Eliminating fares on San Francisco's Municipal Railway - an idea Mayor Gavin Newsom wanted explored - would worsen delays, overcrowding and financial burdens on the already strained transit system. That bleak assessment by private consultants who evaluated the free-rides idea has led Newsom to quietly abandon the concept, top administration aides told The Chronicle on Monday. SF Chronicle 1/29/08
In a sobering assessment, state and federal officials told a House panel that their big investment in the smelt hasn't paid off yet. The concession comes as officials contemplate spending an additional $10 billion or more for new California water projects and related environmental work. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Robert Johnson said he could not even estimate how much money has been spent on measures to protect the fish, although it's likely in the tens of millions of dollars. The hearing convened by the House panel Tuesday could set the stage for federal legislation, although nothing specific has been introduced. Sacramento Bee 1/30/08
The state's largest salmon run is suffering an "unprecedented collapse," part of a broader decline throughout the West that has scientists vexed and likely will trigger severe fishing restrictions, according to federal fishery regulators. The number of chinook, or king, salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries this past fall dropped 67 percent from a year earlier, according to an internal memo to members of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. CC Times 1/30/08
Beaches in Pacifica and at Moss Beach's Fitzgerald Marine Reserve were closed Monday after tar balls, ranging from the size of a quarter to the width of a hubcap, washed up along the coast, according to San Mateo County officials. The source of the oil, first thought to be remnants of the Cosco Busan oil spill, became more of a mystery as the day wore on and the Coast Guard received reports of thick, coagulated tar ball "patties" washing up on beaches as far south as Monterey. Inside Bay Area 1/30/08
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to begin a City Hall push to get artery-clogging trans fats out of the food served in San Francisco restaurants. With the approval of the city's leading restaurateurs' association, the board voted unanimously to institute a voluntary program in which restaurants that pledge to cook without trans fats will receive a decal that can be displayed to let customers know their food is being prepared without partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. The legislation's author, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, said the next step is to make the ban mandatory. SF Chronicle 1/30/08
UnitedHealth, the nation's largest health insurer, faces penalties of up to $1.3 billion from California regulators for thousands of alleged violations that include wrongly denying claims, losing patient records and failing to respond to complaints. SJ Mercury 1/30/08
Building on California's allure as America's "Capital of Culinary Travel," the California Wine Institute and the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) have entered into an historic partnership to promote the state's wine and cuisine offerings to the fast-growing travel segment of culinary connoisseurs -- and those who aspire to be. The heart of the campaign focuses on a new LandofWineandFood.com Web site which will debut at wine and food and travel media events. PR Newswire 1/30/08
Members of a state Senate committee voted overwhelmingly today to kill a sweeping overhaul of the California health care system that aimed to provide coverage to millions of uninsured residents. Schwarzenegger, speaking to the editorial board of the Chronicle, said he will do everything he can to keep the measure alive. SF Chronicle 1/29/08
The state's fight against the light brown apple moth will restart in late spring or early summer in Santa Cruz County, state agriculture officials said this week. A method using twist-ties to apply a pheromone to plants, trees and fence posts is being considered, but Santa Cruz County is too heavily infested for that approach to be used here, said Steve Lyle, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. CC Times 1/26/08
A state panel reviewing October's huge Southern California wildfires called Friday for more night-flying helicopters, fire engines and firefighters. Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger, facing a $14.5 billion state budget deficit this year, earlier this month proposed a 1.25 percent tax on residential and commercial property insurance to raise about $100 million for installing GPS tracking on fire engines, expanding seasonal firefighting crews and buying 11 new all-weather helicopters for the state firefighting agency. CC Times 1/26/08
Three weeks after a canal break swamped hundreds of homes in the northern Nevada town of Fernley, authorities are still puzzled over the cause of the rupture. CC Times 1/27/08
Two rare salamanders do not need Endangered Species Act protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday. Inside Bay Area 1/27/08
The crews of the 20 local fishing vessels who spent four days scooping gallons of oil from the reaches of the Bay after the Cosco Busan spill Nov. 7 were given mixed reviews on effectiveness. Fishers were paid $3,000 a day, but no record exists of how effective the fishers were in the oil cleanup because the oil they recovered was not measured and they were not assessed individually. Representatives from The O’Brien Group said the boats were helpful, the Office of Spill Prevention and Response described their effort as “uncoordinated.” Both agreed the fishers’ assistance was not “crucial.” CC Times 1/27/08
Keep Antibiotics Working, a coalition backed by environmental groups and the American Medical Association, is pushing for a federal ban on antibiotics in animal feed. Introduced by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass, and Olympia Snow, R-Maine, the "Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act" would phase out in two years antibiotics deemed "important in human medicine." SF Chronicle 1/28/08
100-pound squid have quietly made their way from the tropical regions of the Pacific to the cooler reaches of California and the Bay Area and researchers in Santa Cruz have found that the squid's favorite foods are some of the most popular catches of fishermen in the region - meaning competition and perhaps another threat to an industry that has long struggled in the Monterey Bay. SJ Mercury 1/27/08
More than 600 Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California are testing a new genetically engineered flu vaccine that provides new promise for stopping the threat of an influenza pandemic. Inside Bay Area 1/28/08
Despite the stereotype that Asians are petite and skinny, studies show this population is rapidly becoming overweight – so much so that a state agency in California is targeting Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in a campaign. Orange County Register 1/29/08
If not for a recent federal court order, sonar would have been used freely at naval exercises through waters between Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands.But at times this weekend, the sonar had to be turned off. A judge, concerned about the potential harm to whales and dolphins, forbade its use in the area between the islands, waters known for their rich abundance of marine mammals. LA Times 1/28/08
The crews of the 20 local fishing vessels who spent four days scooping gallons of oil from the reaches of the Bay after the Cosco Busan spill Nov. 7 were given mixed reviews on effectiveness. Fishers were paid $3,000 a day, but no record exists of how effective the fishers were in the oil cleanup because the oil they recovered was not measured and they were not assessed individually. Representatives from The O'Brien Group said the boats were helpful, the Office of Spill Prevention and Response described their effort as "uncoordinated." Both agreed the fishers' assistance was not "crucial." CC Times 1/27/08
A new report on the response to the November Cosco Busan ship accident found shortcomings in the Coast Guard's public communications but said crews responded rapidly to the spill. The Coast Guard's delay in revealing the scale of the spill from the damaged container ship did not hamper its ability to contain the toxic bunker fuel. CC Times 1/28/08
The first major report on the San Francisco Bay oil spill praises the work of response crews in cleaning up the oil, but criticizes the Coast Guard for failing to alert local authorities in a timely way and involve local volunteers, according to top Coast Guard officials who have reviewed it. SF Chronicle 1/28/08
This week, the California Assembly is expected to vote on the California Clean Car Discount Act, which, if passed, would be the nation's first "feebate" law, imposing charges and granting rebates based on a vehicle's emission of carbon dioxide and other gases. LA Times 1/28/08
Attorney General Jerry Brown will petition federal regulators today to set stricter emission standards on off-road toys such as snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and personal watercraft - an idea that manufacturers insist would trigger higher prices, lower performance and possibly even be the demise of some off-road vehicles. SJ Mercury 1/29/08
With oil prices high, fuel surcharges on many international flights have climbed in recent months to nearly half the price of a ticket. LA Times 1/29/08
Coast Guard officials who boarded the Cosco Busan to determine how much oil had spilled into the San Francisco Bay had trouble communicating with the Chinese-speaking crew - and ultimately had to use drawings and hand gestures. The new detail, contained in the first major report on the response to the Nov. 7 oil spill, helps explain why the Coast Guard came up with the faulty initial estimate of 140 gallons - far short of the 58,000 gallons that were later reported to have leaked into the Bay. SF Chronicle 1/28/07
BART will commence a four-month trial today in which 230 handpicked volunteers will be able to use mobile phones to buy tickets, pass through the fare gates and download information. SF Chronicle 1/29/08
If not for a recent federal court order, sonar would have been used freely at naval exercises through waters between Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands.But at times this weekend, the sonar had to be turned off. A judge, concerned about the potential harm to whales and dolphins, forbade its use in the area between the islands, waters known for their rich abundance of marine mammals. LA Times 1/28/08
The East Bay Municipal Utility District will restrict recreational boating in six reservoirs to prevent the spread of two non-native mussels that have caused havoc in waterways in many states, EBMUD officials announced Thursday. Boats from Southern California as well as San Benito and Santa Clara counties will be banned from using the six reservoirs -- some of them popular recreational lakes. CC Times 1/25/08
The Senate voted 15-20 Thursday against confirming Judith Case , a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, to CARB. Critics said that Case routinely favored polluters. CC Times 1/25/08
The national labor union representing air traffic controllers Thursday declared a staffing emergency at the air traffic control facility that serves Mineta San Jose International Airport and others in the Bay Area. The union is in a labor dispute with the Federal Aviation Administration. Representatives of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association say the breakdown in contract negotiations has led to unsafe staffing levels. Silicon Valley Business Journal 1/24/08
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican; Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell, a Democrat; and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an Independent, stood beneath a Los Angeles highway interchange on Saturday to announce the formation of a non-partisan national coalition that will lobby for federal investment in America's decaying infrastructure. In the short term, the coalition will work with presidential candidates and the platform committees of the national political parties to ensure that the next president understands the enormity of the infrastructure crisis and is committed to increasing federal funding, the three officials said. Environmental News Service 1/22/08
The East Bay Municipal Utility District will restrict recreational boating in six reservoirs to prevent the spread of two non-native mussels that have caused havoc in waterways in many states, EBMUD officials announced Thursday. Boats from Southern California as well as San Benito and Santa Clara counties will be banned from using the six reservoirs -- some of them popular recreational lakes. CC Times 1/25/08
In the latest setback for advocates of medical marijuana in California, the State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that employers were within their rights to fire employees who fail drug tests. On Thursday the state’s highest court firmly rejected an argument that the Compassionate Use Act protects medicinal marijuana users’ employment, saying that the act deals solely with criminal prosecution. NY Times 1/25/08
In response, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, has just announced he’ll introduce a bill protecting medical cannabis patients’ right to employment. Inside the Bay Area blog 1/25/08
The state Fish and Game Commission is set to consider a two-month fishing ban on the lower American River as a way to ward off poaching and preserve the steelhead trout population. A fly-fishing organization representing 7,000 Northern California anglers is asking the state commission for the ban, which would interrupt the steelhead trout season. Sacramento Bee 1/25/08
BART is going to introduce electronic lockers for bicycles at some East Bay stations in a new strategy aimed at enticing more people to pedal rather than drive to train stations. In the last survey taken in 1999, BART found that about 2 percent of its train riders reached stations by bicycle during the morning rush hour, and about 4 percent during the off-peak hours. Inside Bay Area 1/24/08
A Senate committee recommended Wednesday that one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's appointees to the state air board be replaced because of her record with public health issues. The Rules Committee voted 3-2 along party lines against the appointment after some Central Valley lawmakers complained board member Judith Case routinely sides with polluters on air-quality issues. CC Times 1/24/08
Attorney General Jerry Brown and 18 other state and local officials from around the country sent a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday demanding the agency begin developing standards for regulating greenhouse gases. A similar letter was sent by 12 environmental groups. Wednesday's letter accuses the EPA of "unreasonably delaying action," after the U.S. Supreme Court last April said it had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Sacramento Bee 1/24/08
The Environmental Protection Agency's staff concluded last month that greenhouse gases pose a threat to the nation's welfare, which would require federal regulations to rein in emissions from vehicles, factories, power plants and other industrial polluters under the Clean Air Act, sources in the agency told The Times. The conclusion, known as an "endangerment" finding, has been sent to the White House for review, and comes as the agency is under a Supreme Court order to examine risks from greenhouse gases. LA Times 1/24/08
Newly released documents show that Environmental Protection Agency staff members made a strong case that California should be allowed to proceed with its first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas regulations - arguments that the agency's chief, Stephen Johnson, ultimately overruled. In the presentation last year, EPA staffers wrote that California could clearly demonstrate "compelling and extraordinary conditions" - the legal definition under the Clean Air Act that requires EPA to approve regulations set by the state. SF Chronicle 1/24/08
As restaurants around the country are beginning to use environmentally friendly construction techniques, a new restaurant in Sacramento, Hot Italian, scheduled to open this spring is participating in a pilot program offered by the U.S. Green Building Council to help retail stores and restaurants. The restaurant plans to include green features ranging from solar panels to a special composting bin to extensive bicycle parking. Sacramento Bee 1/24/08
The head of the EPA stood firm Thursday against a chorus of congressional criticism over his refusal to allow California and more than a dozen other states to impose greenhouse gas reductions on cars and trucks. He said, "The Clean Air Act does not require me to rubberstamp waiver decisions," Johnson said. "It was my conclusion that California didn't meet the criteria, or at least all of the criteria." Sen. Barbara Boxer chided him, "You're going against your own agency's mission and you're fulfilling the mission of some special interests." AP 1/24/08
Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency. Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. NY Times 1/23/08
Dr. Jane Hightower, a doctor of internal medicine at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and a leading researcher on mercury poisoning, urged sushi lovers Wednesday to curb their intake of raw tuna, in light of a published report that tuna sushi contains mercury in excess of what the government deems acceptable. KCBS 1/24/08
A siphon bar, a machine that makes gourmet coffee, was imported from Japan at a total cost of more than $20,000 to the Blue Bottle Café in San Francisco. Popularity of machines like this signal the resurgence of brewing among the most obsessive coffee enthusiasts. NY Times 1/23/08
The fame of the Napa region often means that when you buy a Napa Valley wine you are paying for a lot more than what’s in the bottle. The wine critic for the NY Times found a number of mid-range bottles he purchased ‘boring’ and ‘formulaic’. 1/23/08
The prospect of fierce opposition from environmentalists and the lack of consensus among key political leaders on the details of an $11.7 billion bond package caused the California Alliance for Jobs to withdraw political funding for the measure. This makes the prospect of a water bond getting to voters this year unlikely. CC Times 1/24/08
In a state where water has become an increasingly scarce commodity, a growing number of farmers are betting that they can make more money selling their water supplies to thirsty cities and farms to the south than by growing crops. Many farmers are saying there is more economic advantage to fallowing than raising a crop. Critics say these farmers are getting water for a subsidized price and selling it to taxpayers at an elevated rate. CC Times 1/24/08
After several years of trying to convince his neighbors to cut down or trim their redwood trees which blocked his solar panels, a Sunnyvale man filed a complaint with the Santa Clara County district attorney, arguing that the trees reduce the amount of electricity he can generate. It turns out the couple was in violation of California's 1978 "Solar Shade Control Act" and in December were ordered to remove two of the trees. CC Times 1/24/08
California agricultural authorities will stop spraying a pesticide meant to stop a crop-eating moth until they can find a better product, officials said Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting tests in New Zealand to figure out which new chemical formulation is the most effective agent against an infestation of the light brown apple moth that has spread to nine California counties, said department spokesman Larry Hawkins. Last year, more than 600 residents of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties reported experiencing respiratory illnesses, breathing complications, irregular heart rhythms and menstrual cycles and more after initial rounds of aerial spraying. SJ Mercury 1/22/08
A California consumer has filed a proposed class-action suit against The Dannon Company, alleging the company's claims that its probiotic yogurt offers clinically and scientifically-proven health benefits are false. The lawsuit alleges that Dannon's clinical studies didn't support marketing claims suggesting DanActive, Activia and Activia Light yogurt products had been proven to regulate one's digestive system. CBC 1/24/08
In recent years, yogurt’s popularity has exploded. Though it has always been considered nourishing and a significant source of calcium, new research detailing even greater benefits has driven health-conscious consumers to the marketplace en masse. In the Bay Area, boutique yogurt shops are popping up like wildflowers, and with places like Fraiche, in Palo Alto, breaking new ground by making their own yogurt. SF Chronicle 1/23/08
Federal health authorities are awarding Fresno State a five-year, $4.5 million grant to create a biomedical research center. SJ Mercury 1/23/08
California Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura will be leading an agricultural trade delegation to Cuba, January 21 – 24, 2008, to market California agricultural products to the Cuban government, creating future sales opportunities for California exporters. California Farmer 1/21/08
The New York City Board of Health voted Tuesday to approve a new version of a law requiring fast-food outlets to display calorie counts on their menus, hoping the fat-filled truth will shock New Yorkers into eating healthier. The new regulation applies to any chain that operates at least 15 separate outlets. AP 1/24/08
After an unknown amount of untreated sewage spewed out after the ravaging storms earlier this month, the city is looking at reconstructed pavements lined with trees and gardens, water-absorbent asphalt and other rainwater-catching tools to ease the burden of rain on the sewage system. The City’s plan includes recommendations for rooftop gardens that trap rain for plants, thirsty trees planted in special spongelike soil, water-pervious asphalt, vegetated run-off channels and underground tanks that trap rainwater for irrigation. SF Examiner 1/21/08
Golden Gate Bridge officials said today that a $1 toll hike is needed to help close a projected five-year, $91 million deficit, but they want to hear from the public before deciding whether to move forward with their plan to boost revenue. The bridge board of directors will be asked Friday to give the go-ahead for a public outreach process to gauge reaction to the proposal that would raise the cash toll to $6 and the electronic FasTrak toll to $5. SF Chronicle 1/23/08
The California Coastal Commission argued in federal court Tuesday that President Bush violated the U.S. Constitution by trying to overturn a court order that restricted the Navy's use of a type of sonar linked to the deaths of marine mammals. The commission's attorneys said Bush's move to exempt the Navy sonar training exercises in Southern California waters from federal law violated the Constitution's separation-of-powers doctrine. Bush provided only a "cursory basis" for his decision and did not provide an explanation from the Secretary of Commerce, as required for an exemption to the Coastal Zone Management Act, the state attorney general's office argued. LA Times 1/23/08
Major U.S. airlines began rolling back fuel surcharges Tuesday, just days after doubling the fee to $40 on round-trip tickets, as domestic passengers balked at the fare increases amid signs of a slowing economy. Despite the latest failed attempt, fares in general are expected to rise this year, with air travel during spring break rising 10% to 12% compared with the same period last year. LA Times 1/23/08
What was once planned as a massive model for transit-oriented development in Millbrae with housing near the BART station may turn into office-focused retail because of a recent shift in market interest in such projects and the credit crunch for lending. The council unanimously approved a 90-day extension last night with warnings that a lack of forward movement could cause the city to rethink the partnership. San Mateo Daily Journal 1/23/08
The California Travel and Tourism Commission is set to launch a $4.5 million ad campaign, directed at Europe, and later Japan. KCBS 1/20/08
The U. S. Coast Guard released a video compilation of its most dramatic rescues of 2007. All videos are available as a broadcast-quality download on http://cgvi.uscg.mil. Wilmington News Journal 1/23/08
The chair of the California Air Resources Board Mary D Nichols has written an article supporting the importance of hydrogen vehicles in the state. Ms Nichols draws attention to the Hydrogen Highway, which is backed by state governor Arnold Schwarzanegger and explains the environmental benefits. Fuel Cell Today 1/21/08
Port authorities approved a controversial container fee Monday expected to generate $1.6 billion to subsidize the purchase of cleaner trucks working in the nation's largest seaport. The fee, approved unanimously by the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission, will be tacked onto every loaded container leaving or entering waterfront marine terminals by truck beginning June 1 and ending in 2012. An identical fee is expected to be approved by the Port of Los Angeles on Thursday. Press Telegram 12/18/07
There are 3,000 species of mushrooms in California and scientists are still discovering more. Although cultivated mushrooms such as crimini, enoki and portobellos are grown year-round, his month marks the end to the fall season and the beginning of winter, which means porcinis, black trumpets, winter chanterelles and hedgehogs. CC Times 1/23/08
For the first time in its 25-year history, Central Coast Salmon Enhancement will not raise and release Chinook salmon into the ocean at Port San Luis this year. According to the Department of Fish and Game’s Mokelumne River Hatchery in San Joaquin County that so few fish migrated upstream from the ocean last year that no fish will be available for any pen-rearing programs. San Luis Obispo 1/23/08
The California Coastal Commission argued in federal court Tuesday that President Bush violated the U.S. Constitution by trying to overturn a court order that restricted the Navy's use of a type of sonar linked to the deaths of marine mammals. The commission's attorneys said Bush's move to exempt the Navy sonar training exercises in Southern California waters from federal law violated the Constitution's separation-of-powers doctrine. Bush provided only a "cursory basis" for his decision and did not provide an explanation from the Secretary of Commerce, as required for an exemption to the Coastal Zone Management Act, the state attorney general's office argued. LA Times 1/23/08
It will probably take as many as five years to establish a price tag and plan for restoring San Francisco Bay after the Cosco Busan oil spill, the coordinator of a multi-agency damage-assessment group said Tuesday. SF Chronicle 1/23/08
A new report warns that the universal health care plan being voted on in the Senate today could be billions of dollars in the red within years. In a best-case scenario, the plan's revenues would cover its costs in the first year, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill wrote in her review released Tuesday evening. However, by the fifth year, she estimates the program's annual costs would exceed revenues by $300 million. SJ Mercury 1/23/08
A law that requires electronic tracking for prescription drugs in California might be delayed from 2009 until 2011 to allow the drug industry more time to get the computer systems it needs to track individual bottles of drugs as they move through the supply chain. SF Chronicle 1/23/08
The state's fight against the light brown apple moth in Santa Cruz County will restart in late spring or early summer, state agriculture officials said Tuesday. SJ Mercury 1/23/08
On Tuesday, Solazyme Inc., a five-year-old biotechnology company, announced an agreement with Chevron Corp. to develop and test biodiesel building blocks made from algae. In October, the San Ramon, Calif.-based company, the second-largest U.S. oil producer, announced a deal with the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop jet fuel and other liquid transportation fuel using algae. CNN 1/23/08
John Cota, the ship pilot who was at the helm of the Cosco Busan, has sleep apnea and was on prescription medication to ward off drowsiness, people close to the investigation said. The drug's known side effects include impaired judgment. Under Coast Guard policy, a sleep disorder can be grounds for disqualification, but is not automatically so. CC Times 1/19/08
Invoking executive privilege, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday refused to provide lawmakers with a full explanation of why it rejected California's greenhouse gas regulations. The EPA informed Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that many of the documents she had requested contained internal deliberations or attorney-client communications. CC Times 1/19/08
Facing a possible strike that could have stranded hundreds of thousands of commuters, Amtrak reached a preliminary deal Friday that apparently heavily favors the railroad's nine unions, who have worked for years without a contract.The tentative contract includes back pay totaling more than three times what Amtrak was offering and none of the concessions on work rules that Amtrak had been seeking. CC Times 1/19/08
Hoping the maritime industry would do the same for at-risk youth and young adults as it did for him, John Hastings, 55, launched The Anchor Program, a nonprofit that over the last 21/2 years has trained about 150 people to work on ships. More than 80 percent have landed jobs that typically pay $45,000 a year or more, Hastings said. The Richmond City Council has agreed to give one year of free dock space at the city's port for the program's ship, an arrangement usually worth at least $12,000 a year. In exchange, Hastings will give Richmond residents first priority in job training and placement. CC Times 1/20/08
By using the amount of sewer production during typically busy holidays - such as New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July - throughout the year as a measuring stick, officials at the South Tahoe Public Utility District can get a good sense of the number of tourists in their coverage area at any one time. The utility district also tracks water usage on a daily basis, but the sewage-flow numbers are more reliable than estimating tourist visits from water-usage figures. Tahoe Daily Tribune 1/17/08
After a decade of controversy, politics and delays, and six years after construction started on the $5.5 billion new east span of the Bay Bridge, the 1.2-mile concrete skyway is a few steel plates and some paint from completion, and foundations for the bridge tower and suspension span are scheduled to be finished by Tuesday. Now the attention turns to construction of the single-tower suspension span. SF Chronicle 1/20/08
The BART Board of Directors, eager to reduce the agency's carbon footprint, voted unanimously last week to lift the agency's price cap on the purchase of alternative energy. Without that action, BART couldn't afford to buy the more-costly sources of renewable power. SF Chronicle 1/19/08
Gourmet Magazine has a chilling tell-all on the secret cruelty behind raising wagyu in Japan. The author claims that wagyu farms are notoriously difficult for reporters and chefs to gain entrance to, but once they do they discover cattle raised alone in crates, unable to move, and lying in their own manure. The beer fed to the cattle is meant solely to jog their appetites, flagging from lack of activity. There is an alternative! American raised wagyu (and partial wagyu breeds) are often raised in healthier environments! 12/07
Women who ingest 200 milligrams or more of caffeine per day are twice as likely to miscarry as women who consume no caffeine, the study by Kaiser Permanente found. CC Times 1/21/08
Rainharvesting has been regaining prominence as people look to ways to reduce their water usage in the Bay Area. Rainharvesting involves individually collecting rain water in large barrels to be used to water yards and gardens. Inside Bay Area 1/19/08
A Palo Alto design company has put together a prize-winning tricycle that purifies water as a rider pedals. The firm designed the bike for use in third world countries, and was the unanimous winner of the “Innovate or Die” competition held this weekend and sponsored by Google. SJ Mercury 1/20/08
The state Department of Transportation agreed to reduce runoff from freeways in Los Angeles and Ventura counties under a deal that ends a 14-year-old lawsuit. A judge approved the settlement on Friday. Two environmental groups sued Caltrans, arguing that it was violating federal clean water laws by allowing storm runoff laden with oil, lead, pesticide and other toxic compounds to flow off roadways into creeks and eventually the ocean. SJ Mercury 1/19/08
On Friday, the Orange County Sanitation District began sending purified wastewater through a pipeline to the two Anaheim settling basins. Earlier this month, the Groundwater Replenishment System began piping water into an underground barrier that prevents seawater from seeping into the aquifer. But the agency had to wait for final state approval before sending water to the settling ponds. OC Register 1/22/08
By using the amount of sewer production during typically busy holidays - such as New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July - throughout the year as a measuring stick, officials at the South Tahoe Public Utility District can get a good sense of the number of tourists in their coverage area at any one time. The utility district also tracks water usage on a daily basis, but the sewage-flow numbers are more reliable than estimating tourist visits from water-usage figures. Tahoe Daily Tribune 1/17/08
Monterey area residents may soon be facing a water shortage. The state is threatening to crack down on the amount of water pulled from the Carmel River, which is used by Cal-Am customers. KSBW 1/17/08
Don Perata is likely to get the Senate to pass the universal health care plan backed by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Oakland and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger when it comes before the Senate this Wednesday. San Diego Union Tribune blog 1/22/08
California's largest hunting and fishing festival became a platform for environmental action Saturday as organizers turned over the stage to a panel of advocates working to restore Delta fish species. The "Plight of our Fisheries Summit" was the first of its kind ever held at the annual International Sportsmen's Exposition, now in its 21st year. The event continues today at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Six panelists urged anglers to sign petitions and rally their elected officials to save the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Sacramento Bee 1/20/08
In another attempt to reduce its carbon footprint, Safeway Inc. announced it will operate its truck fleet with biodiesel fuel. The shift to biodiesel fuel will reduce Safeway's carbon emissions by 75 million pounds per year - the equivalent of taking 7,500 passenger vehicles off the road. Safeway's trucks will use a blend of biodiesel that is 20 percent vegetable based, in this case mostly from soy oil produced in the Midwest, and 80 percent petroleum diesel based. SJ Mercury 1/18/08
The project to build the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge was expected to reach another long-awaited milestone today with the completion of the bridge's last two marine foundations. The work is done 84 days ahead of schedule. Caltrans canceled the original $177 million contract when higher-than-expected costs of the suspension span ignited a dispute between state and local officials about whether it should be built as a cheaper, concrete viaduct. In the end, the graceful tower draped with cables won out and Caltrans restarted the contract with an added $81 million to cover costs incurred by the delay. CC Times 1/18/08
Engineers found no structural damage Thursday to the Black Point railroad drawbridge, which was struck Wednesday by a tug towing a sand barge on the Petaluma River near Novato. SJ Mercury 1/18/08
Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, will give a free public talk at UC Davis on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Her topics will include the state's progress on its carbon emissions targets. UC Davis News 1/18/08
The Central Valley - including the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys - is expected to get $250 million, less than half of the Los Angeles area, although more than San Diego or the Bay Area from the state Air Resources Board, which is about to divvy up $1 billion in voter-approved bond money among four regions. This represents a "total abandonment" of the San Joaquin Valley as it seeks to meet federal ozone standards, said Seyed Sadredin, executive director of the Valley air district. Record Net 1/18/08
TransLink, a one-card fare system for participating Bay Area transit agencies, went systemwide on Alameda-Contra Costa and Golden Gate transit district buses in September, but glitches in software and testing have pushed back a soft launch of the card on Muni, Caltrain and BART from mid-December until the end of March this year and perhaps even further, according to transit officials. SF Examiner 1/18/08
In another attempt to reduce its carbon footprint, Safeway Inc. announced it will operate its truck fleet with biodiesel fuel. The shift to biodiesel fuel will reduce Safeway's carbon emissions by 75 million pounds per year - the equivalent of taking 7,500 passenger vehicles off the road. Safeway's trucks will use a blend of biodiesel that is 20 percent vegetable based, in this case mostly from soy oil produced in the Midwest, and 80 percent petroleum diesel based. SJ Mercury 1/18/08
Forty years after it started farming the west San Joaquin Valley, Westlands Water District and several smaller irrigation districts which make up the nation's largest irrigation district -- and one of the richest -- has repaid only 15 percent of what it owes taxpayers for a massive water delivery project, according to a congressional watchdog agency. This comes in a report commissioned to help lawmakers evaluate a proposal from Westlands and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that would turn ownership of pieces of the Central Valley Project over to the water district and forgive the debt. In exchange, Westlands would develop its own drainage disposal plan and relieve the federal government of its obligation to drain irrigation water from the region. CC Times 1/18/08
The Davies family, makers of Schramsberg sparking wine in Napa, are having problems. Son John Davies filed a lawsuit against the company last year. Though a large portion of the suit was thrown out by a Napa County Superior Court judge late last year, John is promising to "right the wrongs" allegedly done to him and to the minority shareholders of the privately held winery. SF Chronicle 1/18/08
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday temporarily set aside some of the tough restrictions on upcoming naval exercises off Southern California that employ a type of sonar linked to the injury and death of whales and dolphins. The decision by Judge Florence-Marie Cooper defers to President Bush, who moved earlier this week to exempt the Navy's exercises from environmental laws that formed the basis for a long-running court case between the Pentagon and environmentalists. LA Times 1/18/08
While flooding in California’s Central Valley is ‘the next big disaster waiting to happen,’ water-related infrastructure issues confront almost every community across the country, according to engineers at the University of Maryland’s Clark School of Engineering in separate reports to California officials and in the journal Science. Science Centric 1/18/08
A researcher in Japan believes she can explain why there are no fortune cookies in China. Fortune cookies, Yasuko Nakamachi says, are almost certainly originally from Japan. Her prime pieces of evidence are the generations-old small family bakeries making obscure fortune cookie-shaped crackers by hand near a temple outside Kyoto. She has also turned up many references to the cookies in Japanese literature and history before they ever appeared in America. A number of immigrant families in California, mostly Japanese, have laid claim to introducing or popularizing the fortune cookie. Among them are the descendants of Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant who oversaw the Japanese Tea Garden built in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in the 1890s. Visitors to the garden were served fortune cookies made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo. NY Times 1/16/08
Before the health care proposal put forward by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can become law, it must face a few more hurdles — among them a potentially hostile reception in the Senate Health Committee and some concerns from one of the plan’s major sponsors, the California Hospital Association. Capitol Weekly 1/17/08
Desalination has been less successful in the U.S. as it is more expensive than traditional sources, and critics say it harms the ocean. However, in November, Connecticut-based Poseidon Resources Corp. won a key regulatory approval to build a $300 million water-desalination plant in Carlsbad, north of San Diego. The facility would be the largest in the Western Hemisphere, producing 50 million gallons of drinking water a day, enough to supply about 100,000 homes. Southern California water officials say conditions have changed. Improved technology has cut the cost of desalination in half in the past decade, making it more competitive. Wall Street Journal 1/17/08
Mayors and representatives from 10 Southern California cities discussed -- but failed to sign -- a letter Wednesday lobbying the state to float a bond measure that would fix Northern California's fragile "bay delta" and keep water flowing south. Water officials at the meeting said that means building a canal through or around the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta. North County Times 1/17/08
The 48 state parks that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed closing were chosen for one main reason: They weren't making enough money for the state. SF Chronicle 1/17/08
Santa Barbara County supervisors this week began a crackdown on oil companies that repeatedly spill fuel, asking staff to draft legislation that would increase penalties, make companies pay for the emergency response and give the county the tools to shut down repeat offenders. The tough plans were prompted by the many complaints that supervisors heard Tuesday during a four-hour hearing on the Greka Energy Corp., a Santa Maria-based company with fields in northern Santa Barbara County. Emergency crews have responded to 400 spills at Greka facilities since the company began operations in 1999. LA Times 1/17/08
U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Fitzwater found that state laws allowing Texas retailers to ship wine directly to state residents but denying that right to out-of-state wine retailers are unconstitutional. The judge agreed with wine merchants in California and Florida who argued that a landmark 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling should apply not only to wineries but to retailers as well. The ruling could help local wine merchants by opening up more states to direct shipments of wine. Currently a retailer in California can only ship directly to about 14 states. The Press Democrat 1/16/08
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has dropped a request that lawmakers remove a $9.9 billion high-speed rail bond from the November ballot but wants legislation that could tie spending the money to guarantees of support from the federal government and private sector. Such a requirement could delay the project indefinitely even if the bond measure is approved by voters. SF Chronicle 1/17/08
A team formed here to analyze the response to the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay sent the first of two reports to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. The report was prepared by the Incident Specific Preparedness Review (ISPR) team and focuses on the first two weeks following the accident. A second report covering the remainder of the response phase and more long-term response issues is slated to be completed by the ISPR team by May 2008. he team was not tasked with determining the cause of the Cosco Busan incident, but rather was directed to review objectively the response actions undertaken following the incident compared to the plans in effect at the time. Military.com 1/17/08
Port of Oakland commissioners voted Tuesday to contract with Verified Identity Pass Inc.'s Clear program to run the Registered Traveler program at the Oakland International Airport. The Bay Area's other two major airports, San Jose Mineta International and San Francisco International, already have begun using Clear. CC Times 1/17/08
A possible strike by Amtrak employees this month would shut down Caltrain service and flood other Bay Area transit agencies and roads with tens of thousands of extra cars, although officials are cautiously optimistic that the commuter nightmare will be averted. Amtrak, which has never had a strike in its 36-year history, has been wrangling over wage and benefits increases with nine service unions for eight years. If a contract is not hammered out, a strike would begin on Jan. 30. Caltrain would completely shut down if the strike takes place. SF Examiner 1/17/08
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach remained the nation's busiest seaport complex for cargo containers in 2007, even though they saw a decline in traffic for the first time in at least 20 years. But in a shift, exports grew as the dollar's declining value helped U.S. companies ride into new markets and to record-breaking sales. LA Times 1/17/08
A tug and a sand barge ran into the Northwestern Pacific Railroad bridge over the Petaluma River at Black Point near Novato early Wednesday, causing an unknown amount of damage to the bridge, the Coast Guard reported. The accident was the third time in a little over two months that a bridge on San Francisco Bay or its tributaries has been hit by a vessel. SF Chronicle 1/17/08
Texas is the largest carbon producer in the nation, and whiles states such as like California and New York are moving quickly to address global warming, the issue has prompted only scattered calls for reforms here. AP 1/17/08
