WA 38 Apple Drawing & Is Hands-Free Safe

WA 38 Apple Drawing & Is Hands-Free Safe plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Washington State University has announced the names of the tree fruit growers who have won the lottery to grow the new WA 38-Cosmic Crisp apple. Jim Moyer, director of WSU-CAHNRS Office of Research explains.

MOYER: We have a strategy to equitably distribute what initially will be a limited number of trees, in the range of about 300-thousand. To put that in context I think the conventional wisdom is it takes about a million to make a market. The way the drawing worked out, it's pretty well equitably distributed not only in the number of growers that have i. We feel like we're off on a good foot.

Using a cellphone while driving is illegal unless you are using a hands-free device but the results of research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety suggests that popular new hands-free vehicle features may actually increase mental distraction. Developers can improve the safety of their products by making them less complicated, more accurate and generally easier to use – a point AAA hopes to use in working with manufacturers to make hands-free technologies as safe as possible for consumers. While manufacturers continue their efforts to develop and refine systems that reduce distractions, AAA encourages drivers to minimize cognitive distraction by limiting the use of most voice-based technologies.

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

I have mentioned before that I enjoy bike riding, casual bike riding. I am not one of those who equips myself with special gear or rides a $3 thousand dollar competitive cycle. I have a purple Electra Townie. It's vintage look design and it's comfortable ride are exactly what I need and want. Interestingly, as the passion for cycling increases, whether for competition, commuting, or enjoyment, the number of pedestrian/cyclist collisions have increased as well. Recent articles in the NY Times talk about fatalities caused by collisions between people walking and people biking. I myself experienced a scare as a pedestrian a while back when an obviously avid bicyclist chose not to make his presence known to me as he passed me from behind on a local walk/bike path. If I had wobbled, which I tend to do at times, just slightly to my left we would have ended up in a tangled heap of blood, bone, and bike. Pedestrians and cyclists alike need to remember that they are sharing the road or path, and that safety should always come first. Lawful consideration, common sense, and courtesy can go a long way in making sure that tragedies on the road don't happen.

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