Police arrest man in Japan tainted food scandal

TOKYO — Japanese police arrested a factory worker at a plant that churned out food laced with pesticide, which led to massive poisoning and a recall of more than 6 million packages of frozen food.

Police on Sunday identified the suspect as Toshiki Abe, 49, a worker at the subsidiary of Maruha Nichiro Holdings Inc., where the tainted food was found. Abe was arrested Saturday and has denied the charges, police said.

As many as 2,800 people across Japan may have been sickened by the tainted food, including pizzas, croquettes and pancakes manufactured at the plant in Gunma prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Abe is suspected of lacing the food with poison four times in October, and malathion, the pesticide used, was found in his possessions, according to Kyodo News service. Other details were not immediately available.

Maruha Nichiro has announced executive pay cuts and said that President Toshio Kushiro and the president of the subsidiary were resigning in March to take responsibility for the food poisoning.

The Tokyo-based manufacturer has repeatedly apologized and bought full-page ads in major newspapers to apologize and warn people not to eat any of the possibly tainted food.

Malathion, used in farming and gardening, can cause death in high concentrations, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

No life-threatening illnesses from Maruha's products have been reported, but public trust in food safety has been badly shaken.

Late last year, a slew of top-notch hotels and department stores acknowledged the food they were serving or selling weren't what they were billed to be, but cheaper substitutes.

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Smoking out the rough idle and stalling of Expedition

I have a 2001 Ford Expedition with the 5.4-liter V8 and 103,000 miles. At 98,000 miles it developed a rough idle and began stalling at stop signs.

My local mechanic noticed low fuel pressure and replaced the fuel filter and fuel pump. It ran good but then the "Check engine" light came on and the rough idle and stalling returned. The mechanic could not find anything wrong but a scan found codes P0171 and P0174. Another mechanic came up with the same codes and checked for vacuum leaks but could not find any. I have continued to drive the vehicle and the "Check engine" light is still on. Any suggestions?

My Alldata automotive database confirmed that the P0171 and P0174 codes indicate a lean fuel/air condition from both cylinder banks. Since technicians have checked for but not found the problem, I'd suggest a "smoke" test to help identify any vacuum leaks. This simple test involves introducing a non-toxic smoke into the crankcase under low pressure and then watching for any smoke escaping from the engine, induction system or vacuum lines.

Also, a ruptured diaphragm in the fuel pressure regulator, located on the fuel rail downstream of the fuel injectors, could cause low fuel pressure as well as fuel leakage directly into the intake manifold. If there's
liquid fuel in the vacuum line at the regulator, the diaphragm is ruptured. Rough idle and stalling at stops are often symptoms of a failed fuel pressure regulator.

I own a 2008 2.4-liter four-cylinder Toyota Camry with 98,000 miles that I service every 5,000 miles. For the past 15,000, miles I have had to add 2 to 2 1⁄2 quarts of engine oil between changes. The service writer at the Toyota dealership tells me that 1 to 1  1⁄2 quarts every 5,000 miles is normal for these aluminum engines. I have not noticed a decrease in engine power or any smoke from the tailpipe. I bought this car new expecting to get 200,000 miles out of it. I think this is a lot of oil for a car to burn.

One quart per 2,000 miles is completely within Toyota's "normal" oil consumption guidelines of one quart per 1,200 miles. Your concern is due to the change in oil consumption. Has oil use continued to increase? Or is it stable at this rate? Unless or until the consumption rate increases to excess, I would not be particularly concerned.

Unless oil use is being caused by a clogged PCV system or "sticky" piston rings, there's no easy "fix." You could try de-carbonizing the rings/grooves to free any sticking rings that could increase the amount of oil reaching the combustion chambers. Remove the spark plugs after shutting down the hot engine and pour an ounce or so of SeaFoam directly into each cylinder. After an hour or overnight, temporarily disable the ignition and fuel injection and crank the engine to expel any liquid in the cylinders. Reinstall the plugs, re-enable the ignition and injection, then start and drive the vehicle for at least 20 minutes.

I use "high-mileage" oil and change it every 3,000 miles on my two high-mileage cars. What kind of oil should I use when topping up the oil between changes during this very cold weather? Would 0W-20 full synthetic be the best bet? What is your opinion on using 0W-20 full synthetic for the regular oil changes during the cold months?

When adding oil between oil changes, use the same brand/viscosity already in the crankcase. Adding a different oil isn't harmful but the additive package and viscosity are likely not the same. I don't think 0W-20 would be a good choice in high-mileage vehicles unless the carmaker suggests it in the service recommendations. For most modern engines a full synthetic 5W-30 would be a good choice in cold temperatures.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number.

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A look at minimum wage legislation in states

Some minimum wage legislation and initiatives in states around the nation:

—Alabama: Proposed constitutional amendment would raise minimum wage by steps to $9.80 on Jan. 1, 2016. Voters would also have to approve the measure.

—Alaska: Supporters of an effort to raise the minimum wage turned in signatures with hopes of getting the issue on the August ballot.

—Arkansas: Supporters hope to gather enough signatures for a ballot proposal in November that would raise the minimum wage by steps to $8.50 per hour by 2017.

—Delaware: A bill would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25, in two 50-cent increments.

—Florida: Bills would raise the rate to $10.10.

—Georgia: Two bills sponsored by House Democrats would raise the minimum wage.

—Hawaii: Lawmakers have filed paperwork on bill to raise the minimum wage.

—Idaho: An effort is underway to get a minimum wage hike on next November's ballot. The initiative would hike the lowest legal pay in Idaho to $9.80 an hour by 2017.

—Illinois: Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn wants to raise the rate from $8.25 to $10.

—Indiana: A Democrat-backed bill to increase Indiana's minimum wage by $1 was blocked by majority Republicans on a party-line vote.

—Iowa: Bill would hike the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour up to $10.10.

—Kentucky: Bill would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour over three years.

—Louisiana: Louisiana's legislative session begins in March, and a Democratic lawmaker has said he intends to introduce wage legislation.

—Maryland: Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley is backing an increase of $10.10 an hour by 2016.

—Massachusetts: The state Senate approved an increase in the minimum wage from $8 to $11 over three years. The House hasn't taken up the measure. The issue could also land on the ballot this year.

—Michigan: Bills introduced in 2013 would raise the minimum wage from $7.40 to $10 an hour over three years. Michigan has two-year legislative sessions.

—Minnesota: Democratic backers have been holding hearings around the state and hope to win passage of a wage bill within weeks of the Legislature's session opening in late February.

—Missouri: Four bills seek to raise the minimum wage, either to $8.25, $9, $10 or $10.25. Advocacy groups also have filed four versions of a proposed ballot initiative seeking to raise the minimum wage.

—Nebraska: A group of lawmakers is pushing for a minimum-wage increase to $9 per hour, phased in over three years.

—New Hampshire: Democrats who control the House are pushing a minimum wage increase.

—New Mexico: A proposed constitutional amendment introduced in the Senate would automatically increase the state's minimum wage each year to adjust it for inflation. If approved by lawmakers, the measure would be placed on the November ballot.

—New York: Bill would accelerate the state's scheduled minimum wage increase to $9 by 2015 and tie it to the inflation rate.

—Pennsylvania: At least half a dozen bills would raise the state's $7.25-an-hour minimum wage.

—Rhode Island: Bill would raise the minimum wage from $8 to $9 in 2015.

—South Carolina: One bill would require employers to pay at least $10 an hour or whatever federal law requires, whichever is greater. Another would require employers to pay $1 more than the federal minimum wage. Additionally, there is a resolution to ask voters whether the state constitution should change to allow for a minimum wage greater than the federal minimum wage.

—South Dakota: Ballot measure would raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $8.50 an hour beginning in January 2015.

—Tennessee: House Democrats plan to introduce a minimum wage bill this year.

—Utah: A Democratic lawmaker is working on a proposal to increase Utah's minimum wage by $1 from $7.25 to $8.25.

—Vermont: A bill in the House would raise the minimum wage to $12.50 in 2015, while a bill in the Senate would boost it to $12 per hour in 2016. Both would adjust it for inflation afterward.

—Virginia: One bill would raise the wage to $8.50 an hour, another to $8.25.

—Washington: A bill would increase what is already the highest state minimum wage in the nation to $12 an hour over the next three years.

—West Virginia: House Democratic delegates are pushing a $1 increase to the minimum wage.

—Wisconsin: Bills would raise the general minimum wage from $7.25 to $7.60.

—Wyoming: A bill would raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour for non-tipped employees.

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Source: AP reporting

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Health law tricky for parents of Medicaid kids

CONCORD, N.H. — Parents shopping for health insurance through the new federal marketplace are running into trouble when their children might be eligible for Medicaid but they are not.

Some have been surprised to learn that children who are eligible for Medicaid, the safety-net program for the poor and disabled, can't be included on subsidized family plans purchased through the federal marketplace.

A California man says he was incorrectly assured that his children could be covered by his new family plan, and a Florida father says his daughter is going without coverage while he waits for answers. In New Hampshire, some parents who bought private plans for themselves later learned that their children aren't eligible for Medicaid after all, leaving the kids with no options.

Government officials say they're working on the problem.

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Perks entice top engineers

As Boston's tech scene explodes and successful companies continue to grow at a breakneck pace, firms are stepping up to make sure top engineers end up at their desks and not at the business next door.

"If you want access to the best talent, you have to compete," said Andy Palmer, CEO and co-founder of Data-Tamer. Data-Tamer offers $5,000 referral bonuses, 16 weeks of parental leave, and lunch daily, part of an effort to sell the Cambridge company as an attractive place to work.

"These are the kinds of things that people sort of expect," Palmer said. "The best people have options, always have options."

"Everyone is trying to pitch the angle that makes them sexier than the guy next door," said Steve Conine, co-founder, chairman and CTO of e-commerce company Wayfair. "It's an employee's market."

Eliot Knudsen, a field engineer at Data-Tamer, said he is routinely approached about possible job opportunities. "I'm sent messages by recruiters maybe every couple days, several times a week," Knudsen said.

Knudsen said many of the messages are from recruiting companies, but some are internal recruiters at major companies, who reach out directly to gauge interest in a job.

Companies that are on the cusp of rapid growth are making sure they have the talent they need for the next step.

"People we're trying to hire are all actively recruited by other people," said John Nagro, director of engineering for HubSpot.

HubSpot gives $10,000 referral bonuses for successful hires, and offered a $30,000 referral bonus — paid twice — for hired candidates last summer. As companies such as Wayfair, HubSpot and newly public Care.com grow in market share and value, they are hiring engineers to keep pace.

"It's always competitive to hire engineers in Boston. That will only continue to be a challenge," said Sarah Hodges, vice president of marketing for Smarterer, which helps companies make smarter hires, and co-founder of Intelligent.ly, a professional development firm for start-ups.

Still, it is not all about the money.

"Money's not enough to attract great talent," Hodges said. "It's more important than ever to think about cultivating talent from within and building a really great culture."

Knudsen said he chose 
Data-Tamer not for the benefits or daily lunch, but because he saw an opportunity to grow as an engineer.

"The best people have the opportunity to work for companies that are not only interesting to work for and have competitive compensation, but are companies that have an inspiring mission," Palmer said.

Nagro cites the culture and opportunity to ship code daily as some reasons why engineers choose HubSpot.

"It's a very competitive market," Nagro said.

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Grocer powers on with idea

State permitting will pave the way for food waste from 213 Stop & Shop supermarkets to be converted into energy to power the grocery chain's Freetown distribution center.

Quincy-based Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. plans to build a multimillion-dollar, 12,000-square-foot, clean-energy processing center — known as a product recovery operation (PRO) — that will use anaerobic digestion to convert food products not suitable for consumption into electricity and heat for the warehouse and produce a fertilizer byproduct.

The company hopes to bring the facility online early next year. It's the first of its kind in Massachusetts, and a first for the chain, which now sends food waste from its stores to composting and animal feed facilities.

"The PRO will convert these spoiled food products into a clean, odorless gas to fuel a generator that will produce electricity (and heat) to help operate the Freetown distribution center," spokesman Greg O'Brien said.

The 1.1-million-square-foot distribution center operates around the clock. The PRO will process an average of 95 tons of food waste per day and will be able to produce 1.137 megawatts of power for up to 40 percent of the center's electrical needs and backup power in case of an outage.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued permits for the project Thursday.

"This is really an innovative approach," DEP spokesman Joseph Ferson said. "It dovetails with the Patrick administration's goal of diverting organic waste out of landfills and incinerators to anaerobic digesters to really turn trash into a valuable resource for renewable energy."

Food and other organics account for 25 percent of the state's solid waste stream, and the DEP has a goal to reduce organics disposal by 450,000 tons per year by 2020. It's now finalizing regulations that will require institutions that generate one ton or more of food waste per week to donate or repurpose what's usable and ship what's remaining to an anaerobic, composting or animal-feed operation.

Stop & Shop, which will apply for a 10 percent federal investment tax credit for the project, does not yet have a firm handle on total costs, according to O'Brien.

He stressed that Stop & Shop will continue to donate to food banks. "This is spoiled food that cannot be consumed," he said. It will include unsold food including produce, bakery and deli items, products past expiration dates, and rejected food products from the distribution center.

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German TV: Snowden says NSA also spies on industry

BERLIN — Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden claims in a new interview that the U.S. agency is involved in industrial espionage.

German public television broadcaster ARD released a written statement before an interview airing Sunday night in which it quotes Snowden as saying that if German engineering company Siemens had information that would benefit the United States — but had nothing to do with national security needs — the National Security Agency would still use it.

ARD did not give any further context and it was not clear what exactly Snowden accused the NSA of doing with such information.

Snowden faces felony charges in the U.S. after revealing the NSA's mass surveillance program. He has temporary asylum in Russia.

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Price for first-class stamp rises to 49 cents

WASHINGTON — It's going to cost you a few pennies more to mail a letter.

The cost of a first-class postage stamp is now 49 cents — 3 cents more than before.

Regulators approved the price hike in December, and it went into effect on Sunday.

Many people won't feel the increase right away: Forever stamps are good for first-class postage at whatever the future rate.

The last increase for stamps was a year ago, when the cost of sending a letter rose by a penny to 46 cents.

The Postal Service lost $5 billion last year and has been trying to get Congress to let it end Saturday delivery and reduce payments on retiree health benefits.

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Minimum wage bills pushed in at least 30 states

ALBANY, N.Y. — Minimum-wage increase proposals are getting the maximum push from Democrats in statehouses in more than half of U.S. states, highlighting the politically potent income inequality issue this year.

Lawmakers in at least 30 states are sponsoring or are expected to introduce wage hike measures, according to a national review by The Associated Press. They hope to notch state-level victories as President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats remain stymied in attempts to raise the federal minimum wage above $7.25 an hour. The president is expected to mention the minimum wage in his State of the Union address Tuesday.

Even in Republican-dominated capitals where the bills are longshots, the measures still give Democrats a chance to hammer home the popular theme of fair wages in what is an election year in most places.

"It's a no-brainer for any Democrat," said Neil Sroka, a strategist for progressive groups who is communications director at the Howard Dean-founded Democracy for America. "Congress is failing. They can take real action right in the states and have a demonstrable impact right here at home. For politics and policy, it's a winning strategy."

Minimum wage is a perennial issue that has taken on a higher profile amid the slowly recovering economy and growing public debate about income inequality. A Quinnipiac University poll this month found 71 percent of Americans in favor of raising the minimum wage — including more than half of Republicans polled.

Michael Sargeant, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, calls it an "organic issue that's bubbling up from the grassroots." But it's also being pressed by politicians and labor unions. Democrats challenging Republican governors have taken up the issue, and there are ballot initiatives in several states.

"We are facing a huge income gap that only continues to widen, where the workers at the top see large wage increases and the workers at the bottom are at a standstill. That needs to change," said Massachusetts Democratic Senate President Therese Murray.

Five states passed minimum wage measures last year, and advocates hope that number will grow as states from New Hampshire to Washington consider proposals. Many would push families above the federal poverty line, which is $15,730 for a family of two. In Iowa, a bill would hike the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10. A Rhode Island bill would raise it from $8 to $9. And a year after New York approved a multiyear minimum wage hike, Assembly Democrats introduced another bill for 2014 sponsored by Labor Committee Chairman Carl Heastie of New York City that would accelerate the increase.

Labor unions and other advocates point to workers like Andrew Lloyd, who cleans the cabins, bathrooms and cockpits of airplanes between flights at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City for $8 an hour. With a wife and 1-year-old, he relies on food stamps to help stock the refrigerator and his paychecks barely cover diapers and other needs of his daughter. He said he can't afford a new pair of socks for himself.

"It's not enough. What we're making is not enough to support," Lloyd said. "There's just no way they can justify what is going on is right."

Opponents, many of them Republicans, argue that the higher wages translate into fewer jobs and higher consumer costs. So wage hike bills in Republican-controlled legislatures, like Florida and South Carolina, are not expected to pass. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott said the claim that working families need the boost to make ends meet makes him "cringe, because I know that statement is a lie."

"Even if we did raise the minimum wage, working families will still not be able to make ends meet on those jobs," Scott said. "We need good jobs that lead to good careers for our families, and that's what I am focused on."

Already, a Democrat-backed bill to increase Indiana's minimum wage by $1 was blocked by majority Republicans on a party-line vote Tuesday.

Win or lose, the legislation gives Democrats a potential weapon against Republican opponents. Eddie Vale, a Democratic strategist with close ties to labor unions, said Republicans who oppose a wage hike will face fierce criticism.

"There's a lot of people in this state that are making the minimum wage that are voting Republican right now," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner of Tennessee, where they plan to introduce a minimum wage bill this year. "Maybe if they see that they don't have their best interests in their heart, they might change their minds."

There's hope that success will breed more success. Vale, a top adviser at the Democratic super PAC American Bridge, said the thinking behind the push is to get things started at the state level, where lawmakers come into more direct contact with their constituents. Once state legislatures start moving, it will lend momentum to a federal expansion.

In Minnesota, Rep. Ryan Winkler said as the debate spreads to more states, lawmakers might be more comfortable boosting the wage floor in his state.

"It's not peer pressure, but it's safety in numbers," Winkler said. "It makes people feel like this is a mainstream thing to do."

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Contributing were Associated Press writers Philip Elliott in Washington; Steve LeBlanc in Boston; Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Fla.; Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn.; and Tom LoBianco in Indianapolis.

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California drought has ranchers selling cattle

AROMAS, Calif. — In January, business at the 101 Livestock Market's cattle auction on California's Central Coast is usually slow. The busy season is normally in June or July, when ranchers have had time to fatten their animals for weeks on spring grasses.

This year, however, business is bustling, with packed pens of moaning cattle and cowboys standing on tip-toe to get a glance at their potential prizes.

Because of historically dry conditions, California's soil moisture — a key ingredient for the forage that cattle graze on — is low throughout the state. With feed costs high and weeks of dry weather in the forecast, ranchers are already selling off parts of their herds as normally green grazing pastures have turned brown.

"We're in the drought now, so a lot of these are going back to Texas," said rancher and auction house co-owner Monty Avery, gesturing to a pen packed full of cows. "We usually sell about 100-150 animals per week. Now we're seeing 800-1,000 per week, so the volume's jumped up."

Gov. Jerry Brown has formally proclaimed a drought in California, a move that codified what farmers and ranchers in the state had known for weeks. The U.S. Drought Monitor has said there are "extreme drought" conditions in central and northern California, where much of the state's ranching is located.

California is now in its third dry year, with little snowfall so far this winter and forecasts suggesting only more sunshine. Precipitation in most of the state is less than 20 percent of normal and reservoirs are dwindling — one town on California's far northern coast says it has fewer than 100 days of drinking water in storage.

The state is the nation's leader in dairy cows, and fourth overall in the U.S. for total number of cattle, trailing Texas, Nebraska and Kansas, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. With little free food available for cattle, some ranchers have already started controlling costs.

Romaldo Martin, a cattle rancher who runs M&M Farms in Hollister, has sold more than 160 cows and calves at 101 Livestock Market over the past two weeks and plans to sell at least 100 more. He said it's too expensive to buy hay to feed his herd, and the water on his land is drying up.

"If the weather doesn't change, I might need to get rid of all of them," said Martin, who is in his 70s and used to run about 600 heads of cattle. "I've never seen anything like this in my life ... It's a disaster."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Jan. 16 declared a drought disaster in some California counties, which allows farmers to apply for low-interest loans to help them cope. Ranchers are not included in the program.

To help them navigate the historic dry weather, the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is holding workshops.

"From previous droughts we've learned that feeding the whole herd through the drought may spell the end of business," said Glenn Nader, adviser for the program in Sutter and Yuba counties.

Some of California's herd will be headed to Texas, which is recovering from its own severe drought. That state's herd of five million head of cattle has shrunk over the past few years by a quarter, said Jason Cleere, a rancher and beef cattle specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension at Texas A&M University.

But as the drought has eased in most of Texas, the herd is being rebuilt, creating a market for California's ranchers looking to sell. "There's a lot of room for more cows to come into our state, and for ranchers to add some back," Cleere said.

While in the short term selling cattle can help ranchers cope, it can push more of them out of business in the long run, ranchers said. Rebuilding a herd isn't as easy as buying new cattle. It often takes time to get new cows acclimated and can take years for the animals to breed and grow.

Meantime, the state's herd will be thinned as ranchers trim costs and hope things will improve.

"You can't keep buying $7,000-$8,000 a load for hay. Pretty soon you're in this hole, so you sell your cattle and try to buy them back next year," said rancher Jim Warren, who co-owns the auction house.

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Associated Press reporter Terry Chea contributed to this story.

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Follow Jason Dearen at http://www.twitter.com/JHDearen

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