At least four Costa Ricans were killed, 16,000 people were evacuated and thousands of acres of bananas were destroyed when record-breaking rains struck the Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica and northern Panama Jan. 8. While the worst rainfall was on Jan. 8, the downpour didn?t end until Jan. 13.

When Wal-Mart asked its 100 top suppliers to be moving aggressively toward RFID-readiness by Jan. 1, 2005, many in the chip industry doubted it was possible.

And it was somewhat of a foregone conclusion that no produce industry firms would be able to comply " nor were they asked to.

But just as the giant chain?s general merchandise suppliers began to move toward radio frequency identification, so did some of Wal-Mart?s top produce suppliers. And in the first week of January, some produce shipments did go to the chain with an RFID attached.

When Sun World International Inc., in Bakersfield, CA, went on the auction block Thursday, Jan. 13, the bidding opened at $95 million, with Black Diamond Capital Management LLC, a Lake Forest, IL-based investment group and a major Sun World bond holder, as the stalking horse bidder.

But other investors were also very eager to add Sun World to their portfolio " so eager that at the end of the day, the winning bid " from Black Diamond " came in at $127,750,000.

Maui Pineapple Co. Ltd., a leading supplier of high-quality, fresh Hawaiian pineapple based in Kahului, Maui, announced that Nancy Betancourt has been named director of fresh fruit sales. The appointment was effective Jan. 3.

?Nancy has terrific experience in the fresh produce industry and more specifically in developing business for fresh Hawaiian Pineapple," said Howard Nager, vice president of fresh sales and marketing. "We are looking for Nancy to build new relationships and seek out new business opportunities in support of our projected growth."

The word is out. Webster?s Dictionary announced its choice for 2004?s word of the year " "adultescent," a noun describing an adult who is still an adolescent at heart.

Ever heard of it? Me neither, but according to Webster?s editor-in-chief, "adultescent? is just one of many vocabulary clues indicating the trends and preoccupations of our society.

The editor reminds us that American English is a vigorous, evolving language. Compound words are especially popular to describe our likes and dislikes.

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission kicked off a new program designed to recognize and reward chefs and restaurateurs who are supporting North Carolina sweet potato growers by including them and identifying their origin on menus.

Effective Jan. 1 and running through April 30, the commission will be accepting applications from chefs and restaurateurs in North Carolina and surrounding states who want to be considered for this program.