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Show DAILY E. coli Fertilizer can harm nearby' . Food and Drug Administration officials said lettuce grown in the Central Valley was the likely source of an E coli outbreak in December that sickened about 80 customers at Taco John's restaurants in Minnesota and Iowa. The source of lettuce blamed for 70 cases linked to Taco Bell restaurants on the East Coast remained unknowa Not all distributors are adopting the stringent policies regarding farm practices. Will Daniels, food safety chief for Natural Selections LLC, which also distributes packaged produce, said there wasnt enough evidence p linking compost use and growth on farms to the spread of E. coli. "It's difficult to put blanket statements out there to say, There will be no use of grass for erosion control,' " he said. Industry groups and government officials in California have launched several initiatives aimed at protecting crops against E. coli and other contaminatioa Distributors have until April 1 to sign a statewide self regulating agreement coordinated by the Western Growers Association, which represents the fresh produce industry in California and Arizona. The most recent draft of the plan would prohibit deals with farmers who use raw manure as fertilizer and allow livestock near crops, among other practices. Farmer George Fontes said companies have already stopped buying lettuce grown on his Salinas farm using compost that sometimes contains manure. "There's no real proven connection between contamination and compost," he said. Fontes believes that using compost instead of chemical nutrients is better for the long-terhealth of his fields. non-cro- Dan Elliott THE Patrick Newport, an economist with Global Insight, forecast that housing construction would decline by 19 percent this year, shaving overall economic growth by nearly 1 percentage point for the entire year. Last year, housing construction fell by 12.9 percent, reflecting a sharp slowdown in sales of both new and existing homes as mortgage rates rose and demand slackened after five boom years. Weakness in the subprime first five months of 2001, Mr. Nacchio sold 250,000 more shares than he had in the preContinued from D6v vious 18 months combined," founder Phil Anschutz. Hearty said. Share prices for Nacchio, 57, is accused of Qwest plummeted from more improperly setting the stock in than $60 a share in 2000 to just the first five months of 2001 $2 a share in 2002, and its left thousands of penwhile privy to nonpublic information that Qwest Communisioners in financial straits. cations International Inc. was Hearty outlined a pattern in at financial risk. The company, which NaCchiorepeatedly was warned by Qwert executives which provides phone service to 14 mostly Western states, that the companycould not soon after became mired in an support the growth target he accounting scandal and eventu- continue to give WaU Street. ally restated $2.2 billion in rev- AU the while, Hearty said, Nacchio was secretly selling his enue. Nacchio is charged with 42 counts of insider trading. own Qwest stock. "Joe Nacchio told the public Each count carries a penalty of that Qwest was different from up to 10 years in prison and a its competitors, who were $1 million fine. struggling," the prosecutor Hearty claimed that in late said. "He told investors that 2000 Nacchio became aware of problems Qwest would be he was very confident that facing in 2001, and that Qwest Qwest would achieve the high stood to fall far short of finangrowth rates that he told them cial targets it had set publicly. to expect. But at the same time, StilL Hearty claimed, Nacchio he was being told different information from (executives) repeatedly "told investors that everything at Qwest was great." at Qwest." "Joe Nacchio kept those "Mr. Nacchio sold many risks from investors as he sold more shares of Qwest stock his stock faster than he ever during this time period than he had ever sold before. In the sold it before." Qwest near-collap- bacteria. Dow Jones industrial average rose 61.93 points to close at 12,288.10. Since Monday, the Dow is up 177.69 points, its best two-da- y gain in a month. not directly related, but regulators accuse Qwest of massive accounting fraud Prosecutors brought criminal charges against seven former ers, including HalL Hall pleaded guilty in 2004 person sentenced in the telecommunications company's to a misdemeanor charge of falsifying documents stemaccounting scandal, has died from brain cancer, his family ming from allegations that he and attorney said Tuesday. He and three other former Qwest was 55. managers improperly booked Hall died Monday in Chirevenue from a deal to connect Arizona schools to the cago, where he and his wife had moved after leaving the Internet. His wife, Ann Hall, said he Denver suburb of Cherry Hills Village, attorney Jeffrey had done nothing wrong. "He, his family, true friends Springer said. Hall's death came on the and business associates knew he was innocent," she said in a day prosecutors in Denver bestatement to The Asgan their insider trading case sociated Press. against former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio. The allegations "He was never able to fully against Hall and Nacchio were reconcile the unfairness of research showing that tilling with compost or planting grass strips along waterways can spread disease-causin- g Continued from D6 ASSOCIATED PRESS DENVER Former Qwest Communications executive Thomas W. Hall, the first risk," said Alison Jones, an environmental scientist with the board. Diana Stuart is studying the conflicts between food safety and environmental protection . as part of her doctoral studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has found no conclusive Housing Wednesday. Wan 21, 2007 Thomas Hall, defendant in Qwest case, dies at 55 waterways because runoff contains nitrogen and other elements that promote algae growth and decrease oxygen, killing fish, he said. The healthier soil fostered by compost also attracts fewer insects, reducing the need for insecticides that can seep into groundwater, Fontes said. Lugg said Fresh Express does not buy from farmers who use compost because of concerns that it could contain manure infested with disease-causin- g bacteria. The company also refuses to buy from fanners who collect and reuse excess irrigation water because of worries that it could spread bacteria among crops, he said. Giannini defended his use of reclaimed water, saying it's safe if tested each time it's cycled among crops. In addition, the practice requires less energy than pumping fresh water from wells and keeps farmers from depleting Salinas Valley groundwater, he said. "It would be hard to say the valley can survive with well water only," he said. Many farmers along the Central Coast planted native grasses as part of a water quality plan they were required to develop and follow by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Now, they are getting a strong message from distributors that "any kind of vegetation or wildlife around your crops is a food safety Continued from D6 HERALD lending market, which provides loans to borrowers with poor credit, contributed to the Feb. 27 stock market plunge. The Dow Jones industrial average feU by 416 points, the biggest point drop in more than five years. David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, said the organization's survey of builder sentiment tumbled in early March with many builders ex- pressing concerns that tighter loan requirements, prompted by rising mortgage delinquencies, would hurt sales. "About 30 percent of the builders responding to the survey said their sales have been adversely affected since the beginning of the year by the tightening of loan standards his prosecution. My greatest sadness is that Tom suffered up until and through his battle with brain cancer, ... Only through his passing is Tom truly at peace," she said. Springer said Hall pleaded guilty to end a long criminal case that had left him broke. "In my 31 years of practicing law, I don't remember running into anyone as kind and decent and, frankly, as honest as Tom HalL" Springer said. "In my opinion, the prosecution of Tom Hall was a travesty." Hall had been a senior vice president in Qwest's global business unit. He and three other former executives were accused of improperly booking nearly $34 million in revenue from the Arizona deal. They were originally charged with 12 felony counts including conspiracy, securities fraud, making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission and wire fraud. In an April 2004 trial, the jury deadlocked on the charges against Hall and one other defendant and acquitted the other two. Hall was on four counts; he agreed to plead guilty to the single misdemeanor count before his retrial Hall testified that he had trusted Qwest's finance, accounting and legal staff to execute the Arizona transaction properly. He said he broke no laws but took responsibility for failing to keep himself and a subordinate from becoming Stern countered that documents being used by prosecutors to depict Qwest's public growth advisories were in fact about internal budgets. Figures in those documents, he said, were designed "as aspirational goals within Qwest in order to energize and get the people working at Qwest to exceed the public guidance." Stern promised that the defense would account for all of Nacchio's stock sales and that they were timed in part by Nacchio's contract with not inside inforAnschutz mation. Nacchio also was being urged by his personal financial advisers to diversify his portfolio, and in some cases he faced the loss of stock options set to expire, Stern said. Nacchio's attorneys have previously said Nacchio was optimistic about the company's future because he expected Qwest to win lucrative contracts from clandestine government agencies. involved. Light Her Fire. Jt j &Sd$rr.:tt)Ca I I I t W s "Utah County's Largest Jewelery Showroom" 120 No. University Ave. Provo 375-522- 0 www.goldsmithjewelers.com PROvOCOUEGE . toyota moving forward THE 2007 TOYOTA PRIUS ijwi7.GQugarbIue.com i Seiders said. 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