AVONDALE, CO -- The temperature was in the 90s as a group of 10 yellow- clad women made their way back and forth across Joe Pisciotta's melon field east of Pueblo, CO, hoeing weeds and chatting amiably among themselves.

Nearby, a uniformed man, himself with a hoe, simultaneously dug at weeds and watched the women's progress.

The man, Correctional Industries Supervisor Eric Letendre, is employed by the Colorado Department of Corrections, as are, in a less direct way, the women.

WILLIAMSVILLE, NY -- Somewhere, Joe Dash's grandparents are smiling.

Mr. Dash's grandparents Mary and Joe, who ran a small produce market on the east side of Buffalo, NY, probably would have never imagined that the family would still be involved in the retail produce trade some 84 years later.

As the summer onion shipping kicked into high gear in southeastern Washington, Bill Brownfield of Sweet Clover Produce in Walla Walla said that the transition from Walla Walla Sweets to Sweet Clover Sweets in late July or early August is expected to be smooth.

Mr. Brownfield said June 28 that all onion varieties handled by his company are "growing exceptionally well" this season, and supplies of Sweet Clover Sweets will be good through January.

West Kansas Produce LLC in Ulysses, KS, a grower, packer and shipper of "Cimarron Gold" brand sweet corn, is gearing up for its second year with increased volume of high-quality product.

The company began only last year, but its founders and staff have many years of produce experience. Jake Thorup, sales agent, has been in the business for over 30 years and has worked as a sales broker and agent in Salinas, CA, for various companies and in many commodities.

PHILADELPHIA -- G&G Produce Inc. has placed a deposit to buy the units of the now-defunct Ellis Fleisher Produce Co. on the Philadelphia Regional Produce Terminal, here.

Jimmy Storey, president of the Philadelphia Fresh Food Terminal Corp., told The Produce News July 3 that the market's board planned to convene the second week of July to approve the purchase. "I don't think there will be any problem [with the approval]," Mr. Storey said.

WASHINGTON -- Some fresh fruit and vegetable companies have been pushing Congress to transfer import inspectors back to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but now a group of companies that import Mexican fresh fruits and vegetables say that such a move would be a mistake.