Transporation Daily News March 27

A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows Schwarzenegger's proposed draconian cuts to state services and education, lowered his approval rating to below 50 percent. The Legislature is even more unpopular. That sentiment is shared widely among Californians, who overwhelmingly think the economy has entered a recession (72 percent) and expect bad economic times in the year ahead (76 percent). According to the poll, residents are more pessimistic about the economy than they have been in at least a decade. CC Times 3/27/08

 

BART proposes to get back on the track toward cleanliness by spending more to replace train car seat covers and cushions. The rapid transit system board today will consider awarding a $2.7 million contract to replace wool seat covers and foam seat cushions on 200 of the 669 train cars. CC Times 3/27/08

 

Vehicles that run on batteries or hydrogen could take even longer to show up in America's showrooms under changes being considered by the state Air Resources Board. California air regulators are scheduled to vote today on a proposal that would reduce the number of zero-emission vehicles automakers must produce in California and 10 other states by 2014. CC Times 3/27/08

 

The nation's aging airline fleets, already struggling with high fuel costs and growing passenger demand, delivered another blow to travelers Wednesday as American Airlines and Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights while planes were reinspected for compliance with federal maintenance rules. LA Times 3/27/08

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 27

A judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit by San Francisco and Santa Clara counties challenging the state's policy of dropping low-income youths from Medi-Cal when they are held in juvenile hall. SF Chronicle 3/27/08

 

Under pressure from the food industry, the Agriculture Department is considering a proposal not to identify retailers where tainted meat went for sale except in cases of serious health risk. Had that been the rule in place last month, consumers would not have been told if their supermarkets sold meat from a Southern California slaughterhouse that triggered the biggest beef recall in U.S. history. LA Times 3/27/08

 

With grain prices soaring, farm income at record highs and the federal budget deficit widening, the subsidies and handouts given to American farmers would seem vulnerable to a serious pruning. But it appears that farmers, at least so far, have succeeded in stopping the strongest effort in years to shrink the government safety net that doles out billions of dollars to them each year. Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat from Wisconsin, sponsored a measure that would have slashed about $10 billion over five years in subsidies -- and saw it get crushed on the House floor. Wall Street Journal 3/27/08

 

Six years after a California law was signed requiring speedier health care visits, the problems remain: a half-hour on hold, a 45-minute stint in the waiting room to see a physician, a long delay to see a specialist and weeks to get an appointment. Capitol Weekly 3/27/08

 

"Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?," is a four-part PBS series that explores why social factors - economic status, race, neighborhood conditions - can be more powerful predictors of health and life expectancy than biology or even some behaviors such as smoking. SF Chronicle 3/27/08

 

The water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which holds more H{-2}0 than the biggest man-made reservoir, is about equal to the long-term average, despite an extremely dry March, state hydrologists said Wednesday. Measurements at historic Phillips Station, next to the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort, on Wednesday found 98 percent of the normal amount of water in the snow for this time of year, said Ted Thomas, the spokesman for the state Department of Water Resources. That's almost twice as much water as last year, but Thomas said it isn't enough to fill the reservoirs when the snow melts in the spring and summer. SF Chronicle 3/27/08

 

The Sierra, one of the state's primary sources of water, is poised to finish the season with an average snowpack, making it clear there is no drought in California. SJ Mercury 3/27/08

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 26

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is considering a run for governor in 2010, injected himself into California's heated budget battle Tuesday by threatening to sue the state over cuts to its medical insurance program for the poor. Newsom called the cuts - a 10 percent reduction in reimbursements to doctors who treat Medi-Cal patients - "unconscionable." SF Chronicle 3/26/08

 

The Schwarzenegger administration will once again intervene -- this time with the state Supreme Court -- on behalf of a man who sued Blue Shield for illegally dropping his health insurance after he was permanently injured in a car accident. The Department of Managed Health Care has summoned representatives from the state’s five largest health insurance providers to Sacramento Wednesday to tell them it intends to file an amicus brief against Blue Shield. The state regulators intend to explain to health insurers the department's view of how the recent appellate court decision in the Hailey case has fundamentally altered health insurance policy and regulation in California.  Capitol Weekly 3/26/08

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 26

Due to open to westbound traffic in 2012 and eastbound motorists in 2013, the new bridge connecting Yerba Buena Island and Oakland is designed to withstand just about anything scientists have imagined. High-strength bolts make the structure much safer during an earthquake, which is why all the rivets in the western span of the bridge were replaced with such bolts when it was retrofitted four years ago.  CC Times 3/26/08

 

Motorists whose commute includes the eastbound snake-dance through the Bay Bridge western approach detour, take heart: The project is not only on schedule, but seven months early. By the middle of next month, Caltrans expects to open the new double-deck main approach structure to traffic, eliminating the S-curve that has bedeviled eastbound motorists for the last year. SJ Mercury 3/26/08

 

As struggling airlines add extra-luggage fees and travelers worry about growing security restrictions, services like Luggage Forward and Luggage Free have emerged as ways to bypass the hassles of checking bags. While typically seen as a luxury, more Americans are using such options for run-of-the-mill trips. Others are simply mailing bags themselves, using the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx or UPS. SJ Mercury 2/36/08

 

The California Air Resources Board, under pressure to meet the state's ambitious goals to fight smog and global warming, on Thursday will consider relaxing rules on automakers to produce vehicles that release no air pollution and instead encourage them to make more low-emissions vehicles. SF Chronicle 3/26/08

 

San Francisco bicyclists would be able to ride on 34 miles of new bike lanes - routes that would, in some cases, mean a loss of curbside automobile parking and traffic lanes, under a plan being circulated by city officials. The plan would nearly double the city's existing network of bike lanes, which cover 44 miles of city streets. SF Chronicle 3/26/08

 

The first steps towards bullet trains that would connect Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego could begin if voters approve a $10 billion transportation bond proposed for the November ballot, rail advocates said Monday. Activists from the consumer group CALPIRG rallied outside City Hall Monday in support of a bond measure they hope would jump start a project that has been in the planning stages for decades. KCBS 3/25/08

 

About 50 college students from throughout California gathered with city and state officials on the steps of San Francisco City Hall Monday to build momentum and support for a statewide electric high-speed train system. Quentin Kopp, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said there has been a steady progression toward implementing high-speed trains since 1996, when the authority was established. NBC11 3/24/08 Schedule

 

Democratic lawmakers have agreed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's request to include public-private partnerships for a high-speed rail. Supporters of the high-speed "bullet" train are hoping the changes will ensure that a $10 billion bond measure doesn't get delayed a third time – which some fear would jeopardize the entire project. Under a compromise bill, Assembly Bill 3034 would modify a measure already on the November ballot to encourage private investment, whether through regional transportation authorities, Wall Street investment firms, or a combination of both. Sacramento Bee 3/22/08

 

Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissioners Monday approved a plan to subsidize low-sulfur fuel to ships traveling close to the two ports or while docked. The program aims to improve air quality by reducing toxic ship emissions. At a joint meeting in Wilmington, the harbor commissioners approved the incentive program aimed at accelerating cargo vessel operators' use of the cleaner-burning fuel for one year to ships transiting within 40 miles of San Pedro Bay and at berth in the port complex.  Environmental News Service 3/25/08

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 25

As California joins five other states in requiring drivers to use hands-free devices when talking on cellphones, an increasing body of research suggests the legislation will accomplish little. The risk doesn't stem from whether one or both hands are on the wheel, the research suggests. It's whether the driver's mind is somewhere else. LA Times 3/25/08

 

An Alameda County agency has proposed a toll lane for Interstate 580 that may open sooner than a similar lane planned for southbound Interstate 680 over the Sunol Grade. Both lanes would speed the commute for solo drivers willing to pay for the privilege and would open in 2011. Some people may consider a toll on a publicly-owned freeway elitist and unfair. SJ Mercury 3/25/08

 

States can't require airlines to provide food, water and fresh air to passengers stuck on the ground during long delays, a federal appeals court ruled today in overturning a New York law that is similar to legislation pending in California. New York's Passenger Bill of Rights, which would apply to runway delays of more than three hours, conflicts with a 1978 federal deregulation law that prohibits states from regulating airline prices, routes or services, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 3-0 ruling. SF Chronicle 3/25/08

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 25

Federal and state officials say they need to study the environmental effect of building a canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta—even though a decision about the project is years away. Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources, says the issue is so complex and controversial that the state must begin its environmental studies now. Snow and other government officials on Monday held the first of many planned meetings on how to stabilize the delta's ecosystem and water delivery. SJ Mercury 3/24/08

 

Tuberculosis cases in the Bay Area are increasing after a decade of decline, a worrisome change that local public health officials believe is linked to years of eroding financial support for TB control efforts. In 2007, the number of TB cases in the nine Bay Area counties rose 10 percent over the prior year, while cases statewide dropped 1.9 percent. SF Chronicle 3/25/08

 

After a week of negotiating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mexico has backed off its demands for more stringent regulations regarding the light brown apple moth. Mexican officials agreed to remove a required trapping protocol that the USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture had determined would be impossible to meet, said Jay Van Rein, a spokesman for the state agency. The Packer 3/25/08

 

A 10-square-mile area in Carpinteria has been placed under quarantine because of the discovery of two light brown apple moths, a crop-destroying scourge of the agriculture industry. SJ Mercury 3/25/08

 

To reduce fuel consumption, more farmers are changing their cultural practices, even adopting methods that their Midwestern counterparts have used for years. Others are incorporating new technologies into their operations to maximize overall farm efficiency. For example, a growing number of farmers in California are shifting toward minimum tillage practices, which allow him to do fewer passes in the field with tractors and other equipment and thereby save not only fuel, but time and labor. California Farm Bureau 3/25/08

 

There are no confirmed human cases yet, but a dead bird has tested positive for West Nile Virus near Bakersfield. KGET 3/25/08

 

Lincoln Burton, state conservationist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California, has announced that statewide distribution of conservation cost share contracts has been completed for fiscal year 2008. According to Burton, 1,078 farmers and ranchers are receiving contracts totaling nearly $39 million under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).  Some of the most popular conservation improvements funded this year include air quality improvements, nutrient planning and management on dairies, and water efficiency measures. Western Farm Press 3/24/08

 

Water tables are dropping in the Sacramento Valley portion of the Great Central Valley as farmers respond to cutbacks in supplies from federal reservoirs. Agricultural contractors in the Central Valley Project have seen allotments cut with the giant pumps turned down under court order to protect an endangered fish, the Delta smelt. But another reason is more elemental: There isn’t as much water in storage, such as the state’s Lake Shasta. Central Valley Business Times 3/25/08

 

Tony Lesperance, a rancher who had a key role in an anti-federal government crusade in eastern Nevada a decade ago, took over Monday as head of the state Agriculture Department. Lesperance said he will work with federal agencies but remains committed to representing "the state's interests to the best of my abilities." KTNV March

 

With obesity-related illnesses now costing $28.5 billion annually in lost wages and medical care statewide, two California organizations have stepped in to create "how to" guides to help thousands of doctors emphasize to patients the importance of diet and nutrition to kids and adults alike. The massive informational "tool kit," available today, will encourage physicians to conduct body mass index, or BMI, measures on all patients. It will also offer guides on how doctors should discuss weight issues with patients, how to include more information about nutrition inside waiting rooms, and the importance of providing a sturdy scale for those 300 pounds or more, as well as appropriate-size examination gowns. Daily News 3/24/08

 

Water Recycling Efforts Spark Policy Debate in California PBS 3/24/08

 

In California, a state of 37.4 million people, there are only 198 Fish and Game Wardens in the field working to prevent and prosecute polluters, and protect fisheries, wildlife, fauna, and the public. This staffing level is the same as in the 1950s in actual personnel. This state level of wardens per capita to the general populace is the “worst in America,” according to the “2007 California Fish and Game Warden Expose Update.”  Aquafornia 3/24/08

 

Boulevard, owner Nancy Oakes and The Slanted Door, owner Charles Phan, both of San Francisco, were nominated for James Beard Foundation awards for Outstanding Restaurant. James Beard Foundation 3/24/08

 

In planning for this future, the State Board of Food and Agriculture will bring together the public and the agricultural industry to create an “Ag Vision” for California at this month’s board meeting and will begin to determine the format for the agricultural vision and when public input meetings will occur. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s main auditorium, 1220 ‘N’ Street, Sacramento. CDFA Press Release 3/25/08

 

Agriculture Daily News March 24

Steps to prevent catastrophic wildfires in the Lake Tahoe basin have been hampered for years by bureaucratic infighting among agencies that often work at cross purposes, according to thousands of pages of documents reviewed by the Associated Press. The failure of the agencies to adequately protect the basin was brought to light last June when the Angora fire ripped through a thickly forested ravine and destroyed 254 homes near South Lake Tahoe. Using state and federal freedom of information laws, the AP obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents from local, regional, state and federal agencies involved in planning, environmental protection and fire prevention around Tahoe. CC Times 3/21/08

 

The public trust doctrine could lead to sweeping revisions in the amount of water that may be taken from the Delta. The doctrine, which has been buttressed in California's courts, says that certain values belong to present and future generations and that the state has an obligation to protect those values. In the Delta, for example, that could mean regulators might strike a new balance between the needs for Delta water and recreational fishing and water quality. CC Times 3/22/08

 

Congress is considering permanent protection for 26 million acres of historic landscapes in the American West, but it quietly has excluded millions of acres of California desert.  In a system that would rival the national parks and forests, the National Landscape Conservation Act would unify the management and funding for areas such as the original Pony Express National Historic Trail. But more than half of the 10.6 million acres of the California Desert Conservation Area, which stretches from the Mexican border to Mono Lake, have been dropped on technical grounds. Because the word "national" isn't in its title, the conservation area doesn't qualify, according to U.S. Bureau of Land Management attorneys. CC Times 3/23/08

 

Retail egg prices have been increasing at rates not seen in at least 30 years. Egg eaters are feeling the pain of soaring chicken feed prices, which egg producers are passing down to the grocery aisle. What's more, the egg industry's normal response to good times, which is to feverishly add capacity until prices drop like a rock, hasn't materialized. That could keep supplies tight and prices high well into 2009. CC Times 3/23/08

 

This winter, a controversial new item has been showing up in the fine print of menus at some of the hottest restaurants: a surcharge to help pay for worker health insurance. At issue is the city's new effort, kicked off Jan. 9, to provide health care for all residents. Since then, employers with more than 20 workers are required to spend a minimum amount on health insurance, set aside money in health reimbursement accounts or pay a fee to the city's Healthy San Francisco program.  CC Times 3/23/08

 

Throughout Contra Costa county's agricultural core, growers are looking forward to a strong year and bountiful U-pick season, which will likely be in full swing Memorial Day weekend. The fertile soil on the county's eastern edge is coming alive with the fruits of the upcoming summer harvest as sunny days, mild nights and a decent amount of rain have combined to create ideal growing conditions. Inside Bay Area 3/24/08

 

Amid growing concern over an imminent shutdown of the commercial and sport chinook salmon season, scientists are struggling to figure out why the largest run on the West Coast hit rock bottom and what Californians can do to bring it back. SF Chronicle 3/24/08

 

Representatives of the Bay Area Sutter Health hospitals weathering a strike by registered nurses said it was business as usual Saturday with babies delivered smoothly, trauma patients treated quickly and elective surgeries, except in one case, going ahead as planned. Several said that a third to more than half of the nurses were crossing their own picket lines and that with replacement workers already hired, their staffing levels were about normal. SF Chronicle 3/23/08

 

According to a study by Davis researchers, a warming trend already under way could shut down the deep churning of oxygen and nutrients that supports life in Lake Tahoe – in just 11 years. Sacramento Bee 3/22/08

 

Transporation Daily News March 24

California lawmakers are considering granting special parking privileges to women in the final three months of pregnancy and the first two months after birth. The legislation would apply to more than a half-million women who give birth every year in California. Inside Bay Area 3/21/08

 

The pilot of a container ship that spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the Bay in November pleaded not guilty Friday to breaking two federal environmental laws. Cota is charged with a misdemeanor count of killing migratory birds and another misdemeanor charge of illegal dumping. He faces up to 18 months in jail and more than $100,000 in fines if convicted. He is due back in court April 4. CC Times 3/22/08

 

Trucking's owner-operators, the self-employed drivers who haul everything from Hummers to hay, are suffering. Many say they're running on the edge of bankruptcy, about to disappear unless they get help. While a wave of trucking failures now might be invisible to consumers, when the economy rebounds, it would push up shipping rates, helping increase prices. Industries that depend on independent truckers, such as logging, are starting to suffer. Maine Gov. John Baldacci declared a civil emergency at the end of November, speeding fuel tax reimbursements for logging truck operators and asking the Department of Transportation to identify roads that could tolerate logging-truck weight, allowing truckers to take more direct routes and save fuel. CC Times 3/15/08

 

Parking is an issue at several BART stations, and while a few lot expansions are in the works, BART says just building more parking lots and garages is a costly and impractical solution. CC Times 3/24/08

 

A proposal going before the Air Resources Board on Thursday fails to sway critics convinced that the state continues to retreat from its once-lofty goal of seeing thousands of electric cars on the roadways. A staff report recommends that the board greatly reduce the required number of purely electric vehicles that automakers offer for sale and instead focus on more readily available and less expensive hybrids that would still cut pollution dramatically. It's a difference that would save the auto industry more than $2 billion through 2017.  Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols said any new approach must reflect the limits of technology but at the same time steer automakers toward adding electric and fuel-cell-powered cars to their fleets. San Diego Union Tribune 3/24/08

 

A large number of cargo ships visiting California ports may be unable to perform an important task after an oil spill: phoning critical agencies and emergency teams within 30 minutes. In public records obtained by The Bee, 21 of 164 ships subjected to spot state inspection in a three-year period could not place four notification phone calls, as required by state law. Often the ship's crew failed to locate the phone numbers or didn't understand the task. Sacramento Bee 3/23/08

 

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a clean air plan requiring shipping companies to buy and maintain a modernized fleet of big rigs and employ thousands of independent truckers who currently operate under contract. LA Times 3/21/08

 

Threatened with legal action, the California League of Cities has decided to stop appointing city council members to the regional air district board, leaving two board seats in limbo. The two empty seats are up for appointment at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, which copes with one of the country's worst air quality problems. Eventually, the problem could affect a total of five board seats that the league would have filled. Fresno Bee 3/20/08

 

Agriculture Daily News March 20

A small pest delivered a hefty blow to Central Coast strawberry growers Wednesday when growers learned about Mexico's decision to refuse all crops planted, refrigerated or packed within a 1.9-mile radius of a reported light-brown apple moth. If the ban stays in effect through this year's strawberry season, it could cost county growers about $1.9 million in lost revenue, according to local estimates. Virtually no Santa Cruz County strawberries -- by far the county's largest crop -- would be allowed across the border.  Inside Bay Area 3/20/08

 

Ethanol – hailed by some as a "green" fuel that would reduce America's dependence on foreign oil – is in a major slump here and nationwide. Across California, profit margins are vanishing, new plants are being canceled and some existing facilities are struggling. The state's first major plant, opened in Tulare County in 2005, has suspended operations. Sacramento Bee 3/20/08

 

Grape growers from northern Sonoma County gathered Wednesday with conservationists to announce a joint effort to provide enough water for the region's fish and vineyards. The two groups, which have been meeting for two years, expressed hope that state and federal regulators one day would allow groups of growers on a single creek to use off-stream reservoirs to capture excess water during winter storms. Press Democrat 3/20/08

 

Frank Bruni’s choice for the best new restaurant is O Ya, a Japanese restaurant in Boston, and his second is Ubuntu, a vegetarian restaurant and yoga studio in Napa. NY Times 3/19/08

 

Local water authorities have begun closing some of the state's prime fishing lakes in an effort to keep an infestation of tiny quagga mussels from fouling drinking water supplies for nearly 375,000 residents and threatening fish populations. LA Times 3/20/08

Transporation Daily News March 20

California must swiftly enact budget reforms or suffer a neverending fiscal roller coaster ride, a relaxed but insistent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told East Bay business and elected leaders Wednesday. CC Times 3/20/08

 

Diesel emissions from trucks, machinery and other sources elevate the risk of premature death, cancer, asthma and other chronic diseases for more than 3 million people living in West Oakland and the surrounding region, according to the most detailed study yet on the issue. The analysis by the California Air Resources Board, released Wednesday night, shows that the greatest health dangers related to toxic air emissions stems from diesel trucks traversing the freeways and other roadways around West Oakland and the Port of Oakland. SF Chronicle 3/20/08

 

BART officials are seeking feedback from the public on a plan to extend service to Antioch. The first phase of the eBART extension would use a system of diesel trains to carry passengers between Hillcrest Avenue and the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station. Residents have until April 15 to voice their opinions on how the eBART extension could affect the environment, local businesses and neighborhoods. CC Times 3/20/08

 

Contra Costa County officials unveiled Tuesday a draft spending plan for $8.6 million in federal money aimed at easing commuter congestion between Bay Point and Concord. John Greitzer of the county's Community Development staff outlined a revised version of a plan to spend money the U.S. Navy gave the county following the closure of the Concord Naval Weapons Station.The plan would put $1.3 million toward a second left-turn lane from Evora Road onto Willow Pass Road, thus reducing the morning backup as commuters drive over the hill into Concord, Greitzer said. Other road improvements on Evora Road have been identified in plans for redeveloping old Concord Naval Weapons Station land. CC Times 3/20/08

 

Local water authorities have begun closing some of the state's prime fishing lakes in an effort to keep an infestation of tiny quagga mussels from fouling drinking water supplies for nearly 375,000 residents and threatening fish populations. LA Times 3/20/08

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 19

According to a recently published study from the Department of Statistics, California State University, East Bay, and the University of California, Berkeley's Department of Electrical Engineering there were only limited benefits from the HOV system. Researchers there questioned the rationale for expanding the network. They collected peak-hour traffic data at more than 700 points along California's almost 1,200 miles of HOV routes to measure the effectiveness of the lanes that give priority to hybrid vehicles and those carrying two or more passengers. Miller Mccune 3/18/08

 

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Tuesday unveiled a $19-million plan to persuade shippers to burn cleaner fuel when vessels are near the California coast, a move expected to slash local air pollution by 11%. The proposal, which may go into effect as soon as July 1, would rely on financial incentives to encourage most of the 5,000 ships that berth at local ports each year to use much cleaner low-sulfur diesel fuels in their main propulsion engines. LA Times 3/19/08

 

Environmental groups are ratcheting up pressure on California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Air Resources Board to revive the state's program for Zero Emissions Vehicles, otherwise known as electric cars, immediately. Cosigned by an array of environmental, civic, and business leaders that includes James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, and Ze'ev Drori, CEO of electric car company Tesla Motors, today's letter urges Schwarzenegger to fulfill his pledge to "turn back the clock on pollution" on the eve of a vote by the California Air Resources Board on March 27 to revise its ZEV program. US News and World Reports 3/18/08

 

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) today awarded $52 million to cities and counties for 139 projects funded through the state's Safe Routes to School program, which is designed to give students in grades K-12 easier and healthier ways to safely travel to and from schools. PR Inside 3/19/08

 

San Francisco-area air quality regulators are proposing to charge a fee to most businesses based on the amount of greenhouse gases they emit. The fee--4.2 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide--would affect everything from oil refineries to power plants and would include landfills, factories, and small businesses such as restaurants and bakeries. Heartland Institute April edition

 

After warnings of rampant fraud and abuse, California's Attorney General Jerry Brown is calling on the feds to regulate the unwieldy frontier of retail carbon offset sales. The national market for carbon offsets is expected to reach $100 million within the next four years -- with an estimated 80 percent of the offset market going to companies attempting to reduce their carbon footprint. Legal News Online 3/19/08

 

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a federal complaint against Global Shipping and Global Marketing Systems, Inc. for distribution in commerce and export of materials containing PCBs on the old cruise liner MV Oceanic, formerly the SS Independence. The ship is being sent by Global to be scrapped overseas, the EPA declared. The MV Pacific Hickory is towing the MV Oceanic to its final destination. Fines against these two companies may be assessed up to $32,500 per violation per day. Environmental News Wire 3/18/08

 

Agriculture Daily News March 19

A lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in San Francisco, contends that the Park Service and its local administrators have “systemically discriminated against plaintiffs on the basis of their disabilities,” failing to make adjustments, required for decades, to assist people with restricted mobility, poor or no vision, hearing loss or other needs. Federal law requires the Park Service to provide universal access to its land and attractions. People with disabilities say they cannot gain entry or use many of the Golden Gate area’s historic buildings, trails, museums, restrooms or water fountains. NY Times 3/18/08

 

State officials announced Friday afternoon that California would join Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in urging U.S. exporting facilities to turn away Mexico-bound Canadian cattle. California's decision follows an order issued March 4 by the Texas Department of Agriculture that would stop state-operated exporting facilities from allowing Canadian cattle to pass through to Mexico. Earlier this month, Canadian and Mexican officials signed an agreement that allows Canada to trade breeding cattle less than 30 months old. But Mexico prohibits imports of U.S. breeding cattle, with the exception of dairy heifers under the age of 24 months. Bizjournals 3/18/08

 

Tuesday's "Celebrate" breakfast at the Monterey Fairgrounds showcased the diversity of challenges facing Monterey County's largest industry. The breakfast, sponsored by local agriculture groups and the Monterey County Fair, was a kickoff to National Ag Week, March 16-22, designed to celebrate "the importance and success and progress of agriculture," said Connie Quinlan, executive director of Monterey County Agricultural Education, Inc. But in Monterey County, where agriculture was a $3.5 billion industry in 2006, leafy greens standards, immigration policies, pest eradication and beef cattle handling practices are just some of the challenges facing those in agriculture.  Monterey Herald 3/19/08

 

Lawmakers failed to come up with new farm bill legislation by the March 15 deadline and as a result the Senate and the House of Representatives last week voted for an extension to April 18. California Farm Bureau Report 3/19/08

 

California’s agricultural secretary defended plans Tuesday to continue aerial spraying for the light brown apple moth this summer, saying it’s the only way to prevent long-term devastation.At the Monterey County Fairgrounds, Secretary A.G. Kawamura attempted to reassure the public by explaining the facts of the eradication plan and addressing widespread concerns about the aerial spray. He said the agency will hold public meetings throughout the state before June 1, when spraying is set to resume. The spray effort could cost as much as $74 million. The Californian 3/9/08

 

A new UC Davis Olive Center center opened in January under the umbrella of the university's Robert Mondavi Institute, which also houses the campuses' Department of Viticulture and Enology, the scientific names for grape-growing and wine-making. Olives have been growing in California for more than a century, but most of the state's 600 oil makers are of recent vintage.  Collectively, they produce 500,000 gallons of  olive oil each year, a tiny fraction of the 75 million gallons Americans consume butCalifornia's output is expected to increase fivefold in the next five years. SJ Mercury 3/19/08

 

Two statewide environmental organizations, the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN) and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said they will file a public trust, waste and unreasonable use of water and method of diversion petition with the State Water Resources Control Board on March 19. They contend the Board has failed to halt the continuing ecological collapse of the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary by permitting excessive amounts of Northern California water to be pumped to western San Joaquin mega-farms and Southern California. Indy Bay 3/19/08

 

A series of workshops will be held throughout California’s Central Valley later this month and in early April to discuss the future of the Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is conducting the workshops to gather comments on the program elements and environmental information that should be considered in the development of a long-term program.  Western Farm Press 3/19/08

 

Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri on Ag Day 2008 - “It’s off the Hook” @ State Capitol Building, March 25 CDFA Press Release

 

Schwarzenegger’s plan for Delta sustainability. DWR will start the public process to study the environmental impacts of a Delta conservation plan including alternative water conveyance, implement new statewide water conservation initiatives, and strengthen emergency response plans for the Delta. DWR Press Release 3/17/08

 

Transporation Daily News March 18

The pilot of a Chinese cargo ship that struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the bay in November was charged Monday with criminal violations of federal environmental laws. The criminal accusation states that the pilot, John J. Cota, made a series of mistakes that caused the ship, the Cosco Busan, to strike the bridge on Nov. 7. According to court documents, Mr. Cota failed to use the ship's radar, failed to consult on the ship's course with the Chinese captain and crew, failed to verify the vessel's position, and piloted the Cosco Busan at an unsafe speed as it left the port of Oakland in a heavy fog. Mr. Cota was charged with the negligent discharge of oil and the killing of migratory birds. NY Times 3/18/08

 

The federal accusations are similar to the conclusions reached by investigators from the State Board of Pilot Commissioners in December, but maritime attorneys said it was rare for criminal charges to result from such errors.SF Chronicle 3/18/08

 

Contract negotiations between shippers and the union representing West Coast dock workers started off with a peaceful tone Monday, when both sides met in San Francisco for talks on a new three-year agreement. Representatives from the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union launched formal negotiations aimed at improving employee safety and maintaining port jobs for some 26,000 unionized longshore workers, marine clerks and foremen in California, Oregon and Washington. Both sides spent most of the day hammering out ground rules and discussing the union's concerns. Daily Breeze 3/18/08

 

Schwarzenegger wants to address the state's long-term fiscal problems with a constitutional amendment that would limit spending and increase the governor's authority to make cuts. Schwarzenegger said it would prevent the state from facing big deficits in the future. Schwarzenegger has called for 10 percent, across-the-board cuts to cope with the projected deficit in the 2008-09 fiscal year. That includes a $4.3 billion reduction in education spending. SJ Mercury 3/18/08

 

Commissioners of the Port of Oakland will consider a set of goals today that are intended to reduce diesel emissions in West Oakland by 85 percent over the next 12 years.The plan includes a road map for raising $520 million over several years. Approximately $350 million would come from per-container fees that would be assessed on ocean carriers along with matching government funds. The remaining $170 million would come from bonds approved by California voters in November 2006. SF Chronicle 3/18/08

 

Virgin America launches its first flight Tuesday morning at Sea-Tac International Airport between Seattle and San Francisco. The Bay Area-based carrier will have three non-stop daily flights to San Francisco starting Wednesday.   KING5  3/18/08

 

The West Coast dockworkers union sat down Monday with the association representing giant shipping companies for early contract talks aimed at avoiding a replay of a damaging 10-day lockout in 2002. The initial meeting took place in San Francisco between the heads of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which has 14,800 registered members, and the Pacific Maritime Association, representing 72 shipping companies. SJ Mercury 3/18/08

 

According to media reports, CARB will enforce a requirement that ships use low-sulfur fuel for auxiliary engines while within 24 miles of the California Coast – even though that regulation has been struck down at two court levels. Land Line Magazine 3/18/08

Agriculture Daily News March 18

The Chinook salmon that swim upstream to spawn in the fall, the most robust run in the Sacramento River, have disappeared. Whatever the cause, there was widespread agreement among those attending a five-day meeting of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council here last week that the regional $150 million fishery, which usually opens for the four-month season on May 1, is almost certain to remain closed this year from northern Oregon to the Mexican border.  NY Times 3/17/08

 

Steeped in years of talk around college campuses and in stylish urban enclaves about the evils of factory farms (see the E. coli spinach outbreaks), the perils of relying on petroleum to deliver food over long distances (see global warming) and the beauty of greenmarkets (see the four-times-weekly locavore cornucopia in Union Square), some young urbanites are starting to put their muscles where their pro-environment, antiglobalization mouths are. They are creating small-scale farms near urban areas hungry for quality produce and willing to pay a premium. NY Times 3/16/08

 

Plans to build a peripheral canal to divert water around the Delta took a key step forward Monday when the Department of Water Resources launched a 30-month study on how to stabilize unreliable water supplies. The environmental analysis will examine the effects of building a canal along with other methods of getting water from the Sacramento River to the East Bay, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. CC Times 3/18/08

 

Overall, food prices rose 4 percent in 2007, nearly twice as much as usual and the biggest single-year increase since 1990, according to the economic research service of the USDA. And in 2008, prices are expected to surge another 4 percent. CC Times 3/18/08

 

Financially strapped states are looking to take away government health insurance and benefits from millions of Americans already struggling with a souring economy. An Associated Press review of the budgets in all 50 states reveals that coverage would be eliminated for hundreds of thousands of poor children, disabled and the elderly. Nearly two dozen states are grappling with deep cuts and tax proposals to close shortfalls totaling more than $34 billion. That includes California, where lawmakers have made emergency cuts and authorized billions in bond sales to halve a deficit once projected at $16 billion through June 2009. Inside Bay Area 3/18/08

 

 

California officials on Monday said they have canceled a no-bid contract to promote the safety of aerial spraying for an invasive moth, acting after the Associated Press reported on the deal last week. The official said it was difficult to justify a public affairs campaign related to moth spraying as an emergency. Classifying it as an emergency allowed the contract to be exempted from normal contracting rules that are designed to limit favoritism. CC Times 3/18/08

 

 

Water from San Francisco Bay's delta and from at least two Santa Clara County reservoirs contains trace amounts of pharmaceutical compounds, including ibuprofen, hormones found in birth control pills and a drug used to reduce cholesterol. The Santa Clara Valley Water District released the information Monday in response to a request by the Mercury News. SJ Mercury 3/18/08

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 17

Representatives of several fishing groups resigned themselves to the likelihood of an unprecedented closure of salmon fishing this year along the entire California coast and most of Oregon. A final decision on salmon fishing will be made early next month, but with near-record low returns last year and early indications that 2008 will be much worse, many anglers said Friday that a yearlong fishing closure is the best and perhaps only option. CC Times 3/15/08

 

State agriculture officials sought Friday to downplay the findings of two Santa Cruz area researchers who contend the light brown apple moth may well be adequately controlled by natural predators rather than aerial spraying of a synthetic pheromone. UC Santa Cruz Arboretum director Daniel Harder and Watsonville grower and horticultural consultant Jeff Rosendale released their findings last week after visiting New Zealand, where the light brown apple moth has been around for about a century. CC Times 3/15/08

 

In the wake of a series of news reports last week about pharmaceuticals discovered in drinking water across the nation, local officials cautioned that the minute concentrations of drugs were not cause for concern. However, officials acknowledged that water supplies throughout the region are likely contaminated. The levels of the drugs are so low - in parts per trillion - that new technologies have only in recent years been able to detect them. Whittier Daily News 3/16/08

Water watchers think ahead: A wet year doesn't ease officials' worries about future supplies Ventura County Star 3/17/08

 

With food prices climbing far faster than inflation - and many staples rising at double-digit rates - some consumers are starting to ask themselves if they need to tighten their belts, both literally and figuratively. Flour, milk and eggs are each up at least 24 percent for the year ending in February, about 10 times the inflation rate over the same period, according to the Consumer Price Index. Economists worry that powerful forces are fueling higher food prices - from the cost of oil and ethanol production to the weak dollar and global demand for food products. SJ Mercury 3/17/08

 

Across the state, nature's photosynthesis technology is being enlisted as California gradually reshapes forest management into an ally in the campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent severe climatic disruptions. San Deigo Union Tribune 3/17/08

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 17

Diesel-powered locomotives, ships, ferries and tugboats will have to eliminate 90 percent of the soot and 80 percent of the nitrogen oxides in their exhaust by 2030 under tougher air-pollution standards issued Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA accelerated its original proposed deadline for cutting nitrogen oxides by two years; the rules will take effect in 2014 for vessels and in 2015 for locomotives.  Some regional officials, however, said the new rules do not go far enough. CC Times 3/15/08

 

Under the new rules, locomotives, harbor tugs, barges, ferries and recreational boats will be required to use cleaner fuel, to retrofit existing equipment and to replace older models with new, cleaner engines. When fully implemented, the new standards are projected to reduce fine particulate soot by 90%, and nitrogen oxide emissions by 80%. LA Times 3/15/08

 

Eight California lawmakers are traveling overseas this week to study high-speed rail systems and other matters as the Legislature takes an 11-day spring break. Assembly members Charles Calderon, D-Whittier, Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward, Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, are on a trip to Spain sponsored by the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy. Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, and Assembly members Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, and Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, are part of a delegation visiting Japan. One reason for the trips is to study the development of high-speed rail systems in both countries. SF Chronicle 3/16/08

 

The Municipal Transportation Agency's chief financial officer has outlined in a new report a number of moneymaking options to help balance the budget, including hiking the price of parking fines, parking meter rates and residential parking permits. The possibility of boosting the cost of the monthly Muni FastPass, which gives adults unlimited rides on Muni for $45, also made the list. SF Chronicle 3/17/08

 

Inland transportation officials appear to be winning their battle with those lengthy freight trains that pass through the region every day. They are convincing the state that allowing vehicles to pass over or under rail lines without stopping -- known as grade separations -- is critical to the shipment of goods across California, and, thus, are perfect projects for financial aid. Last week, the California Transportation Commission staff appeared to agree and recommended using voter-approved bond money for nearly 20 of the projects in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Commissioners are expected to make the final decision in April. PE 3/15/08

 

California High-Speed Rail Authority Executive Director Mehdi Morshed, joined Governor Schwarzenegger Tuesday in participating in a roundtable discussion at the State Capitol regarding the importance of investing in California's infrastructure and maintaining the state's economic growth through public private partnerships. Mr. Morshed noted that high-speed trains are attractive to private investors because California's proposed system will bring a $1 billion annual profit or surplus, once built. He stated that the proposed financing model prepared by Lehman Brothers for the planning, design and construction of the system has three tiers: state and local funding, federal funding and "P3"- public-private partnerships. PR Inside 3/17/08

 

In a move surely to get a rise out of shippers, the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners authorized the Port of Oakland's executive director to sign an agreement for a Bay Area Seaports Air Emissions Inventory. The new regional agreement names a Steering Committee comprised of the San Francisco Bay Planning Coalition, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District), and five Bay Area ports. The committee members will coordinate future efforts to reduce air emissions from port related activities, a statewide priority for the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Logistics Management 3/14/08

 

Caltrain will begin installing more than a mile of fencing at strategic locations between San Francisco and San Jose next month to discourage trespassing on the tracks, according to the train service. KCBS 3/14/08

 

About 140,000 people, nearly 20 percent of them international visitors, were in Southern Nevada for the five-day ConExpo-Con/Agg show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show ended Saturday. Although industry leaders tend to sympathize with the Republican Party's anti-tax rhetoric, speakers from the road commission said the nation is so far behind when it comes to transportation more taxes may be critical to catching up.  Las Vegas Review Journal 3/17/08

 

The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners—in a move already opposed by shippers—will vote at its next regularly scheduled meeting tomorrow to impose container fees for funding to purchase cleaner trucks to control air pollution reduction. The port is also considering a demand similar to the Port of Los Angeles to eliminate the owner-operator trucking workforce. Logistics Management 3/17/08

After a year of working with its stakeholders to develop a Maritime Air Quality Improvement Plan and a Comprehensive Truck Management Plan, Port of Oakland commissioners are set to consider a major maritime air quality policy statement at Tuesday's board meeting. Cunningham Report 3/16/08

 

Labor negotiators for dockworkers and some of the world's biggest shipping lines open talks today on a new contract with the aim of avoiding the kind of bitter dispute that paralyzed West Coast ports for 10 days in 2002. LA Times 3/17/08

 

Transporation Daily News March 14

AC Transit has put off a 25 cent fare increase for the moment but likely will approve one soon. Rapidly rising fuel and health care costs are forcing the district's hand, directors and staff members told riders at a meeting Wednesday. Directors spoke most favorably on the last of three options AC Transit will hear in May. CC Times 3/14/08

 

A House committee chairman issued a subpoena Thursday to force the Environmental Protection Agency to turn over 196 internal documents about its decision to deny California permission to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, who leads the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, announced the subpoena after negotiating unsuccessfully to get the EPA to voluntarily turn over unredacted versions of the documents on the waiver decision. CC Times 3/14/08

 

Faced with a projected $8 billion budget deficit, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is touring California with the urgent message that the Legislature -- which will go on vacation next week -- needs to negotiate a budget immediately rather than wait to fix the looming crisis. He says he also wants lawmakers to begin considering sweeping fiscal changes -- including spending curbs and budget reform -- to stabilize the state's future and reassure Wall Street that the Golden State is serious about the issue. CC Times 3/14/08

 

Drivers who cross the Golden Gate Bridge should get ready for tolls to go up - and down, depending on traffic congestion. A key bridge district committee unanimously approved plans Thursday to allow variable tolling at the span, and the agency's Board of Directors is expected to give its approval Friday. SF Chronicle 3/14/08

 

Facing a projected budget deficit, BART officials approved two moneymaking plans Thursday: an increase in parking fines for people who illegally park at stations and a lucrative advertising contract that could mean an increase in ads plastered on stations and in trains. At the same meeting, the nine BART directors voted unanimously to give themselves a raise, boosting their monthly stipend to $1,300 - an increase of $300. The last increase was in 1999, when the monthly pay doubled from $500. SF Chronicle 3/14/08

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 14

State health officials announced today they are lifting warnings against consuming mussels harvested in the Bay Area after ruling out contamination risks related to the Cosco Busan oil spill last fall. Tests of mussels collected recently from seven Bay Area locations showed that all were safe to eat, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. CC Times 3/14/08

 

After nearly two years of debate and numerous drafts, California's State Board of Education quietly adopted its first-ever set of "health education content standards" this week.  The guidelines spell out exactly what California's more than 6 million students from kindergarten through 12th grade are expected to know about health and are required as part of a controversial 2004 law that replaced a patchwork of often contradictory statutes on sex education. The law requires that all high schools give "medically accurate" information about condoms and other forms of birth control. The health curriculum, which also covers drug and alcohol use, nutrition, exercise and environmental health, is far broader than sex education. The health standards are posted at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/yr08/documents/mar08item11.doc      CC Times 3/14/08

 

If California were a country, it would rank fifth to ninth among the world's nations in the value of its agriculture, according to a report by the UC Agricultural Issues Center. The unpublished report, "Agriculture's Role in the Economy," is now available on the Web at: http://www.aic.ucdavis.edu/publications/MOCA_Ch_5.10aPrePrint.pdf. The report is intended as the fifth chapter in a forthcoming book, "The Measure of California Agriculture." Center staff posted it online so that other researchers and policy analysts can begin to use the data right away. UC Davis 3/12/08

 

Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California have introduced a bill to stiffen penalties against slaughterhouses that illegally process cows too sick to stand.  The legislation comes in response to the scandal over a Southern California slaughterhouse that improperly allowed so-called downer cattle into the food supply, leading to a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. Downer cows pose higher risk of mad cow disease and other infections.  SJ Mercury 3/13/08

 

The nation's schools will be reimbursed for costs associated with the largest beef recall in U.S. history, but it's not clear where the money will come from, federal officials said Thursday. The Chino plant that sold the beef could be held liable for the costs, although Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell said this week that he is in no position to pay. PE.com 3/13/08

 

Congress is unlikely to approve a new farm bill before early April, leaving California fruit and vegetable farmers in the dark about whether they will get any money for specialty crop block grants and research. On Wednesday, both the House and Senate extended the 2002 farm bill until April 18. This is the second time lawmakers have extended the old law. The Californian 3/14/08

 

 

The state Department of Water Resources cut the water pumping from the Delta by 25 percent Thursday to comply with a federal court order to protect Delta smelt. The State Water Project water pumping cutback will reduce water deliveries south of the Delta from about 2,000 cubic feet per second to about 1,500 cubic feet per second. Normally at this time of year, with current water conditions, the State Water Project pumps about 8,000 cubic feet per second.  The reduction is aimed at protecting the adult population of Delta smelt, which has increased around the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant. Bizjournals 3/13/08

 

Eating out in California is more likely to make you sick than in most other states, according to federal records on food poisoning. For the third year in a row, the website, healthinspections.com listed the Golden State in the top five for food poisoning traced to restaurant food and California came in at number 2. In defense, "California is the most populous state, we have more people eating out than most states," said information officer Ken August said.  CBS 13 3/14/08

 

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a law Tuesday that requires chain restaurants to post nutrition information on their menus - but whether that will turn diners off of Big Macs remains to be seen, nutritionists say. Dozens of studies have produced mixed results on whether nutrition labeling improves consumers' eating habits.  SF Chronicle 3/12/08

 

 California winemakers depend on a smattering of nurseries to keep vineyards healthy and thriving SF Chronicle 3/14/08

 

 

Brown Apple Moth: 

 

Revised and expanded regulations put into place in both Canada and Mexico will make it substantially more difficult for growers in California counties infested by the light brown apple moth—an invasive species—to certify their crops as “free from” the moth, which is a requirement for exports to be accepted in those countries. The Californian 3/11/08

 

The California organization responsible for certifying organic farmers shifted its stance on how to fight the light brown apple moth Monday, revoking its support for aerial spraying to mitigate the pest. The board of directors of the Santa Cruz-based California Certified Organic Farmers said it instead backs "diversified ground pest management approaches," such as using natural predators and biological insecticides to combat what the state says is a threat to California's agriculture industry. Santa Cruz Sentinel 3/11/08

 

Worried about harm to the environment and to California’s economy, farmers in the “Salad Bowl of the World” today called on state and federal agencies to complete the eradication of the light brown apple moth. Directors of the Monterey County Farm Bureau voted unanimously to voice support for the eradication effort that is being mounted by California Department of agriculture and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The Californian 3/13/08

 

Agriculture Daily News March 14

State health officials announced today they are lifting warnings against consuming mussels harvested in the Bay Area after ruling out contamination risks related to the Cosco Busan oil spill last fall. Tests of mussels collected recently from seven Bay Area locations showed that all were safe to eat, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. CC Times 3/14/08

 

After nearly two years of debate and numerous drafts, California's State Board of Education quietly adopted its first-ever set of "health education content standards" this week.  The guidelines spell out exactly what California's more than 6 million students from kindergarten through 12th grade are expected to know about health and are required as part of a controversial 2004 law that replaced a patchwork of often contradictory statutes on sex education. The law requires that all high schools give "medically accurate" information about condoms and other forms of birth control. The health curriculum, which also covers drug and alcohol use, nutrition, exercise and environmental health, is far broader than sex education. The health standards are posted at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/yr08/documents/mar08item11.doc      CC Times 3/14/08

 

If California were a country, it would rank fifth to ninth among the world's nations in the value of its agriculture, according to a report by the UC Agricultural Issues Center. The unpublished report, "Agriculture's Role in the Economy," is now available on the Web at: http://www.aic.ucdavis.edu/publications/MOCA_Ch_5.10aPrePrint.pdf. The report is intended as the fifth chapter in a forthcoming book, "The Measure of California Agriculture." Center staff posted it online so that other researchers and policy analysts can begin to use the data right away. UC Davis 3/12/08

 

Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California have introduced a bill to stiffen penalties against slaughterhouses that illegally process cows too sick to stand.  The legislation comes in response to the scandal over a Southern California slaughterhouse that improperly allowed so-called downer cattle into the food supply, leading to a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. Downer cows pose higher risk of mad cow disease and other infections.  SJ Mercury 3/13/08

The nation's schools will be reimbursed for costs associated with the largest beef recall in U.S. history, but it's not clear where the money will come from, federal officials said Thursday. The Chino plant that sold the beef could be held liable for the costs, although Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell said this week that he is in no position to pay. PE.com 3/13/08

 

Congress is unlikely to approve a new farm bill before early April, leaving California fruit and vegetable farmers in the dark about whether they will get any money for specialty crop block grants and research. On Wednesday, both the House and Senate extended the 2002 farm bill until April 18. This is the second time lawmakers have extended the old law. The Californian 3/14/08

 

 

The state Department of Water Resources cut the water pumping from the Delta by 25 percent Thursday to comply with a federal court order to protect Delta smelt. The State Water Project water pumping cutback will reduce water deliveries south of the Delta from about 2,000 cubic feet per second to about 1,500 cubic feet per second. Normally at this time of year, with current water conditions, the State Water Project pumps about 8,000 cubic feet per second.  The reduction is aimed at protecting the adult population of Delta smelt, which has increased around the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant. Bizjournals 3/13/08

 

Eating out in California is more likely to make you sick than in most other states, according to federal records on food poisoning. For the third year in a row, the website, healthinspections.com listed the Golden State in the top five for food poisoning traced to restaurant food and California came in at number 2. In defense, "California is the most populous state, we have more people eating out than most states," said information officer Ken August said.  CBS 13 3/14/08

 

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a law Tuesday that requires chain restaurants to post nutrition information on their menus - but whether that will turn diners off of Big Macs remains to be seen, nutritionists say. Dozens of studies have produced mixed results on whether nutrition labeling improves consumers' eating habits.  SF Chronicle 3/12/08

 

 

 

 

 

Revised and expanded regulations put into place in both Canada and Mexico will make it substantially more difficult for growers in California counties infested by the light brown apple moth—an invasive species—to certify their crops as “free from” the moth, which is a requirement for exports to be accepted in those countries. The Californian 3/11/08

 

The California organization responsible for certifying organic farmers shifted its stance on how to fight the light brown apple moth Monday, revoking its support for aerial spraying to mitigate the pest. The board of directors of the Santa Cruz-based California Certified Organic Farmers said it instead backs "diversified ground pest management approaches," such as using natural predators and biological insecticides to combat what the state says is a threat to California's agriculture industry. Santa Cruz Sentinel 3/11/08

 

Worried about harm to the environment and to California’s economy, farmers in the “Salad Bowl of the World” today called on state and federal agencies to complete the eradication of the light brown apple moth. Directors of the Monterey County Farm Bureau voted unanimously to voice support for the eradication effort that is being mounted by California Department of agriculture and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The Californian 3/13/08

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 13

State officials struggling to convince critics about the safety of aerial spraying to control an invasive moth awarded a $500,000 no-bid contract to a prominent public relations firm with ties to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. E-mails obtained by the AP revealed a senior state contracting official questioned the arrangement. He said it was difficult to justify a public affairs campaign related to moth spraying as an emergency, which entitled the deal to be exempted from normal contracting rules designed to limit favoritism. CC Times 3/13/08

 

Lawmakers on Wednesday launched an independent state investigation into last year's ship fuel spill in the Bay, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed confidence that his administration properly handled the emergency. A legislative committee granted Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, a request for the nonpartisan Auditor's Office to conduct a probe of what she says was a series of mistakes by state agencies reacting to the November spill. CC Times 3/13/08

 

U.S. regulators found "objectionable conditions" in almost half of their inspections of packaged fresh spinach producers but took no "meaningful enforcement action," a congressional report released Wednesday said. The Food and Drug Administration listed poor sanitation and other deficiencies in 47% of 199 inspections from January 2001 to February 2007, according to a report by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. None of the cases was referred to the FDA's enforcement arm for further action. LA Times 3/13/08

 

The grim prospect of a total shutdown of ocean salmon fishing in California and Oregon is forcing anglers, merchants and food servers who rely on the once-thriving fishery to reassess their lives and futures.  So few fall-run chinook came back to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries last fall that the Pacific Fishery Management Council said Tuesday it would have to ban all salmon fishing unless a request is made for an emergency exception. SF Chronicle 3/13/08

 

Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) officials plan to expand a three-year pilot irrigation-management program developed to help area farmers optimize their use of water while increasing crop yields and quality. With help from consultant Jim Brockmeyer of JVB Consulting, soil moisture probes are used at selected commercial irrigation sites throughout the county, including several fruit orchards. Readings from the probes, combined with computerized analysis and planning, allow farmers to develop reliable irrigation schedules that can be adjusted weekly. Auburn Buzz 3/13/08

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 13

The federal Environmental Protection Agency tightened the public health standard for smog Tuesday, but many environmentalists and California officials said the change does not go far enough to protect children, the sick and elderly from air pollution. However, pollution regulators predicted the new national standard should produce cleaner air. The Bay Area and many areas in California will be forced to take new measures to reduce emissions from factories and homes, they said. CC Times 3/13/08

 

The Bay Area has the nation's second worst road and highway conditions, after the Los Angeles area, according to a report released Wednesday by a Washington-based transportation research group. Poor highway conditions on 62 percent of the region's main thoroughfares cost motorists an average of $761 a year in auto maintenance, the study by The Road Information Program found. CC Times 3/13/08

 

Lawmakers on Wednesday launched an independent state investigation into last year's ship fuel spill in the Bay, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed confidence that his administration properly handled the emergency. A legislative committee granted Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, a request for the nonpartisan Auditor's Office to conduct a probe of what she says was a series of mistakes by state agencies reacting to the November spill. CC Times 3/13/08

 

California High-Speed Rail Authority Executive Director Mehdi Morshed, joined Governor Schwarzenegger Tuesday in participating in a roundtable discussion at the State Capitol regarding the importance of investing in California's infrastructure and maintaining the state's economic growth through public private partnerships. Mr. Morshed noted the California proposed system of high-speed trains offers a unique opportunity to develop a new model for "P3" or public private partnership financing. Business Wire 3/13/08

 

Southern Nevada tourism officials are starting a $12 million ad campaign to invite visitors and conventioneers to town despite high gasoline prices, sagging consumer confidence and a global credit crisis. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, representing area governments and the largest Las Vegas area hotel-casinos, gave the go-ahead Tuesday to the "Vegas Right Now" campaign to run through June. Research presented during the authority's monthly meeting showed declines in arrivals and departures at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, decreasing visitor traffic from Southern California and a dip in casino gambling revenue. North County Times 3/13/08

 

CALIFORNIA air regulators have refused to go away quietly after a major setback two weeks ago on their plan to make ships burn cleaner fuel within 24 miles of the state. This means the stop-start implementation of this unilateral law in the Golden State will continue to remain an obstacle for merchant shipping, despite a stated US position in favour of Marpol Annex VI and two clear-cut victories at the first two rungs of the US federal court system.  Lloyd's List 3/13/08

 

Federal environmental regulators proposed a national fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2018 before top officials stopped their work in December, according to a congressional investigation. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday accused the Environmental Protection Agency of foot-dragging and demanded several documents related to the proposal, including communications with the White House. Detroit Free Press 3/13/08

 

An American tech-licencing company says it is in negotiations with the US Air Force - and unnamed airlines - to supply jet fuel made from Californian household waste. A combination of high oil prices, a military push to find secure fuel sources, and governmental incentives are expected to make the business case viable. The Register UK 3/13/08

 

The National Retail Federation (NRF) on Tuesday urged the Port of Oakland, Calif., to reject a proposal to impose new container fees to ease pollution and traffic congestion similar to those approved recently in Los Angeles and Long Beach, and instead adopt a plan to ease air pollution and congestion that is supported by shippers. Home Furnishings Business 3/13/08

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 12

The Coast Guard set out Tuesday to demonstrate how it keeps errant boaters out of security exclusion zones near potential terrorist targets. The Coast Guard, which invited reporters and television crews onto its 87-foot cutter to witness the security demonstration, was trying to warn boaters to avoid such excluded areas, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Kevin Neff. CC Times 3/12/08

 

Golden Gate Bridge district officials are recommending that motorists crossing the span be charged a toll that increases when traffic is heaviest instead of a separate toll for the bridge's Doyle Drive approach. The proposed congestion-based toll will be considered by the district's finance committee Thursday. SF Chronicle 3/12/08

 

With gas prices mounting and the economy slowing, commuters from Colfax, Auburn and other foothill communities have been filling bus seats so fast that operators this week said no more. The little agency, which runs three leased buses on Interstate 80 to and from downtown Sacramento, announced it will sell tickets only to current riders. Sacramento Bee 3/12/08

 

The Sacramento metropolitan area ranks eighth in the nation for poor roads, according to a report released Wednesday by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based transportation research group. The study said 46 percent of roads in Greater Sacramento are in poor condition, which costs drivers an additional $655 a year in vehicle maintenance, accelerated vehicle deterioration and additional fuel costs. TRIP said 40 percent of Sacramento roads are mediocre, 6 percent are in fair condition and 8 percent are in good shape. Biz Journals 3/12/08

 

Senators and the Bush administration clashed Tuesday about the legality of a pilot program allowing Mexican trucks to travel anywhere in the U.S., a day after the Transportation Department's inspector general released a report on the program that raised some concerns. During an oversight hearing by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) said the department had gone ahead with the program even though Congress cut its funding in December. The program allows participating Mexican trucks to travel anywhere in the United States. LA Times 3/12/08

 

A $135 million bond issue for highway projects - with more than half of the bond money going for a costlyjob between Reno and Carson City - was approved Tuesday by the
Nevada Board of Finance. The entire project is for about $400 million. When completed, the project will include a six-lane freeway with four bridges, the largest of which will tower 300 feet above Galena Creek in Washoe Valley. At nearly 1,800 feet long, it will be one of the longest structures of its kind in the nation. KOLO 3/12/08

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was ready to propose a fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2018 for cars and trucks before its work was stopped in December, according to a congressional investigation. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday demanded the EPA hand over several documents related to the proposal, including communications with the White House, and accused the agency of foot-dragging. Detroit Free Press 3/12/08

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 12

If you live in the United States and like spicy tuna rolls, Puerto Rican roast pork or Thai noodles, there is a good chance you are eating, and enjoying, MSG, says a brief history of the flavoring in the NY Times. Though the substance is used in dishes all over the world, the role of MSG in food, and its effects on health, remain controversial. 3/05/08

 

Though U.S. waterways nationwide are contaminated with residues of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, there is no national strategy to deal with them -- no effective mandates to test, treat, limit or even advise the public. Contra Costa Times 3/12/08

 

The nonprofit Teleosis Institute in Berkeley began a Green Pharmacy program in June. It credits that program with diverting more than 900 pounds of unused and expired medications from local waterways. People can bring unwanted medications to 14 Bay Area pharmacies and health offices, CC Times 3/12/08

 

So few salmon are living in the ocean and rivers along the Pacific Coast that salmon fishing in California and Oregon will have to be shut down completely this year unless an emergency exception is granted, Pacific Fishery Management Council representatives said Tuesday. SF Chronicle 3/12/08

 

A new study has found that California wildfires emit more greenhouse gases than previously believed largely through the post-fire decay of dead wood, a finding that is raising questions about how effective the state's forests are at storing carbon and slowing global warming. The study by Thomas Bonnicksen, a retired forestry professor at Texas A&M University, found that four major wildfires – from the Fountain fire near Redding in 1992 to the Angora blaze at Lake Tahoe last year – are responsible for the release of 38 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, far more than the 2 million tons the state estimates that fires produce on average each year. Sacramento Bee 3/12/08

 

The Metropolitan Water District board on Tuesday approved a 14.3% increase in the 2009 rates it will charge for imported water, a hike that will vary widely in the dollars it adds to Southern California household water bills. LA Times 3/12/08

 

The head of the Southern California slaughterhouse at the center of the largest beef recall in U.S. history acknowledged Wednesday that cattle were illegally slaughtered at his plant and that cows too sick to stand were forced into the food supply. AP 3/12/08

 

Stockton-based Diamond Foods Inc. on Tuesday reported 32 percent growth in profits for its fiscal second quarter, despite a 6.8 percent drop in sales and a substantial increase in the price it pays farmers for nuts. Sacramento Bee  3/12/08

 

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 11

San Francisco school officials are looking at ways to encourage more poor students to accept government-financed meals, including the possibility of introducing cashless cafeterias where all students are offered the same food choices and use debit cards or punch in codes on a keypad so that all students check out at the cashier in the same manner. Only 37 percent of eligible high school students citywide take advantage of the subsidized meal program. But the stigma of accepting a government lunch, while others are paying for food from a different menu, is not unique to San Francisco. It is a problem many school districts across the country have been quietly confronting with mixed results, education and school nutrition officials said. NY Times 3/01/08

 

San Joaquin County's $143 million almond industry is off to a good start this year as the clear, warm weather and adequate supply of honeybees encourage successful pollination during the ongoing bloom season. CC Times 3/11/08

 

Chemists who tested drinking water from 20 utilities nationwide said they did not detect any contaminants at all at San Francisco's tap, despite news reports to the contrary. The American Waterworks Association Research Foundation tested 20 of the nation's water systems, including San Francisco's for 60 compounds found in medicines, household cleaners and cosmetics. "You guys have the best water that we tested. Period." SF Chronicle 3/11/08

 

The U.S. winter fresh-market vegetable and melon area for harvest, which covers January through March, is expected to decline by 3 percent from that of a year earlier, according to the USDA’s latest Vegetables and Melons Outlook. Southeast Farm Press 3/11/08

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 11

Environmentalists vowed to sue the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday after the agency found that air quality in the San Joaquin Valley met federal standards for airborne dust, smoke and soot. On Friday, the agency ruled the region's air was no longer plagued with excessive levels of PM-10 pollution, tiny airborne particles that are linked to asthma, bronchitis and heart problems. But environmental groups -- including three chapters of the Sierra Club and a group of physicians in the San Joaquin Valley -- say the EPA's data show that federal pollution standards were surpassed nine times from 2003 to 2006. CC Times 3/11/08

 

Riding a bicycle in the Bay Area is an increasingly deadly pastime. The number of bicyclists killed in collisions with motor vehicles has increased 28 percent over the past decade - from 18 to 23 deaths per year, according to a Chronicle analysis of data collected by the California Highway Patrol. That increase is despite a 22 percent drop in the number of regional bicycle accidents between 1997 and 2006, the last year for which complete statistics are available for the nine Bay Area counties. SF Chronicle 3/11/08

 

Transportation engineers say global warming will have a dire impact on the nation's roads, rails, bridges, subways and waterways. The National Research Council, in a report released today, sees heat-damaged expansion bridge joints and buckled rail tracks. The engineers also predict rising sea levels will flood coastal roadways and tunnels. AP 3/11/08

 

The agency charged with guiding the creation of a massive new transit center and tower in downtown San Francisco will hold another community meeting Monday to discuss the plans as they currently stand. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) will present plans currently under way for the hub, which many have compared to New York's Grand Central Station. The meeting is one in a series of community meetings being held in order to keep San Francisco residents informed about and involved with the new development. NBC11 3/11/08

 

California announced $394 million in funding for transit projects around the state, including cash for fuel cell and hybrid buses, as well as compressed natural gas buses and infrastructure. These are the first transit projects to be funded by Proposition 1B, a 2006 voter-approved $19.9 billion transportation bond pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cleantech 3/11/08

 

It took soaring prices and the fear of global warming to accomplish, but society may finally have started the long process of weaning itself off of oil. Within three years, the amount of ethanol blended into the gas Californians buy will rise by 66 percent. And Americans are buying less gasoline. The drop is small at the national level - just 0.9 percent in the past month - but any decline is considered rare. SF Chronicle 3/09/08

 

"On top of the shorter life expectancies are high rates of asthma, chronic lung disease and heart disease related to diesel particulate pollution. Nobody is laying all the pollution and the adverse environmental impacts at the feet of the port, but it generates an enormous amount of life-shortening pollution," said Dr. Anthony Iton, director of the Alameda County Public Health Department. During the last year, the port has been working with representatives of various community and environmental groups, and with regulatory agencies, to develop comprehensive plans on truck management and air pollution reduction. SF Chronicle 3/03/08

Agriculture Daily News March 10

A key federal advisory panel this week is expected to begin considering an unprecedented ban on salmon fishing in California in response to an alarming collapse of a signature fishery. McIsaac cautioned that the cause of the salmon collapse remains a mystery and that researchers have a list of 46 potential factors to investigate. That list includes everything from disease, hatchery problems and an increase in predators to water diversions and a possible connection between the salmon collapse and the Delta's ongoing ecological crisis. The fishery management council, which meets through Friday in Sacramento, is expected to discuss the California salmon collapse on Tuesday with the goal of proposing three options for the fishing season by the end of the week. CC Times 3/09/08

 

Less than two months after a mandatory 30 percent cutback in agricultural water deliveries, some Southern California growers have begun "stumping" hundreds of healthy, well-nurtured avocado trees, putting them out of production for the next one to three years to leave more water for the rest of their trees. Their actions represent the downside of a water deal between area farmers and the region's water wholesaler, the Metropolitan Water District. Over the years, thousands of farmers signed up for a program that gave them discounted water in return for their willingness to be first in line for a water cutback. CC Times 3/09/08

 

A five-month Associated Press investigation has determined that trace amounts of many of the pharmaceuticals we take to stay healthy are seeping into drinking water supplies, and a growing body of research indicates that this could harm humans. But people aren't the only ones who consume that water. There is more and more evidence that some animals that live in or drink from streams and lakes are seriously affected. Pharmaceuticals in the water are being blamed for severe reproductive problems in many types of fish. AP 3/10/08

 

Other findings in the report show water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed. Also, anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California and a sex hormone was detected in the drinking water of San Francisco, California. CNN   3/10/08

 

Marin's six sewage-treatment agencies have been fined $681,000 for violations since 2000, with the biggest offenders being the Novato Sanitary District, fined $330,000 for 120 violations, and the Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District, fined $237,000 for 78 violations. But whether merger of the 10 sewer agencies lining Richardson Bay is needed, or ballot measures to repair miles of aging, leaky pipes are necessary, officials agree more communication is imperative. Marin Independent Journal  3/10/08

 

At UC's honey bee research center, scientists are seeking to breed new strains of the immensely valuable insects , while others are probing the recently sequenced bee genome to understand the most important qualities conferred upon each tribe by its unique genetic heritage. The researchers are bent on improving the ability of the bees to pollinate the flowering fruit trees and vegetables that account for more than $35 billion a year in crop value for California, and right now they hope to understand and perhaps halt the spread of the disease called Colony Collapse Disorder that has devastated the hives of many professional beekeepers in California and across the country. SF Chronicle 3/10/08

 

Everywhere, the cost of food is rising sharply. Whether the world is in for a long period of continued increases has become one of the most urgent issues in economics. Many factors are contributing to the rise, but the biggest is runaway demand. The high growth rate means hundreds of millions of people are, for the first time, getting access to the basics of life, including a better diet. That jump in demand is helping to drive up the prices of agricultural commodities. American agricultural exports are expected to increase 23 percent this year to $101 billion, a record. The world’s grain stockpiles have fallen to the lowest levels in decades. NY Times 3/09/08

 

While the real estate meltdown is draining billions of dollars from the capital region's urban economy, area fields and orchards are yielding some of the richest harvests in decades. It's the flip side of the rising cost of food: As global trends ranging from the weak dollar to the modernization of Asia drive up prices in supermarkets, they also boost the value of each pound of walnuts and sack of rice harvested in the Sacramento Valley. Sacramento Bee 3/09/08

 

The company that makes one of the pesticides state officials are considering spraying over the Bay Area to fight the light brown apple moth is owned by a wealthy California agribusinessman who has been a generous contributor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other state officials. SF Chronicle 3/08/08

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 10

California is awarding $24 million to BART for earthquake retrofits and $15.6 million to AC Transit for 50 new buses in the first big payout for public transit from a 2006 state transportation ballot measure, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Friday. Also, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will get $12.1 million to help create dedicated lanes for rapid transit buses along 4.3 miles of streets through downtown San Jose. CC Times 3/08/08

 

Leading academics and policy-makers gathered in Sacramento yesterday to discuss solutions to one of California's most pressing and controversial problems: how to meet infrastructure investment needs. The event, titled "Paying for Tomorrow's Infrastructure: Options and Strategies for Sustainable Financing," was hosted by The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, which is based at the University of Southern California. Business Wire 3/07/08

 

A project expected to provide ferry service to more than 24,000 employees within a three-mile radius of Oyster Point Marina/Park is in limbo. The plan's progress hinges on the appointment of a five-member advisory board to the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, and that hasn't happened yet. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to choose three people, while Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez are each expected to appoint a member, said Peter Grenell, general manager of the San Mateo County Harbor District. Inside Bay Area 3/10/08

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants California to implement its own vehicle emission standards to fight global warming. At first glance, Congress might seem a likely ally in his efforts to overturn the Bush administration's refusal to let the state do so. But legislation to clear the way may fail for a reason that is close to home for Schwarzenegger -- his fellow California Republicans. Most GOP members of the state's congressional delegation are siding with the Bush administration in trying to keep states from imposing stricter regulations on greenhouse gas emissions than the federal government. Without bipartisan support from the state's representatives, the bill's proponents say, the measure's prospects are dim. LA Times 3/09/08

 

Despite decades of efforts to widen highways and move people from cars to transit, the Bay Area continues to strangle itself in congestion. An economic slowdown and rising gas prices might temporarily loosen the flow on the roads. But the trends are in the wrong direction:

-Bay Area residents drove an average 18 miles a day in 1990. Today, it's 21

-commutes take longer

-San Francisco's Muni and the East Bay's AC Transit both report less patronage

CC Times 3/09/08

 

The nation's busiest seaport could lose at least 3% of its cargo container business if it adopts a controversial proposal requiring shipping companies to employ the thousands of short-haul truck drivers who work on a contractual basis, a new study says. The analysis, conducted by Boston Consulting Group, said that "substantial diversions" of the Los Angeles port's business probably would shift to the neighboring port of Long Beach or to other harbors. LA Times 3/08/08

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News March 1-7

California's states rights battle against the Bush administration over global warming was free to move forward in federal court Friday, after the Environmental Protection Agency issued its long delayed justification for blocking the state's 2002 law curbing greenhouse emissions from cars and trucks. Stephen Johnson, administrator of the federal EPA, had written to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in December that he would refuse to grant a waiver of the Clean Air Act, normally a routine action, allowing the state to enact its own curbs on carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases. But the agency had postponed publishing its written justification in the federal register, thus stalling the court case brought by 19 states and seven environmental groups. CC Times 3/01/08

 

Some "first steps" in cleaning the air wafting from the Port of Oakland into West Oakland were announced Monday when the Bay Area Air Quality District awarded $3.4 million to two programs that reduce diesel fumes at the port. One program involves installing electric power hookups at two berths at the port so that ships can turn off their diesel engines while unloading cargo. The second involves retrofitting 75 trucks that regularly drive in and out of the port with filters to collect diesel particulates from exhaust pipes. CC Times 3/04/08

 

Feinstein, who heads the Appropriations subcommittee that handles the EPA budget, held a hearing on the proposed budget Tuesday that quickly became a debate about California's bid to enforce tough emissions standards on vehicles. Johnson announced in December he would turn down the state's request for a waiver from the Clean Air Act to enforce its own standards -- which 16 other states want to adopt -- and on Friday he released a 47-page rationale for his decision. CC Times 3/05/08

The Environmental Protection Agency justified blocking California from cracking down on auto emissions by saying Friday that global warming is not unique to the state. The long-awaited analysis drew angry ridicule from environmentalists and officials in California and some of the dozen-plus other states that also want to implement the greenhouse gas emissions reductions sought by California. SF Chronicle 3/01/08

 

Traffic accidents cost Americans more than $164 billion a year, which is between two and three times as much as traffic congestion, according to a report released Wednesday by AAA. While many motorists tend to focus on fuel prices, commute times and delays, collisions are much more expensive than the $67.6 billion cost of congestion, the report said. CC Times 3/06/08

 

A crackdown on cheats who evade tolls by illegally using FasTrak lanes on Bay Area bridges is coming soon to your local toll booth. A regional bridge toll agency approved plans Wednesday for traffic officers to ticket drivers who use FasTrak lanes without transponders, collection agencies to hound them and agreements with other states to help penalize those with out-of-state license plates. CC Times 3/06/08

 

Nevada companies shipped 4 percent more goods out of the country in 2007 from a year earlier, totaling a record $5.7 billion in exports, a federal report released this week shows. While Nevada's exports pale in comparison with other states including California and New York, it marks the fifth straight year of increases, officials said, with Switzerland continuing as the leading destination primarily for gold mined in Nevada. Reno Gazette Journal 3/07/08

 

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is formulating regulations that could affect the more than 1.5 million trucks and buses in use on California's roads, highways and farms. Given the millions of consumer and industrial goods and products delivered via truck each day in the state, these regulations threaten to have a profound, negative impact on the business community. What CARB is proposing to adopt are the nation's most stringent new emissions regulations that could also be the most costly and far-reaching rule that business has yet to face. CalChamber 3/07/08

 

Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law Thursday a measure that he said will guarantee San Francisco's taxi fleet is converted to low-emission vehicles by 2011. SF Chronicle 3/07/08

 

The Bay Area's top seven transit agencies help prevent more than 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases and save 251 million gallons of oil each year, according to a new report by a consumer-rights group. The California Public Interest Research Group, or CalPIRG, said its report - along with news Thursday that the cost of oil hit a record high of nearly $106 a barrel - should encourage more people to park their cars and hop on a bus or train. SF Chronicle 3/07/08

 

 

With the economy tumbling and ridership flattening, BART is facing a bleak financial picture next year, officials with the regional transit system warned Thursday. SF Chronicle 2/28/08

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News March 1-7

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger laid out a sweeping plan to address statewide water problems and the environmental decline in the Delta in response to charges this week from incensed lawmakers who said he was moving unilaterally to build a controversial aqueduct. His letter to leading senators comes as state water officials plan in the coming weeks to take the first steps toward developing an environmental study of the aqueduct, a canal that would divert water around the Delta to large pumps that supply farms in the San Joaquin Valley and cities in the East Bay and Southern California. CC Times 3/01/08

 

The Navy must abide by limits on its sonar training off the Southern California coast because the exercises could harm dozens of species of whales and dolphins, a federal appeals court ruled. he 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a 108-page ruling rejecting the Navy's appeal of a preliminary injunction from a lower court that barred the use of high-powered sonar within 12 miles of the coast. The injunction also set other limits that could affect Navy training exercises scheduled to begin this month. CC Times 3/02/08

 

A sharp jump in prices for wheat -- now at record highs -- and flour has chewed up the profit at pizza parlors and bakeries in the East Bay and elsewhere. In January, Rocco Biale, principal owner of Rocco's Ristorante & Pizzeria, was paying about $14 for each 50-pound bag of flour his Walnut Creek restaurant uses to make pizza. This week, prices are up to about $28 a bag. CC Times 3/01/08

 

When California's raw milk dairies learned about new legislation tightening safety standards for their unpasteurized milk and cream, they -- alongside passionate raw milk devotees -- bitterly lobbied against mandates they thought would destroy their business. Now their fears are starting to be realized. State agriculture officials have temporarily banned the sale of raw cream from the Organic Pastures dairy in Fresno, citing bacteria levels of as much as 150 times the legal limit. CC Times 3/06/08

 

A review of Zabu Zabu, a new shabu shabu restaurant in Berkeley. CC Times 3/06/08

 

Federal lawmakers Thursday insisted that USDA food inspectors reveal the names of distributors, restaurants and school lunch programs that received 143 million pounds of beef recalled by a Chino meat-packing company. PE 3/07/08

 

he City Council this week gave City Attorney John Russo the go-ahead to work on a possible legal challenge to the state's plans for aerial spraying to eradicate the invasive light brown apple moth. The council's decision in Oakland came one week after Berkeley took similar action, and Russo said other Bay Area cities will be brought into the mix too.  Inside Bay Area 3/07/08

 

The light brown apple moth may not be the voracious crop threat portrayed by state and federal agricultural officials, according to some scientists who also warn that the aerial spraying of a pesticide over California's cities may turn out to be an expensive, unnecessary public relations nightmare doomed to fail. SF Chronicle 3/06/08

 

State wildlife officials warned fishermen Wednesday that salmon fishing will likely be severely restricted this year because of a precipitous decline in the number of wild chinook returning to spawn in the Central Valley. Officials with the California Department of Fish and Game met with fishermen to share the latest data on chinook salmon populations and solicit their views on possible restrictions this year—if any fishing is allowed at all. SJ Mercury 3/05/08

 

One of California's most precious natural resources -- its highly productive farmland – is being lost at an alarming rate. And, a new report from the American Farmland Trust says unless a different approach to land-use planning and development is adopted, another 2 million acres could be gone by midcentury. Central Valley Business Times 3/05/08

 

California wineries tallied record export revenue last year even as they shifted to lower-priced offerings, a sign that the state's industry is well-positioned in an increasingly competitive global market, analysts said. Total U.S. wine exports rose 8.6 percent, to $951 million, according to trade data released Friday by the Wine Institute, an industry group. Sales were strongest in Canada and several East Asian countries, where revenue jumped 20 percent or more. Sacramento Bee 3/01/08