By Vanessa Richins

When you think of hurricanes, you think of destruction.

That was true when Hurricane Ike landed in Galveston, Texas in September 2008.

Many of the island’s plants were uprooted and destroyed in the wake of the storm.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, 40,000 trees alone died in the chaos.

However, Galveston citizens received a nice surprise this spring when all sorts of plants started popping up. The storm had brought hope amidst despair in the form of seeds.

Burke Evans, a local resident, found tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, periwinkles, papaya trees and elephant ears. Pam Gilbert received petunias, a mulberry tree, and jalapeños.

The Christian Science Monitor recounts that Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

Nearly 80 people have fallen ill because of salmonella food poisoning in nine states, including Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Illinois and Indiana.

No deaths have been reported.

Texas and New Mexico authorities have concluded that uncooked tomatoes, in particular Roma and red round tomatoes, are to blame; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are continuing to investigate the outbreaks in other states to determine whether tomatoes are at the root of the Saintpaul salmonella infection there as well.

Salmonella is Read the rest of this entry »