Cross Country
A Taxing Debate in the Twin Cities
Travelers returning to Minneapolis toting duty-free booze might want to consider other transportation options before trying to hail an airport taxi: Somali Muslim cabbies, who make up more than half the drivers serving Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, say the Koran forbids them from transporting alcohol. They've been refusing rides to passengers carrying wine or spirits. No one is happy, not customers left waiting on curbs, or the Muslim drivers, who go to the back of the taxi line when they reject fares. A proposal to equip the no-alcohol taxis with special roof lights failed in the wake of backlash over whether the cabbies' beliefs, not shared by all Muslims, should receive a special accommodation. So for now, the old system remains. But tension has been eased by another bureaucratic move: The federal rule that limits liquids on airliners has reduced the number of people coming home with libations.
Driving Nuts Farmers Nuts
The latest crime target in California's Central Valley? Nuts. Yes, nuts. About a dozen tractor-trailers carrying almonds have been stolen in California this year, the most recent one just last week in San Joaquin County. One area grower had 88,000 pounds of almonds taken from him this summer. What's behind it all? The cascading popularity of almonds, which have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease. California farmers are expecting a harvest of more than a billion pounds this fall, to be sold wholesale for approximately $3 a pound and shipped worldwide. Walnuts are targets, too. Thieves took two semis and trailers filled with processed walnuts from a Hughson, Calif., farm early last week. The semis were recovered. But there's been no sign of the trailers, or the nuts.
With Will Sullivan, Bret Schulte, Liz Halloran and Associated Press
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