Lighthouse Avenue

This time it's iceberg lettuce.

An E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in tainted iceberg lettuce that sickened 36 people in Michigan last month has been traced back to California growers.

The outbreak, involving bagged, industrial-sized packages of iceberg lettuce sold through wholesale venues to restaurants and institutions, sickened students at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, and inmates at Lenawee County Jail before spreading to metro Detroit.

Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said September is peak season for Salinas Valley lettuce growers.

"That's when our growers are very busy," said Perkins. "If it's California bagged lettuce, there's a real probability that it will be tied to our area, or to somebody that we know."

What did our career congressman Sam The Sham Farr do with the millions of tax dollars he got when it was spinach?

Retired veterinarian Ted Hollister has thrown his hat into the ring as a write-in candidate for mayor of Pacific Grove.

"The tipping point" for him, said 77-year-old Hollister, was the council's action to merge Pacific Grove's fire department with Monterey's, an issue he felt didn't raise enough questions among the council members.

"I don't fault their intentions," he said. "I just disagree with the way they're going."

Or was the tipping point the flap over getting to move into Forest Hill Manor before the construction was complete?