MANATEE -- Farmers, businesses and other commercial sites will have an opportunity next month to safely and legally dispose of outdated pesticides or pesticides packed in deteriorating containers under a 10-year-old state program called Operation Cleansweep.

Public hearings always amaze and amuse in how issues can be so widely (and wildly) interpreted.

Scientists in Canada are reporting the development of a fast, inexpensive "dipstick" test to identify small amounts of pesticides that may exist in foods and beverages. Their paper-strip test is more practical than conventional pesticide tests, producing results in minutes rather than hours by means of an easy-to-read color-change, they say.

A consumer advocacy group's analysis of canned goods has found measurable levels of the chemical additive bisphenol A (BPA) across a range of foods, including some that were labeled "BPA free.”