Articles about TriMet are pretty common in the Oregonian newspaper. For the most part they aren’t particularly flattering: TriMet driver runs over five pedestrians and kills three; TriMet driver watches as a passenger briefly gets off the bus to punch a bicyclist; TriMet shuts down part of a bus route without any notification to riders; TriMet raises prices and cuts back schedules; and so on.

The tragic TriMet crash in April that killed two women and injured several others has prompted the victims’ families to sue TriMet and Sandi Day, the bus driver behind the wheel. Victim Jeneé Hammel’s mother, through her attorney Roscoe C. Nelson, intend to sue the transit agency and driver for wrongful death. Victim Danielle Sale’s father, as well as survivor Robert Erik Gittings, also revealed plans to sue TriMet.

I was trying to avoid blogging about another food illness outbreak, since I just did, but then I read about an E-coli outbreak and the recall of one million pounds of meat, and I couldn’t resist. The recall involves a million pounds of ground beef products from Valley Meat Co. based in Modesto, CA. The products were distributed predominantly in frozen form to a number of states, including California, Oregon, and Arizona, as well as internationally, and they were processed between October 2, 2009, and January 12, 2010, meaning they have been in circulation for quite some time.

There’s been a salmonella outbreak this spring and summer that has affected more than 150 people across the nation. Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have yet to identify the exact source and are tight lipped about where the salmonella came from, they did indicate “Restaurant A,” a Mexican-style fast-food restaurant chain, was the origin. Well, an official from Oregon Public Health spilled the beans to the Oregonian and named the chain–Taco Bell. In addition, the official said not all Taco Bell locations were culprits, but it also wasn’t one store that was solely responsible for the outbreak.

I know we just posted about an infant product recall, but here’s another one! The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has certainly been busy lately. Baby Matters LLC has issued a voluntary recall of its Nap Nanny baby recliner. The recall affects some 30,000 units and was prompted by an infant death. In the death the recliner was placed inside a crib, and the baby got trapped between the crib bumper and the Nap Nanny.

I suppose one plus of the dreadfully cold summer we’ve been having here in Portland, OR, is that many are not tempted to venture into the great outdoors. Why is this a good thing? Because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just issued a voluntary recall of some children’s tents. In question are the Tots in Mind playard tents, or, more specifically, the Tots in Mind Cozy Indoor Outdoor Portable Playard Tents Plus Cabana Kits. The recall affects some 20,000 tents that were sold between January 2005 and February 2010.

TriMet, Portland’s transit agency, is still reviewing safety policies in an attempt to improve safety. The agency was prompted to reevaluate its policies after a bus driver hit five pedestrians, killing two, in a late-night accident in April. Though the driver had not been using a cell phone at the time of the accident, cell phones have been at the center of other accidents involving buses and pedestrians.

TriMet policy has been that drivers can keep cell phones and other devices such as MP3 players and headsets with them while driving but that they must store the items and not use them while driving. This week the new head of TriMet, Neil McFarlane, announced a change to this policy. Drivers must now keep these devices turned off and stored away.

We’ve previously posted about the dangers of some drop-side cribs and the recall of a number of drop-side cribs from Simplicity, Stork Craft Manufacturing, and Graco. Sadly, the problem has continued, and this week the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled some two million drop-side cribs. Dozens of children have died as a result of malfunctioning cribs, and child advocacy groups are warning parents to avoid using ANY drop-side crib.

I feel like I hear about a food recall on a daily basis, so it’s a wonder we aren’t all doubled over with stomach pain! The latest involves some frozen foods from Marie Callender. The foods are made by ConAgra Foods Inc. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control investigated some complaints about salmonella contamination and determined the source to likely be Marie Callender’s Cheesy Chicken and Rice, a frozen dish that comes in single serving packets. About eight people reported getting sick. ConAgra issued a recall of the product, and it was removed from a number of grocers, including Grocers Giant Food LLC and Stop & Shop Supermarket Co.

We blogged a while back about the Food and Drug Administration investigating the safety of a number of over-the-counter pediatric medicines, namely Children’s Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, and Zyrtec. The drugs are manufactured by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The company issued a voluntary recall of some 43 over-the-counter children’s medicines.