Economy Briefs

OHIO

Goodyear plans blimp replacements

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will team up with another name rich in blimp history to replace its three U.S. airships with bigger, faster ones.

The Akron-based company said Tuesday that it would work with German manufacturer ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik to build three blimps beginning in 2013.

The airships will be built by Zeppelin and Goodyear teams at Goodyear’s airship hangar near Akron. The first new blimp will go into operation in 2014.

The blimps are based in Akron, Pompano Beach, Fla., and Carson, Calif. Goodyear also has leased blimp operations in Europe and China.

Each new airship will cost about $21 million, including technical support, the company said. The replacements will be longer (246 feet versus 192 feet), will fly faster (73 mph versus 54 mph) and have more gondola seats (13 versus seven, including pilot).

Goodyear has been making airships since 1919 and Zeppelin since 1900.

“No matter where they are stationed or where they travel, blimps will always be connected to our city, thanks to Goodyear,” he said.

DAIRY

Raw-milk buyers form group to support farmer

BALTIMORE | Raw-milk buyers in Washington and Maryland say they will challenge federal action being taken against a Pennsylvania farmer.

The Justice Department announced last week that it was seeking a court order against the owner of a Kinzers, Pa., farm, claiming the firm distributed unpasteurized milk across state lines for human consumption. The complaint was filed against Daniel L. Allgyer, owner of the Rainbow Acres Farm.

The federal Food and Drug Administration warns that raw milk can contain a wide variety of harmful bacteria including Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia and Brucella.

“Drinking raw milk is dangerous and shouldn’t be consumed under any circumstances,” said Dara A. Corrigan, FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “FDA has warned the defendant on multiple occasions that introducing raw milk into interstate commerce is in violation of federal law.”

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