Health:
More Americans are taking prescription medications -- For the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a study shows. The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes. AP 5/14/08
Parks and forest:
*Schwarzenegger to propose lottery borrowing -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday will propose borrowing against future state lottery revenue to help close a $15.2 billion budget deficit in the next fiscal year. The governor will propose raising $15 billion over the next three years by selling bonds based on anticipated lottery revenue. The governor, however, dropped a plan to close 48 state parks and cut back lifeguards at 16 state beaches. Instead, he will propose boosting fees $1 to $2 at some of the most popular state park destinations. SJ Mercury 5/14/08
Water:
*Water rationing imposed on East Bay -- Water deliveries to 1.3 million East Bay residents will be rationed for the first time since the early 1990s after the East Bay Municipal Utility District board of directors on Tuesday declared an emergency water shortage and prohibited a list a potentially wasteful water practices. Effective immediately, EBMUD customers are prohibited from hosing off sidewalks, washing cars without using shutoff nozzles, irrigating on consecutive days and a host of other items. SJ Mercury 5/13/08
East Bay begins water rationing -- Water rationing went into effect Tuesday for East Bay residents after water managers unanimously passed a drought management program aimed at preserving the system's deteriorating water supply. SF Chronicle 5/14/08
OFFICIALS ACT TO PROTECT WATERS FROM INVASIVE MUSSEL SPECIES -- Water officials took the unprecedented step Tuesday of banning boating in all Santa Clara County reservoirs - at least until May 23. Citing the need to protect the local water supply from invasive shellfish that have hitchhiked to California on the bottoms of boats, they have barred all watercraft including canoes, kayaks, water bikes, motorboats and fishing boats. SJ Mercury 5/14/08
Farm bill:
House set to OK $280 billion farm bill -- The House of Representatives on Wednesday will approve a five-year, $280 billion-plus farm bill, accelerating an election-year collision with President Bush. Bush wanted the bill to ban all subsidy payments to farmers with incomes exceeding $200,000. Instead, the bill bans one form of subsidy to farmers with agricultural incomes exceeding $750,000. Mc Clatchy 5/14/08
Food and wine:
The fearless sushi snob – A 2 1/2-year journey through every sushi bar from Millbrae to Mountain View had transformed me into that most loathsome of creatures: the sushi wonk. After hundreds of lunches in more than five dozen sushi bars, I had become that guy - the one at the bar asking the itamae (chef) if colder ocean temperatures off Japan's west coast might be responsible for the subtle change in the flavor of the seki aji. SJ Mercury 5/14/08
Agriculture:
New report paints bleak picture for California agriculture – The author worries about farmland being lost to residential development. Paving Paradise: A New Perspective of California Farmland Conversion, a report released late last year by the American Farmland Trust, declares about one-sixth of all land developed since the Gold Rush was lost between 1990 and 2004. Based on findings from the state Department of Farmland Conservation during that 15-year period, an average of about 38,000 acres a year was earmarked for development. Most troubling is that of all the land converted in California, 28 percent was the state’s best farmland. Western Farm Press 5/14/08
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