pileofcrapola

You might not take your kids all that seriously when they complain about the gross mystery meat served in their school cafeteria, but the children in some schools in Hawkins County, Tennessee had a right to complain last week when they were served pork that had been sitting in the freezer since 2009.

As long as it has always been kept at a consistent and cold temperature, 6-year-old meat isn’t going to make people sick, but it might not necessarily be appetizing, either. A school employee sent a mobile phone photo of the not-so-mysterious meat to the county commissioner.

“Here in Hawkins County, we have a lot of kids that go to school and that might be the only meal they get all day long,” the commish told TV station WJHL. “It just upsets me that these kids are going to school to get that meat.”

He reports that a cafeteria worker told him that the school made gravy for the pork roast, which is a time-honored method of dealing with meats that have problematic textures and flavors. However, the news that their kids were served meat that had been sitting in a freezer that long shocked parents in the community.

Reviews from cafeterias at individual schools varied, but were overall positive. The chicken fajitas served that day seemed to be more popular with kids overall, though.

“As soon as you tasted the pork, [and] it was just as soon as you tasted it, me and a friend both, it was not good,” a high school student explained to the TV station.

6-year-old lunch meat served to students in Hawkins County, TN [WJHL]
Hawkins Co. parents search for answers after 6-year-old pork served to students [WJHL] (Thanks, Kelly!)

Though we often think of all the stress in a hiring process as being on the side of the job seeker, businesses have a new potential part of the process to worry about: Researchers say hackers are infecting companies by slipping malware in along with resumes submitted through job posting website CareerBuilder.com.

According to security company Proofpoint (via MarketWatch), the attackers are going through open positions and then attaching documents with names like “resume.doc” or “cv.doc” to applications. When a hiring manager or interviewer on the other end opens it up, the malware gets in because CareerBuilder automatically emails notifications and attachments with resumes to the job poster when someone applies.

“Rather than attempt to create a realistic lure, the attackers here have instead capitalized on the brand and service of a real site: the recipients are likely to read them and open the attachments because not only are they legitimate emails from a reputable service, but these emails are expected and even desired by the recipient,” Proofpoint researchers wrote in a blog post.

CareerBuilder is investigating the attack with the help of third-party experts and letting affect customers know, a spokeswoman told MarketWatch. She says the site “has controls in place to stop mass distribution of applications to job postings and takes a variety of preventative measures.”

Proofpoint adds that any job boards that work similarly are also susceptible to these kinds of attacks.

Foot in the door: Cybercriminals leverage job search website to sneak malware into businesses [Proofpoint]
Hackers sneak malware into job applications [MarketWatch]

When you make a mess, you’ve got to clean up your toys. It’s a lesson many of us learned as kids, and one that a Los Angeles Airport law enforcement officials says police slipped up on after a stick of live dynamite used in a training exercise was left behind near the airport museum for four days.

A law enforcement official at LAX who was brief on the incident spoke to the Associated Press anonymously, saying that the live stick of dynamite was found by workers on Tuesday when they saw its bright colors.

The insider said the stick was found inside the “Spirit of Seventy Six” plane, which is featured at the Flight Path Learning Center and Museum on the airport’s southern edge. It’d been checked out from a Transportation Security Administration explosive storage container and used in a training session for K9 Officers and their dogs on Saturday.

Though it was live, it still would’ve needed a detonator or explosive to be set off.

Nothing that though the object found in the plane did contain “a certain amount of TNT,” an LAX police spokeswoman denied to the AP that it was a stick of dynamite and said the object was a “training aid.” She added that airport police are investigating and have notified the TSA, which did not immediately comment to the AP.

Dynamite left on old plane at LAX for 4 days after police training exercise, says official [Associated Press]

While Lumber Liquidators has been the target of lawsuits and federal investigations into allegations that the company’s China-sourced flooring contains exceedingly high levels of formaldehyde, hardware giant Lowe’s is now facing similar accusations from the hedge fund analyst who helped spark the Lumber Liquidators investigation.

Analyst Xuhua Zhou, who first brought the Lumber Liquidators issue to light in a June 2013 story on the Seeking Alpha website, now claims in a new Seeking Alpha report that some imported laminate flooring sold at Lowe’s also contains levels of formaldehyde that don’t meet certain safety standards.

Formaldehyde is frequently used in the manufacture of laminate flooring, but usually in quantities so low that it dissipates quickly. If too much is used, it can linger in the product and carry the toxic chemical into the customers’ homes. Prolonged, continued exposure to formaldehyde has been linked to numerous health problems ranging from nausea to increased cancer risk. Children are more susceptible than adults to the toxic effects of formaldehyde.

“New evidence has come to my attention that Lumber Liquidators may not have been the lone violator when it comes to laminate floor sourcing,” writes Zhou. “Lowe’s, a behemoth in home improvement, has been selling similar questionable products as recently as late March.”

Zhou obtained a sample of laminate FH/L 3603 Chocolate Cherry Hickory flooring from a Lowe’s in Texas and sent it to one of the independent labs used by 60 Minutes in its recent investigative report on Lumber Liquidators.

This particular flooring claims to be compliant with California’s strict standards for formaldehyde content, but according to the results posted by Zhou, the lab detected around ten times the allowed amount of formaldehyde.

“I would be very concerned about the results from the one test from your supplier,” reads a note from the lab, “that is an extraordinarily high number.”

In response the Zhou report, Lowe’s told Bloomberg that the company sells laminate flooring from “the most reputable, well-known and trusted U.S.-based flooring companies,” and provided letters from flooring vendors affirming that their products meet U.S. regulations.

Additionally, the retailer said that only about 10% of its laminate flooring comes from outside the U.S. and that it is aiming to remove foreign sources by July.

“While we are confident that our products are safe, we are responding to our customers’ concerns about Chinese laminate flooring,” a company rep explained to Bloomberg.

With regard to Lumber Liquidators, that company has maintained that the flooring it sells is safe and complies with safety standards. The retailer has raised questions about the testing methods used by those claiming to have found high levels of formaldehyde in the flooring products.

Less than a week after Ford finally issued a recall for nearly 400,000 vehicles that may contain malfunctioning door latches, the car manufacturer is adding another 156,000 of the same vehicles to the recall roster.

The company announced today that it would expand its recent door latch recall to include an additional 156,000 model year 2011 to 2014 Fiesta, and model year 2013 to 2014 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans after receiving a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has been investigating the door latch issue for more than seven months.

The expansion bring the number of Ford-made vehicles that may contain doors that inadvertently open while the car is in motion to 545,906.

According to Ford’s recall notice, the door latches in these vehicles may experience a broken pawl spring tab, which typically results in a condition where the door will not latch.

The manufacturer says it is aware of two allegations of soreness resulting from an unlatched door bouncing back when the customer attempted to close it, and one accident where an unlatched door swung open and struck an adjacent vehicle as the driver was pulling into a parking space.

Ford’s recalls come less than two months after NHTSA upgraded its investigation into the malfunctioning latches to include the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. In addition to increasing the scope of the investigation, regulators upgraded the probe to an engineering analysis – a step that can sometimes lead to a recall.

Prior to Ford’s recalls, NHTSA said [PDF] it had received 207 reports related to improperly latching doors. Sixty-five of those reports claimed that the door or doors opened inadvertently while the vehicle was in motion.

When NHTSA originally launched an investigation into the Fiesta models last September, the agency had accumulated 61 reports of potential door latch failures, of which 12 allegedly occurred while the vehicle was in motion. Since then, Ford has provided the agency with 451 additional reports and 1,079 warranty claims related to door latch failures.

Ford previously said it did not believe that a latched door experiencing this condition would inadvertently unlatch and that there are many overt warnings associated with a door that does not latch.

Still, regulators said back in March that the “rate of occurrence for this failure is comparable to other door latch failure investigations” and that the agency “questions the effectiveness of warning signals given the number of complainants alleging that the door(s) opened while the vehicle was in motion.”

Ford Expands Door Latch Safety Recall in North America [Ford Motor Co.]

Could it possibly be tomato planting time already?

It sure is some tempting weather coming up this next week. The long-range forecast calls for lots of 80-degree days and — more important to all of you anxious tomato-growers out there — nights are predicted to stay in the high 50s. (As we have stressed many times, it is the nighttime temperatures that are most important to the crops of summer, such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.)

So — is it safe to plant? Longtime listeners know I’m traditionally a coward on this subject, but I’m going to perhaps shock them and deliver a qualified yes for tomatoes — but only if they are planted inside cages over which you can drape row covers or sheer curtains if we get a cold night after Mother’s Day.

Hold off on the even-more-cold-sensitive peppers and eggplant for a while. They can go outdoors in their pots, but don’t plant them in the ground for another week or so — and bring them back inside on any nights that dip below 50.

Here are some tomato planting basics:

• Always remove the bottom leaves and plant most of the stem underground, where it will grow auxiliary roots. You only need to leave a couple inches above the soil line. (Unless, of course, the tomatoes are grafted — then the graft must stay above the soil.)
• Provide calcium in the planting hole in the form of crushed eggshells, calcium carbonate pills or Tums to prevent blossom end rot later in the summer. Or, if you prefer, spread an inch of compost on the surface of the soil, then a cup of an organic tomato food that contains a lot of added calcium (such as the widely available Tomato-Tone), then cover that with another inch of compost. (Granulated fertilizers all work better when covered with compost or soil.)
• Whether it sandwiches fertilizer or not, always mulch tomatoes with two inches of compost, which will function as food, disease preventive and mulch. Never mulch tomatoes with wood or bark — wood mulches breed disease.
• And never feed tomatoes chemical fertilizers — it makes them fill up with water and dilutes the flavor.

Plowman’s Folly 2015: Why we shouldn’t till our soil

Stan in Arlington has a timely question. He writes, “You recently stated that we shouldn’t turn the soil in our raised beds. Can you please explain why? I have 22 raised beds that are a little over three-by-three feet each, and they are difficult to rototill.”

I’ll bet they are, Stan! The reasons are many. Let us list them:

Reason No. 1: Tilling shouldn’t be necessary

Tilling is often necessary when you first build a bed, but one of the prime benefits of building beds the size of yours is that you never have to step into them — you can easily reach all parts of the bed from the outside. (That’s why we always specify four feet as the maximum width for raised beds — your ‘threes’ are even better!)

Not stepping on the light, loose soil in those beds means no soil compaction from your big feet, which means no need to till to loosen up the soil. Unless you really like that part where your arms shake for days after you put the tiller away.

 

Reason No. 2: Loss of nutrients

Every time you turn the soil, you expose the captured nitrogen in that soil to its much-more-fun cousins in the air. Nitrogen — the primary plant food — is also the primary component of our atmosphere, and soil nitrogen is very ephemeral, always “trying” to escape into the air.

Tilling breaks the seal holding the nitrogen in your soil, and allows all of that sequestered nutrient to immediately escape into the atmosphere, where we can breathe it — but you probably wanted it to stay down there and help make your plants big and strong instead.

 

Reason No. 3: Tilling = Weeds, weeds, weeds!

Now we get to the big reason: weeds. Even the best garden soil is loaded with dormant weed seeds just waiting for the sound of a tiller being fired up, because those anxious seeds know that tilling will expose them to sunlight — the trigger for germination. (Dormant weed seeds can survive for 40 years down there, and 90 percent of them are in the top four inches of your soil.)

Then the nice tiller person will almost certainly level out that tilled soil — effectively planting those weed seeds. Then they’ll almost certainly feed and water that bed. Then they are shocked — shocked! — to see a bed of weeds thicker than their lawn pop up a week later. Be proud of those weeds. It might be the best planting job you’ll do this season!

Seriously, don’t be a weed farmer. Stop tilling and simply add two inches of fresh compost to the surface of the soil every year to keep your organic matter content nice and high. Then free of weeds your beds will be.

 

How to prepare that first-year bed — Go ‘stale’

I advise against tilling the soil in raised beds every season, but then, how do you prepare a bed the first time?  And what can you do if you’ve already tilled your soil for this season?

Make a “stale seed bed.”

After you finish turning the soil, level it, water it well and then leave it alone for a solid 10 days. By then, all the dormant weed seeds you’ve awakened will have sprouted. Then take a garden hoe with a very sharp blade at the end (you can have an old hoe sharpened or buy really cool ones that have replaceable blades that are as sharp as a single-edged razor blade on the end) and very gently slice their little heads off right at the soil line. And that’s it.

The seeds used up all their inherent energy in the sprouting, and you then quickly prevented their leaves from achieving photosynthesis: end of weeds.

And yes, it really is just that easy.

The post Garden Plot: When is the right time to plant tomatoes? appeared first on WTOP.

Scottsbluff Star Herald

In battle of Manassas, a fight over abortion Richmond.com Liberals and progressives are getting a painful lesson about the power of big government from a very small city. With only 10 square miles and fewer than 40,000 residents, Manassas, in Northern Virginia, could soon shut down its only abortion clinic. Chamber members fan out for Volunteer Arlington DayInside NoVA all 2,860 news articles »

BALTIMORE (AP) — When police spotted Freddie Gray and he took off running through his Baltimore neighborhood, officers made a split-second decision to give chase, setting in motion his death in custody and rioting in the streets.

Fleeing from police is not, by itself, illegal in America, and the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that in safe neighborhoods, people not suspected of criminal activity can ignore a police officer who approaches them, even to the point of walking away.

But courts have set a different standard for places where street crime is common, ruling that police can chase, stop and frisk people if their location contributes to a suspicion of criminal activity.

This double standard is having a major impact as more black men die in encounters with police around the country. Many have been shot or tackled while trying to flee. The court rulings justifying police chases in high-crime areas where many African-Americans live are contributing to a dangerous divide between police and citizens, said Ezekiel Edwards, director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Folks who are going to be the most intimidated or scared of the police are the same people in places where the Supreme Court has said, ‘if you run from police, that’s suspicion,'” he said.

Edwards is among the legal experts who say unprovoked flight, on its own, shouldn’t justify a chase: “If you can walk away, you can run away. It shouldn’t matter the speed at which you move away.”

There are limits to this leeway: The Supreme Court and lower courts have repeatedly required police to have some justification for stopping or questioning someone in a public place. But several legal experts say that because he was standing in a drug-infested area, Gray’s decision to bolt on April 12 may have justified the decision by four bicycle-riding officers to pursue and detain him.

“If the police show up and someone takes off running, that is enough to give rise to suspicion by police,” said Joelle Moreno, a former federal prosecutor who is now associate dean of the Florida International University law school. “Running is enough for a preliminary level of suspicion.”

Gray, 25, was pinned to a sidewalk, handcuffed and hoisted into a police van where he was put in leg irons after Baltimore officers said he made eye contact with them and ran. Somewhere along the way, he suffered a fatal spinal injury, and the six officers involved were suspended with pay amid a criminal investigation. Many in Baltimore are skeptical, questioning why officers chased after him to begin with.

Baltimore police initially said the officers acted because they believed Gray was involved in some kind of criminal activity. Later that day, an officer swore in a court document that he had found a knife clipped to the inside of Gray’s pocket, and asked that he be charged with carrying a switchblade. A summons was produced, but Gray was in a coma by then, and died a week later.

“The officers made eye contact and he ran. That’s part of the question we have to dig into, if there’s more than just running. There is no law against running,” Baltimore police commissioner Anthony Batts said.

A Gray family lawyer put it more plainly: “Felony running doesn’t exist and you can’t arrest someone for looking you in the eye,” attorney Billy Murphy said.

Even without a law however, officers can make so-called “good arrests” of runners that will hold up in court because of two legal requirements that have evolved from court rulings on police powers to stop people. The first is higher — probable cause — which requires that police have “sufficiently trustworthy facts” to believe the person was or will be involved in a crime.

The second is lower — reasonable suspicion. The officer must still have specific facts warranting a stop, but not necessarily know whether a crime has been or will be committed. This is the pretext often used by police for “stop and frisk” encounters, and the fact that Gray was in an identifiable high-crime neighborhood adds to the justification by police.

“Courts have found that flight from police presence in a high-crime area creates reasonable suspicion warranting an investigatory stop,” said Michael Grieco, a former Miami-Dade County prosecutor now in private practice. “Police are only supposed to use enough reasonable force for apprehension and we are repeatedly seeing the products of excessive tactics.”

Others said courts have split on exactly what reasonable suspicion entails. Donald M. Jones, a University of Miami law professor and Baltimore native, said Gray’s act of simply running away may not have been enough.

“That is very thin. People run for many reasons. Many people have reasons to be afraid of the police,” Jones said. “I think that is ambiguous, but the courts are divided on that.”

In some cases, video recordings might add clarity: In North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer Michael Slager was charged with murder after a bystander recorded him shooting of Walter Scott, who was unarmed and running away from Slager’s Taser following an April 4 traffic stop.

The Supreme Court has ruled that officers can use deadly force against an escaping suspect only if they believe the person poses “a significant threat of death or serious physical injury” to the officers or someone else. Use of less-than-lethal force also requires officers to determine the seriousness of the suspected crime, and whether the suspect poses a safety threat or is attempting to evade arrest.

Legal experts say that when acting under reasonable suspicion, police generally are not supposed to use force to apprehend someone or slap handcuffs on them — unless their subsequent conversation or frisk turns up evidence of a crime or a weapon, such as a gun. In Baltimore, Gray had the knife, but it’s not clear that simply possessing it was enough to arrest him.

“The nature of the evidence is important,” Moreno said. “The knife cannot possibly substantiate any concern the police might have had with public safety, because they couldn’t see it. It’s a difficult thing. You have to look at it step by step by step.”

_____

Linderman contributed from Baltimore; Anderson reported from Miami. Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com

The post Can you run from police? US courts apply a double standard appeared first on WTOP.

This week’s Arlington Pet(s) of the Week are Bo and Lane, two brothers rescued from under a bush in Pennsylvania.

Here’s what owners Matt and Liz had to say about their sibling pets:

Bowman (Bo) and Lane were found by Matt hiding under a bush alongside the road in middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania. They were only 2-3 weeks old. Since being rescued that day, they have lived the posh, North Arlington lifestyle for nearly 4 years.

Bo has a sleek, grey coat and wing-tipped ears. He is a handsome devil, yet a total mama’s boy, drama king who thinks he is still a kitten. His favorite activities include pouncing on moving objects, leaping to tall heights, chewing on things he’s not supposed to, and meowing when people raise their voices. He also has a bottomless pit for a stomach and is not afraid to head-butt his parents while they are sleeping to let them know he’s hungry!

Lane has white, tuxedo fur on his chest and tummy that is softer than a cloud. He is constantly purring in between his inquisitive meows. Despite his sweet disposition, the hunter of the family also likes to leave gifts, whether a toy mouse or balled up socks, on the bedroom floor every morning in exchange for his breakfast. Other hobbies include running into the hallway to greet strangers, hiding from the vacuum cleaner, and beating up his brother when mom and dad aren’t home.

Each cat has his respective spot on the couch for watching “Law & Order: SVU” or the current season of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge, Lane with mom and Bo with dad. And when it’s time for bed, they switch and Bo sleeps under mom’s arm while Lane keeps dad’s feet warm. It’s times like these that Matt and Liz wonder if they truly adopted these furry gentlemen or if it was the other way around!

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Emailoffice@arlnow.com with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet.

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care, the winner of three Angie’s List Super Service Awards and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year, provides professional dog walking and pet sitting services in Arlington and Northern Virginia.

The post Arlington Pet of the Week: Bo and Lane appeared first on WTOP.

BALTIMORE (AP) — A polar bear at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore has been euthanized.

A statement from the zoo says the beloved polar bear, 26-year-old Magnet, was humanely euthanized Tuesday morning.

Magnet’s health took a sharp decline over the weekend. He had been recently diagnosed with kidney disease.

Zoo president and CEO Don Hutchinson says Magnet was the most iconic animal at the zoo and a model for its logo.

Magnet came to the zoo in 1991 when he was 3 years old.

The zoo’s polar bears are part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Species Survival Plan, which oversees polar bear husbandry and breeding recommendations.

Chief zoo veterinarian Dr. Ellen Bronson says a necropsy will be performed.

The post Baltimore zoo’s iconic 26-year-old polar bear euthanized appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — As Baltimore begins the recovery process from a day and night of rioting Monday in the wake of the funeral of Freddie Gray, one video making the rounds of social media shows a woman taking peacemaking into her own hands.

Baltimore’s WMAR caught video of a mother taking her 16-year-old son to task on Monday, and getting him back in line, in no uncertain terms (warning — there’s some R-rated language in the clip):

“I’m a no-tolerant mother. Everybody that knows me, know I don’t play that,” Toya Graham, a single mother of six, told CBS News. “He said, when ‘I seen you,’ he said, ‘ma, my instinct was to run.’”

Graham said she saw her only son wearing a hoodie and mask amid the protesters demonstrating just hours after a funeral for Gray.

“At that point, I just lost it,” she said. “I was shocked, I was angry, because you never want to see your child out there doing that.”

Baltimore Police Chief Anthony Batts referred to the video in his Monday-night news conference, saying “I wish I had more parents who took charge of their kids tonight.”

Despite the excellence of this clip, WTOP reminds everyone that violence isn’t the answer. Usually.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The post Mother catches son in riots, takes him out with force (Video) appeared first on WTOP.

The approval process for Ballston Common Mall’s massive renovation plans is still months away, but many stores are likely to close after the end of the year.

Forest City, which owns the mall, has coordinated leases for many of their shops on the mall’s interior to expire by the end of this year. This would pave the way for the mall’s renovation in 2016 once it’s approved, according to spokesman Gary McManus.

“We are currently in the process of positioning the mall for this demolition period by steadily vacating store units by the end of this year that will be impacted by early phases of demolition/redevelopment activity,” McManus told ARLnow.com in an email.

“To that end,” he continued, “we decided more than a year ago to institute lease terms for many of these store tenants that would not stretch into 2016 in order to give us the flexibility to start on the site work sooner than later, once the approvals process has been completed.”

McManus couldn’t specify which stores would be closing because of ongoing negotiations, but he said every business with an outside entrance will remain open throughout the entire renovation. That means Macy’s, Regal Cinemas, Rock Bottom Brewery, Noodles & Co., Panera Bread, Sport&Health Club and the CVS Pharmacy will be able to stay open, but everything else could be on the chopping block.

Forest City submitted three different site plan amendments with Arlington County last summer: one to renovate the mall’s interior, another to construct a 393 unit, 29-story residential tower with ground floor retail at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and N. Randolph Street, and a third to renovate the office building above the mall.

All of those applications are under staff review and no dates have been set for meetings of the Site Plan Review Committee, the Arlington Planning Commission or the County Board. While many site plan amendments take within 12 months to work through the process, the grand scope of Forest City’s plans dictate a longer review period, county planning staff said.

“The timeline has been due to the nature and complexity of the proposal,” Community Planning, Housing and Development spokeswoman Gina Wimpey said in an email. ” We want to ensure that, given that there are three separate applications for the redevelopment of the block that are interrelated, an appropriate review process is determined.”

McManus said he can’t speculate on a development timetable until Forest City has its plans approved, but he said it will go before the Board “hopefully by late 2015.”

Before that happens, Forest City will be selling national retailers on the future of Ballston Common Mall — which will be rebranded as “Ballston Center” — at industry conventions, in particular GlobalShop in Las Vegas, the largest retailer trade show in the country.

“Many retailers not currently located in the mall have expressed excitement and interest in learning more about our plans at this event,” McManus said. “So overall, the redevelopment plans for Ballston Common are on track and proceeding smoothly. This is a complex process and we are very excited about the anticipated results. Believe me when I say that no one is more eager to complete the redevelopment process at Ballston Common than Forest City Washington.”

The post Ballston Mall Prepares for Possible Mass Closures By Year’s End appeared first on WTOP.

Editor’s Note: The Local Woof is a column that’s sponsored and written by the staff of Woofs! Dog Training Center. Woofs! has full-service dog training, boarding, and daycare facilities, near Shirlington and Ballston.

Some dogs react to the presence of specific stimuli with aggressive barking and lunging. When a dog does this specifically in the presence of other dogs, we call it dog reactivity.

There are many reasons why a dog might be reactive. Fear, a lack of early socialization or a traumatic event are just some possible reasons. Some dogs may be reactive on leash but play really well with dogs off leash.

No matter the reason, walking a reactive dog can be a real challenge. We often call it the “midnight dog-walkers club” since owners of reactive dogs tend to go out of their way to walk their dogs when there are as few other dogs around as possible.

Walking a reactive dog can be a really big challenge in an urban environment. When working with reactive dogs we usually recommend a program of counter-conditioning and desensitization, where slowly, over time, we teach the dog to tolerate the presence of other dogs without reacting with barking and lunging.

During the training phase, I usually teach handlers a three-pronged approach about what to do.

1. Click then treat
2. Treat bomb and
3. Get outta Dodge.

The first thing to do is “Click then treat.” If your dog is able to pay attention to you and is not barking or lunging you can treat them, very rapidly, in the presence of the other dog.

Once your dog reacts with barking or lunging, we need a new plan. This is when I resort to a “treat bomb.” In this situation I throw 15 -20 very small treats down in front of the dog. Hopefully the dog will be sufficiently motivated by the food to stop the barking and lunging and eat the treats off the ground. Once they finish the treat bomb, they are often now able to refocus on you and you can go back to clicking and treating for good behaviors. The treat bomb is simply a behavior interrupter to distract the dog and give you a moment to get them back under control.

If all else fails and you find yourself in a difficult situation, it time to “Getta outta Dodge.” No amount of treating or pleading or yelling is going to resolve the situation. Your dog is over its threshold.

Their thinking brain is no longer working so there is no point is asking them to follow even the most simple of commands. At this point, your best bet is to take off in the opposite direction and remove yourself from the situation as quickly as possible.

Dog reactivity is probably the number one behavior problem we are called in to help with. The good news is that over time, and with consistent positive training, reactivity can improve a great deal.

The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

The post Local Woof: Walking With a Dog-Reactive Dog appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — Say hello to Pillsbury, a striking 3-year-old German shepherd mix.

This black beauty is smart and energetic, and already knows some basic commands. She also is friendly and playful with other dogs … even those that are pushy or annoying.

She is somewhat anxious in unfamiliar surroundings and is looking for a human companion who will help build her self-confidence. Given her intelligent nature, she would likely excel in canine obedience and “tricks” classes.

If you’re looking for a large dog who will return your commitment with a lifetime of loyalty and devotion, stop by the Washington Animal Rescue League to meet Pillsbury.

About WARL: Founded in 1914, the Washington Animal Rescue League is the oldest animal shelter in Washington D.C. Its mission includes rescuing, rehabilitating and finding homes for animals who have no where else to go. The League also supports animals through affordable veterinary care, community outreach and education. Learn more about the Washington Animal Rescue League at www.warl.org.

If you are thinking of adding a furry friend to your family, check out these other great shelters in the area:

Maryland

Humane Society of Charles County
(301) 645-8181
71 Industrial Park Dr. PO Box 1015 Waldorf, Md. 20604

Humane Society of Charles County offers a low cost spay/neuter program to the public. Please call or visit our website for more information. The shelter is also looking for more foster parents to help its animals.

Prince George’s County Humane Society
(301) 262-5625
P.O. Box 925 Bowie, Md. 20718
Prince George’s County Humane Society is also looking for foster parents. For more information, contact the organization.

PAW – Partnership for Animal Welfare
(301) 572-4729
P.O. Box 1074 Greenbelt, Md. 20768

Paws Animal Kingdom
(301) 920-2318
P.O. Box 11531 Takoma Park, Md. 20912

Montgomery County Humane Society
(240) 773-5960
14645 Rothgeb Dr. Rockville, Md. 20850

The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County
(301) 740-2511
12 Park Ave. Gaithersburg, Md. 20877

D.C.

Washington Humane Society
(202) 576-6664
1201 New York Ave. NE 20002

ASAP – Alliance for Stray Animals and People
(202) 331-1330
P.O. Box 65438 Washington, D.C. 20035-5438

Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue
(202) 575-2210
Approved applicants may attend monthly adoption meets that are usually held at the house of a volunteer in either Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland.

Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
(202) 741-5428
Lucky Dog is a foster home organization and does not run a dedicated housing facility.

Northern Virginia

A Forever Home
(703) 961-8690
A Forever-Home is a non-profit dog rescue group that operates in the Northern Virginia/Washington Metropolitan area.

Lab Rescue of L.R.C.P.
(301) 299-6756
Lab Rescue of the LRCP is a volunteer driven, non-profit organization that rescues, fosters and places homeless, abused, and/or abandoned Labrador Retrievers.

FOHA – Friends of Homeless Animals
(703) 385-0224
All visitors must speak to a Friends representative prior to receiving directions to their shelter location.

SPCA of Northern Virginia
P.O. Box 100220 Arlington, Va. 22210-3220
Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
(703) 746-4774
4101 Eisenhower Ave. Alexandria, Va. 22304

Animal Welfare League of Arlington
(703) 931-9241
2650 S. Arlington Mill Dr. Arlington, Va.

Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation
(703) 295-3647
P.O. Box 223953 Chantilly, Va. 20153

HART – Homeless Animal Rescue Team
(703) 691-HART
P.O. Box 7261 Fairfax Station, Va. 22039-7261

King Street Cats Rescue and Adoption
(703) 231-7199
25 Dove St. Alexandria, Va. 22314

The post Pet of the Week: Pillsbury appeared first on WTOP.

Food that’s recalled because it can be potentially dangerous to the public doesn’t have to go to waste. Jeni’s has to dispose of 535,000 pounds of ice cream, but they aren’t just tossing it all in a landfill. The Columbus Dispatch reports that the potentially listeria-contaminated desserts will instead go into an anaerobic digester, which provides electricity while it digests and produces fertilizer. [Columbus Dispatch]

Why would you use your oven when you could have an entire pantry full of baking devices that are devoted to one extremely specific food item, and often don’t make that food item all that well? That’s why we’re fascinated with these appliances, which can make anything from ice cream sandwiches to pretzels, but cannot create more storage space in your house.

If I could buy a plug-in storage space generator for only $18.97, I would grab a dozen of them. Unfortunately, that’s not available. However, the Twinkie machine is, and it comes with a recipe book. Reviews, unfortunately, are mixed.

“These aren’t like the Twinkies you will kind on the shelves today, this is the old school classic Twinkie recipe…you know, back in the day before High Fructose Corn Syrup was the first ingredient in every packaged food so naturally it will taste different, look a little different and feel different,” explains one satisfied customer.

“All the directions need revising. The only way to get the Twinkies out is to grease the cavities with Crisco AND to turn the entire device upside down (the directions call for non-stick spray and a wooden utensil – which works great if you want pieces of mangled pastry instead of a whole Twinkie)” says a less satisfied customer. That’s before the filling explodes the provided pastry bag. “This would, however, be the perfect gift for your least favorite co-worker or a prank-themed white-elephant exchange, particularly if you think the recipient will be gullible enough to try using this item.”

That describes any of these monotasking baking products, doesn’t it?

Twinkie Maker [The Worst Things For Sale]

When it comes to courtship, sometimes asking more than once is just too much. That’s why a proposed law in New York City would make it illegal for landlords to offer a tenant a buyout after they’ve already been told that the renter doesn’t want any such deal. But a group representing the landlords says tenants might change their minds down the line.

A bill introduced to the City Council would put restrictions on landlords trying to get rent-stabilized tenants out so they can raise the rent higher than they’re currently able to under rules set by the Rent Guidelines Board, reports Gothamist.

A vacant apartment in NYC can have its rent increased more than one occupied by a rent-stabilized tenant — who gets the option to renew their lease at a lower rate of increase ever year. Offering tenants a buyout is an easy way for landlords to get those apartments empty — and thus, make more money off them.

This bill would prevent repeated buyout offers after a tenant indicates verbally or in writing that they’re not interested in a deal. But a spokesman for The Rent Stabilization Association says that proffering such deals is a form of free speech. And besides, what if someone changes their mind later on?

“I think there’s a real issue here in terms of First Amendment, free speech rights,” he told Gothamist. “If someone says, on January 1st, ‘Don’t bother me. I don’t want to be bought out,’ I don’t think there’s any harm in an owner three months or six months later saying, ‘By the way, have you changed your mind?'” he said. “Is that harassment?”

Take Our Poll

Proposed Law Would Ban Landlords From Repeatedly Offering Buyouts [Gothamist]

Three performers fired from Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando last June after they refused to wear costumes dubbed “contaminated” by other sweaty garments will be given their old jobs back and get back pay.

A federal arbitrator ruled that the employees were in the right, and that Disney had violated a collective bargaining agreement by firing them, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

The employees said the unitards they had to wear for the Festival of the Lion King show had been tainted by other sweaty garments that had been pushed up against their clean clothes. When they refused to put the outfits on, one of the shows had to be canceled and they were fired shortly after.

That violated Disney’s contract, the local Teamsters union representing the workers argued, by giving them unsanitary clothing.

“I’m really, really happy that everything ended up working out in the end,” said one of the performers, who will go back to the show. “This is just awesome news.”

A Disney spokesman said the company will comply with the ruling.

Disney workers fired over sweaty costumes win their jobs back [Orlando Sentinel]

Because there are inevitably going to be those people who cannot stand to have something even one second after other people can get it, one company has started offering up chickens for rent, giving poultry hipsters a chance to get the very freshest eggs possible.

In all seriousness though, the whole thing is pretty funny — “Rent The Chicken” doesn’t roll off the tongue without a giggle, the owner tells the Associated Press.

“When I answer the phone and I say, ‘Rent The Chicken, this is Jenn,’ they giggle and say, ‘I would like to rent the chicken.’ And then they giggle some more,” she says.

Her Pennsylvania-based company is now in three other states as well as Toronto after two years of leasing chickens to people who want fresh eggs from humanely raised hens.

“As a society, we don’t really like commitment,” the owner explained. “We don’t want a contract on our cellphones; we don’t want long-term commitment with our cable company. With chickens, they can live to seven or 10 years, and people are a bit scared of that.”

But when you rent, you don’t have to worry about raising chickens in the long run, just about how long you want eggs. An example package would run a person $150 per month for two hens, a coop that can be easily moved around the yard, feed and help if you need it from the experts.

Other businesses are booming as well, with the owner of Rent a Coop in Maryland saying his company rents out 25 to 30 coops every month.

“I think it will be sustained,” he says of poultry leasing. “People want to know where their food comes from.”

Before you jump into chicken renting, companies suggest talking to your neighbors first to see if they’re cool with it, as well as checking with local ordinances or homeowners associations.

Entrepreneurs hatch hen-rental idea for fans of fresh eggs [Associated Press]

Target is a popular and successful retail chain, which has somehow managed to spread nationwide and woo customers in spite of its poor grasp of math. Here’s yet another example of Target Math, a special way of calculating sale prices and promotions that isn’t unique to Target, but for some reason turns up on their shelves very, very often.

Reader Jules spotted this specimen in the skin-care aisle. To be fair, that shelf tag doesn’t say that the kit is on sale, but it doesn’t say “price hike,” either.

We contacted Target for an explanation of what’s going on here, but they didn’t get back to us. Maybe they’re still trying to figure it out.

How Long Do People Live in Manassas? Patch.com A new study breaks down longevity by congressional district. See how our area stacks up. By Chris Gaudet (Patch Staff) April 28, 2015. Share. 0 Comments. How Long Do People Live in Manassas? Sign up for the Manassas Patch newsletter! Image credit: ... and more »

Washington Post

Shhh, DC is getting a silent disco Washington Post On June 6, you can expect to see hundreds of people in Dupont Circle, dancing to music — not choreographed, not synchronized and in silence. With Love DC, a group that aims to make the District more “joyful and love-filled,” is hosting a silent disco ... DC park to host silent discoWashington D.C. Sun Times all 3 news articles »

PotomacLocal.com

New Manassas zoning law sparks outcry from abortion backers PotomacLocal.com Abortion clinics and other medical care facilities must now have special permission from the Manassas City Council before they open. Such new medical care facilities, other than hospitals and doctors offices — those that have office space, a lab ...

Manassas man charged with abduction, impersonating law enforcement PotomacLocal.com On April 26, the Prince William police responded to a call from an apartment on Camfield Court in Manassas to investigate an assault. The victim, a 26-year old woman, told officers that she and the suspect, 25-year old Stephen Kwaku Buadu, were ...

You can make any occasion more fun and festive by adding colourful popcorn to the mix! Try a batch of red and green to celebrate Christmas, pastels for a baby shower or create a tasty Superbowl snack in your favorite team's colours. Choose between standard buttery popcorn, sweet caramel corn or fruit-flavoured, candy-like popcorn in any colour of the rainbow.

Steps

Sweetened Colourful Popcorn

1. Gather your ingredients. If you want a classic caramel corn taste with a twist, this recipe is for you. It results in fresh-tasting, crunchy popcorn with a sweet and salty flavour combo that's always a hit. You can dye it any colour you want using liquid food colouring. Here's what you'll need:
   
   
   
   • 1 tablespoon butter
   • 1 tablespoon canola oil
   • 1/4 cup corn syrup
   • 1/4 teaspoon salt
   • 1/4 teaspoon liquid food colouring
   • 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels
2. Melt the butter, oil, syrup and salt together. Place the butter, oil, syrup and salt in a large pot. Melt the ingredients together until they're completely combined. Stir occasionally to incorporate the ingredients.
   
   
   
3. Add the food colouring. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of liquid food colouring. If you want the popcorn to have a deeper colour, add more; for a pastel colour, add less. Use a spoon to mix the food colouring in thoroughly.
   
   
   
4. Pop the popcorn. Pour 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels into the pot and stir them around so they're coated in the syrup mixture. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pot and turn the heat to medium high. Shake the pot every few moments as the kernels heat up and begin to pop. When the popping begins to slow down, remove the pot from heat.
   
   
   
   • If you want to use the microwave instead. pour the syrup mixture and popcorn kernels into a glass microwave-safe bowl with a lid. Pop the popcorn on high for three to four minutes, or until the popping slows to a stop. Do not use a plastic bowl, even if it's microwave safe, since the syrup will get very hot and could scorch the bowl. Be sure to use a glass one.
     
     
     
5. Spoon the popcorn onto a baking sheet to cool. You can oil the baking sheet or line it with parchment paper so the popcorn won't stick. Spread it into a thin, single layer and allow it to cool completely. The popcorn will get crispy as it cools. Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container. ^[1]
   
   
   

Fruity Colourful Popcorn

1. Gather your ingredients. Some genius discovered that you can use unsweetened drink mix or Jello mix to add flavour and colour to popcorn. The bright, fruity flavours and colours make this recipe perfect for parties. Here's what you'll need:
   • 8 cups of popped popcorn (if you're not popping it from scratch, choose an unflavoured kind)
     
     
     
   • 1/4 cup butter
     
     
     
   • 1/4 cup corn syrup
     
     
     
   • 1/2 cup sugar
     
     
     
   • 3.5 oz flavoured, unsweetened gelatin mix or fruit drink mix
     
     
     
2. Preheat the oven to . Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or spraying it with cooking oil, and set it aside.
   
   
   
3. Pour the popcorn into a large mixing bowl. Make sure it's big enough so that you'll be able to reach in and mix the popcorn with the flavouring.
   
   
   
4. Melt the butter, syrup, sugar and flavouring together. Put all of these ingredients into a small pot and heat them over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to allow it to simmer. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.
   
   
   
5. Pour the mixture over the popcorn and stir. Use a long-handled wooden spoon to stir the mixture in with the popcorn, and try to thoroughly incorporate it so every piece gets coated.
   
   
   
6. Spread the popcorn on the baking sheet. Use the spoon to spread it out in a single layer. Examine the popcorn for unpopped kernels and pick them out.
   
   
   
7. Bake the popcorn for 10 minutes. This hardens the flavouring so the popcorn becomes crunchy, rather than chewy. If you want it extra crunchy, bake for 15 minutes. If you like your popcorn chewy, take it out after 5 minutes.
   
   
   
8. Let the popcorns cool. Once it's cool enough to handle, enjoy the popcorn or store it in an airtight container for later.^[2]
   
   
   

Buttery Colourful Popcorn

1. Gather your ingredients. This simple recipe is for classic buttery, salted popcorn, with one big difference: it's colourful. This buttery popcorn will turn out delicious and vibrantly coloured, but unlike the sweet caramel version, savoury colourful popcorn will dye your fingers and mouth with food colouring. If you don't mind having green, red or blue fingers and lips, try this recipe. If you do, make the sweet caramel or fruity kind. Here's what you'll need for simple buttered popcorn with a pop of colour:
   
   
   
   • 1 tablespoon of butter
   • 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels
   • Liquid or gel food colouring
   • Salt
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Place a tablespoon of butter either in a stockpot or a large bowl (the same one you want to use to pop the popcorn). If you're using a pot, melt the butter over a burner on the stove. If you're using a big plastic bowl, you can melt it in the microwave.
   
   
   
3. Stir in the food colouring. Since this colourful popcorn will stain your fingers and lips, you only want to use a few drops of food colouring. Pour in five to ten drops, enough to give your finished popcorn a burst of colour without making too much of a mess.
   
   
   
   • If you're using red food colouring, check the label to make sure it says "unflavoured." Red food colouring often has a bitter flavour, but if it's labeled as unflavoured, it won't.
     
     
     
4. Pop the popcorn. Pour the 1/3 cup of kernels into the butter mixture, and stir them around so they're completely coated. Cook the popcorn either on the stove or in the microwave; both methods work equally well.
   
   
   
   • If you're using a pot, cover it with a tight-fitting lid and place it on the stove over medium high heat. Shake the pot every few moments as the popcorn kernels heat up and begin to pop. When the popping slows down, remove the pot from heat.
     
     
     
   • If you're using a bowl, cover it and place it in the microwave. Microwave the kernels on high for two to three minutes. When the popping slows down, remove the bowl from the microwave.
     
     
     
5. Pour the popcorn into a bowl, salt to taste, and enjoy. Your colourful popcorn will taste just like regular buttery popcorn. Be sure to wash your hands after enjoying your popcorn to remove the food colouring from your fingers.
   
   
   

Video

Tips

• Don't use too much butter; it will make your popcorn a soggy mess.

Warnings

• Beware of hot butter that might burn.

Related wikiHows

• How to Make Chocolate Popcorn
• How to Make Snowy Popcorn
• How to Make Popcorn Seasoning
• How to Make Parmesan Popcorn

Sources and Citations

Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

There’s a lot of information about you on the back of your state-issued driver’s license or non-driver ID card, but does scanning your license or making a copy of it give potential identity thieves key information about you? It’s not easy to find out what data is encoded in the barcodes on the back of your ID cards, and your state’s motor vehicles department may not want you to know.

We use driver’s licenses as photo ID for everything from buying cold medicine or booze to boarding a plane, in addition to using them as proof that we’re legally permitted to drive. Yet people often wonder what information is embedded in those barcodes, and consumer problem-solving columnist Karin Price Mueller of the Star-Ledger decided to find out. Lots of extensive reporting got her…well, she found out what one of the barcodes means, but what the other one contains is a mystery that mere mortals are not allowed to understand.

What the MVC, New Jersey’s motor vehicle agency, could tell her was that some of the data embedded on the back of your license is the same information that’s on the front of your license. There’s your name, birthdate, address, height, and weight. That’s to prevent people from altering the front of their license–say, the year of their birth. The other barcodes, though? We can’t know what information is encoded there for security reasons.

Bamboozled: What the bar codes on your driver’s license reveal about you, and why it matters [Newark Star-Ledger]

The federal government provides around $7 billion each year in funding for foster care providers around the country, but leaves much of the oversight of these operations up to the states and local governments. These entities may then contract out foster care to private, for-profit providers. Recent reports have raised questions about the safety of the children placed into the care of some of these privatized foster networks, and now the U.S. Senate is beginning to ask questions.

In February, a BuzzFeed News investigative report looked into allegations of sexual abuse and deaths involving the country’s largest for-profit foster care provider, National Mentor, which tends to some 3,800 minors in 15 states. The company now trades on the NYSE as Civitas Solutions Inc. and reports more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

Earlier this month, the company decided to stop offering its services in Illinois. In a press release, Civitas makes no mention of state investigators’ findings that the company has placed two pre-teen girls in a house with a foster mother who had previously committed fraud by adopting two children then sending them to live with a relative while still saying they were caring for the kids.

“Rather than ensuring their actions were in the best interest of the children and the families they are enlisted to serve, agency staff cultivated a culture of incompetence and lack of forthrightness,” reads the investigators’ report. ”The absence of good faith demonstrated by the private agency undermined any faith the Department or the public would be able to place in the organization.”

The report concludes by recommending that the state “cease contracting” with Civitas, though a rep for the company told BuzzFeed that its decision to exit Illinois was unrelated to this report.

In response to the BuzzFeed investigations, the Senate Finance Committee recently sent letters [PDF] to the governors of each of the 50 states.

“When children are removed from the custody of their parents due to abuse or neglect, as lawmakers, we have an obligation to ensure their safety and well-being,” begins the letter, which describes the way the foster system operates as “a complex structure consisting of overlapping, Federal, State, County and Tribal laws and practices carried out by a mix of public and private entities.”

This tangled structure can lead to “finger pointing and confusion” when something goes wrong, note the senators.

“We are aware that states are increasingly contracting with private entities or organizations to administer some or all of their foster care programs. However, the extent and structure of these arrangements are less clear,” continues the letter, which then asks each state to provide detailed information about their foster care programs, including:

• Proportion of children placed by private agencies;

• Names of private agencies and whether they are for-profit or non-profit;

• Accreditation requirements, if any, for private foster care providers;

• Detailed descriptions of the selection process for private foster care contractors;

• Detailed descriptions for safety inspections at foster care providers, and if those inspections are different depending on whether the provider ir private, public, non-profit, or for-profit;

• Statistics on substantiated instances of abuse.

The governors have until May 29 to provide the committee with this information.

[via BuzzFeed]

An apparent attempt to remove an unruly customer from a Michigan McDonald’s resulted in a knockout punch from an employee at the fast food chain.

The above video was shot in the early hours of the morning last week at a McDonald’s in East Lansing, MI.

The man who shot the video tells Mlive.com that there was a belligerent, possibly drunk customer, spit on the counter and knocked over a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign.

In the video, you can’t initially see that customer because he’s hidden in the darkness by the door, but you can see a McDonald’s employee and another man attempting to talk to him.

Then a second McDonald’s worker comes into the picture and appears to pick the man up. There looks to be some resistance from the customer and this second employee then punches him once, knocking him to the floor, and apparently rendering him unconscious.

The customer “definitely instigated it,” says the man who shot the video. “But, it got taken too far. He didn’t have to get punched, he could have got pushed out and told not to come back.”

Puppies chew everything: fingers, toes, shoes, furniture…well, anything else within their reach. Nylabone offers a kit with a few different types of durable bone for your puppy to try in order to redirect their chewing urge toward something more that’s cheaper than shoes and healthier for their teeth. That seems like a good idea…unless the bones they’re chewing are contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

Salmonella can affect dogs and humans alike. It’s a more severe illness for people, causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Infection can also have rare complications that can be fatal. Dogs can experience diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, but they can also be carriers and transmit Salmonella to humans who haven’t touched the contaminated food item…or dog toy, in this case.

Here’s how to identify packages that might be affected: they’re labeled with lot number 21935. The UPC is 0-18214-81291-3, and they have an expiration date of 3/22/18. All of these will be printed at the bottom of the back of the package.

If you have the kit, you should return any unchewed portion to the store where you purchased it for a refund. If you have any questions about the recall, bark at Nylabone at 1-877-273-7527.

TFH Publications, Inc./Nylabone Products Recalls Puppy Starter Kit Due To Possible Salmonella Health Risk [FDA]

Back in December, fans of snack chip-flavored taco shells got an enticing hint in a presentation to shareholders in Taco Bell parent company Yum! Brands. As part of a slide showing planned innovations, a taco in a small Fritos bag was shown under the words “Revolutionizing the taco.” A Fritos-shell taco? What madness was this? The crunchy corn shells have become reality, and Taco Bell is beginning to test them.

You’re out of luck, Fritos fans, unless you live in Memphis, Tennessee. If you do, then you can get one for $1.49, or as part of a combo box with a beverage, a Doritos Locos taco (of course), and a Burrito Supreme.

Considering the crunchy success of Doritos Locos Tacos, it could work…but do people love Fritos as much as they love the flavor-coated tastiness of Doritos? That’s why Taco Bell is testing this line before rolling it out everywhere.

Take Our Poll