Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 29, 1993 TAG: 9307290046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: Newer tomato varieties usually are less acid. Not everyone shares your taste for tartness in tomatoes, so those folks may be heading to the market right now for a mild tomato.
If it's acid you like, look for these varieties: beefmaster, beefsteak, Campbell 17, early giant, early girl and golden boy.
They have a pH of 4.5 or below, said Charlotte Kidd of the Virginia Tech Extension office in Roanoke.
When a tomato reaches dead-ripe stage, it's lost some of that acid flavor, by the way.
Ask for these varieties by name and chances are you'll find some on the City Market.
And with some of these you can make a sandwich with a single slice. Benefits for immigrants
Q: A friend whom I consider to be well-informed insists illegal citizens (who have crossed the border or are on ships awaiting entry, whether authorized or not) are immediately eligible for Social Security, Medicare, food stamps and welfare. I say that is preposterous. Who is right? W.L., Roanoke
A: Illegal immigrants aren't likely to get past Social Security's requirement that people work for 10 years "on the books," with wage withholding, to qualify for Social Security or Medicare. Rarely, one might slip through on a fake ID.
Illegals claim other benefits, though. California puts a $2 billion price tag on the medical, educational and correctional costs, according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Border states and New York share the problem.
Here's a short version of how it can happen: It's easy to slip from Mexico into California; 50 percent succeed.
Women who then give birth in the United States are thus entitled to Medicaid, which is subsidized by the state, and their families are immediately entitled to federal and state aid to dependent children.
The problem is bad enough in a few states to jeopardize legal immigration in all of them.
Legal newcomers to this country usually are sponsored immigrants, with family members or a church group taking care of them until they get on their feet.
Western Virginia gets about 190 new immigrants by legal channels every year.
Almost all are eligible for food stamps and Medicaid at first, but 98 percent become self-supporting within two or three months by taking jobs few Americans want, said Barbara Smith of the local Refugee Resettlement Office.
Your friend may have heard of a growing Supplemental Security Income ripoff.
SSI is administered by Social Security, but its money comes from elsewhere in the federal budget.
Under this scam, immigrants with legal status are taught by middlemen how to lie and convince interviewers that they are mentally disabled, perhaps from trauma in the countries they left.
Getting onto SSI opens the door to food stamps and other benefits.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.
by CNB