Parks and forests:
San Pablo looks to Richmond for fire protection -- An ongoing debate between Contra Costa County and San Pablo over fire protection and emergency medical service, how much is needed and who should pay for it, has taken on a new twist with a proposal to contract with Richmond. San Pablo City Manager Brock Arner wants the Richmond Fire Department to take over the Contra Costa Fire District's Station 70 in downtown San Pablo under a contract with the county for $2.4 million a year. CC Times 6/16/08
Health:
*Town hall meeting tackles health care -- The public is invited to learn more about the results of a Bay Area health care survey and to voice opinions on the subject at a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in San Francisco. The San Francisco region was one of three U.S. areas - including Detroit and Miami - chosen for the survey, conducted in March by Gallup. The survey, part of the project "The American Public on Health Care: The Missing Perspective," included participants in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties. SJ Mercury 6/16/08
*West Nile's early start has officials stumped -- The discovery of 133 dead birds so far this year with West Nile virus is a caution flag for health officials that the disease's season is starting earlier in Sacramento and throughout California. Without a clear reason – winter and spring were drier than normal – district officials are trying to determine why virus activity has stirred earlier than usual. Sacramento Bee 6/16/08
Food:
Food prices force groups that offer square meals to cut corners -- Around the country, managers of large-scale food programs are doing the same anxious math, paring costs any way they can and worrying that the squeeze might get tighter. Military planners are considering switching troops from milkshakes to less expensive soy shakes. Federal prisons are cutting back on dessert. Schools are trimming workers' hours and replacing lasagna with more economical spaghetti. Infant-feeding programs are running on emergency funds. LA Times 6/15/08
Asian restaurants got the rules changed to accommodate traditional foods -- Asian cooks have prepared certain types of food for hundreds of years in ways not allowed under today's strict rules. In two instances, though, the California Legislature has rebuffed health inspectors seeking to crack down on the storage and presentation of such foods. Earlier this decade, former Assemblywoman Carol Liu introduced a bill allowing Korean American restaurants to store traditional rice cakes at room temperature. Sacramento Bee 6/15/08
Water and fishing:
*Halibut a boon to S.F. bay-delta fisheries -- Many commercial and recreational anglers are taking part in what has become one of the greatest halibut seasons in memory within San Francisco Bay. Since March, when the bays cleared from winter rains, anglers have landed thousands of the sought-after flatfish. The halibut are a financial savior in an increasingly difficult business. SF Chronicle 6/15/08
West Side farmers await water after Schwarzenegger's drought declaration -- The Del Puerto Water District, serving 45,000 acres along Interstate 5, could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Gov. Schwarzenegger's emergency orders this week. The district relies entirely on water from the federal Central Valley Project, but only 40 percent of the contracted amount is available this year. The governor's orders could result in water from elsewhere boosting the supply for Del Puerto's 170 farms, stretching from Vernalis to Santa Nella. Other West Side districts are in somewhat better shape because of their rights to tap the San Joaquin River, as well as their access to ground- water. Modesto Bee 6/14/08
MST water project shelved -- A proposal to install a network of pipelines to carry recycled water east of Napa where an increasing number of wells run the risk of going dry may be shelved for a less ambitious project, according to county officials. The Napa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday could consider extending a recycled water pipeline from Napa Valley State Hospital to the Napa Valley Country Club to carry recycled water to the area known as Milliken-Sarco-Tulocay, or MST. Napa Valley Register sa6/15/08
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