The story includes this telling passage:

From lush Hawaii to the Carolina plains, artichoke absconders, nut nappers, tree thieves, and even cattle rustlers are plucking, picking, hauling, and siphoning commodities from diesel to mangosteens at impressive rates. Loss is a familiar concept to a farmer. But such audacious heists have prompted many to go on the offensive to police America's wide-open spaces.

"The vulnerability of farms is legendary," says Bill Yoshimoto, the supervising attorney for a rural crimes task force in Tulare County, Calif. "They're just wide-open places for crooks to come. And crooks are going to go where the pickings are easy and where the prices are favorable."

Several commodities are particularly in demand because their prices are increasing. Almond prices jumped 70 cents a pound this summer, and beef prices remain high. Prices for high-grade lumber continue to climb. And rural backwoods areas have been hit by the copper theft epidemic across the country after prices peaked at $2.80 a pound this summer.

"If somebody can get [a commodity] for nothing, then it's a real good deal," says Ken Cabe, a senior forester with the South Carolina Forestry Commission in Columbia.

The losses from farm thefts in California, Mississippi, and South Carolina run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to estimates from law enforcement officers. But since only one of 10 farm crimes is reported, some say total annual losses are about $1 billion nationwide.

These days it's relatively easy to steal commodities without getting caught, Mr. Yoshimoto says. For one, farms are bumping up against suburbs, shortening the time it takes potential crooks to get their hands on freestanding tanks of diesel, barrels of expensive fungicides, and rolls of copper wire. Oftentimes, thieves can operate in plain view since the heavy equipment and tractor-trailers they use to carry out their crimes are common in these parts. Internet trading has also cut down on paperwork, making scofflaws tougher to track down.

Farm-thief profiles run the gamut from a 24-year-old mother of two arrested last month for timber theft in Mt. Croghan, S.C., to the most common farm thief: a 40-year-old white male, investigators say. The motives are as varied as the crimes.

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The Wall Street Journal says now is the time for homeowners to do remodeling work that has been delayed because contractors have been so busy with new construction.

The current housing slump means contractors need work. And demand for lumber is down, so prices finally are falling.

The Journal says:

Prices of framing lumber have fallen dramatically, says Shawn Church, the editor of Random Lengths, an industry newsletter based in Eugene, Ore. The composite price per thousand board feet of framing lumber was $274 this week, compared with $375 a year earlier, according to data from Random Lengths.

Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, a trade group in Arlington, Va., says he expects to see a roughly 10% drop in prices of gypsum and construction plastics when government price data are released later this month. Economists say the lower material costs could save homeowners an estimated 5% to 10% on additions.

The falloff is largely because of slowing new-home construction, which for several years had driven up the cost of materials. Housing starts dropped 6% in August [PDF] from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.665 million units, according to the Commerce Department. That was the slowest rate of starts since April 2003.

Growth in spending on remodeling has also slowed recently, a result of rising interest rates and homeowners who have postponed selling, along with presale renovations. According to the most recent data from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, spending on home remodeling rose just 2.8% in the 12-month period ending in June, compared with the frenzied 20% increase in 2004. Still, spending on home remodeling, maintenance and repairs totaled $215 billion in 2005, up from $199 billion in 2004, according to the most recent annual data from the Census Bureau.

The new environment means that homeowners are more likely to find contractors willing to take on projects quickly. "Rather than saying 'Call me next spring,' they'll be more likely to say 'I'll be over this week to the talk about the project,' " says Kermit Baker, a senior research fellow at the Harvard Joint Center.

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The FDA is warning that counterfeit test strips used by diabetics to test blood glucose levels were distributed nationwide. The FDA does not know how many of the fake strips were sold but dozens of consumers have complained.

The FDA alert says:

The test strips were being sold in the United States for use with various models of LifeScan, Inc., One Touch Brand Blood Glucose Monitors used by people with diabetes to measure their blood glucose.

The counterfeit test strips potentially could give incorrect blood glucose values--either too high or too low--which might result in a patient taking either too much or too little insulin and lead to serious injury or death. No injuries have been reported to FDA to date.

The counterfeit test strips are:

• One Touch Basic®/Profile® (lot #272894A, 2619932 or 2606340) test strips; and,

• One Touch Ultra® (lot #2691191) test strips.

Consumers who have the counterfeit test strips should stop using them, replace them immediately and contact their physician. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-866-621-4855.

The counterfeit test strips were distributed to pharmacies and stores nationwide--but primarily in Ohio, New York, Florida, Maryland and Missouri--by Medical Plastic Devices, Inc., Quebec, Canada and Champion Sales, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.

The counterfeit test strips can be identified by the following characteristics:

Counterfeit One Touch Basic/Profile Test Strips

• Lot Numbers 272894A, 2619932 or 2606340

• Multiple Languages -- English, Greek and Portuguese text on the outer carton

• Limited to 50-Count One Touch (Basic/Profile) Test Strip packages

Counterfeit One Touch Ultra Test Strips

• Lot Number 2691191

• Multiple Languages -- English and French text on the outer carton

• Limited to 50-Count One Touch Ultra Test Strip packages

Should Hospitals Ban Cell Phones?

A new medical research paper says it's one thing for hospitals to ban them because they cause too much noise, but points out that the devices do NOT interfere with medical equipment, as hospitals (and my doctor) claim.

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