By Rosemary Shinohara, Anchorage Daily News New wireless communication towers are popping up in Anchorage, Mat-Su and elsewhere in Alaska as a big new company, Verizon Wireless, moves into the state and other cell phone companies upgrade their networks. Verizon is set to begin Alaska service sometime in 2013. The increase in cell towers is leading to conflicts in some areas between residents who don't want tall poles and antennas looming over their yards -- and companies competing to offer ever-more sophisticated cell phone services. For example, east-side residents joined a battle this week over a proposal to build a 100-foot tower at 2100 E. Northern Lights Boulevard, in the parking lot of a medical building near Northern Lights and Lake Otis Parkway. The city Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday rejected the tower site after city officials said it didn't fit with the College Village neighborhood just off Northern Lights. In Turnagain, anot...

Risk of Rare, But Life-Threatening Adverse Events or Death By Drugs.com The FDA is reviewing reports of children who developed serious adverse effects or died after taking codeine for pain relief after tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Recently, three pediatric deaths and one non-fatal but life-threatening case of respiratory depression were documented in the medical literature. These children (ages two to five) had evidence of an inherited (genetic) ability to convert codeine into life-threatening or fatal amounts of morphine in the body. All children had received doses of codeine that were within the typical dose range. When codeine is ingested, it is converted to morphine in the liver by an enzyme called cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6). Some people have DNA variations that make this enzyme more active, causing codeine to be converted to morphine faster and more completely than in other people. These “ultra-rapid metabolizers” are ...

Kumho Recalling Tires Sidewall cracks could result in air loss Read the entire article here . Mercedes-Benz Recalling Floor Mats Ill-fitting mats could entrap the accelerator pedal Read the entire article here .

By FDA.gov Burch Equipment LLC, North Carolina, is expanding its recall to include all of this growing season's cantaloupes and honeydew melons that may remain on the market because they may possibly be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. There have been no illnesses reported to date. Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. The incubation period (the length of time between consuming a product and becoming ill) for Listeria monocytogenes can be 1 to 3 weeks, but may be in the range of 3 to 70 days. The whole cantaloupes are identified by a red label reading Burch Farms referencing PLU # 4319. All cantaloup...

By FDA.gov Missa Bay, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ready Pac Foods, Inc., of Swedesboro, New Jersey is voluntarily recalling a total of 293,488 cases and 296,224 individually distributed units of fruit, vegetable, and sandwich products containing apples, as listed below, with the Use‐by dates of July 8, 2012 through August 20, 2012 because they contain diced or sliced apples which may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious or life‐threatening food borne illness in a person who eats a food item contaminated with it. Symptoms of infection may include fever, muscle aches, gastro intestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea. The illness primarily impacts pregnant women and adults with weakened immune systems. Most healthy adults and children rarely become seriously ill. The recalled products were produced and distributed from the Missa Bay, LLC facility to retailers and foodservice operators in t...

Feature is being added to more U.S. cars in 2013 model year By Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com A technology that saves gasoline by stopping and starting the engine when a vehicle is idle is gaining ground in the U.S. The stop-start system, a technology that shuts off a vehicle's engine when stopped in traffic, is fairly common in Europe and Japan. Lux Research predicts that more than eight million vehicles in North America will be equipped with engine stop-start systems by 2017. As the name implies, the system shuts down the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop, such as at a traffic signal. It springs back to life when the driver touches the accelerator. With each start and stop it saves a few drops of fuel. Around since the 80s The technology has been around for a while -- as far back as the 1980s. But while 40 percent of the vehicles in Europe and Japan are equipped with the feature, it hasn't caught on in the U.S. But that's going to change,...