Winery scam; Martini Madness sold out and other food and wine events; Disappeared restaurants updates; nibs and sips (Sonoma Index-Tribune) Martini Madness sold out ... As some of you may have, I received an e-mail purportedly from one "Anna Maldonado" who identifies herself as "an American" and whose e-mail address appears to be an Italian hosting site called Katamail.com . She says she lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand, and that "when I was around last time I got a bottle of one of your wines from a friend as a gift and I love ... [News Source]

Saying ‘no’ to science. Science has suffered assaults on many fronts recently— vaccines accused of causing autism or genetically modified food supposedly poised to destroy civilization. When scientific data conflict with what people want to believe, some strong emotion overwhelms rational thought, and people deny scientific truth to assuage themselves. [News Source]

Dairy farmer woes continue (The Hazleton Standard-Speaker) The financial knot in the dairy business continues. Since earlier in 2009 dairy farmers across the state faced the lowest prices for milk production in decades. The trend continues, milking dairy farmers of virtually any profit. Carl Zanolini of Zanolini [News Source]