massachusetts police officers coming out to defend one of their own. a cop for arresting an african-american harvard professor. the cop saying he followed protocol. others say this is racism. who's right? teenage girls working as strippers? 16-year-olds taking it off on stage and it's legal in rhode island? are you kidding me? that's as long as they are off the pole by 11:30 on a school night. >> come back! there is a baby in there. >> a fiery wreck. a mother and two small children trapped inside a minivan. neighbors risking their own lives. an amazing rescue you can't stop

watching it. i'll have the honor of talking to two of those heroes. welcome. this is "prime news." i'm mike galanos. what you are about to see is incredible video. let's take a step back and let you relive it. let's give it a watch here. again, this is a mom with her two kids driving. we'll see the crash here. imagine you are a neighbor here. what do you do? what goes through your mind? who is going to be the hero? everybody jumped in. we are spot shadowing here. the little 4-year-old boy is still stuck in there, trapped because he is in his booster seat and strapped in. somebody had to get in there and get him out. two offduty firefighters. they're heros in this story, folks. let's be honest. john and joel went in.

you can see the verbiage here. "anyone got a any of?" in the end, everybody's out. the little guy is still recovering. he suffered some bad burns. let's talk to the heroes here. john and joel, guys, thanks so much. john on the left, joel on the right. you guys offduty firefighters. you've got no protective gear. you see this unfolding. john, what's going through your mind? >> the only thing going through my mind is getting this little boy out of the vehicle. there is no thought process. we are reacting to the situation that's unfolding in front of us. our training that we received in the fire department, our experience just teaches us to react. >> joel, same thing with you? there is no thought, hey, i could get hurt here? you guys are just reacting? >> no you know you are going to get hurt.

you know you are going to get burned, cuts, but your number one goal is to save that child's life. that was everyone's goal there on scene that day. it was tremendous effort. >> so you guys are in now. when you get to the van, what are you experiencing? what's going on? >> just panic. you can tell in everyone's voices there is panic. everyone is in -- uneasiness. everyone is working hard. john pulled back the windshield as you see in that video. at that time i entered the vehicle and i saw d.j. you could see him at that time he was okay, but everything around him is burning and he's just screaming. >> you've got a screaming 4-year-old. john, i take it it's hot. let's be honest here. that doesn't register, huh? you guys are thinking, let's rescue the kid. >> correct, correct. when we first arrived and i was able to actually visibly see the child or look into the vehicle,

i couldn't believe how clear it was. typically in our experience once there is fire, there is smoke. our visibility is down to nothing. in this case, visibility was fantastic. that aided in the speed of the rescue because we knew exactly where d.j. was. we knew where the straps were. even though we initially tried to pull him out and couldn't find the release, that's when i had -- we had to call for the knife. >> are you guys panicking at all or calm as this was unfolding? >> i think you can tell, there is definitely a sense of urgency there. our tone of voice, needing a any of. when you have a 4-year-old boy screaming for his life and he is literally on fire, there is a sense of urgency, a sense of panic, but you are focused enough to know what has to be

done. john had the presence of mind to call for that knife and get in there once he had it and do the job he needed to be done. >> john, your feelings when you are able to cut that seat belt and free little d.j.? >> i tell you, i cut the seat belt and again, did i get everything that i needed? when i started really feeling relieved at that moment, inside the vehicle was when i was able to pull him forward towards me. then i basically rolled out of the vehicle with him in my arms and you see me with him on the street. >> joel, your emotions as you basically saved a life here. >> yeah. again, it's such a great story. the best thing about it is it's a total team effort. it shows how good milwaukee is. how good the training on the fire department has given us, and just how everyone comes together to save a life. that story doesn't have a successful ending or a happy

ending without the help of the neighbors smashing the windows and the garden hose and the person with that pocketknife. it's just a total community effort. it's uplifting. >> so well put. we've done stories where people stand and watch when they should help. you got all the help you needed there. billy in texas would like to chime in. billy, your thoughts for our heroes here? >> caller: i would like to say thanks. you guys are firefighters that are off duty, but you've got all these other people from the neighborhood that are stopping and that's what makes this whole thing worthwhile. this is america. this is how we help people. >> that's right, billy. it does all our hearts good and hopefully can inspire us all to want to jump in. before we let you go, guys, i want you to listen to the boy's father. you may have heard this, how thankful he is for, again, neighbors, friends and heroes like you. let's listen.

>> i'm sorry i'm a little -- i'm trying to hold it together. there's my little boy. i'll turn it over to the doctors, but i want to thank everybody, everybody, the citizens of milwaukee for helping us. angels all around us and i would like to thank everybody. >> guys, want to hear from both of you. your thoughts as you hear from an emotional father like that. >> it's heart wrenching. being a father myself, i can only imagine what he's going through and the feelings that he's experiencing. i was so glad i did get the opportunity the following day to get up there and meet d.j.'s father james, and give him a big hug. it's tremendously emotional. >> i'm sure. joel? >> it's just rewarding to see

obviously that we as a community can come together at a time like that and be recognized as a community. and the father was just so thankful. it speaks volumes for like the caller said, america and how as americans we come together in times of crisis. >> we see you've got a bandage on your right arm. what are your injuries? john, you as well? >> for me, this is nothing compared to what d.j. is going through. second or third degree burns. i'll be back working in two or three weeks. john is the same. all thoughts and prayers, please send them to d.j. and his family. he is the trooper going through the pain and will be going through the surgerys to make that full recovery. >> he's got to go through some recovery. there were severe burns for him, correct, guys? >> yes. >> it's been an honor to talk to john and joel. thanks for the story and doing the right thing. it is a great story.

>> thank you. >> guys, appreciate it. love talking to those guys. >> hey, most of us need that morning cup of coffee to wake us up or the afternoon cup? what if that little cup of coffee was the jump-start to your first step towards financial success, financial fortune? how this woman is turning her love for java into serious business. and we can have our own coffee conversation via the web. be a prime news fan on facebook. we can take you behind the scene. there is a shot of a pensive mike galanos. join up.

this week's "money and main street," a massachusetts woman turns her love of coffee onto a new business. >> reporter: lucy is hooked on coffee. >> i had my first shot of espresso when i was 14 and it was amazing to me. >> reporter: with the dream of opening a coffee house she went to seattle to learn at the aprons of the best. >> i paused and said i'm not leaving this town until i learned how to do that. >> reporter: last fall she launched voltage coffee. her corporate headquarters. >> this is where all the magic happens. >> reporter: she knew her business acumen could use a jolt. >> i wrote my business plan with all these business plan writing for dummies, all these things. >> reporter: then took her plan

to the small business administration and was directed to axion usa, a company specializing in micro loans. it began a partnership with sam adams to get funding and free advice. >> i love lucy's dedication to the quality of her product. i'm a big believer that a great product and the patience an entrepreneur brings to that can go a long way. >> reporter: she started voltage with $2,000 and the $4,000 loan she got through the sam adams brewing the american dream program. >> covered the espresso machine, the grinders, my table, the membership costs, licensing and my costs for a few months with the commercial kitchen facility i use. >> reporter: now she is focused on a store front, but she has to incorporate, find a space and get a loan. >> i need to convince someone to give me 180 grand. that's a good chunk of change.

>> reporter: despite the economy, valena remains undaunted. >> i'm going to keep working on it. i'm not letting up, boston. i don't care. >> reporter: stephanie elam, cnn, massachusetts. >> you can see more "money and main street" tonight at 8:00. maybe you can help me understand this one. how is it legal for an underage girl to strip at a strip club? yeah. in rhode island, there are no laws against it. some 16-year-olds can dance naked in front of some dirty old man and that's perfectly legal, huh?

this one is going to shock you. 16-year-old girl stripping on stage and it's perfectly legal in rhode island? that's right.

minors can dance naked in front of gawking old men as long as they are off the pole by 11:30 on a school night. that is a night caveat, huh? the law forbids teens under 18 operating a power saw, pumping gas, but for perverts? how is that legal. help make sense with this, if you can. joining me to talk about it, wendy murphy who specializes in child abuse cases and rhode island state representative joanne. >> no state law prohibits minors from working in adult entertainment. state law does say anyone who employs a person under 18 for prostitution or lewd or indecent acts faces up to 20 dwreers in prison and up to a $20,000 fine in. rhode island, since we allow strip clubs, stripping is not

considered lewd or indecent behavior. >> are you going to take some action? >> oh, yes. i'm filing legislation such that they have in massachusetts, a state law that would prohibit employ employers from hiring underage to perform. >> a 16-year-old stripper for some old man, that's not lewd? >> i tell you it is. >> this is just the tip of the iceberg. we also have a loophole that we have no indoor prostitution law in rhode island, which makes it a double whammy. if these girls are doing that, who is to say they cannot do prostitution indoors, as well? >> you hit it on both fronts. that's frightening, as well. >> i'm working on both bills. >> we applaud your efforts. wendy, you are with me on that.

how is this happening? what's the back story on this? >> you know, mike, sometimes it's almost just a terrible understatement to say we applaud your efforts. there are other things i would like to say that would include much stronger language. how can rhode island be a place where in a sense you can go, if you are a dirty old man, who in a sense might enjoy child pornography, child rape, child sex abuse, you can go to rhode island and have what do you want with a 16-year-old girl anywhere in the state, including having sex with her behind closed doors because they do have legal prostitution if it's done in a private setting. you've got to be kidding me. what is it with the law makers in the state of rhode island? was this a loophole or something that reflects their values? if they don't pass this law quickly, we have only one phrase to say to the parents, "hide the children and don't go to rhode island." >> four years i've been trying for an indoor prostitution bill.

four years and now that this came into light because of a 16-year-old runaway from boston who was dancing in a providence strip joint. that's how we found out about it. >> can i ask you a question? >> wendy, let me point something out about that. real quick on that. correct me if i'm wrong, it was found out because see was with some 40-year-old against her will? >> right. who took her here from boston. right. he was an alleged pimp. >> brother. >> why not? you get in trouble in boston, you don't get in trouble in rhode island. why wouldn't that be exactly what he would do? i have a question. i know there's been an effort and good for you trying to push both the prostitution bill and better protections for kids in terms of these strip joints jobs, quote-unquote. who are the people stopping your legislation? i know it's been stalled. give us the names. we want to help you get over that. >> we have the people here from

the aclu, senators and representatives who are against it that feel what people do behind closed doors is their right. >> with children? >> prostitutes have a right, some of them, to make a living. i strongly think this is an outrage that we can't get this law passed. >> name the head of your senate. who is the head of your senate? >> senator theresa pivoweit. stalled in the senate. >> you watch, that person is responsible for children being raped and abused. that person. >> we are going to take a quick break. the three of us agree. what do you think? call in 1-877-tell-hln. a 16-year-old can't drive without a parent, can buy pornography but can sell sex behind closed doors and be groped? call in.

cnn, headlines news, or msnbc are locked on your favorites? if they are i've got the gift for you. i'm gonna richardson and my next guest is ken pullson. a pleasure to have you here. >> good to be with you >> what is the museum. most people know. >> sometimes there you an a museum in articling ton, virginia called the museum. it was an effort to remind

americans of the value of news gathering in america and a nod to the first amendment. we did so well there so we decided to take it where the action is. we have a brand new museum called a the museum on pennsylvania avenue. it's a -- it's a 45 word sign out front with the words of the first amendment 'em blazed there. we think it's healthy for them to read that says congress shall make no law. we're attempting to put it in neon. >> it is flashing? >> it's not a tribute to journalists. we had a blogger say i'm not going to set foot in that museum until they do an extra special to copy editors. it is not about you. it is a museum of history but a

different kind that reports what happened over the last several centuries through the eyes of journalists. so you get contemporary coverage of the assassination of kennedy and arrival of the beatles and the civil war and fascinating >> exactly. what have the visitors reactions been for the first year? exciting. we see the full range of course. tremendous amount of school groups and a lot of tourists visiting washingt washingto was. we bill ourselves as the world's most interactive museum. young people can play the part of a reporter or an editor or a journalist. we can even stand up in front of what you and your business called blue screen, to tape a broadcast announcement for their friends and family and then send it out to friends at home. amazing exhibits there.

i well tell you, i can say this with some degree of humility. i just joined the museum in february, i've been the editor of u.s. a. today for the last five years. we have the largest piece of the berlin wall in north america. you can go there and see that and the guard tower in collaboration and partnership with the f.b. i.we celebrate their 100th anniversary and we have phenomenal artifacts. we have the unibomber's cabin believe it or not. and depending on your age, some of your viewers probably remember patty hurst and her tenure with the liberation army. we have the gun she used in the bank robbery and the leather jacket she wore. we have can coverage including

dillinger's death mask and the bullet pruf vest he zn wear on that night >> with you have so many different exhibits. what do you have planned for us your second year? >> one of the great things about working for a museum where news is in the title we're updating and reflect the headlines in the museum. not long ago when there was an uproar in iran we covered the social network and the twittering. when newspapers have collapsed and some markets we quickly reported that. upcoming exhibits include: throughout the next year you'll be able to see manhunt exhibit about the assassination of abraham lincoln and barack ob a obama. >> i'm so sorry. we've run out of time but

everyone has got and go and see the museum. >> thank you very much >> my guest has been ken pullson president of i'll clean the pool if you clean the windows. pick the windows, pick the windows! anything but the windows. deal. oh! new windex outdoor all-in-one... cleans outdoor glass fast. just spray with water, wipe with a windex cleaning pad, and rinse for a streak-free shine in half the time. you're done? she pulled a fast one! ( laughs ) new windex outdoor all-in-one. a streak-free shine in half the time. s.c. johnson, a family company. i'm sorry. i can't hear you very well. announcer: does someone you know have trouble hearing on the phone? dad. dad, let me help you with that, okay? announcer: now, a free phone service shows captions of everything a caller says. i'd like to make an appointment to see the doctor. announcer: to learn more about captioned telephone,

call 1-800-552-7724 or go to our website. i'll see you at 3:00! announcer: captioned telephone - enjoy the phone again! welcome back. two big developments today centering on michael jackson's death. a new report from "the los angeles times" coming out. cops are focusing on fake names michael jackson may have used to score prescription drugs. one name out there, omar arnold. we know what cops seized. there were items experts say a cardiologist is not even supposed to have. we'll take your call, as always. we welcome back our guests.

really some expertise on this. let's get specific with some of these drugs here. help us with the pronouncer. one of them, clonopin. question. is this a drug a cardiologist would typically use? this is a mood predessant drug used for anxiety. specifically used in the scope of practice for someone like a psychiatrist? >> that fits something michael jackson might have been taking, right? >> it does. we heard that michael jackson wanted to come down at night and come up in the day. that's the description used by one doctor specifically in treating him. michael jackson had an addiction

we know to demerol that he admitted to. he was treated for that. the interesting question is, what other drugs was he taking? one doctor i talked to who has treated michael jackson in the past tells me today on "inside edition," that he had 11 aliases he would use to obtain various drugs, which is shocking. >> 11 aliases? since you brought that up, we were doing some research and the story of winona ryder came up. aliases, 20 doctors, 37 grows, doesn't it? someone could have their own pharmacies at home. >> patients get very elaborate. i take care of burn patients. patients will do things as keeping notebooks to make sure they have the right alias to the right pharmacy. so they don't present as alias a

to the pharmacy one week and come back the next week as somebody else. to keep such a lie alive for so long, it actually takes a lot of planning and a lot of forethought. >> do you as a doctor, and you mentioned it. you deal with burn victimses who need pain medication. do you have to double check to make sure a patient is not doctor shopping? >> yes. we have contracts that will have patients say any time we are giving you these medications, we can sit there and ask you to produce the pills and we can count them. if you are getting these medications from another physician, we can drop you as a patient. we will talk to the other physicians and say what is the group plan on how we are going to deal with these medications. there are data bases in tennessee. we go and look and see if they are getting medications from other pharmacists and other providers. that is what a responsible provider would do. >> that is a challenge to the entire medical field and all of us. guys, we have to take a quick

break. more on this. on the other side of that, who else might have used fake names to get michael jackson prescription drugs. we'll talk about the specifics found in dr. conrad murray's office.

welcome back. we love hearing from you.

call us, 1-877-tellhln. e-mail us or text message us. start your message with the word "prime" and your text messages pop-up on the bottom of the screen. become a fan on facebook. we'll take you behind the scenes, me, richelle and the prime news team. look at the pensive mike galanos there. wow. okay. cnn.com/prime news. richelle must have had something to do with that cheese ball shot. we are taking your calls, 1-877-tell-hln. michelle in florida. >> caller: i've got two real quick comments. if the pharmacy knew he had over $100,000 that he owed to them, i know if it was a normal person, they would have called the doctor, whoever wrote those prescriptions, and told them this person has acquired such a

bill over $100,000, how many pills is he getting for a time? >> good point. >> caller: also the doctor was saying they have to sign a form whenever they are getting narcotics. after the burn. why didn't anyone do a urine test on him? >> thanks for the call. jim, help us clarify this large bill michelle our caller is talking about. what pharmacy and how long ago did he owe over 100 grand? >> it was mickey fine pharmacy in beverly hills. i specifically asked the doctor i spoke with today, how could that farmly not have known? this doctor told me it is his understanding that 19 doctors and 11 aliases are involved here. specific to this pharmacy, the only way they were able to trace it was all to michael jackson was basically following the money, how it was all paid, who was responsible for the bill. the $100,000 bill didn't

necessarily have to be all in michael jackson's name from one particular doctor. that's what makes this whole investigation so much more complicated. the authorities have to put names and doctors together and cross reference and ultimately follow the money. >> great point. dr. jeffrey guy is with us. there is no way you as a doctor or an individual doctor would have any idea a patient of yours is racking up that kind of bill, would you? >> no. there would be a disconnect. the caller brings up a good point of the large quantity of the medications. you are talking about a legitimate medical practice for people with chronic pain. that is what is typically done in a chronic pain-type clinic or practices like cancer or burn practices where the patient has long-term pain. this was not a legitimate relationship. >> one other drug we know dr. week. downer. phentermine is an

upper, right? >> one brings you down, the other pill brings you up, correct. >> we are seeing an appetite expressant. michael jackson weighed 110 pounds. why would he need it? >> why is it an appetite suppressant? it up-regulates your metabolism. it can make your heart rate go faster. it gets your body running and revving. that's how these patients lose weight with this medication. >> before we go, we heard, you and i talked about it through the week there could be a possible third meeting with dr. conrad murray or his lawyers? it was supposed to possibly happen today. do we know anything about that? >> we heard nothing more about it. we put in requests to the lawyer for interviews and comments. we heard nothing. it's possible we know that authorities specifically the coroner wants to talk to dr. murray. we know now based on what was filed with the court that dr.

murray is the focus of this criminal investigation. he may not be the only doctor. >> and his own lawyer saying authorities are looking for evidence of manslaughter. that's got our attention. we appreciate it, guys. coming up, quite the hot button topic. cops arrest an african-american harvard professor at his own home. he was having trouble getting inside. the police officer sticking to his guns, as well. president obama is weighing in on that. that's coming up in our "what matters" segment. what do you think of this situation? call us. now we want to meet our hero of the week. in 2004 i was diagnosed with breast cancer. initially there's shock, but i realize how blessed i was to have health insurance. it made me think about all the women who didn't have health insurance. i wanted to make a difference in

their lives. i'm andrea ivory fighting breast cancer in florida one household at a time. the florida breast help initiative is an outreach organization targeting working class people. we are going to make a difference and save some lives. we have a take it to the streets approach. we feel like little pixies spreading breast cancer awareness. can i ask you a few questions? we target women that are 35 years or older and make appointments on the spot 0 for a free mammogram. bringing the mobile mammography van into the neighborhood is one of the more important factors of the work we do. we provide a service that is so needed. i know i'm saving lives. >> it's free, so come right over and get it. >> is the lady of the house at home? we are going to screen mammograms on the 25th. thank you so much.

take care. i was saved from breast cancer to serve other women. every time i knock on the door, it's another opportunity to save a life.

the arrest of an african-american harvard professor this past weekend created a racial firestorm across the country with people on both sides of the debate. let's bring in richelle carey with a closer look at that debate in our weekly feature "what matters." >> henry louis gates' arrest has reignited race discussions this week. turns out the front door was stuck and he and his driver were just trying to get in. charges against him were dropped earlier this week. the arresting officer, sergeant james crowley says race did not play a factor. the debate heated up when president obama said the cambridge police department acted stupidly. today he talked on the phone to both professor gates and sergeant crowley, then publically clarified his remarks.

>> i unfortunately gave an impression that i was maligning the cam bridge police department or sergeant crowley specifically. i could have calibrated those words differently. i told this to sergeant crowley. i continue to believe, based on what i have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling professor gates out of his home to the station. i also continue to believe, based on what i heard, that professor gates probably overreacted, as well. >> okay. joining me to talk about this, boyd watkins, founder of yourblackworld.com and dr. james peterson, self-proclaimed hip-hop scholar and jim cardian,

former police detective. what is your reaction to the president speaking out today? some people in the press corps were caught off guard when he walked into the briefing room. >> i think the president made the right move. i think any logical person knows you don't start a very damning statement by saying that skip gates is my friend, i'm probably biased and i don't have all the facts, but they behaved stupidly. not only was that literally like a verbal war strike on this department, which probably led toe heads rolling. it was undermined by his admission he didn't know the facts, but president obama is a smart guy. he knows when he made mistakes. unlike someone like a rush limbaugh, he admits when he screwed this up. what has to happen now, we've got to open up the broader dialogue. right now this situation is between crowley and gates. this may not even be about race. this may be about egos. this may be more of a class issue than a race issue. there is a broader race issue

across the nation. >> i'll get to that in a second. james, i want your reaction, as well, to what president obama said today. >> i'm glad he backed off his comments a bit, but i agree with his original assessment, considering the fact the officer in question, officer crowley claims to be a diversity trainer and is a well-decorated and well-respected officer. that means his cooler head should have prevailed in this matter. it's clear did he not have to arrest professor gates. the thing is we cannot divorce this from the history. that's the problem. i know people want to move on and want to be cool, calm and collected about it, but it's difficult for me personally to divorce this issue from the long and sad history of the poor relationships between police departments and the african-american communities they have to police. >> this has been a he said/he said even though there is a police report. i want to hear from sergeant crowley and professor gates. >> i was continuously telling

him to calm down during this whole exchange. i didn't want this either. i didn't -- although i didn't know at the time who professor gates was, knowing he was an affiliate of harvard, i didn't want to have to take such a drastic action because i knew it was going to bring a certain amount of unwanted attention on me. nonetheless, that's how far professor gates pushed it and provoked and just wouldn't stop. >> it was the fault of a policeman who couldn't understand a black man standing up for his rights right in his face. that's what i did. i would do the same thing exactly again. >> steve, i want to ask you, at what point, there was obvious tension between them at professor gates' home. at what point, as long as you are not putting your hands on an officer, does the officer have the right to arrest you in your own home? explain that to us. >> well, richelle, after he did

produce his identification after much protest, the sergeant was berated and he was yelled at and called a racist. public annoyance and alarm. we have to wonder did mr. gates prejudge this officer as a racist prior to having any other interaction with him before he even interacted with him? >> i understand that, but my question is, regardless of the verbal interaction between them, i'm just asking you as a police officer, at what point was it okay to arrest him? that's what i'm asking? >> yeah, once he became -- >> i realize you weren't there. >> once there was difficulty in dealing with mr. gates, and sergeant crawley warned him that his behavior was out of order, there comes a point in a police officer's timing during a situation like this where he makes the decision to affect the arrest, to stop this person from

creating a disturbance, having people gather and creating annoyance and alarm for those in the surrounding area. >> it's obvious a difficult situation to judge. we're going to share facebook comments and e-mails. so don't go anywhere. people have been fired up about this topic. more to come on the other side of the break here on "prime news."

[ music ] >> welcome to comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson, and my guest this hour is christine bergmark who is the executive director of the southern maryland agricultural development commission. welcome, christine, it's good to have you here. >> thank you for having me. >> that's a big mouthful, and i know that you're working on an extremely exciting program, bi-local challenge. >> it is an initial that we launched two years ago, and essentially what it is is the last full week of july we ask everyone across the state of maryland and beyond to take a pledge, and the pledge is eat

something or drink from a farm every day during that week. >> oh. so where do we get the information about where to find the farms or how do we sign up for this pledge? >> well, there's a website. it's www.by-local-challenge.com that website will give you all sorts of information why to buy local and where to buy local and it connects you to other statewide initiatives that are going on at the same time. if you go to the website, we've added a count. people used to say, where do i sign up? normally you have to go buy, eat something from a local farm. this year we decided to add a counter to the website. when you are' counted, you can receive a certificate with your name on it that you can put up in your office or your home or wherever. >> which is very, very important. it's reduces your carbon foot

print because you're driving hopefully a shorter distance, you have access to local products that are available, and also it helps the farmers. >> well, and in fact, our theme this year is healthy plate, healthy planet. all kinds of benefits to buying local, benefits for you, healthy, nutrition, it's fresh, and preserving our farms survive, we keep clean water, we keep clean air, we reduce the carbon footprints from things traveling 1500 miles, and it tastes good. >> exactly. now for those people who may not cook, how can they be a part of this? >> yeah, sometimes people say, well, i hate to cook. that's okay. you can go to a store or to a restaurant that features local farm products, and there are more and more restaurants every year, some of them are on our website, and you can click throughout to find out who they are,.

>> what kind of items can we acquire localfully. >> during the last week of july, there is so much product available. there's sweet corn, blackberries, all kinds of tomatoes and melons are in season, and of course, there's always wine, cheese, eggs, meatss. >> so we do have a wide variety of things we can get. say that i go and i go to a local farmer's market and purchase something, what is a vegetable that i'm not quite familiar with, how did i find a recipe. >> excellent question. there are recipes on our website. people can post their own recipes of their own events and own blogs by why they buy local. some of the things i wanted to mention is the economic benefits. we talked about the planet, we

talked about the fact that it tastes good, and it's fun, but there's also the benefit of supporting our farms, and if every household in the state mucofmaryland were to buy just 2 worth of products for 8 weeks, basically the summer season that, would put $200 million straight back into the pockets of our farmers. that would do a lot to keep our farmers thriving. >> which is so important. i know we have less than 30 seconds, but you have some partners that you wouldn't typically think of who have now joined in. >> yes. hospitals are joining in this year. fact, they're looking to do a competition to see how many people they can get involved. >> have you exciting. christine, thank you very much for coming in today. >> thank you. >> my guest today has been christine bergmark with the southern agricultural commission. if you're interested in what comcast is doing in your area, go to on demand and click get

local. for comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson. [ music ]dddddddddddd