Coca

LA HORMIGA, Colombia - Launching the U.S.-backed counter-narcotics offensive known as Plan Colombia, army troops and police have begun a land and air assault on a valley that holds a third of Colombia's coca fields. The joint operations are the central element of the "Push into the South," a two-year plan to eradicate coca in the southern state of Putumayo and the first phase of Plan Colombia, designed to destroy half the nation's cocaine industry and strengthen its government in five years.

Bernard J. "B.J. " Land, a Coca-Cola executive and physical fitness buff who coached youth soccer and lacrosse teams, died Monday of a cardiac arrest at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Hunt Valley resident had recently celebrated his 53rd birthday. Family members said that Mr. Land, who was known as "B.J.," had returned Sept. 2 after a long bike ride and suffered a cardiac arrest that was caused by coronary artery disease, which he was unaware that he suffered from. He remained in a coma until his death.

UNITED NATIONS -- With President Clinton and other world leaders coming here tomorrow for a special session of the General Assembly on the world's drug problems, the United Nations' top anti-narcotics official has submitted a two-pronged strategy that moves beyond the conventional approach of intercepting illegal drugs and arresting traffickers.Pino Arlacchi, the executive director of the U.N. International Drug Control Program, proposes the ambitious target of eliminating opium poppies and coca plants, the raw ingredients of heroin and cocaine, in 10 years as well as substantially reducing marijuana.

The vintage Coca-Cola machine is a gorgeous artifact of American history, so Coke has wisely made it a centerpiece to its Father's Day campaign (my apologies for being a bit late on this). Nostalgia-bait? Don Draper would approve. And, because you're seeing it on this blog, the commercial has a Baltimore connection, specifically local singer-songwriter Mike McFadden's song "Get It Together" is used in "The Perfectionist" clip. Watch it above, and listen to the multi-instrumentalist's music at McFadden's Facebook page . McFadden plays his album release show at the 8x10 in Federal Hill on June 29 with The Lombards, Drunken Camel and Cool Hand & the Swagger (it's getting hard to come up with new band names, huh?

ANDES, Colombia - With coffee prices near historic lows, the economic crisis facing thousands of small farmers in this picturesque region also is feeding Colombia's civil war and could threaten an intensive U.S.-funded anti-narcotics program. Perched high on lush mountain slopes and intersected by rivers, Andes and the surrounding area stand on the edge of Colombia's once-prosperous coffee region. The crop has provided a steady income to generations of small farmers and migrant laborers, while satisfying the needs of American, European and other coffee drinkers.

ROSAL, Colombia - With the full support of the Colombian president, the United States has begun what U.S. officials say will be the biggest and most aggressive effort yet to wipe out coca production. A round of aerial spraying to kill Colombia's mammoth drug crops is part of a new phase in the war on drugs. U.S. officials said the spraying, which resumed a month ago, was bigger and more aggressive than before and that if sustained, it could at last make substantial inroads against Colombia's coca crops.

PRIMERO DE MAYO, Bolivia -- Ever since drought drove his family from a rocky cornfield high in the Andes 15 years ago, Espinosa Leon has been chopping down tropical rain forest to grow coca bushes, which produce cocaine. Now, at 38, Leon finds himself at another crossroads."The army is coming any day to destroy my last coca," said Leon, who had already slashed three-quarters of his crop in recent months in exchange for aid from United Nations technicians forming a forestry project here. "I don't have to like it, but coca has no future."

APURIMAC RIVER, Peru -- The dirt road ends, or seems to end, in a mud-bogged curve that threatens to devour the four-wheel-drive car. "No farther," the driver protests.But in its dusty way the road continues through the Apurimac River Valley, one of Peru's largest coca-producing areas, and two hours later you reach the village of Palma Pampa.Everything -- not just the car -- is riding on the repair of that road.If the road is repaired, farmers can drive their products directly to market instead of relying on river transport.

WASHINGTON - A $1.3 billion U.S.-sponsored program to eradicate illicit drug crops in South America came under fire yesterday from four Colombian governors who claimed that the program is destroying their region's economy and threatening the health of its citizens. The governors, from four states in the southern region of Colombia where most of the coca and poppies used in the production of cocaine and opium are grown, said the military eradication efforts adopted by the United States last July and supported by Colombian President Andres Pastrana are opposed by local officials.

Why not make the Americas a free trade area? It already is in coca products. The Mississippi is too much, especially if you live near it. There will still be AIDS in Africa. It just won't be the drug companies' fault. Do not visit the Cone Collection expecting to see a collection of cones. It's spring in Sherwood Gardens and all is right with the world.

Who knew Michael Oher was a big NASCAR fan? Oher, a starting offensive tackle for the Ravens, was a pre-race guest at the Coca-Cola600 in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, according to thatsracin.com . Also on hand were super model and actress Brooklyn Decker, and country star Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish), the website reported. Oher was joined at the race by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the Memphis, Tenn., couple who took him in, as seen in "The Blind Side.

Ocean City is sending Pepsi packing. Come spring, Coca-Cola will be the official soft drink of the Maryland resort town. Officials entered into a five-year exclusive agreement with the beverage company, guaranteeing that only Coke products will be served at town-owned properties and town-operated events. Obviously, you can still purchase Pepsi in Ocean City, but you won't be able to get it at some of the city's signature events, like SunFest.  As part of the contract, which takes effect April 2, Ocean City receives a $65,000 cash payment, commission on product sales, advertising and marketing support and, of course, free soft drinks. The contract also designates Coca-Cola as the "official soft drink of Ocean City.

Investigators identified Friday the employee killed at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in East Baltimore. Joshua Cunningham, a contract worker, died Wednesday when a trailer fell on him, officials said. The Chase resident was 28. The accident occurred about 10:30 a.m. in the 700 block of Kresson St., near East Monument Street and Pulaski Highway, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire spokesman. A jack that had been moved under the front of the trailer gave way, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

A person was killed this morning when a trailer fell at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in East Baltimore, according to a statement from the city Fire Department. Few details were immediately available. Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire spokesman, said the accident occurred about 10:30 a.m. at the plant in the 700 block of Kresson St., near East Monument Street and Pulaski Highway. The identity of the worker and other details, such as age and gender, have not yet been released. Cartwright said the victim was a vender contracted to work at the plant.

Jessica Long can imagine her response the first time she sees her face on a national soft drink display in the supermarket. "I'm pretty sure I'll scream and say, 'This is me!' " said Long, 19, the seven-time Paralympics swimming gold medalist from Middle River. "To see myself on a can of Coke will be exciting. " One of eight U.S. athletes chosen by Coca-Cola for a high-profile ad campaign to highlight the 2012 London Olympics, Long spent Tuesday at a pool in a fitness center in Concord, Mass., splashing and smiling for photographers.

Dorothy Charron from St. Augustine, Fla., was looking for recipe from many years ago for a moist chocolate cake that had coca cola as an ingredient. Theodora Capezio from Monkton sent in a recipe for making a Coca-Cola Cake that she said she cut from a newspaper a long time ago. She said her young family, with six sons, always enjoyed this cake. Her original recipe called for the use of oleo, which was what margarine was called when it was first introduced. That gives some idea of what era this recipe dates from.

A map published this year by the Colombian newsmagazine Semana shows the location of 183 known massacre sites around the country. But the magnitude of the paramilitary slaughter in Colombia likely never will be fully documented. Typically, paramilitary soldiers enter rural villages and round up townspeople they accuse of collaborating with leftist guerrillas. Some are tortured and killed and many others are taken away, never to be seen again. Human rights groups estimate there are tens of thousands of disappearances in Colombia that can be linked to the country's 50-year-long conflict.

Virginia Willis is a cook whose life story I can easily relate to. She was brought up in Atlanta and is a life-long devotee of Southern cuisine, but after studying and cooking in France, she also became enchanted with French food. I grew up in Memphis, and to this day make grits for breakfast, bake corn bread almost weekly, and serve crispy fried okra often. And, yes, I too was seduced by la cuisine francaise after studying in Paris while in college. Imagine, then, my delight when I discovered Virginia's new cookbook, Bon Appetit, Y'all, a collection in which the author combines her Southern heritage with her French training.

A developer is planning Howard County's third urban-style mixed-use development along the MARC rail commuter line near Elkridge, a site long expected to be used for a Coca-Cola bottling plant. The 122-acre project, called Oxford Square, would include up to 1,400 apartments and condominiums, 1 million square feet of commercial space, retail stores, a hotel and possibly six acres for a school, mimicking similar proposals at the Savage and Laurel Park train stations farther south. The transit station projects have all been promoted as examples of Smart Growth - absorbing new residences and commercial development in areas already served by mass transit, roads, utilities and schools.

Virginia Willis is a cook whose life story I can easily relate to. She was brought up in Atlanta and is a life-long devotee of Southern cuisine, but after studying and cooking in France, she also became enchanted with French food. I grew up in Memphis, and to this day make grits for breakfast, bake corn bread almost weekly, and serve crispy fried okra often. And, yes, I too was seduced by la cuisine francaise after studying in Paris while in college. Imagine, then, my delight when I discovered Virginia's new cookbook, Bon Appetit, Y'all, a collection in which the author combines her Southern heritage with her French training.