Heard on the Street

BEAVER FOOD

Wonders of Wildlife, which is set to open Nov. 2, needs trees not to plant but to eat. The diners will be the resident beavers of the Community Pond exhibit, according to Misty Mitchell, curator of mammals and birds. WOW will need about seven to eight trees a week and is requesting live elms, willows, birch and maple trees about 10 feet tall and six inches around. "The ideal will would be someone, a contractor or landowner, who wants to clear several acres. That way we can come out to mark specific trees and then gather them as they are needed," Mitchell said. WOW prefers healthy trees that haven't been sprayed with pesticide, and so, we imagine, do the beavers, who use their chisel-like teeth to eat the bark, then use the stripped trees to construct lodges. Beavers' special digestive system allows them to consume tree bark. They also ingest young twigs and new growth, as well as row crops, like corn, according to the Beavers, Wetlands & Wildlife Web site. Native Americans named beavers, the largest rodents in the United States, the "sacred center" because the furry engineers with their dam building create wetlands that support a rich habitat for a whole slew of other creatures, like turtles, frogs and birds.

THE PRICE IS WRONG

Wonder why red meat prices are so high in your local grocery store? It might just be because production is down 7 percent in this state, according to the July 31 Missouri Crop and Livestock Reporter. Cattle and calves numbers on Missouri farms on July 1 were down 1 percent from July 1, 2000, and in the rest of the nation the downward trend was similar.

ENERGY FUTURE

What the future holds for energy will be the topic of discussion Sept. 18 in Jefferson City at the second annual Missouri Utility and Energy Conference. James K. Glassman, a nationally known writer, speaker and television host, will be the luncheon keynote speaker. He's a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a writer and speaker on financial, economic and political topics. Glassman has hosted CNN's "Capital Gang Sunday" political talk show and PBS's "Techno-Politics" program. His main interest is the intersection of public policy with finance, economics, technology and politics.

Agenda topics include:

What went wrong in California;

Missouri's energy profile;

Generation and transmission;

Approaches to restructuring Missouri's electric utility industry;

Transportation fuel prices;

Home and industrial fuel prices;

Alternative energy sources; and

Missouri's energy future.

INTERNET SCAMS

Auctions on the Internet are listed at the top of the list of top 10 online scams, according to Missouri's attorney general's Consumer Fraud Department. In 1999, a whopping 87 percent of Internet fraud reported by the National Consumers League was as a result of online auctions. Seven percent of Internet frauds are reported from general merchandise sales. The attorney general suggests consumers pay by credit or charge card because that will protect the transaction under the Fair Credit Billing Act. Consumers who use their credit or charge cards can dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily withhold payment. Also, the attorney general suggests, keep printed records of all transactions including the purchase order and confirmation numbers.

SLICE OF NICE

Put on your most "safari-chic" outfit and come to the Ball of the Wild Sept. 21 at Riverside Inn in Ozark, a new fund-raising gala sponsored by the Friends of the Zoo and the Lezah and Ron Stenger family. The Mediterranean decor of the old inn will be transformed into an exotic African safari with the assistance of St. Louis floral designer Janet Darmin, of "Fleurs for Times Remem-bered," and ideas that sprang from the planning committee chaired by Nancy Hopkins. The "Out of Africa" experience wouldn't be complete without the sounds of Africa, which will be provided by Kufara, an African marimba band. Wild-ness of another sort will be the dinner music by the M-Dock band. Male attendees should wear "creative black tie" tuxedos with a safari splash, such as wild shorts and animal tails. Females may wear animal prints, but the wilder the better. Reservations are $85 per person or $1,000 for a table for 10.