of them are out to scam you. But the legitimate charities shouldn’t have any problem with you requesting they send you donation requests via good old fashioned snail mail. If they do, then just say no thank you and hang up. One senior victim of fraud stated, “You trust people, and I guess that’s what you should not do.” Even though I understand her reaction, I would have to disagree. You can still trust the majority of the people; you just have to be very sure of whom you put your trust in.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.