Sure, lettuce is good for you. However ...

The Good News - it's "safe" to buy and eat romaine lettuce again.

The Bad News - it's never completely safe to eat lettuce.

Unlike many fruits and vegetables, lettuce has nothing to keep it safe. The rinds and peels of vegetables and fruits like watermelons and cucumbers protect them. Being a "naked" vegetable, lettuce provides bacteria countless paths to contamination. Think of it: A single head of these greens has hundreds of nooks and crannies for the bacteria to hide in, making leafy greens far more vulnerable than other thinly skinned yet solid and easily washed produce, like tomatoes.

The Centers for Disease Control has counted 121 cases of food-borne illnesses in 25 states, attributed to romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Ariz., region, including one death and 52 hospitalizations. Fourteen people suffered kidney failure. The victims ranged in age from 1 to 88. MY ADVICE: It's OK to eat it again, but wash it thoroughly and RUN to the ER at the first signs of tummy trouble or fever.

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NEED HELP PRUNING PETUNIAS: With the weather nicely warming, many

homeowners' thoughts turn to yard care and cleanup. It's time to plant and prune. Another passing of fall and winter and here we are again in spring, a great time of the year.

Unfortunately, some of us, while passing through the seasons, have become less able to do outdoor chores. A very nice man called me concerned about his wife, in her mid-80s, trying to do all the yard work she is accustomed to doing. This year she just can't do everything she did last year. They can't afford a full-time person to help maintain their yard.

I was searching for a solution when I came across a May 5 article in the CDA Press written by Judd Wilson, entitled "Volunteer labor available for seniors with outdoor projects." For information on this program call ElderHelp on their hotline at (208) 661-8870. They say help is available between June 17 and Aug. 10.

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PETS, PAWS & PESTICIDES: Part of sprucing up the yard often entails spraying various things on gardens, plants, bushes and grass. If you have pets, especially dogs or cats that come in contact with the grass, be

especially careful to read the labels completely. Many products warn pet owners not to allow pets to come in contact with the grass for a specific number of hours or days after application.

Remember, dogs and cats lick their paws as part of their natural grooming habits. They also often eat grass. Parenthetically, they might also track any substance or chemical in the house where children or others could come in contact with the spray.

Read the labels carefully, only spray the recommended amount, usually a "square foot" or per "yard" measurement, and never, when mixing chemicals, exceed the recommended mixture ratio. One way to minimize any danger is to thoroughly wipe your pets' paws with a damp, clean rag. RESULT: Happy healthy pet - happy healthy owner.

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INSTANT MESSENGER OR INSTANT SCAMMER: Facebook Messenger, the company's chat program, was spun out of the Facebook mobile app in 2011, before the social network removed the chat function from the main app in 2014. This program has become a favorite tool of online scammers. I've had at least a hundred calls from consumers who swore to me a friend just contacted them about winning a prize or a government grant/ handout of thousands and thousands of dollars, only to find out that the Instant Message they got was not from their friend, but rather a scammer.

Facebook Instant Messenger is different from the texting feature on your phone. As with other third-party apps, you can remove Facebook Instant Messenger from your phone with a few taps. This will eliminate one venue scammers use to get at you.

If you want to remove IM on a phone running a recent version of Android, open the Settings icon and select Apps & Notifications. Find the Messenger icon; if you do not see it, tap See All Apps first. Tap the Uninstall option. You can also delete an app from the Android home screen by pressing its icon and then dragging it to the Uninstall symbol that appears at the top of the screen.

You can also remove Android apps by opening the Google Play store icon on your phone, tapping the three-lined menu icon in the top-left corner and selecting My Apps & Games. On the next screen, tap the Installed tab, find the Messenger icon and tap the Open button. When the app's page is open, tap the Uninstall button.

To delete Messenger on an iPhone, go to the home screen, find the app's icon and press your finger on it until the tile begins to wiggle. Once the wiggling starts, a small X appears in the icon's top-left corner. Tap the X, and when the alert box pops up, confirm you wish to delete the app.

If you remove the mobile Messenger app but do not delete your Facebook account, your Facebook friends can still send you messages when you're logged into the desktop version of the site. A stand-alone web version is also available at Messenger.com. If you prefer not to use the chat function, tell your friends to reach you by other means, like a real phone call!

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SAD CALL: Yesterday I received a call from a gentleman who works at a local church, providing services to seniors. He reported that a woman came into the senior center of the church, asking for someone to accompany her to a local store to help her purchase more gift cards so that she could pay a "fine" a caller told her she owed, or she would be arrested. It seems the store became suspicious due to her agitated demeanor and the dollar amount of gift cards she wanted to buy. The store refused to sell her the number of large denomination gifts cards that she brought to the cash register.

KUDOS to the store for being on the watch for this type of scam victim. BLESSINGS to the church staff for lovingly saving the woman untold grief and expense.

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READERS: When you're finished with your daily copy of the CDA Press, please pass it along to your friends and neighbors who are not yet subscribers. The online edition is really getting good. you can also write a letter to the editor and instantly make your thoughts known, for all to consider!

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IT'S OK TO EMAIL ME ? BUT: Being a "one man band," I don't have time to read many long emails or letters and then write a long email or snail mail letter. There just aren't enough hours in the day, and unlike some, I'm a VERY slow typist.

It's OK to send me email but please, ALWAYS include a contact phone number. I will call you. I'll seldom email you, other than to say "call me."

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REMEMBER BILL BROOKS: "He's On Your Side"

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I have many more tips and interesting cases that I'm working on. Call me at (208) 699-0506, or email me at BillBrooksAdvocate@gmail.com (#GoGetEmBillBrooks) You can follow me at www.billbrooksconsumer advocate.com. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups. Bill Brooks is a consumer advocate and the Broker and Owner of Bill Brooks Real Estate in Coeur d'Alene.