Ask Elsa

Safe tomatoes

Q: Your paper Monday said locally grown tomatoes are "oh so safe," but a lot of them aren't. They have been sprayed with insecticides and are not totally safe. We've just moved here and we can't believe how backward this place is.

A: It might take a little while for people to get accustomed to looking for the paper's new story labels. The label over this story headline was "Salmonella scare." The story talked about local tomatoes being free of the contamination causing salmonella around the country. It was not about chemicals such as insecticides.

Local produce

Q: Thank you for the article about local tomatoes, and thank you for publishing maps showing where the different farmers markets operate. It would have been helpful to have published the times when the various markets are open. Karen.

A: It would have been helpful. Here's what the paper published earlier this year:

-- North Charleston: Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

-- Summerville: Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

-- Moncks Corner: Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

-- Chicora: Wednesdays, 3-7 p.m.

-- Mount Pleasant: Tuesdays, 3 p.m. until dark.

-- Freshfields Village: Mondays, 4 to 8 p.m.

-- Charleston: Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Oops

I directed readers to the wrong e-mail address to report changes concerning restaurants listed in the paper. It should be diningguide@postandcourier.com. My apologies.

Elsa McDowell, public editor, welcomes questions or comments about the paper's news coverage. Call 937-5626 or e-mail her at askelsa@postandcourier.com.