Of mice, free Chick-fil-A and Stone Brewing

What’s in a brewery name?

This just in from the Escondido company that used to be known as Stone Brewing Co.: We’ve changed.

Not the fabulous beers, fear not, but a wee bit change of name. Once quite particular about what they were called, then-CEO Greg Koch was known to correct wayward correspondents who referred to the entity as Stone Brewery or Stone Brewing Company when it should be called Stone Brewing Co..

Lately, beer journalists — or at least the ones at The Full Pint, the Southern California craft brewing website — noticed a change in the way Stone Brewing Co. approached the name game.

“Because we are well trained and a bit sensitive to making sure we get their naming convention right, we noticed on the past few news releases from Stone that they were missing the ‘Co.’ from their name,” Full Pint co-founder Danny ‘Fullpint’ said.

“We reached out to Stone’s Public Relations Specialist Nickie Peña to see if our eyes were deceiving us, or perhaps they had a new intern writing their press releases and forgetting that minor yet important detail.”

This was Stone’s reply:

“To answer your question about dropping the ‘Co.’ in our name, yep – it’s officially a thing. Full proper name we’re using now is ‘Stone Brewing.’ Really, the main reason is that ‘Co.’ isn’t a recognized abbreviation for companies in Germany, like it is in the US. Since we are becoming an international brand, we figured it would be a great time to be just “Stone Brewing.” To be honest, I’m thrilled! I’ve had to write several emails to journalist asking to correct our proper names. I think (and starting to see that) ‘Stone Brewing’ will make things a bit easier.”

Of mice and hantavirus

Roadrunner/Times Advocate mascot.

Escondido and Rancho Bernardo have the dubious distinction of housing two mice found to carry the hantavirus virus.

The mice were collected in routine monitoring by the Department of Environmental Health’s Vector Control Program. Hantavirus can cause deadly infections in humans and there is no vaccine or cure. However, people have very little chance of being exposed to the virus if they keep wild rodents out of their homes and workplaces.

Hantavirus is mainly carried by wild mice. They shed the virus through their saliva, urine and feces. Because of that, if people sweep or vacuum up rodent droppings or nests, they can stir the dried virus up into the air, where they can breathe it in and get infected.

Officials said people should try to avoid exposure to wild rodents and, if necessary, use wet-cleaning methods if they have to clean an area where rodents have been.

For more information, contact the County Department of Environmental Health (DEH) at (858) 694-2888 or visit the DEH hantavirus Web page.

Mark your calendars for a free food giveaway at Chick-fil-A

fight diabetes, get free sandwich.

Take the diabetes risk test for diabetes risk awareness, then get free food at Chick-fil-A

The nine Chick-fil-A restaurants in San Diego County, including the Chick-fil-A restaurants at 1290 Auto Park Way in Escondido and 587 Grand Ave. in San Marcos, will reward customers with a free food giveaway on Tuesday, March 22 in support of the American Diabetes Association’s “Alert Day.”

Held annually on the fourth Tuesday in March, the ADA’s Alert Day encourages people to find out their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by taking the ADA’s online diabetes risk test at www.diabetes.org/socalalert. The risk test, consisting of seven questions covering such topics as family history, weight and age, takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

Anyone who visits a local Chick-fil-A restaurant between the hours of 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on March 22, and shows proof they completed the diabetes risk test, will receive their choice of a free Chick-fil-A grilled chicken sandwich entrée or a free eight-piece grilled nugget entrée.

Proof can include either a printout from the website page or simply show the risk test’s final page on a smart phone. No personal information or test results will be collected. No purchase is required. Limit of one free entree per customer per day. Offer consists of entrée only, not a meal.

Chick-fil-A restaurants in San Diego County are located in Chula Vista, Encinitas, Oceanside, San Marcos, Santee, Escondido and in San Diego on Sports Arena Blvd., Camino Ruiz in Mira Mesa and Carmel Mountain Road in Carmel Mountain Ranch. For addresses and directions, visit www.chick-fil-a.com.