Agriculture Daily News April 30

Agriculture:

 

Calif. bill would allow roadside farm stands to expand sales -- Current state retail regulations make it difficult for small fruit farmers to package their produce and sell it in pies, jams or bags of dried fruit at their roadside stands. A bill by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, seeks to help operators of small farms by relaxing the California retail food code. The law is designed to regulate places where processed food is sold and applies mostly to grocery stores and other retail outlets. In part, it requires those establishments to have clean running water and restrooms, something many small farmers cannot provide at their roadside stands. SJ Mercury 4/30/08

 

New farm bill retains big crop subsidies -- Subsidy payments to big crops will continue to go out automatically under a new $300 billion farm bill Congress has in the works, despite an 80 percent rise in grain prices over the past three years. President Bush issued a strongly worded warning to Congress Tuesday that he expects more reform in the farm bill, which promises to lock in the subsidies for five more years. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, was instrumental in efforts to preserve the subsidies when she pushed the legislation through the House last summer as a way to protect newly elected Democrats from conservative Midwest farming districts. SF Chronicle 4/30/08

 

California awaits sizable stone fruit crop -- Despite reports of weather damage to Washington, South Carolina and Georgia stone fruit crops, California grower-shippers will be able to fill all the gaps, according to the California Tree Fruit Agreement. At a packed 2008 spring meeting April 29, the CTFA said the state’s projected volume of peaches, plums and nectarines is slightly larger than 2007’s large deal. “We’re forecasting the volume of the three crops will be 56.6 million cartons,” a representative said. That total is 1.1 million cartons above the 2007 actual of 55.1 million cartons. The forecast is for 23.8 million cartons of peaches, 21.3 million cartons of nectarines and 11.5 million cartons of plums. The Packer 4/30/08

 

Water:

 

*Delta canal measure put on hold -- An Assembly committee on Tuesday shelved legislation to build a canal around the suffering Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, telling the bill's author to try again next year. Two years in the making, Senate Bill 27 tackled a subject so politically charged that author Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, carefully avoided using the "P" word – Peripheral Canal – as he presented the bill as a way to shore up state water supplies without harming the environment. Sacramento Bee 4/30/08

 

Bio-fuels:

 

*Ethanol maker has new plant -- Pacific Ethanol Inc.'s newest plant increases the Sacramento company's production capacity by 60 percent at a time when some analysts believe there's a supply glut. The plan becomes the company's third wholly owned facility at a time when many ethanol companies are struggling, including Pacific Ethanol, because a surplus of supply has depressed prices and profits. Pacific Ethanol's strategy is to expand so it can lock up much of the West before the market is saturated. Sacramento Bee 4/30/08

 

Health:

 

Fast-food laden areas less healthy -- Where people live affects their risk of obesity or diabetes, especially if their neighborhoods lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables, a new statewide report shows. The greater an area's ratio of junk food to nutritious food, the less healthy residents its are. CC Times 4/30/08

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 30

Infrastructure:

 

*Capitol Corridor gets $1.9M for security -- The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, which operates the popular Capitol Corridor commuter rail system connecting the Sacramento and San Jose areas via the East Bay, has received $1.9 million to upgrade its security systems. The allocation came from California Homeland Security, part of a $15 million effort this year to improve passenger rail safety statewide. Funds are coming from Proposition 1B, the $20 billion transportation package approved by state voters in November 2006. BizJournals 4/30/08

 

Judge OKs part of S.F. bike safety plan -- A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Tuesday rejected San Francisco's request for broad discretion in implementing roadway improvements aimed at making travel safer for bicyclists, but did give the OK to make lane and traffic signal modifications at the notoriously dangerous intersection of Fell Street and Masonic Avenue. The city was in court seeking exemptions from an injunction that bars implementation of the 2004 San Francisco Bicycle Plan, a blueprint adopted by the mayor and the Board of Supervisors that calls for the creation of more bike lanes, bike rack installations and similar projects. SF Chronicle 4/30/08

 

Caltrans says spike in roadway metal thefts endangers public -- A spike in roadway metal thefts, from copper wiring in traffic signals and street lights to guard rails, has state highway officials warning of dangers to the public. Caltrans and other officials say they are concerned broken traffic signals and poor lighting could increase crashes and impede emergency responders. SJ Mercury 4/30/08

 

Governor boosts deficit forecast to $20 billion as he bids to change state's spending system -- In a startling revelation, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said this week that the state's budget deficit could grow to as much as $20 billion as he prepared to unveil a revised spending plan for the coming year that is likely to include deep cuts in education, health services and prisons. SF Chronicle 4/30/08

 

Air regulation:

 

A Dirty Trucking Industry Is Trying to Clean Up Its Act  -- For years, dirty air has pitted Port of Oakland area residents against truck drivers, many of whom are immigrants working long hours for low wages. But over the past year, groups as diverse as the Teamsters, the National Resources Defense Council and the American Lung Association have joined community members and truck drivers to form the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports to take on the broader culprit: an unsustainable trucking system. Alternet 4/30/08

 

Methane to power vehicles, not pollute air -- Methane percolating out of the Altamont Landfill near Livermore could soon fuel the garbage trucks that dump trash at the site. Waste Management, North America's largest garbage hauling company, today will announce plans to turn gas from the landfill's rotting contents into a transportation fuel. SF Chronicle 4/30/08

 

Water ballast:

 

*US proposes new ballast water laws -- BALLAST water thresholds allowed under US law could be ratcheted up to a level 100 times more stringent than International Maritime Organization standards after 2011, under a new US initiative currently taking shape. Some experts speculate that the US law, if passed, might result in the IMO convention itself becoming irrelevant, as it is yet to be ratified by the US and has not secured the required support among other nations to enforce it internationally. The US developments are being welcomed as they would bring the US in line with current IMO standards, as well as pre-empt and override state-level regulations. California is among jurisdictions that have introduced regional regulations. Lloyd's List 4/30/08

 

Senate panel passes MARPOL Annex VI measure -- The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee last week approved legislation cosponsored by Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to amend the Maritime Pollution (MARPOL) Act. The "MARPOL Annex VI Implementation Act of 2008" (H.R. 802), would amend the "MARPOL Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships" by requiring the U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer and enforce vessel air emission standards. Marine Log 4/28/08

 

Air travel:

 

United Airlines became the latest victim of the airline industry's woes. The airline's parent company reported a larger-than-expected loss in the first quarter, sending its stock into a tailspin. UAL also said it would cut capacity by 9% this year, on top of a 5% reduction in the fourth quarter of 2007, and remove as many as 15 more narrow-body aircraft from its operating fleet, for a total of 30 grounded planes. Heavily traveled "shuttle" markets, such as L.A.-San Francisco are prime targets for schedule cuts, analysts said. LA Times 4/23/08

Agriculture Daily News April 29

Food:

 

*Study links 'food environment' to diabetes, obesity -- In communities with an abundance of fast-food outlets and convenience stores, researchers have found, obesity and diabetes rates are much higher than in areas where fresh fruit and vegetable markets and full-service grocery stores are easily accessible. The new study builds on research released a year ago that found California has four times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as grocery stores and produce vendors. The average California adult has more than four times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores near their home as grocery stores and produce vendors. Sacramento Bee 4/29/08

 

 

Agriculture:

 

*November initiative targets farm animal housing -- Voters will decide on an animal welfare ballot initiative in November that, if  passed,  would require farmers to provide enough space for breeding sows, veal calves and laying hens to turn around and stretch their limbs. Critics of the proposal say it would effectively require egg farmers to switch to cage-free barns or move their operations out of California. Farmers say the measure won't make egg farming more humane, but will make California's eggs more expensive and less safe. Inside Bay Area 4/28/08

 

Labor:

 

U.S. push to get more farmworkers in visa plan draws criticism -- Less than 1 percent of California's farmworkers are on H-2A visas that allow them to enter and exit the country freely. The Bush administration has promised to get tougher on illegal immigration and is trying to cajole American agribusiness to use the H-2A program instead of hiring undocumented workers. . To that end, the administration in February proposed H-2A changes it ideally wants finalized by the end of summer. Labor unions and California farmers object, though, saying many changes would make the program worse. Sacramento Bee 4/29/08

 

Organic:

 

*Suit accuses cosmetic makers of organic ruse -- Monday, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps filed a lawsuit charging many of its competitors with deceptively marketing their soaps and lotions. In the suit, Dr. Bronner's accused the firms of false advertising by labeling products "organic" that contain relatively little organic material, that contain synthetic chemicals, or that use petrochemicals in processing. There are no federal regulations governing either natural or organic personal care products. SF Chronicle 4/29/08

 

Water:

 

Bill to expand smelt hatchery draws fire -- A southern San Joaquin Valley lawmaker wants to help restore the endangered Delta smelt by dramatically increasing a tiny hatchery operation in the Delta town of Byron, but the proposal has drawn immediate fire from the environmental community. State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has sponsored a bill to use $5 million in water-bond funds to help the state Department of Water Resources expand hatchery operations for the little fish, possibly on Stockton's Rough and Ready Island. Critics worry that the plan would be misspent energy. Stockton Record 4/29/08

 

Biofuel:

 

Jet Fuel From Garbage -- A Washington, D.C.-based company is in the preliminary stages of developing a $250 million plant in California to make jet fuel out of garbage, manure and tree bark. Solena Group hopes to build the plant in Gilroy, Calif. and will use raw material from municipal, agricultural and forestry waste supplied by Norcal Waste Systems, one of California’s largest municipal waste and biomass collectors. AVWeb 4/29/08

 

Transporation Daily News April 29

Public transport:

 

*MUNI Announces Partnership With Google -- San Francisco's MUNI is partnering with Google to help riders get around the city, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday. Potential passengers can plan routes by visiting the Google Maps Website and clicking on a public transit link. Google has also incorporated other Bay Area transit systems into it's mapping technology including Caltrain and BART. KCBS 4/24/08

 

A Federal Transit Administration ruling stops County Connection from providing free shuttles to and from the Concord BART station. The shuttle, which serves between 300 and 700 people per concert, started when the pavilion opened in 1975. Not charging the fee could jeopardize federal funding that County Connection relies on for replacing its 131 buses as they bread down. CC Times 4/29/08

 

Infrastructure:

 

*California to Receive Federal Gas Tax Money to Implement Tolls -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday joined US Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters to announce that his state could receive millions in federal gas tax funding if it agreed to take away existing freeway lanes and convert them into toll lanes. Motorists across the nation would foot the $213 million bill for the proposal, paid out of funds originally earmarked for New York City's failed congestion pricing experiment. The benefit, however, would go to non-drivers as the proposal adds no new capacity to the highways. Profit from the new driving tax would instead be diverted into funding an expansion of bus service in the city. The Newspaper 4/29/08

 

Report calls for national gas tax hike to fix ailing roadways -- The Urban Land Institute issued a report today, the second this year, to push for more funds to improve interstate roads, state highways and city streets.  The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission in January also called for raising funds by hiking the gas tax. California faces around a $16 billion annual shortfall to upgrade its roads. SJ Mercury 4/29/08

 

CARB: Railyards Cleanup On Schedule, But Risk Remains -- As of this month, idle-reduction devices are on 97 percent of Union Pacific and BNSF intrastate locomotives in California, and the state should be able to reach its goal of 99 percent compliance on all locomotives by the end of June, according to a new California Air Resources Board report. The progress report on implementation of the agency's 2005 Railyard Statewide Agreement also states that California's 97 percent compliance is miles ahead of other states when it comes to idle-reduction device retrofits. Nationally, only 44 percent of trains have the devices. Cunningham Report 4/28/08

 

Air travel:

 

Airlines balk at cost of Sacramento airport expansion plan -- With a major expansion at Sacramento International Airport mere months away, local officials are pitted against angry airline executives in a debate over costs. Airlines, already stressed by high fuel prices and other financial woes, complain that airport officials are gouging them by designing an overly expensive terminal and ordering them to pay the biggest part of the bill – probably about half. Sacramento Bee 4/28/08

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 28

As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist the country's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the country's 95,000 miles of coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al-Qaida's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success." To reduce the potential for such an attack in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security has developed a new strategy intended to increase security by enhancing safety standards. The Coast Guard is part of the department. On Monday officials will announce the plan, which asks states to develop and enforce safety standards for recreational boaters and asks them to look for and report suspicious behavior on the water. Contra Costa Times 4/28/08

Guiding ships through the San Francisco Bay, with its bridges and treacherous currents, is a high-stakes business. But the board that oversees the ship pilots who ply these waters is a low-profile state agency that has operated largely under the radar for decades. The Board of Pilot Commissioners answers officially to the governor, who appoints its members, but has no formal mechanism or timeline for doing do. While its meetings are open to the public, it has not submitted a report to the governor since 1957. But State legislators want to bring new accountability and transparency to the board following last fall's incident, and the resulting spill of 53,000 gallons of toxic fuel into the San Francisco Bay. Lawmakers are considering two separate bills that would force the board to answer to the Legislature. CC Times 4/28/08

 

Feeling the political heat, San Francisco's elected supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom are looking to put the brakes on a plan to add $10 to parking fines in the city. What they have yet to figure out is how they would balance the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's $787 million budget without that extra revenue, estimated at $12 million or more a year. SF Chronicle 4/28/08

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his opposition to Proposition 98 on Friday, saying the June 3 ballot measure threatened to undermine public works projects by restricting the government's ability to exercise eminent domain. An analysis of the measure by the Institute for Justice, a Libertarian group from Arlington, Va., however concluded that "traditional uses of eminent domain for public use will not be affected. Roads and bridges will be built. Water projects such as drainage ditches, sewers, reservoirs, dams, drinking water and irrigation have long been accepted as public uses, and that will not change under Prop. 98." The state Transportation Commission has opposed the measure, saying it would ultimately delay projects, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has also voiced opposition. LA Times 4/26/08

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday the state budget deficit will be "probably more than $10 billion" in the next fiscal year as the state takes in lower than expected revenues in a flagging economy. A $10 billion gap would be at least $1 billion more than previously predicted for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Sacramento Bee 4/25/08

 

Some drivers think Fresno is doing more than just enforcing once-neglected speed laws. They think the city is setting speed traps. And the National Motorist Association, which calls itself a grass-roots organization and operates the Web site speedtrap.org, calls Fresno the California city most likely to use deception to catch speeding motorists. Tricking motorists is also against a state law that says officers must wear a "full distinctive uniform," and if they are using a patrol vehicle, it must be painted a "distinctive color." But the law doesn't explicitly prohibit radar enforcement in concealed locations. Fresno Bee 4/26/08

 

A new report paints an ugly picture of gridlock on roadways from Albany to Marin County if a small Indian tribe wins the rights to build a Las Vegas-style casino in unincorporated North Richmond. CC Times 4/27/08

 

Agriculture Daily News April 28

The climbing global price of rice and other staples shows no sign of leveling off, given caps placed on exports and various supply-side squeezes. As a result, food experts predict hunger and poverty in poor nations along with a restricted supply of grains coupled with rising prices in this country. The shortage reflects restrictions on exports by major rice producers, notably India, Vietnam and Egypt, followed on Wednesday by Brazil, causing imbalance in world markets. By comparison, there is an abundance of medium- and short-grain rice planted in California, the nation's second-largest rice-producing state after Arkansas. California growers will harvest approximately 4 billion pounds this year, with 40 percent of the crop to be exported, the majority to Japan. SF Chronicle 4/25/08

 

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California may enact a fishing ban in a network of protected marine areas that cover 80 square miles of coastal waters stretching from Half Moon Bay to Mendocino, following a recommendation this week from a state task force. The governor's Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force released its plan Wednesday, urging the creation of 24 protected areas where fishing and seafood harvesting would be restricted or banned in state waters within three miles of shore. The aim is to protect diminishing populations of rock fish, sea lions, abalone, birds, and other aquatic life. Inside Bay Area 4/25/08

 

About 80 square miles from Santa Cruz to Mendocino County could fall under the most severe restrictions, including many areas on the North Coast that are beloved by abalone divers, fishermen, kayakers and others. Passed in 1999, the legislation envisions a network of protected marine areas from Mexico to Oregon. Press Democrat 4/25/08

 

The compromise plan calls for a network of new state marine preserves, parks and conservation areas that form the core of an ambitious plan ordered by state lawmakers in a bid to reverse plunging fish populations. Fishing would be banned in marine preserves, and restricted to varying degrees in conservation areas. SJ Mercury 4/24/08

Hoping to engineer their way out of a salmon crisis, wildlife agencies are manipulating the natural rhythms of the species to an unprecedented degree in hopes of producing more fish. California has long trucked most of its young hatchery salmon around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to avoid losing them to pumps, poisons and predators. This year, under pressure from fishing groups, it will truck nearly all of them – nearly 17 million salmon smolts. The state-bred salmon are being tracked to see if they are pushing out wild salmon. Sacramento Bee 4/25/08

 

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The best hope for cold-water chinook salmon to survive global warming may be near sweltering Fresno -- in the San Joaquin River, where salmon have been extinct for 60 years. That's the latest twist in the long-running debate over restoring the San Joaquin, a project that will begin in less than 18 months. Farmers, forced by legal settlement to give up irrigation water for the project, are skeptical about the claim. They see global warming as a reason to reconsider the half-billion-dollar restoration. Warmer conditions will kill the restored fish runs, they say. Fresno Bee 4/27/08

 

Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc. said an early Easter, cost cutting and strong performance from its Lifestyles stores helped the company post solid financial results for its first quarter and beat analysts' expectations. Many retailers have reported that the recent economic concerns have compelled consumers to spend less, but Safeway still managed to grow sales. Inside Bay Area 4/24/08

 

Soaring food prices and a slumping economy are gobbling up Sonoma County restaurants' profits, forcing them to find creative ways to cut costs and draw in diners. Not only is the number of diners down, but when people do treat themselves to a night out, they're spending less. They're ordering less-expensive entrees, drinking less alcohol and skipping dessert. Press Democrat 4/28/08

 

The debate over the legality of raw milk moves to a San Benito County courtroom today, where a judge could decide whether the state can enforce new regulations that raw milk enthusiasts -- including a producer in Kerman -- say are unwarranted. The outcome could have nationwide implications. The sale of raw milk is legal in 28 states. But supporters fear new limits -- like those proposed in California -- will reduce its availability. Fresno Bee 4/24/08

 

Water authority leaders are praising San Jose residents for cutting back water use in recent years, but they warn that half the city's water supply hinges on fixing levees at the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The San Jose City Council recently met with the Santa Clara Valley Water District board to discuss water supply and delivery challenges. San Jose receives roughly half its water from the delta, and Mayor Chuck Reed said that city officials should prepare to support a potential state bond measure on the November ballot aimed at fortifying the delta. SJ Mercury 4/27/08

 

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his opposition to Proposition 98 on Friday, saying the June 3 ballot measure threatened to undermine public works projects by restricting the government's ability to exercise eminent domain. An analysis of the measure by the Institute for Justice, a Libertarian group from Arlington, Va., however concluded that "traditional uses of eminent domain for public use will not be affected. Roads and bridges will be built. Water projects such as drainage ditches, sewers, reservoirs, dams, drinking water and irrigation have long been accepted as public uses, and that will not change under Prop. 98." The state Transportation Commission has opposed the measure, saying it would ultimately delay projects, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has also voiced opposition. LA Times 4/26/08

 

Schwarzenegger said he was opposing Proposition 98 in part because it might block the building of water projects crucial to farmers and residential users. Sacramento Bee 4/26/08

 

Water and flood-control projects across California could be jeopardized if voters approve a ballot measure to greatly restrict the ability of local governments to take private property, warns a state Department of Water Resources legal analysis. Proposition 98 “could seriously hamstring or thwart future water projects,” state attorney Dave Anderson wrote in a confidential memo to superiors. San Diego Union Tribune 4/25/08

 

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Most Americans want the convenience of e-mail for non-urgent medical issues, but fewer than a third of U.S. doctors use e-mail to communicate with patients, according to recent physician surveys. Some doctors worry it will increase their workload, and most physicians don't get reimbursed for it by insurance companies. Others fear hackers could compromise patient privacy — even though doctors who do e-mail generally do it through password-protected Web sites. AP 4/23/08

 

Transporation Daily News April 24

Train ridership is surging on BART's rail extension to the San Francisco International Airport, nearly five years after the tracks to five new stations opened with far fewer passengers than expected. Average weekday passenger totals on the airport extension increased 16.4 percent, to 35,107 riders a day, from Jan. 1 through March 1, compared with the same months in 2007. SJ Mercury 4/24/08

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top air pollution regulator Wednesday denounced the federal government's proposal to demand higher fuel efficiency in new cars because a 24-word passage written into the Bush administration's 417-page plan would block California's aggressive efforts to enact its own emissions standards. SJ Mercury 4/24/08

 

With the price of regular gasoline creeping toward $4 a gallon, commuters in Davis, North Natomas and Placer County are reporting a shocking sight when the bus pulls up. All the seats are taken. Suddenly, it's standing room only on commuter buses around the region. "I think we're heading for big demand that the region's (bus services are) frankly not ready for," said Sacramento Regional Transit official Mark Lonergan. Sacramento Bee 4/24/08

 

Bay Area commuters are slowly undertaking a revolution in the way they travel, an analysis of data shows. More and more, regional commuters are being turned off by record gas prices and turned on to public transit, ditching cars at home at a higher rate than last year. BART and Caltrain are both operating with record ridership; other public transit agencies — including VTA, the Golden Gate bus and ferry. and ACE train service — experienced a climb in ridership in March as compared with the same time frame last year. Examiner 4/24/08

 

Governors of California, Oregon and Washington Request Congressional Support for Maritime Pollution Prevention Act: “We write to request your support of H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2007. The legislation would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard to issue enforcement regulations for the MARPOL Annex VI, which was approved by the Senate in 2006. Implementing the international treaty amendment is an important first step in protecting the health of our citizens in coastal regions and in expanding international global trade by vessels to and from the United States.” All American Patriots 4/23/08

 

A federal court has denied an appeal by California air quality regulators who sought to force strict environmental fuel regulations on thousands of ships visiting the state's seaports. The fuel regulation request, which the city of Long Beach supported in court, would have required ocean carriers to use low-sulfur fuels in their auxiliary engines within 24 miles of the state's coastline. Press Telegram 4/24/08

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News April 24

The East Bay's largest water supplier is likely to impose mandatory rationing next month that could include higher water rates, limits on outdoor sprinklers or possibly a ban on car washing. Elsewhere in the East Bay, residents are expected to be asked to conserve water voluntarily. SJ Mercury 4/24/08

 

East Bay water managers are mulling a slew of measures - from ordinary bans on car washing to drastic water bill increases - to protect their critically low reservoirs. SF Chronicle 4/24/08

 

A state task force recommended Wednesday a permanent ban on fishing in selected spots of ocean from Mendocino County to Santa Cruz, a move designed to protect 80 square miles of California's most pristine habitat. The proposal by the Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force would protect dozens of species, including rockfish - yellow eye, canary, bocaccio - northern red abalone, seabirds and sea lions and other marine mammals underwater and all along that section of coast. SF Chronicle 4/24/08

 

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The two biggest U.S. warehouse retail chains are limiting how much rice customers can buy because of what Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., called on Wednesday "recent supply and demand trends." The broader chain of Wal-Mart stores has no plans to limit food purchases, however.  USA Rice Federation spokesman David Coia said there is no rice shortage in the United States.  "It's possible that small restaurants and bodega-type neighborhood stores may be purchasing  rice in larger quantities than they do typically to avoid higher prices," Coia said about the warehouse chain restrictions. CC Times 4/24/08

 

On Wednesday, Sam's Club said customers would no longer be allowed to purchase more than four bags of jasmine, basmati or long-grain white rice on each visit. By midafternoon Wednesday, the Costco in Alhambra -- which had not placed limits on purchases -- said it had run out of rice.  LA Times 4/24/08

 

Some Asian restaurants are even reconsidering their longstanding policy of refilling rice bowls for free on the doubling prices of rice. In a valley where nearly 30 percent of residents are of Asian descent, people are increasingly frustrated by the soaring cost of the staple of Asian cuisine. Latino restaurants have been hurt, too, but the price of the standard long-grain rice that is the staple of Mexican diets hasn't gone up nearly as much as the imported aromatics. SJ Mercury 4/24/08

 

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The worst spring cold snap in more than 30 years is threatening to wreak havoc on the wine industry as three recent days of frost have killed grapevine buds up and down the crucial North Coast vineyard region. So far, grape growers estimate that as much as 10 percent of their crops could be lost, an unusual occurrence in an industry that hasn't seen a significant spring frost since the early 1970s. SF Chronicle 4/24/08

Imported food would have to meet domestic U.S. safety standards under a bill Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, introduced Wednesday. Wading into a food fight that has long stymied other lawmakers, Costa and a Republican colleague offered a bill that they said would boost consumer confidence. At least in part, the legislation would lift other states to some food safety standards already imposed in Florida and California. Backed by farm industry groups such as the Western Growers Association and the United Fresh Produce Association, the new bill vies for attention with a more aggressive effort introduced previously by other House Democrats. Sacramento Bee 4/24/08

Agriculture Daily News April 23

Rice, however, is a special case. The rice price increase is a result of a domino effect. Drought in Australia led to a severe decline in rice production, that in turn led the world's largest rice exporters to restrict exports. That spurred higher rice prices and hoarding in Asian countries. Now, in the United States, rice prices have skyrocketed. NBC 4/23/08

 

Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing. Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks, the New York Sun reported on Monday. At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, California, on Sunday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy. Times of India 4/23/08

 

Costco Wholesale Corp. is reportedly moving to ease buying limits some of the chain's managers imposed recently on staples like rice, cooking oil, and flour. The Sun 4/23/08

 

Since January, the price of rice has jumped more than 100 percent around the world, and this means Bay Area stores are now changing policies for their customers. A 20 pound bag of basmati rice at Costco sold for $8.99 just two months ago. Today it’s nearly doubled at $15.99. KCBS 4/23/08

 

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The rise of community-based farming in the last 20 years has begun to bring consumers closer to farms, and also has given rise to a new breed of farmers. Nevada County is following this trend. In the past five years, several new farms have been established, and a vital new interest in locally grown food has fueled a rising demand for the county's farm-grown products that hardly existed a few years ago. The Union 4/23/08

 

Fewer doctors were disciplined in California in 2007 than the previous year, causing the state to fall in a nationwide ranking a consumer group released Tuesday. California ranked 36th in the nation in disciplinary actions against doctors, which include the revocation, surrender and suspension of medical licenses, according to a report released by Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group. LA Times 4/23/08

 

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is calling on labor unions representing city employees to renegotiate their contracts to help reduce the massive $338 million budget deficit projected for next year. SF Chronicle 4/23/08

 

In a significant reversal, major meat and dairy industry groups backed a total ban on so-called downer cattle from entering the food supply. Calls for such a ban have come from watchdog groups and some lawmakers in the wake of the large beef recall from a Southern California slaughterhouse in February, but the industry had resisted. NY Times 4/23/08

 

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Japan has suspended imports from a California plant of National Beef Packing Co after it found a box including a beef part it bans due to the risk of mad cow disease, a Ministry of Agriculture official said on Wednesday. Reuters 4/23/08

 

The illegal shipment was among 700 packs or 17 tonnes of beef imported through Japanese trading company Itochu last August, the ministry said in a statement. AFP 4/23/08

 

It was found in one of 700 boxes shipped from a plant in California owned by Kansas City-based National Beef, a statement said. USA Today 4/23/08

 

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State agriculture officials are targeting the crop-destroying light brown apple moth next week with pheromone-infused twist ties in areas of Carpinteria. The California Department of Food and Agriculture says the pheromones, which disrupt mating by confusing the moths, will be applied April 30 on fewer than 30 properties northwest of Carpinteria High School. SJ Mercury 4/23/08

 

In a long-awaited decision, a federal court in Fresno found that a 2004 biological opinion by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not adequately protect sensitive fish populations when authorizing long-term operations of the state and federal water projects. The California Farm Bureau Federation was among the organizations that intervened in the case on the side of the water projects and water users. The case is similar to the delta-smelt case, in which CFBF also intervened. Supplies have already been reduced because of last year's ruling to protect delta smelt. The impact of this decision, Chris Scheuring, CFBF managing counsel for the Natural Resources and Environmental Division said, will depend on whether more water must be saved or released for salmon at additional times of the year. California Farm Bureau Federation 4/23/08

 

Transporation Daily News April 23

The pilot of the container ship that struck the Bay Bridge in November and spilled more than 50,000 gallons of fuel oil into San Francisco Bay was charged Tuesday with two felony counts of lying in annual physical exams about the medications he was taking. Cota's lawyer called the new criminal charges "spurious and irrelevant" and said tests conducted two hours after the accident found that Cota had not been under the influence of alcohol or drugs. SF Chronicle 4/23/08

 

Tucked deep into a 417-page "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" for the Bush administration announced proposed regulations was language by the Transportation Department stating that more stringent limits on tailpipe emissions embraced by California and 17 other states are "an obstacle to the accomplishment" of the new federal standards and are "expressly and impliedly preempted" by federal law. California Attorney General Jerry Brown called it a covert assault on California's rules. Environmentalists said the language will be used by automakers in their legal challenges to two recent federal court rulings that sided with the states. SF Chronicle 4/23/08

 

If the very first “community meeting” about the Transit Effectiveness Project – a proposed massive 5 year overhaul of MUNI – is heavily structured and organized from the top down, that’s because organizers know that any meeting about MUNI is, right from the get go, about damage control. There’s something a little odd about the premise of these meetings, the first of which was held Saturday at the West Portal Elementary School. MUNI is presenting its proposed changes to the public … while claiming that it’s doing exactly what the public told it to. SF Weekly Blog 4/23/08

 

AC Transit officials, faced with ballooning fuel and labor costs, are looking to balance the budget with a fare increase. Agency administrators have proposed a variety of options to boost revenue at the fare box, including hiking the regular cash fare for adults to $2, a 25 cent increase, and nearly doubling the cost of a monthly youth pass to $28. SF Chronicle 4/23/08

 

The California Air Resources Board will meet in Oakland at 9 a.m. Thursday to discuss a study that found West Oakland residents face a higher risk of getting cancer because of diesel air pollution from trucks, cars, ships and rail lines. Inside Bay Area 4/23/08

 

The Planning Commission will decide tonight whether to approve the final piece of a transit-oriented project adjacent to the future West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station along Interstate 580. San Diego-based Windstar Communities is proposing a mixed-use development with two apartment buildings totaling 350 residential units and 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail on the Pleasanton parcel. Inside Bay Area 4/23/08

 

Opportunities In Transporation Infrastructure Conference: A roster of over 45 distinguished presenters will be led by Keynote Speaker, David Crane, the Special Advisor to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ("California's $500 Billion Infrastructure Challenge") and will spotlight a variety of state "gatekeepers" from the public sector, ranging from victorious transportation trailblazers (Virginia & Texas), current and innovative players (Pennsylvania and New Jersey) and those states who are now prepared to explore mutually beneficial partnerships with the private sector (Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado) in order to secure the essential rehabilitation -- and renaissance -- of the nation's infrastructure. Marketwire 4/22/08

 

More Californians visited Hawaii in 2007 than visitors from any other state. Of the 7.3 million visitors last year, 1.9 million were from the Golden State, according to a visitor count released Tuesday by the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Bizjournals 4/23/08

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News April 22

The chief executive officer of Costco Wholesale Corp said on Tuesday that the warehouse club operator has seen some unusual demand in certain of its stores for items like rice and flour. James Sinegal, Costco's chief executive officer, told Reuters in an interview that the retailer had seen the increased demand in the past week and a half, and some of its stores, including certain locations in California's Bay Area, had put limits on the sales of these items. Reuters 4/22/08

 

A new report says California farmers are planting more crops that offer higher returns and require less irrigation to cope with water shortages this year. Officials with the Westlands Water District, a coalition of giant farms in the San Joaquin Valley, say their members have let one-third of their land go fallow this year because of the water cutbacks. The report by the federal government says farmers are planting almost 50 percent fewer acres of Upland cotton, while winter wheat acreage is up 20 percent and barley is up 53 percent. Contra Costa Times 4/21/08

…

A San Joaquin Valley lawmaker wants to ease restrictions on water supplies by boosting the number of endangered fish raised in hatcheries. State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, introduced his bill to do that in response to a court ruling last year that cut the amount of water available for pumping out of the Delta by as much as one-third to protect Delta smelt. His idea is to raise enough fish to remove Delta smelt from the list of threatened and endangered species, which would eliminate the endangered species law mandate to protect the fish from Delta pumps. CC Times 4/22/08

 

Sens. Dean Florez and Darrell Steinberg say those cuts might not be needed if the Department of Fish and Game can boost the fish's numbers by breeding it in its habitat. SJ Mercury 4/22/08

 

The Delta Smelt Preservation and Restoration Act with the primary goal of building at least one hatchery by 2011 to breed the fish. LA Times Blog 4/22/08

…

A long, steady rise in life expectancy in the United States apparently isn't being shared by everyone, and hasn't been for years, according to a new study. California, by and large, fared well in the national analysis. In nearly all counties in the state, the life expectancy for men and women increased during the 40-year period. The concentration of counties in the southern and eastern portions of the country with less-favorable trends tend to be lower-income areas that also have a higher concentration of obesity and tobacco-related illnesses. SF Chronicle 4/22/08

 

Bon Appétit Management Co. rolled out its new Low Carbon Diet in 400 cafes it runs at university and corporate campuses around the country. A sign at one California university read, "Cows or cars? Worldwide, livestock emits 18% of greenhouse gases, more than the transportation sector!” The country's major food service companies are talking about energy efficiency, waste reduction and, now, how to reduce carbon emissions associated with the food they serve. LA Times 4/22/08

 

This year, for the third time in a row, President Bush has not included the Commodity Supplemental Food Program in his budget. The administration says the program, which provides funding for agencies like the Food Bank, is "duplicative" because the seniors could use food stamps instead. In California (and some other states), those seniors who get SSI (Supplemental Security Income) cannot receive food stamps. SF Chronicle 4/22/08

 

Sacramento Valley farmers are calculating the damage from unusually cold spring weather that destroyed some crops in the bud.  Sutter County Agriculture Commissioner Mark Quisenberry says farmers are reporting losses in walnuts, canning tomatoes, peaches, pears and prunes. The county's prune crop, California's largest, was hit hardest.  SJ Mercury 4/22/08

 

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, the wine regulatory arm of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is mulling regulations that could force all makers of alcoholic beverages to list serving sizes, alcohol content, calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein and potential allergens on the label. The Wine Institute, the lobbying arm of the California wine industry, says it will be hard to comply with the regulations. The group also notes that fitting all the required information on existing labels would be difficult and might require an expensive shift to other kinds of bottles. Connecticut Post 4/22/08

 

Coinciding with the launch of mosquito season, the California State Legislature declared the week of April 21 to April 25, 2008 West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness Week in California. PR News Wire 4/21/08

 

Twist Tie Treatments Scheduled to Combat Light Brown Apple Moth Infestation in Santa Barbara County View this CDFA Press Release 4/21/08

 

IRWM Grant Program Workshops: The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has scheduled three workshops to inform interested stakeholders about the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) program as funded by Propositions 84 and 1E. Press Release 4/18/08

 

Transporation Daily News April 22

The pilot of the container ship that spilled 53,000 gallons of fuel oil into San Francisco Bay is expected to be slapped with two new felony charges, his attorney said in a court filing Monday.  In his latest court filing, Cota's lawyer, Jeff Bornstein, said he expects two felony false statement charges to be filed as early Tuesday. CC Times 4/22/08

 

Automakers would have to meet a fuel economy standard of 31.6 miles per gallon for cars and trucks by 2015, under a proposal that federal regulators are set to unveil Tuesday. The standards for vehicles built from 2011 to 2015 are more aggressive than some observers expected, and raise the possibility that the government could require U.S. automakers to meet the 35 mpg target they agreed to last year ahead of the 2020 deadline. What's not clear is whether the federal standard will be in competition with those set by states such as California, which has attempted to set greenhouse gas limits on vehicles that would result in even tougher mileage standards. USA Today 4/22/08

 

Short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded Tuesday. SF Chronicle 4/22/08

 

Despite numerous efforts to green San Francisco’s vehicle fleet — which this year is expected to guzzle more than $20 million in fuel — less than 30 percent used by city departments are running on alternative fuels, according to City Administrator’s Office data. Since becoming mayor, Gavin Newsom has emphasized greening The City’s fleet. In September 2005, he issued an executive directive establishing requirements for city fleets to purchase vehicles using alternative fuels. Departments, however, continue to purchase unleaded-fuel vehicles. SF Examiner 4/22/08

 

There are signs that some drivers are abandoning their cars for the rails and busses as gas prices rise. In San Francisco the average cost of a gallon of gas was $3.47 in January. It now sits at about $4 dollars. That's a 17 percent increase. During that same time VTA ridership has increased 10 percent in the last four months. BART has seen a 4.5 percent rise in riders. Caltrain also reports more passengers, about 10 percent over this time last year. ABC 4/22/08

 

Transporation Daily News April 21

Fresno leaders have long dreamed of merging the city's two main railroads in a single corridor along Highway 99, where the Union Pacific currently runs. Now, planners of California's proposed high-speed rail line are calling the same corridor their preferred local route for a network of 200 mph trains that voters will be asked to approve in November. Fresno Bee 4/20/08

 

Nevada State officials are trying to find a way to save money on thousands of commercial flights that state workers take annually between both ends of Nevada on official business. Nevada purchased 31,460 Southwest Airlines flights between Reno and Las Vegas for a total of $3.1 million in 2007, said Kimberlee Tarter, state deputy purchasing administrator. Las Vegas Review Journal 4/21/08

 

As state lawmakers carry on a raging debate over how to solve California's fiscal crisis, they agree on one thing: The situation is getting worse. The budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1, which was estimated two months ago to be at about $8 billion, is now expected to widen to as much as $14 billion. With the fiscal crisis deepening, many legislators agree that cutting expenses may not be enough by itself to balance the budget, and that generating additional revenue through taxes and/or fees will probably have to be part of the equation. SF Chronicle 4/20/08

 

The bad news comes just two months after the Legislature approved several of the emergency budget proposals by the Governor, that slashed over $7 billion in spending and made other budget changes including borrowing and delays in payments, that brought down the deficit to over $8 billion. California Progress Report 4/21/08

 

The long-planned rollout of the TransLink regional fare card has once again been delayed. The prepaid fare card, which transit leaders hope could one day be used on more than two dozen transit systems, already is accepted on AC Transit and the Golden Gate ferries and buses. But plans for wider use have fallen behind schedule for the three big agencies next in line. The regional agency in charge of the TransLink project, has pushed back the estimated start date for the San Francisco Municipal Railway and Caltrain to July 15 and for BART to Sept. 25. SF Chronicle 4/18/08

 

As NavisWorld 08 is being staged in San Francisco this week, shippers here are asking a lot of questions about North America’s fourth largest ocean gateway across the bay and its strategic direction to accommodate growth. On the eve of this important “port and terminal technology” conference, LM was given an exclusive interview with The Port of Oakland’s maritime director, James Kwon, who tried to provide insight as well as answers. Logistics Management 4/21/08

 

In an editorial, the SF Chronicle gets behind High Speed Rail, saying, “Our skepticism about the rail measure remains. It's going to be an extraordinarily expensive project, with costs projected to be at least $40 billion. Still, with a troubled national airline system, $4-a-gallon gas, and even President Bush offering goals to combat climate change, the rail system is a risk we can't afford to not take.” 4/20/08

 

California High Speed Rail Blog checks their facts. 4/20/08

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News April 21

As word of food riots and export shutdowns in Asia reached California in recent weeks, worried shoppers have been buying up hundreds of pounds of rice at a time from the Asian supermarkets that line Stockton Boulevard, looking for security against rising prices. In recent weeks, the retail price for a 50-pound sack of Thai jasmine rice, the prized variety served steamed in Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, has risen from roughly $20 to $40, straining budgets for families and restaurants. Spot-market prices for bulk California rice are up 50 percent since February, to about $20 for 100 pounds. Sacramento Bee 4/19/08

…

Proposition 98, backed by the California Farm Bureau Federation and an anti-tax group, would prohibit governments from seizing property, including farmland, for private use. But some farm groups – including the Fresno-based Nisei Farmers League and Western Growers Association – fear the measure would block use of eminent domain for construction of long-sought pipelines, canals and reservoirs, including one targeted for east of Fresno. Sacramento Bee 4/21/08

 

California voters face dueling measures on home seizure by eminent domain LA Times 4/20/08

…

The full effects of the one-year salmon fishing ban will not be known immediately. Much depends on the size of the Alaskan harvest, how that state's industry prices its top-grade salmon and whether consumers will swallow premiums. Still, restaurants and supermarkets could be pressed to find appealing substitutes to satisfy palates and pocketbooks of customers who savor right-off-the-boat king salmon. Mike Plotnick, a fisheries research analyst with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said sockeye salmon anglers could reel in the eighth-largest harvest on record, though. San Diego Union Tribune 4/21/08

 

Global warming could put the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under much deeper water than previously estimated. A panel appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is urging him to prepare for a sea level rise of 55 inches in the Delta by the end of this century. That's a lot more water than any estimates currently in use by the state. The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, in fact, found during its research that many state agencies still have no target number at all to plan for sea level rise. Sacramento Bee 4/20/08

 

In a scenario that seems unthinkable in the age of antibiotics, the nation's tuberculosis doctors and health workers are considering the tactics of another era - discussing the use of public health laws and sealed wards to isolate some TB patients, the way doctors once separated people with leprosy, plague and yellow fever to halt epidemics. There have been about 50 cases of XDR TB in the United States since 1993, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but California has had 19, according to the California Department of Public Health, including several in the Bay Area. SJ Mercury 4/20/08

 

Midwestern growers of commodities such as corn and grain have been able to absorb the cost hikes of growing fertilizer prices as their crops fetched higher prices. But growers in California, the nation's leading agriculture state, have yet to see retail prices increase for the fruits and vegetables that dominate their farms. long with soaring labor, water and fuel costs, increasing fertilizer costs have been draining farmers' savings and will probably lead to higher prices for fruits and vegetables to go with separate increases in meat, poultry and dairy products. SJ Mercury 4/20/08

 

The East County cities of Antioch, Oakley and Brentwood have become the epicenter of the county's foreclosure crisis, and are now recognized as ground zero for West Nile prevention because of the area's warmer temperatures and abundance of abandoned homes. Oakley was also the locus of the county's three reported cases of West Nile in 2007. CC Times 4/19/08

 

The new five-year farm bill under negotiation may spend a few million dollars saving bees, but definitely will spend billions on farm subsidy policies that contribute to their destruction. SF Chronicle 4/19/08

 

Local salmon is off the menu. Fresh crab is getting scarce. And now the food perhaps most synonymous with San Francisco itself is taking a hit. Sourdough bread, the legendary staple of the original Forty-Niners, may be headed for luxury status. An unprecedented spike in the cost of flour has meant prices for sourdough and other locally baked breads are surging. SF Chronicle 4/21/08

 

In Lean Times, Biotech Grains Are Less Taboo NY Times 4/21/08

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 18

There is a growing Bay Area population that lives in a transit village, a term coined to describe high-density housing within easy walking distance of train and bus stops. Long touted by city planners as the cure for everything from sprawl to obesity, they're now being built across the region. "There's no silver bullet in all this, but transportation accounts for 50 percent of the carbon emissions in the Bay Area," said James Corless, a planner with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees the region's transportation projects. "If you don't change land-use patterns so that people need their cars less, it's harder to make an impact." SF Chronicle 4/18/08

 

Some travelers at Los Angeles International Airport will be searched for weapons and explosives using a new scanner that peers through their clothes and creates an image of the person's body, federal officials announced Thursday. The sophisticated technology, called millimeter wave imaging, may prove to be a more effective way to check travelers for guns, knives, bombs and other dangerous materials than pat-down searches. LA Times 4/18/08

 

In honor of Earth Day, April 22, the Las Vegas Monorail Company is promoting the electric, zero-emissions transportation system to eco-minded Las Vegas visitors as an alternative to traditional automobile and mass transit. Savvy travelers can support an earth-friendly initiative to reduce traffic and pollution simply by riding the Monorail to reach their destinations along the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. Business Wire 4/18/08

 

Capitol Weekly this week has a whole host of commentary concerning High Speed Rail, including:

 

An opinion by Judge Quentin Kopp of the High Speed Rail Commission. It starts, “A dozen nations enjoy state-of-the-art, safe, high-speed trains that move people and products faster than we do at a fraction of the cost, pollution and hassle. It's been 10 years since California started developing our own system. Since then, traffic congestion and air-pollution have increased while gas prices have soared.”

 

…and another pro-HSR report  by Jim Costa:  “California saw unparalleled growth over the last sixty years, and we are now projected to have a state population of 50 million by 2030. Throughout this population explosion, the state expanded the freeway system and built new airports, but rail did not see the expansion and improvements that road and air travel did in the United States. Today, California has an opportunity to be a national leader in transportation by constructing an inter-modal high-speed rail system which would significantly enhance, and therefore improve our roads and airports.”

 

…as well as yesterday's article that talks about PPP in HSR.

Agriculture Daily News April 18

State scientists are recommending that children and women who are pregnant or breast-feeding avoid eating bass and sturgeon caught in the Sacramento River and upper Delta because of mercury contamination. This warning is the latest in a series of advisories issued over the years for fish that can accumulate mercury washed from long- abandoned gold mines. Sacramento Bee 4/18/08

…

 The Sudden oak death epidemic that has killed more than a million trees throughout coastal California started in two sites: Scotts Valley and on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, a new genetic analysis reveals. Through genetic detective wok, scientists found that pathogens at both locations — separated by 62 miles — share identical DNA footprints, indicating that they are related, probably through the nursery trade, said lead investigator Matteo Garbelotto of the University of California Berkeley. SJ Mercury 4/17/08

 

Scientists also now think the killer organism, which they suspect rode in on nonnative nursery plants, eventually was carried by humans to the two ground zero zones. SF Chronicle 4/17/08

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Thousands of people whose policies were canceled by California health insurers will have a chance to win back their coverage and be reimbursed for outstanding medical bills, the Schwarzenegger administration announced Thursday. Cindy Ehnes, the director of the Department of Managed Health Care, said she would reopen policies dropped over the last four years by the state's five major insurers and submit them for reconsideration to an independent arbiter. LA Times 4/18/08

 

Policy rescissions differ from cancellations. When a policy is rescinded, the plan has no obligation to pay current claims, leaving patients with potentially devastating medical bills for care already provided. Cancellations are more likely to occur after claims are paid, she said. Sacramento Bee 4/18/08

…

The United Farm Workers union has signed an agreement with a Mexican state to help recruit guest workers to labor on U.S. farms legally – and under union contract. The agreement was signed in early April in the western state of Michoacan, which has a long history of migration to California and is governed by the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution. Sacramento Bee 4/18/08

 

Late Thursday, House and Senate negotiators were set to all but complete the specialty crop sections of a new farm bill. Fruit and vegetable growers will see new grants, more research and increased federal snack purchases. But there's still conflict. Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan insisted on including $15 million to assist California, Michigan and Washington state asparagus producers hurt by competition with South American countries. In U.S. asparagus growing regions, the money sounds pretty good. The Bush administration, though, considers the funding a slap at international trading partners such as Peru. Modesto Bee 4/18/08

 

Once, vintners welcomed the invention of chemical sprays as a godsend against pests. But the chemicals also killed off natural enemies of the pests, a group of good, predatory insects and bugs. More vintners now consider these beneficial bugs their allies. Grape growers are creating sustainable habitats for them and taking a more nuanced approach to managing pests. More holistic pest management is now an important part of a vintner's education. SF Chronicle 4/18/08

 

The Bush administration Thursday resisted calls from Congress to add more inspectors and new technologies to oversee slaughterhouses, saying neither was necessary to do the job adequately. LA Times 4/18/08

 

Lawmakers stunned by a dramatic jump in federal spending on wildfires say they have found a way to pay for the next disaster. A bill approved Thursday by the House Natural Resources Committee would set aside up to $1 billion to pay for fighting major wildfires such as those that devastated Southern California last fall. AP 4/18/08

 

Transporation Daily News April 17

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking to business leaders while being dogged by protesters Wednesday, continued tweaking his rhetoric on what it will take to close the state's $8 billion budget deficit. This, combined with his past comments — such as last week, when he said that lawmakers must be "very creative" in finding revenue for the state — implied a softening in the staunch anti-tax stance he has taken in the past. CC Times 4/17/08

 

The high speed rail  project has been met with opposition from environmentalists on the left and some on the right who want there to be a private investment component to the plan. Caught in the middle is the Legislature and the five-year old state budget crisis. Since 2004, the Legislature has exercised its right to shove the bond proposal off the ballot, in hopes of waiting for a rosier set of fiscal circumstances to increase the chances voters would open their wallets for the proposal. Capitol Weekly 4/17/08

 

The Senate on Wednesday turned aside an amendment that tried to eliminate earmarks from a highway bill, including $45 million to support a magnetic levitation train project in Las Vegas. Senators voted 78-18 to defend the bill that was supposed to fix minor technical errors in a highway bill Congress passed three years ago. The bill has sparked major debate over spending and gasoline taxes among other issues. Las Vegas Review Journal 4/17/08

 

Some 500 preservationists will be coming to Napa next week for a four-day conference, with local wineries, homes and commercial buildings playing a starring role.The California Preservation Foundation will use the Napa Valley as a backdrop for “Balance and Complexity: The Vineyard and Beyond,” which will include 30 workshops and tours about preserving the state’s cultural heritage, said Cindy Heitzman, the foundation’s executive director. A panel discussion will focus on the debate over tourism. The conversation will contrast St. Helena, which is trying to cap the influence of tourists, with Napa, which is trying to draw visitors to downtown St. Helena Star  4/17/08

 

 

Agriculture Daily News April 17

The federal permit meant to protect the most imperiled salmon runs in California rivers where other salmon populations are collapsing is illegal, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. It was the second time in a year that U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger struck down a permit meant to shield fish from the effects of California's water delivery systems. The permit struck down was issued in 2004 under questionable circumstances: Although scientists in the National Marine Fisheries Service concluded that the conditions it laid out would allow water operations to threaten two salmon runs and steelhead with extinction, that conclusion was overturned by James Lecky, now the Bush administration's top official overseeing marine endangered species. Inside Bay Area 4/17/08

 

A federal judge Wednesday invalidated a plan that justified boosted water exports from Northern California, ruling that it failed to account for the effects on endangered salmon and steelhead. U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger of Fresno found that a 2004 study by the National Marine Fisheries Service didn't adequately address global warming, the loss of habitat and other factors that could hurt the fish. LA Times 4/17/08

 

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that water regulators failed to consider the effects of global warming and other environmental issues related to the decline of California salmon populations when they approved increased pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. SF Chronicle 4/17/08

 

DWR Statement in Response to Federal Salmon Decision  DWR Press Release 4/17/08

…

The state plans to spray a pheromone over almost the entire county this summer in an attempt to eradicate the light brown apple moth. But some communities have been slower to condemn the action than the city and county of Santa Cruz, which ended up suing the state in an attempt to stop the spraying until an environmental review is done. That lawsuit will be heard April 24. Instead, community leaders in the San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley and Watsonville are reaching out to residents and pondering what position -- if any -- to take on the state's enlarged spray zone. SJ Mercury 4/17/08

 

The Assembly Agriculture Committee passed two pieces of legislation today authored by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and related to the Light Brown Apple Moth controversy. ACR 117, an Assembly Concurrent Resolution, calls on the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and other relevant state departments to address unresolved health, scientific and efficacy issues surrounding the CDFA’s Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM )eradication plans.  AB 2763, the Invasive Pest Planning Act of 2008 – would require the CDFA to create a list of invasive animals, plants, and insects that have a reasonable likelihood of entering California for which an eradication program might be appropriate. SF Bay Guardian 4/17/08

 

An Assembly committee approved a pair of bills Wednesday that were written in response to public outcry over the state's plans for aerial spraying of a pesticide in the Bay Area to eradicate an invasive moth. SF Chronicle 4/17/08

…

Los Angeles' city attorney has sued the state's largest health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, accusing the company of unlawfully canceling the coverage of thousands of Californians after they filed medical claims. SF Chronicle 4/17/08

 

Rocky Delgadillo said Anthem Blue Cross, its parent company, WellPoint Inc., and another subsidiary illegally revoked the policies of as many as 6,000 members and duped all 500,000 individual policyholders into thinking their coverage would help them if they got sick. SF Chronicle 4/17/08

 

The city attorney is seeking up to $1 billion in fines and restitution from the state's largest health care insurer. International Herald Tribune 4/17/08

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The Bush administration is backing restaurant owners in their challenge to San Francisco's groundbreaking health coverage program before a federal appeals court that will hear the case today. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association is challenging the employer payments at a hearing today before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena. The restaurants will be joined by the U.S. Labor Department in arguing that a local requirement that employers pay for health care violates federal law. SF Chronicle 4/17/08

 

An undercover video by the Humane Society of the United States earlier this year already captured workers at Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. dragging crippled cattle with chains, shocking them with electric prods and shooting streams of water in their faces. But the report by the House Oversight and Government Reform domestic policy subcommittee includes the incidents which were not on the publicly released video. The subcommittee will discuss the report, and how to achieve greater transparency in the meat industry, at a hearing Thursday. AP 4/17/08

 

The Farm Service Agency in California has released an analysis of their 2007 agricultural loan portfolio showing more than $87.3 million was loaned to California farm and ranch operators last year. California Farmer 4/17/08

 

A reaction is building against policies in the United States and Europe to promote ethanol and similar fuels, with political leaders from poor countries contending that these fuels are driving up food prices and starving poor people. In some countries, the higher prices are leading to riots, political instability and growing worries about feeding the poorest people. Work by the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington suggests that biofuel production accounts for a quarter to a third of the recent increase in global commodity prices. A fifth of the nation’s corn crop is now used to brew ethanol for motor fuel, and as farmers have planted more corn, they have cut acreage of other crops, particularly soybeans. NY Times 4/15/08

 

An increase in foreclosures has Contra Costa County Mosquito and Vector Control District worried about a recent rise in abandoned pools, which they see as a gateway to West Nile Virus risks. SJ Mercury 4/17/08

 

California's new director of the Department of Fish and Game is likely to come to the job out of a retirement that lasted only a few months. If confirmed by the state Senate, Donald Koch would lead the agency he served for 30 years. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced Koch's appointment to the $143,000 a year position. Environmental News Wire 4/16/08

 

“King Corn” a recent documentary that looks at the trail corn follows through the US from the field to a number of products, was shown on PBS this week. Slashfood 4/15/08

Agriculture Daily News April 16

Evincii, a software maker, has developed interactive kiosks now found in more than 100 Longs Drugs Stores that allow consumer to search for specific over-the-counter medicines. Evincii's kiosks, mounted near the edge of a store aisle, are an attempt to marry online product research — which most people do at home or work — with the crucial decision making that happens inside a store. The kiosks, called PHARMAssist, work like this: a computer-generated helper introduces itself as "Rex," it asks shoppers a series of questions about their symptoms, medical conditions, and preferences and then comes up with a list of products that all have the same active ingredients. CC Times 4/16/08

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Fish and Game officials on Tuesday reluctantly voted to shelter a diminished population of Sacramento River chinook by barring all ocean salmon fishing in state waters, out three miles from shore. The move follows last week's ban on salmon fishing in the 200-mile swath of federal water off California and Oregon. And on May 9, the state commission is likely to extend the closure to recreational salmon fishing in the Sacramento, American, and other Central Valley rivers. That's never happened before. Sacramento Bee 4/16/08

 

The California Fish and Game Commission has closed commercial and recreational salmon fishing in state-controlled coastal waters, which extend three miles out to sea. The decision, the most restrictive in history, could mean the loss of 2,263 jobs and up to $255 million for commercial and recreational salmon fishing industries. Stockton Record 4/16/08

…

Stanford researchers are participating in a national study to test a new weight-loss therapy that blocks the nerves that tell people when they're hungry and control how the body stores fat. The treatment is considered a less invasive alternative to bariatric surgeries, which typically involve shrinking the stomach by wrapping a tight band around it or bypassing large sections of it and going straight to the rest of the digestive tract. SF Chronicle 4/16/08

 

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The Environmental Protection Agency was lambasted during a Senate hearing Tuesday for allowing the American public to learn that traces of pharmaceuticals are in much of the nation's drinking water from an Associated Press investigative series, not the federal government. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, angrily chided Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA assistant administrator for water, for the agency's failure to require testing for drugs and for public disclosure of test results. SJ Mercury 4/16/08

 

“EPA has failed to require the needed testing to determine the effects of these chemicals at low levels. In 1996, Congress told EPA in the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Food Quality Protection Act to develop a program to identify and address chemicals that harm the natural balance of hormones in our body, called endocrine disrupting chemicals.” –Sen Barbara Boxer Media Newswire 4/16/08

 

Boxer set the critical tone in her opening remarks, when she praised the AP and the U.S. Geological Survey, which has conducted extensive testing, for informing the nation that "our water supplies can contain a mixture of pharmaceuticals. Notice I didn't thank the EPA." AP 4/16/08

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In an opinion piece Secretary Kawamura explains he is trying “to focus on facts, and the fact is: A pheromone is simply a chemical signal that resembles a scent. Pheromone treatments have been used in the United States and around the world in agricultural and urban areas (including residential areas of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin) for well over a decade, without incident. As recently as last year, more than 3 million acres in the United States were aerially treated with moth pheromone to disrupt the mating of gypsy moths.” SF Chronicle 4/16/08

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With the nation's farm bill set to expire only days away on April 18, congressional leaders have been under great pressure to settle unresolved policy and funding issues and move the bill forward. Those close to the debate are on the fence over whether legislators will actually be able to finalize a farm bill by the April 18 deadline. California Farm Bureau Federation 4/16/08

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Farmers across the country are seeing fertilizer price increases caused by several factors, including the booming demand for fertilizer to produce animal feed for rapidly developing nations like India and China, where people are adopting diets richer in meat. But growers in California, the nation's leading agriculture state, have yet to see retail prices increase for the fruits and vegetables that dominate their farms. Canadian Press 4/15/08

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The nation’s food supply is no less a security concern than oil, but it will take a determined effort by agriculture to persuade state and federal government, as well as citizens, to accept the fact. Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, supported that position in remarks at a recent educational symposium held by the California Tree Fruit Agreement in Fresno. Western Farm Press 4/16/08

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Environmental and farmworker advocates have sued the Bush administration for allowing the continued use of four pesticides, saying the government brushed aside its own findings that the chemicals are dangerous to workers, children and wildlife. SF Chronicle 4/8/08

 

A group of farm worker advocates and environmentalists, including the United Farm Workers, the Teamsters, Pesticide Action Network North America, Beyond Pesticides and the Natural Resources Defense Council, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against the Bush administration saying the EPA should not have turned its back on its own findings and allowed pesticides that pose a danger to animals, children and adults to be sprayed on vegetable and fruit crops. Natural News 4/16/08

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Fueled by strong gains in premium California wine volume, California wine sales in the United States increased 2 percent in 2007 from the previous year to a record 457 million gallons (192 million cases), according to the Gomberg-Fredrikson Report. The retail value of these shipments increased 6 percent to $18.9 billion. Goodfruit 4/16/08

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Tight world grain supplies and a weak U.S. dollar have driven up rice prices, boosting optimism among California farmers as they begin to plant their rice crop.  With rice prices continuing to rise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is estimating that California farmers will plant more rice this season. According to the USDA NASS estimate, California growers are expected to plant 549,000 acres of rice this season, up from 533,000 acres in 2007. CFBF 4/16/08

 

California’s $500 million rice industry has had to make at least three fundamental changes in the way the crop has been grown in recent years, and more are in store for the state’s 2,500 producers, according to Tim Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the California Rice Commission (CRC). Like much of California agriculture, Johnson said rice growers face significant competition — not from markets but from available resources like quality air and water. Already on the books is air quality legislation sponsored four years ago by California Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, to improve air quality in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV). Today regulations require farm permits for air quality emissions, phased down agricultural burning in the entire SJV, mandated farm management plans, and mandatory best available control measures. Western Farm Press 3/31/08

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Transporation Daily News April 16

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency approved a new $787 million budget Tuesday that will mean higher parking fees and Muni fares.  The budget calls for parking fines to increase $10 this year, and for Muni fares to go up next year. KCBS 4/15/08

 

Before they can create the world's largest airline, Delta and Northwest will have to navigate past plenty of turbulence, including opposition by labor unions and skepticism from the flying public. Among the challenges: Delta's only major unionized work group is its pilots, while Northwest is heavily unionized. Delta airline attendants will vote this month on whether they want to join a union. Bay Area union workers for Northwest said Tuesday they are against the marriage of Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. CC Times 4/16/08

 

Even as rising fuel costs are grounding weaker airlines -- including three this month -- airline competition is heating up for travelers flying the Pacific coast. Next month, the low-fare carrier JetBlue, popular with Southern California leisure travelers, is adding six flights from Long Beach to San Jose, Seattle and Austin, connecting some of the nation's top tech-heavy cities. Long Beach passengers can fly one-way to San Jose for $39. LA Times 4/16/08

 

Expanding the role California utilities play in clean transportation will accelerate the state's transition to low-carbon fuels and reduce petroleum dependency, according to officials from Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). At the Low-Carbon Fuels 2008 conference held today in Sacramento, Hal Snyder, vice president of customer programs at SoCalGas and SDG&E, told state regulators and policy makers that the expanded use of natural gas and electricity in transportation will provide significant consumer benefits. CNN 4/15/08

 

When it comes to building a maglev train between Las Vegas and Southern California, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has remained a believer. This week, he is risking the wrath of the Senate anti-pork czars to secure $45 million to push the train project along. The money was approved as part of a massive transportation bill in 2005, but no money was authorized. The House strengthened the bill last year to allocate funds, which would go toward completing an environmental review now underway. Las Vegas Sun 4/15/08

 

The California Air Resources Board said it wants to encourage a "hydrogen highway" and is making $7.7 million available to help roll out a hydrogen network. The board said the funds are earmarked for the construction and improvement of hydrogen fueling stations in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. Cleantech 4/16/08

 

HSR Success Stories Keep on Coming  California High Speed Rail Blog 4/16/08

 

Agriculture Daily News April 15

Levees protecting neighborhoods in Sacramento's Natomas basin might be substandard, but they don't represent an emergency situation. That's the conclusion of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency's boss, who recently recommended against asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for an emergency declaration to accelerate Natomas levee repairs. Such a declaration, said SAFCA Executive Director Stein Buer, could actually delay the needed work. Sacramento Bee 4/15/08

 

Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) has introduced legislation to increase the number of California children with healthcare while also saving the state millions of dollars. SB 1459, which will be considered by the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday, would create the California Health Care Program (Cal-Health) and is expected to provide coverage to an additional 370,000 Californians, including approximately 200,000 children. Through Cal-Health, the State will be able to draw additional Federal funding on a 2 to 1 match, which combined with the elimination of administrative waste that occurs from program duplication and a cumbersome eligibility process, is expected to save California $41 million to $100 million. California Chronicle 4/15/08

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School nutrition directors in Sacramento met Monday and discussed how to deal with increasing food prices that will make the price of lunch climb, officials said. The surge in food prices such as milk, poultry, rice and wheat means a higher cost to schools, which are already facing cuts because of a state budget deficit. KCRA 4/15/08

Higher Prices Land on School Lunch Trays Marketplace 4/15/08

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Cotton and rice farmers living in the San Francisco Bay Area were among those receiving $13.4 billion in federal farm subsidies in 2006, according to new federal data released by Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization opposed to crop subsidies. The subsidies pose an especially stark contrast with market conditions as Congress debates a new farm bill that would keep the subsidies largely intact. SF Chronicle 4/15/08

 

The behemoth $300 billion Farm Bill – which covers not just commodities subsidies and payments to farmers, but also food stamps, nutrition programs, and numerous conservation and energy programs – is having a rough time in congressional conference as leaders in both houses try to hammer out the differences between their two bills and figure out how to pay for the extra spending. Christian Science Monitor 4/15/08

 

According to USDA’s April 7 crop progress report, rice planting is now complete on 11 percent of intended U.S. acres, compared to 21 percent this time last year. Louisiana is 51 percent complete, compared to 47 percent last year, while Texas is 63 percent planted compared to 39 percent last year. Planting in Arkansas, 2 percent and Mississippi, 1 percent, is just underway, while Missouri and California producers are still waiting to get into fields. Southwest Farm Press 4/14/08

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State agriculture leaders issued a warning to the city and county Monday that if plans are delayed to spray pheromone over the county by plane to fight the light brown apple moth, another, more potent insecticide could be dropped instead. The document was filed in response to a city and county lawsuit that demands an environmental review before more of the synthetic pheromone CheckMate LBAM-F is sprayed over the county. SJ Mercury 4/15/08

 

The chemical to be sprayed is classified by the EPA as a "pesticide" and the plan is to douse cities with this chemical designed to stick on everything for 90 days or longer. This application is not a one time event, but will continue every 1-3 months for as long as five years. The pesticide to be sprayed is not designed to harm the light brown apple moth's who it is designed for, but merely to confuse its mating habits. While harmless to moths, the pesticide has been documented to harm humans. Indybay Media 4/14/08

 

California agriculture officials warn a potent pesticide may be necessary in battling the light brown apple moth if Santa Cruz delays spraying of a pheromone to fight the crop-destroying pest. SJ Mercury 4/15/08

 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture's plan to eradicate the light brown apple moth with aerial spraying over the city this summer was already in an uphill fight. But when 100 or so mothers and kids showed up at City Hall on Monday afternoon with signs like "Keep Your Spray Off My Baby," it was clear that the battle had entered a new phase. SF Chronicle 4/15/08

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The U.S. is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years, and analysts expect new data due on Wednesday to show it's getting worse. That's putting the squeeze on poor families and forcing bakeries, bagel shops and delis to explain price increases to their customers. AP 4/15/08

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 15

In a strong rebuke by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency proposing a toll road through San Onofre State Beach has been accused of making false and misleading statements in an appeal to federal officials. Col. Thomas H. Magness, the corps' district director in Los Angeles, charged in a letter last week that the appeal by Irvine-based Transportation Corridor Agencies challenging the project's denial by the state Coastal Commission contains false statements and mischaracterizes the Army's role in the planning process. LA Times 4/15/08

 

Years of adding ethanol to gasoline to reduce air pollution and foreign oil dependence has had a nasty side effect: The stuff appears to damage boat fuel tanks made of fiberglass. And California is a floating testing ground for the ethanol effect.  At the beginning of 2004, all gasoline sold in the state was required to carry 5.7% ethanol as a replacement for the banned fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, which was fouling groundwater supplies. Lawrence Turner, stuck with more than $35,000 in ethanol-related damage to his boat, decided to fight back. Last week, the Studio City resident sued Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and eight other gasoline producers and distributors in U.S. District Court, arguing that the companies sold gasoline at marinas without warning boaters of ethanol's harmful consequences. LA Times 4/15/08

 

If Delta and Northwest are going to complete their deal to create the world's largest airline, they'll first have unions to cajole, politicians to placate, and antitrust regulators to convince. Two of Northwest's largest unions immediately declared their opposition. CC Times 4/15/08

 

If not for leap year, Las Vegas visitor volume, one of the best indicators of tourism demand, would have been down a half a percentage point in February versus a year ago. The extra day in February helped boost visitor volume by 3 percent, though average daily hotel rates in Las Vegas were down 5 percent – a clear sign of the softening economy, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported today. Las Vegas Sun 4/14/08

 

NorCal and SoCal battle for transportation funds Inside Bay Area 4/15/08

 

There is a 99.7 percent chance that a major temblor will strike the Golden State in the next 30 years, according to the first comprehensive study of the state's earthquake risks. Surprisingly, Monday's study also found the odds of a magnitude 6.7 quake are nearly identical for Northern and Southern California. Researchers had long assumed that the southern half of the state was at significantly higher risk. SJ Mercury 4/15/08

 

"The whole definition of 'commuter' is changing," says Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. "The old model is people going to factory jobs from 8 to 5 … now people are driving 150 miles from one place to another two to three times a week for work, recreation, travel, once-a-week meetings – this generation is changing, and so will the next."  Christian Science Monitor 4/10/08

 

The BayRail Alliance is hosting a talk this Thursday on Carbon Neutral Rail Service in Mountain View. David Dearborn is a San José native who has worked out a tentative plan to power Caltrain entirely by solar power. California High Speed Rail Blog 4/14/08

 

Agriculture Daily News April 14

California, where water and recreation often mix, is struggling to devise a plan to defend its lakes and rivers from invasions by tiny quagga and zebra mussels, which threaten to wreak havoc on the environment and water-delivery systems. An East Bay lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require lake and reservoir operators to develop plans to prevent boaters from inadvertently infecting new water bodies in California with non-native mussels.  Inside Bay Area 4/13/08 Contra Costa Times 4/11/08

 

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As state officials prepare to spray the San Francisco Bay area with pesticides to fight an invasive moth, politicians are starting to worry not only about the aerial endeavor's potential impacts on human health, but on local commerce. Public uncertainty could be enough to slow summer tourism, drive residents to leave town and cause real estate agents to initiate conversations with their clients about whether they want to buy property in the proposed spray zone, local government officials say.  Fresno Bee 4/11/08 SJ Mercury 4/11/08

 

California state environmental health experts have put out a report stating that there is no link between reported illnesses and pesticides which were sprayed to fight moths. DB Techno 4/14/08

 

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The governors of California, Oregon and Washington pledged to help financially strapped fishermen and fishing communities Friday after federal regulators imposed the most severe restrictions ever on West Coast salmon fishing. After the council's vote, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in California. The proclamation directs state agencies to offer grants and loans to fishermen and affected businesses, and refund up to $2.7 million in fees paid for fishing permits. On Friday, the governor signed legislation to spend $5.3 million to help restore habitat for coastal salmon and steelhead. SF Chronicle 4/11/08

 

While consumers will be able to find some wild king salmon from the Copper River region in Alaska in the next few weeks, the price of the king salmon from the Sacramento River is likely to rise steeply. NY Times 4/11/08

 

The ban on all commercial and sport fishing for chinook salmon in California and most of Oregon this year could be the beginning of the end for a whole way of life. SF Chronicle 4/12/08

 

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Sacramento has been a longtime rarity with its flat-rate charges for water. The city's charter was changed to prohibit metering domestic water way back in 1920. The Legislature passed a law in 2004 requiring Sacramento and a handful of other communities to meter all homes and businesses by 2025. Billing based on meters will begin in 2010. Sacramento residents will be given a year's grace period, during which they will pay the flat rate while receiving a comparative bill, showing what their metered use and charges would be. So far, the arrival of meters is moving at a trickle in the city; just 3,843 out of about 120,000 households will have been retrofitted with working meters by July 1, according to the city's Department of Utilities. Sacramento Bee  4/12/08

 

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‘Try again.’ This was the message U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein had for the U.S. Forest Service after reviewing its report on firefighter retention. Earlier this month, the Forest Service delivered a report ordered by Congress examining firefighter retention and recruitment in the Southern California national forests.  The report downplayed concerns that firefighters are leaving the Forest Service because of low morale and pay disparities with state and local agencies. It also had little in common with an earlier draft put together by California-based Forest Service officials. San Bernardino Sun Times 4/13/08

 

Feinstein criticizes Forest Service firefighting vacancies report SJ Mercury 4/10/08

 

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California's obscure inland spill response program limps along with fewer than a dozen watchdogs responsible for 211,000 miles of rivers and streams, 1.3 million acres of bays and estuaries and 1.6 million acres of lakes. That could soon change. Two Democratic lawmakers are pushing legislation before the Assembly Judiciary Committee tomorrow to aid the financially crippled program, including guaranteed revenues to add the program's staff. San Diego Union Tribune 4/14/08

 

Assemblyman Pedro Nava proposed two pieces of legislation Friday. One would increase Fish and Game's authority to impose harsher penalties on inland spills. The second would create standards that must be met by oil operators, or they will be shut down. KSBY 4/14/08

 

In response to Greka Oil & Gas Inc.’s recent slew of oil spills, 35th District Assemblyman Pedro Nava is set to propose two legislative measures today, both aimed at protecting the community and the environment from land-based petroleum releases. Daily Nexus 4/4/08

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 14

After a half-decade of frustrating twists, turns and closures on the western approaches to the Bay Bridge, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stood atop the structure Friday to announce seismic reconstruction would be completed seven months early. Motorists will be able to drive on the straight structure today and won't face anything more than a barely discernible lane shift before the project is expected to end in January. CC Times 4/12/08

 

California, where water and recreation often mix, is struggling to devise a plan to defend its lakes and rivers from invasions by tiny quagga and zebra mussels, which threaten to wreak havoc on the environment and water-delivery systems. An East Bay lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require lake and reservoir operators to develop plans to prevent boaters from inadvertently infecting new water bodies in California with non-native mussels.  Inside Bay Area 4/13/08

 

The transit system's board agreed Thursday to look into selectively relaxing its food ban on cars for passengers who would buy BART-licensed "sippy" cups that are designed to prevent spills. Some board members expressed reservations about relaxing the ban because they fear that some riders would spill coffee and sodas even from spill-resistant cups, adding to rider complaints about dirty seat covers and floors. CC Times 4/10/08

 

Continued growth in ridership will help insulate BART from budget cuts that other public agencies may be forced to consider this year because of the poor economy, managers of the transit system said Thursday. No shortages are foreseen in BART's preliminary budget of $672 million, up 6.8 percent from the $629 million budget for the fiscal year ending June 30. The train system budget predicts a 2.5 percent increase in daily weekday riders, from 348,000 in the current fiscal year to 364,000 in the new fiscal year. CC Times 4/10/08

 

Businesses must cough up more money to help the Bay Area combat a shortfall in construction or repairs needed to upgrade the region's decaying public infrastructure, a new poll released Friday suggests. The region faces a "serious" or "very serious" problem in keeping up with the demand for a broad array of public works projects, according to 87 percent of the respondents polled by the Bay Area Council recently. The poll found that 64 percent to 71 percent of those surveyed favor improvements to roads, highways, public transit, hospitals, schools, water supply and recreational facilities. Inside Bay Area 4/10/08

 

As state officials prepare to spray the San Francisco Bay area with pesticides to fight an invasive moth, politicians are starting to worry not only about the aerial endeavor's potential impacts on human health, but on local commerce. Public uncertainty could be enough to slow summer tourism, drive residents to leave town and cause real estate agents to initiate conversations with their clients about whether they want to buy property in the proposed spray zone, local government officials say.  Fresno Bee 4/11/08

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 11

Though Daniel Sperling has emerged as the CARB's central arbiter in regulating auto emissions, he has long had a different relationship with the car and oil industries. For 17 years, he has overseen the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis and has helped the institute raise millions of dollars from companies including Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Corp., Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. Sperling, appointed to the board by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in February 2007, says he has gone to great lengths to avoid conflicts, including renouncing fundraising from companies doing business in California. LA Times 4/11/08

 

As the Bay Area and Sacramento regions creep relentlessly toward each other along Interstate 80 – getting uncomfortably crowded along the way – officials from both areas are promoting an idea they call mega-regional planning. They're so excited, they've even come up with a phrase to capture the concept: Sanframento. So many drivers from the Bay Area and Sacramento pass through there and get stuck in the jams, "it's really not (just) a Solano County project or problem anymore." Sacramento Bee 4/11/08

 

Replacement of the San Francisco approach to the Bay Bridge isn't expected to be completed until January, but the last big traffic shift will take place early Saturday morning when Caltrans opens the new eastbound lanes, department officials said this week. SF Chronicle 4/11/08

 

Potholes, traffic jams, eroding levees and overcrowded schools have apparently convinced Bay Area residents it's time for major infrastructure improvements, according to a regional poll released Thursday. The poll, by the Bay Area Council, found that 87 percent of residents surveyed thought that Bay Area governments had a serious problem maintaining schools, bridges, roads, parks, levees and hospitals and building new infrastructure. The Bay Area Council, a business-backed public policy group, asked about infrastructure as part of its annual poll concerning the Bay Area's biggest problems. SF Chronicle 4/11/08

 

As state officials prepare planes to spray the San Francisco Bay Area with pesticides to fight an invasive moth, politicians are starting to worry about the potential impact on local commerce. State environmental health experts announced Thursday that illnesses reported by hundreds of residents after a first round of spraying on the Central Coast couldn't conclusively be tied to the pest eradication efforts. Still, public uncertainty alone could be enough to slow summer tourism, drive residents to leave town and cause real estate agents to initiate conversations with their clients about whether they want to buy property in the proposed spray zone, local government officials say. SJ Mercury 4/11/08

 

 

 

Agriculture Daily News April 11

Assemblyman Jim Beall on Thursday proposed raising the beer tax by $1.80 per six-pack, or 30 cents per can or bottle. The current tax is 2 cents per can. That's an increase of about 1,500 percent. CC Times 4/11/08

 

No commercial or recreational salmon fishing will be allowed off the coast of California and most of Oregon this year.The Pacific Fishery Management Council voted Thursday to cancel the chinook fishing season in an effort to reverse the catastrophic disappearance of California's fabled run of the pink fish popularly known as king salmon. Just hours after the vote, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency and sent a letter to President Bush asking for his help in obtaining federal disaster assistance. SF Chronicle

 

Many of these chemicals, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, phthalates, nonylphenols and musks, are a class of contaminants known as endocrine disrupters that were detected in all parts of the Bay in a study done in 2002. Wastewater treatment plants don't screen for them because the Environmental Protection Agency doesn't require them to, and they end up in the Bay after flowing down the drain or being ting flushed down the toilet. Even less is known about the effects pharmaceuticals are having on the Bay. Inside Bay Area 4/11/08

 

New research shows the steps that California companies rely on to protect consumers do not kill dangerous bacteria inside the leaves, whereas zapping them with radiation wipes them out.  Irradiation, which involves bombarding food with high-energy gamma or electron beams to disrupt the DNA of pathogens, has its supporters and critics. But the new research suggests that it may be the only way to penetrate leafy greens and kill bacteria hiding inside. LA Times 4/11/08

 

Nine Marin County cities and sanitation districts must repair and upgrade decrepit sewer pipes to the tune of tens of millions of dollars under orders handed down Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The orders followed the federal agency's investigation of two sewage spills - totaling 5 million gallons - into the bay resulting from a series of strong storms in January. If the cities and sewer districts fail to comply with the orders, the EPA could impose fines of $32,500 per violation. SF Chronicle 4/11/08

 

State environmental health authorities said Thursday they are unable to determine whether respiratory problems reported by hundreds of citizens in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in autumn were linked to an aerial spraying against the light brown apple moth. A 32-page report released by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment found that the 487 complaints gathered after the spray campaigns were not detailed or consistent. As a result, the analysis was inconclusive. SF Chronicle 4/11/08

 

Agriculture Daily News April 10

Today, Secretary of California Department of Food & Agriculture, A.G. Kawamura released the following statement regarding the release of the joint study of pheromone usage in the Light Brown Apple Moth eradication project: “It’s my hope today’s report will help ease the minds of those concerned about the Light Brown Apple Moth eradication program and open a positive dialogue.” CDFA Press Release 4/10/08

 

To help local water agencies and communities prepare for the possibility of a dry year or water supply interruptions, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has published an updated version of its Urban Drought Guidebook. The Governor’s recently announced target of a 20 percent reduction in per-capita water use statewide by 2020 presents a challenge for both water suppliers and California residents. Water suppliers may find many of the guidebook’s demand management measures timely and useful. A copy of the Guidebook has been posted on the DWR Web site here. Business Wire 4/9/08

 

A federal panel meeting this week in Seattle appears likely to either entirely shut down salmon fishing off the California and Oregon coasts or severely restrict it. A decision — technically, a recommendation for federal regulators to implement — is expected today. Contra Costa Times 4/10/08

 

Thousands of farmers are taking fields reserved for birds out of the government’s biggest conservation program, which pays them not to cultivate. They are spurning guaranteed annual payments for a chance to cash in on the boom in wheat, soybeans, corn and other crops. Last fall, they took back as many acres as are in Rhode Island and Delaware combined.  The government payments aren’t even comparable anymore, say many farmers, to what they could make by working the land. NY Times 4/9/08

 

The federal government said Thursday it has billed a California slaughterhouse more than $67 million for expenses associated with the largest beef recall in U.S. history. Further bills for the cost of destroying the beef and resupplying affected schools could cost up to $50 million more, Morris said. AP 4/10/08

 

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, will be one of the key negotiators as the federal Farm Bill winds its way closer to a resolution. Cardoza was named as a "conferee" Wednesday, meaning he will represent the House as it develops a compromise bill with the Senate in the coming weeks. Talks have dragged on slowly over the past several months. Naming the conferees means the end may be near. Recordnet 4/10/08

 

Beekeepers who have been bitten by colony collapse disorder and other maladies have come to rely on queen bee breeders for help.  Business is literally buzzing for California's 30 queen bee breeders, filling orders for queens and nucleus starter hives, known in the industry as "nucs," for customers across the nation. Capital Press 4/10/08

 

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen today certified an anti-cruelty ballot initiative for the statewide general election on November 4, 2008. The bill will provide the most basic protection to nearly 20 million animals confined in industrial factory farms in California: that they merely be able to turn around and extend their limbs.  When approved in November, the Act will prevent California factory farms from confining animals in the most restrictive crates or cages—specifically, veal crates for calves, battery cages for egg-laying hens, and gestation crates for breeding pigs. The new law would take effect in 2015, allowing producers ample time to transition to more humane and environmentally sustainable systems. IndyBay 4/9/08

 

California's all orange forecast is 65.5 million boxes (2.46 million tons), 2 percent above the previous forecast and 42 percent higher than last season. USDA Crop Production Report 4/9/08

 

State lawmakers on Wednesday took the first step toward making California the only state in the nation to require employers to provide paid sick days to workers. The bill by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, would allow workers to earn one hour of sick pay for every 30 hours worked. The bill is opposed by every major employer group in the state, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Restaurant Association, the Hospital Association, the National Federation of Independent Business and the League of Food Processors. Ventura County Star 4/10/08

 

Bento box breakdown: Japanese food gets put to the nutrition test National Post 3/27/08

Transporation Daily News April 10

The pilot who guided a freighter that sideswiped the Bay Bridge on Nov. 7 was taking a combination of medications that should have barred him from having his license renewed by the Coast Guard 10 months before the accident, a doctor told a federal hearing Wednesday. CC Times 4/10/08

 

American Airlines canceled more than 900 flights Thursday to fix faulty wiring in hundreds of jets, marking the third straight day of mass groundings as company executives offered profuse apologies and travel vouchers to calm angry customers. A spokesman said the cancellations would go into Saturday. MSNBC 4/10/08

 

The California Transportation Commission is expected to ship $20 million Sacramento's way Thursday to help local officials move the railroad tracks in the downtown railyard, making space for an expanded train and transit center, and easing congestion between freight and passenger trains downtown. Sacramento Bee 4/10/08

 

A dozen of Alpine County's 42 school districts now charge families to take their children to and from school. California does not require districts to transport students unless they're in special education programs. As a result, those districts that provide bus service for all students can charge for the rides. They can also raise their rates to keep up with transportation costs.  San Diego Union Tribune 4/10/08

 

The Port of Oakland does support Stanislaus County's application for a short haul rail project connecting to the proposed PCCP West Park LLC inland port -- and not everyone hates the project. Those two conclusions came from testimony at Wednesday's California Transportation Commission meeting in Sacramento. The commission was discussing the $3 billion Trade Corridor Improvement Funds program and the 79 projects that are recommended for funding statewide. A vote on the grant funds is expected this morning. Modestoo Bee 4/10/08

 

In Fresno, tourism pays. According to the state's annual travel-impact report, Fresno County visitors spent $1 billion and generated $70 million in local and state taxes in the most recent year. Madera, Kings and Tulare counties had a total of $700 million in tourist spending. Fresno Bee 4/10/08

 

CEO of UK-based Moovera Networks, whose company makes gateway devices that deliver broadband connectivity to public transport companies worldwide says that there are three reasons why public transportation companies want Internet connectivity in the vehicles.  "One is passenger Wi-Fi, so they can deliver a service to the passengers that sets them apart from its competition. The second driver is delivering a vehicle area network (VAN) to allow connectivity between all of the vehicle's devices and applications." The final, and often significant, driver that convinces operators to deploy a wireless system is to enhance vehicle security. Wifi Planet 4/9/08

 

Canadian car manufacturers have already agreed to work toward achieving California's clean environmental standards, which require a 30-per-cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from their fleets by 2016, according to a secret Environment Canada document prepared less than a year after the Conservative government was sworn in. Canada.com 4/10/08

 

Port authorities are prepared to spend nearly $19 million in the coming year to subsidize cleaner fuels for thousands of freight ships calling at San Pedro Bay.The program seeks to bridge a gap between this June and the anticipated adoption by the state of more stringent fuel standards for ships in June 2009. Press Telegram 4/9/08

 

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved proposed amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI regulations to reduce harmful emissions from ships.  The action took place during the committee's recent meeting in London. The main changes would see a progressive reduction in sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions from ships, with the global sulphur cap reduced initially to 3.50 percent (from the current 4.50 percent, effective from Jan. 1, 2012); then progressively to 0.50 percent, effective from Jan. 1, 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018. Evergy Current 4/10/08

 

 

Agriculture Daily News April 9

More than a decade after a tomato packing company contacted the California Tomato Board to request promotional information and found they had none, the tomato commission has shut down in the wake of a state audit. The commission misspent members' dues on lavish conferences in Arizona and Mexico, where its families traveled free, according to the audit. Meanwhile, audits of other marketing programs within the Department of Food and Agriculture have also revealed conflicts of interest, sloppy accounting, possible Internal Revenue Service violations and activities beyond the authority the state granted them. LA Times 4/9/08

 

Millions of privately owned acres in National Park Service boundaries could be developed into luxury homes or commercial enterprises because the federal government has not allocated funds to buy out these lands, according to two reports issued this week. About 4.3 million acres of privately owned land lie within the 391 National Park Service properties nationwide, according to a National Parks Conservation Assn. report released Tuesday. LA Times 4/9/08

 

In response to a number of food safety outbreaks - most recently an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with bagged spinach in September 2006 that killed three people and sickened 200 others - some growers are removing conservation measures adjacent to croplands, according to a survey of Central Coast growers published in the University of California's California Agriculture journal (April-June 2008). Researchers found that 8 percent (of 181 growers surveyed in spring 2007) had crops rejected by buyers based on the presence of practices to improve water quality and wildlife habitat on the farm. Ascribe 4/9/08

 

Modifications to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board's program for farms that discharge water from their operations to surface streams will be considered April 24-25 in Rancho Cordova. California Farm Bureau Federation 4/9/08

 

Four of 18 beef slaughterhouses supplying meat to U.S. school lunch programs were cited for inhumane treatment of cattle, a federal report to Congress said. The U.S. Agriculture Department's audit released to Congress indicated one slaughterhouse was temporarily closed, USA Today reported Wednesday. UPI 4/9/08

 

As Ventura County farmers prepare for the summer growing season, they are grappling with a new regulation that dramatically reduces the amount of fumigants available. Farmers asked to use an amount of fumigants that would produce 2.4 million pounds of volatile organic compound emissions, which contribute to pollution. But under the new rules, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation said this week that only 734,000 pounds of VOC emissions would be permitted, less than a third of what was requested. Ventura County Star 4/9/08

 

At the top of Napa Valley, vintner James "Bo" Barrett wanted to use Calistoga, the location of his historic Chateau Montelena vineyards, on his wine labels. What stood in his way was another winery, Calistoga Cellars, which used grapes mostly from other areas. If Barrett got his way, Calistoga Cellars would have to change its name - and endure a possible shock to its bottom line. Federal regulators have proposed a sweeping overhaul of the labeling rules. Critics say the public will be confused by the potential changes and won't be able to count on wine being made from grapes grown in the place named on the label. SF Chronicle 4/7/08

 

Will this be the year we see fishmongers charging $40 a pound for salmon? Overall, expect a boost in prices for the famously cyclical catch of wild salmon, say government officials and fishing-industry observers. Once Alaska's commercial salmon fisheries kick into high gear next month, there will be salmon available.  Seattle PI 4/9/08

Dole Food Co. is selling land in Hawaii and California to avoid default on $350 million on bonds, according to reports from Bloomberg News. The Westlake Village-based company is raising money after European banana tariffs and shipping costs both increased, affecting the company's ability to repay debt, according to the report. Bizjournals 4/9/08

 

Although we have very few organic wines, the growing of grapes using organic methods is an increasingly popular trend. Though there has been greater interest in organic fruits, vegetables and other produce staples, the same cannot be said for wine, because to make wine that is organic, the use of organically grown grapes in and of itself is not enough. For a wine to be called organic, it must adhere to the rules of the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau (which regulates the wine industry), as well as the Food and Drug Administration's National Organic Program. Herald Tribune 4/9/08

 

The public is invited to participate and provide comment on the development of a proposed Delta emergency response and operation plan. A representative from each agency, and a representative for the collective five Delta counties, will give brief presentations on their ongoing and planned efforts. Following the presentations, there will be an opportunity for the public to provide feedback and comment to each participating agency.  Thursday, April 10, 2008, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m, Courtland CA CWR Press Release 4/9/08

 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California called yesterday, Monday 7th April, for stronger privacy of medical records after an investigation at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center revealed unauthorized breaches of dozens of medical records, including those of his wife, first lady Maria Shriver, and 32 celebrities and politicians. Medical News Today 4/8/08

 

California raisins moving up consumption ladder once again Western Farm Press 4/9/08

 

For seven years, State Sen. Michael Machado has tried to create a single state agency that would direct funding for myriad agricultural, recreational and environmental projects proposed for the Delta in a way that makes sense. Machado is hoping this year is different. he Delta is deeper in crisis than ever. The coalition of state, federal and local agencies called CALFED has collapsed, and Machado's bill to eliminate its funding has met with no resistance thus far. Recordnet 4/9/08

 

Times Past:Japanese-born brothers played big role in local vegetable exchange San Luis Obispo 4/6/08

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 9

A wide-ranging hearing before the NTSB on Tuesday focused attention on the key role of Cota, who has pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence for his actions guiding the Cosco Busan out of the Bay.  Cota, Mao and three crew members decided not to testify at the hearing, which will continue today. Sailing in a soupy fog and struggling to understand the images on the radar screen before him, the pilot of the Cosco Busan asked the ship's captain to point out the "center" of the Bay Bridge. What Capt. John Cota, the pilot, wanted to locate on the radar screen, according to newly released transcripts, was the center point between the bridge's towers. The captain, a Chinese national, showed him the center of the span, which was also the location of one of the towers. Inside Bay Area 4/9/08

 

Capt. John Cota was apparently diagnosed with alcoholism and developed pancreatitis as a result of his drinking, according to testimony at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing. One NTSB investigator questioned why a local pilots board hadn't noticed a worsening pattern after a 2004 incident in which Cota was enraged and irrational on-board a ship, and another in 2006 in which a vessel he was piloting ran aground. CC Times 4/9/08

 

A bill intended to protect blind people and other pedestrians from the dangers posed by quiet cars will be introduced today in Congress. The measure would require the Transportation Department to establish safety standards for hybrids and other vehicles that make little discernible noise, including an audible means for alerting people that cars are nearby. LA Times 4/9/08

 

A bill that would charge Bay Area residents an extra $1 when they re-register their vehicles cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday, handily winning a majority of votes from members of the state Senate Transportation and Housing Committee. The bill would double what Bay Area vehicle owners now pay — $1 which was levied in 1986. That fee originally set up a system of call boxes but has evolved into a comprehensive system to fight traffic congestion, run by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. CC Times 4/9/08

 

Sen. Joe Simitian's measure would attempt to improve public safety on cruise ships by developing a seamless network of "ocean rangers" through pacts with other states bordering the Pacific Ocean, and with Hawaii. The Palo Alto Democrat said the arrangement also would enhance homeland security and ensure compliance with waste-dumping laws. CC Times 4/9/08

 

Gov. Schwarzenegger told Northern San Joaquin Valley public officials Tuesday morning that reform, not drastic cuts or higher taxes, is the solution to California's ongoing budget woes. He also said cuts alone won't solve the $16 billion deficit projected for the 2008-09 state budget, but he ruled out taxes as a solution. "We have to find revenues this year," he said. "The legislators will have to get very creative." Modesto Bee 4/9/08

 

In an annual memorial service Tuesday at the Capitol, the California Department of Transportation paid tribute to its 170 workers who have died in the line of duty since 1924. Matthew White, 35, of Sacramento was on pothole duty Dec. 14 when he was fatally struck by a pickup. Sacramento Bee 4/9/08

 

 

 

   

 

Agriculture Daily News April 8

The city of San Francisco has started an advertising push with a very specific target market: illegal immigrants. They all carry the same message: you are safe here. In what may be the first such campaign of its kind, the city plans to publish multilanguage brochures and fill the airwaves with advertisements relaying assurance that San Francisco will not report them to federal immigration authorities. NY Times 4/6/08

Scientists are closing in on possible control of the puzzling disease that has killed thousands of oak trees in California and threatens other plants. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist Daniel Manter has found that extracts from tree heartwood can limit the growth of Phytophthora ramorum, the microbial agent that causes this devastating disease. Since it surfaced on the West Coast in the mid-1990s, sudden oak death has killed an estimated 1 million oaks and tanoaks. Central Valley Business Times 4/8/08

 

Farmworker advocates and environmentalists want a federal court to strike the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision allowing the use of four common pesticides. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Earthjustice attorneys argue that the pesticides have put thousands of farmworkers and families at risk of serious illnesses, including cancer and reproductive deformities. The four compounds—methidathion, ethoprop, methamidophos and oxydemeton-methyl—are used on a wide variety of fruit, vegetable and nut crops. SJ Mercury 4/7/08

 

Settlements reached yesterday with four Northwest Indian tribes would commit federal agencies to spend $900 million over the next decade on improving conditions for endangered salmon, but leave intact hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin that environmentalists say kill fish. The deals would end years of legal battles between the Bush administration and the four Northwest tribes, but they would not affect a fifth tribe that is party to a lawsuit nor environmental groups that vowed to press on in their efforts to breach four dams on the Lower Snake River. San Diego Union Tribune 4/8/08

 

A lawsuit surrounding a dispute over eight redwoods ended up in Santa Clara County criminal court is ongoing and legislation surrounding the issue has been planned. At stake is the Solar Shade Act which makes it illegal to block solar panels with trees. Senator Simitian’s bill, headed for a committee vote this month, determines when trees can grow amid solar panels (if they are planted ahead of time) and when they cannot (if they are planted after a solar-panel is installed). The state, Mr. Simitian pointed out, has a law to encourage the construction of one million solar roofs.

 

In pockets of the United States, rural and urban, a confluence of market and medical forces has been widening the gap between the supply of primary care physicians and the demand for their services. Modest pay, medical school debt, an aging population and the prevalence of chronic disease have each played a role. Now in Massachusetts in an unintended consequence of universal coverage, the imbalance is being exacerbated by the state’s new law requiring residents to have health insurance. Since last year, when the landmark law took effect, about 340,000 of Massachusetts’ estimated 600,000 uninsured have gained coverage. Many are now searching for doctors and scheduling appointments for long-deferred care. NY Times 4/5/08

 

Is Cuisine Still Italian Even if the Chef Isn’t? NY Times 4/7/08

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 8

Five months after a cargo ship struck the Bay Bridge and spilled more than 53,000 gallons of bunker oil into the Bay, lawmakers unveiled nine bills Monday to try to prevent future spills while improving local authorities' ability to respond and restore damaged coastline. The legislation would put in place stricter regulations on cargo ships, reinstate a tax on imported oil to pay for cleanup equipment and give local authorities the tools to better respond to spills. CC Times 4/8/07

 

With drunken driving deaths in California rising, lawmakers and law enforcers are turning to a little black box as a weapon against drunken driving. It's called an ignition interlock device -- basically, a Breathalyzer with a tube you blow into. Interlock devices, when installed on a dashboard, won't allow a car to start if you have more than a tiny amount of alcohol in your breath.  This week, the California Highway Patrol, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and 10 lawmakers will present a bill to increase use of the interlock device. CC Times 4/8/08

 

A spike in pedestrian fatalities on the streets of San Francisco last year will serve as a sobering backdrop at a City Hall forum today intended to make the city safer for walkers. The San Francisco Pedestrian Safety Summit will bring together national safety experts, city officials and local activists to assess the city's existing programs and map strategies to reduce the risks for people who travel by foot and wheelchair. SF Chronicle 4/8/08

 

Developer Gerry Kamilos hitched his plans for the old Crows Landing Naval Air Station behind an economic engine powered by short-haul rail. We'll know if the state embraces that vision Thursday. That's when the California Transportation Commission votes on staff recommendations for allocating Proposition 1B funds to improve the state's trade corridors -- the routes that combine ports, rail and roads to move goods in, out and through the state. A not insignificant portion of the money will go to 26 projects that make up the northern corridor, which will connect the Port of Oakland to rail routes over the Sierra and beyond. Modesto Bee 4/8/08

 

Transcripts released Tuesday of the voyage data recorder on board the freighter that spilled 53,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay show the pilot and crew struggling in English and Chinese to read navigational devices amid anxiety about thick fog. As the hearing began, NTSB officials said the ship's electronic charts did not fully comply with international standards. AP 4/8/08

 

IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has approved proposed amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI regulations to reduce harmful emissions from ships. The main changes would see a progressive reduction in sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions from ships, with the global sulfur cap reduced initially to 3.50 percent (from the current 4.50 percent, effective from January 1, 2012; then progressively to 0.50 percent, effective from 1 January 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018. Marine Log 4/5/08

 

CHSR Blog continues to defend High Speed Rail against criticism, this time that in the current financial emergency HSR is a luxury that California cannot afford, nothing that "we face a structural revenue shortfall - meaning California routinely takes in much less money than it needs to pay its bills." He answers that this shortfall should not impact the project. 4/7/08

 

Venture Beat also offers its (Silicon Valley biased) opinion on HSR, saying, "It's hard to calculate the value that a project like this would have in the long run, in the same sense that it was hard to calculate the value of some of the first railroads, highways and major bridges in this state. But it's easy to imagine a range of benefits for Silicon Valley, and it's not just a matter of getting local investors and entrepreneurs more easily connected to digital media companies in Hollywood or biotech companies in San Diego." 4/7/08

 

General Motors' vice president of R&D and strategic planning has called on the energy industry and governments to build more hydrogen fueling stations to help vehicle manufacturers move to volume production of fuel cell-electric vehicles. Larry Burns gave the message in a keynote address at the National Hydrogen Association's annual conference in Sacramento, California, which state currently has 25 refuelling stations. GM is lobbying for 40 in the LA area alone. Auto Industry 4/8/08

 

Caltrans will close sections of I-5 through downtown Sacramento for an estimated 30 days to allow crews to rip out the decayed and leaking roadbed, and put in new drainage structures and concrete. Sacramento Bee 4/7/08

 

The $37 million project, expected to cause congestion rippling across Sacramento-area freeways and major surface streets, will begin at 8 p.m. May 30

A nice summary of the history behind new regulation for air quality around the Port of Oakland, starting in September. In These Times 4/7/08

 

A California aerospace company plans to enter the space tourism industry with a two-seat rocket ship capable of suborbital flights to altitudes more than 37 miles above the Earth. Dallas News 4/7/08

Agriculture Daily News April 7

Struggling with rising prices and a stalled economy, growing numbers of Bay Area families are turning to food stamps. Here, as across the nation, enrollment in the federal entitlement program has jumped significantly over the past year.  Comparing January 2007 to January 2008, the overall number of people receiving food stamps grew  8.2 percent in Contra Costa and 5 percent in Alameda County. In January, 2.2 million state residents received the benefit, compared to 3.5 million in California's peak enrollment month, February 1994. Still, the number of Californians receiving food stamps did rise significantly last year. Inside Bay Area 4/5/08

 

In the inner cities of western Contra Costa County, where corner liquor stores far outnumber grocery stores, it's easier to buy a beer than a fresh apple. Now the county Board of Supervisors is taking steps to correct this problem by trying to link the vast agricultural fields of East County with the produce-scarce neighborhoods of West County. Last week, the board voted to direct the county Health Services and Agriculture departments to begin working with nonprofit groups and farmers to increase food education and improve distribution methods in order to get East County produce into West County kitchens. CC Times 4/6/08

 

East Bay recreation advocates won voter approval 74 years ago for a property tax to start a system of regional parks -- swaths of nature close to urban areas. Now they propose to complete it with 66 parkland purchases and improvements that would be funded by a $500 million bond measure the district is considering for the November ballot in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. CC Times 4/7/08

 

Hundreds of families in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties reported health problems last year after the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture ordered an aerial spray of pesticides containing synthetic insect pheromones and other ingredients in a campaign to eradicate the light brown apple moth. In spite of the complaints, U.S. and state agricultural officials say they intend to aerial spray every county in the Bay Area starting in August. They'll return to Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in June. Five state lawmakers have introduced bills to control aerial spraying. SF Chronicle 4/7/08

 

A pilot program taking root in a nondescript business park in Sonoma County would use highly treated wastewater pumped from a nearby plant to heat and cool buildings, with the additional promise of using the piped water to irrigate landscaping and vineyards. The project has gained steam in the past few months as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and some of the biggest names in the wine business have signed on; in March, county supervisors approved $1 million for a feasibility study. SF Chronicle 4/7/08

 

Agencies charged with protecting California's water quality are inconsistently enforcing the law and levying fines that have not increased since 1984, according to a new staff report. Environmentalists have long complained that the State Water Resources Control Board and nine other regional boards are not properly safeguarding water quality. RecordNet4/7/08

 

In 2002, San Francisco voters approved a bond to pay for their share of repairs to the aging system. Some of those projects have started or are in the works. ABC7 4/4/08

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 4

A year after its already modest budget was slashed and its mortality became the butt of Sacramento jokes, California's high-speed rail enterprise appears to have reawakened. The threat of killing its most promising source of funding -- a $10 billion bond measure on the November ballot -- has dissipated with a pending state Assembly bill that will reword the measure. A current U.S. House of Representatives proposal would appropriate $60 billion for high-speed rail projects around the country, noted authority board member Rod Diridon, a former Santa Clara County supervisor. With an agreement on the new state legislation, Assembly Bill 3034, there are signals from key figures that they'll not only abide the hefty borrowing measure, but they'll campaign for it. CC Times 4/5/08

 

Caltrain recently hit an average weekday ridership high of 36,993, based on an annual passenger count taken each February at the agency's 31 stations. Ridership rose 9.3 percent compared with the count taken in February 2007. Peak-period commuters account for more than 80 percent of Caltrain's ridership, but the commuter-rail system also attracted more mid-day and night-time passengers, with ridership in those sectors rising 4.4 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively. Weekend ridership also increased to 11,121 on Saturdays and 8,481 on Sundays.  Progressive Rail Roading 4/7/08

 

Caltrain's numbers have surged steadily since a 2004 nadir of just 25,550 weekday riders left it teetering on the brink of ruin. Officials credit the reversal of fortune to soaring gas prices and the 2004 introduction of "Baby Bullet" express service. Palo Alto Daily News 4/7/08

 

Uncertainty over Caltrain's plans to elevate its tracks through San Mateo should not derail approval of a major development on the Bay Meadows Race Track site, according to a city staff report released Friday. The report, backed by a new traffic analysis, found that no further environmental studies are needed for the project to go forward. The findings are a blow to racetrack supporters, who had latched onto the traffic flow issue as a final obstacle to the 74-year-old track's long-planned demise. Inside Bay Area 4/5/08

 

The unusual delay in reaching an agreement is no longer about wages and benefits, which both union and AC Transit negotiators already have agreed upon, Williams said. The issue of meal and rest provisions for drivers, she said, has led the union to file a grievance and to seek arbitration. Drivers are now entitled to 30 minutes of lunch, with an additional 20 minutes of break time. But Williams said that for many drivers, that means short breaks that add up to 50 minutes and none long enough for a proper meal break or bathroom break. CC Times 4/7/08

 

Less than three months before a new state law goes into effect requiring drivers 18 and over to use hands-free cell phone devices when behind the wheel, not many motorists are beating a path to the nearest phone store. The merits of the new law are debatable, as studies show that it's the act of talking - not having a cell phone in one hand - that is the problem. Yet data from 2004 revealed that in 775 accidents in the state, the driver at fault was using a hand-held phone. In only 28 crashes were drivers using hands-free devices to blame. SJ Mercury 4/7/08

 

California has become a hot market for surveillance-technology companies as cities continue to approve new contracts for cameras at high-traffic and high-accident intersections. Identifying law breakers has proven difficult, however. When drivers receive automated tickets, on the backside of a notice of violation with a blurry face photo is frequently an "Affidavit of Non-Liability," them to provide the name of the actual driver if he was not the driver. Documents like this have become known in some circles as "snitch tickets" because they ask registered car owners to implicate themselves or someone else as the driver of the car, thus helping solidify the legal basis for issuing the traffic ticket. However, to prove a traffic ticket is the burden of the state, and this may tip the balance a bit by tricking people into giving testimony outside of a valid subpoena. SB Sun 4/5/08

 

U.S. Coast Guard officials may have had the "last clear chance" to prevent the crash of a container ship that spilled 58,000 gallons of fuel oil into San Francisco Bay, said attorneys for Capt. John Cota, the Petaluma bar pilot accused of negligence in the case. But instead of warning the Cosco Busan of its position, Coast Guard monitors spent the moments before the Nov. 7 crash discussing whether the 901-foot ship would make it, possibly taking "bets" on the outcome, Cota's attorneys said in a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board. Press Democrat 4/5/08

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 4

Lawyers for Capt. John Cota, pilot of the freighter Cosco Busan, claim that the Coast Guard shares responsibility for the accident that caused a huge oil spill in San Francisco Bay last fall. In a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board obtained by The Chronicle, Cota's attorneys say the veteran ship pilot will refuse to testify at a NTSB hearing scheduled for next week. Cota will invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. SF Chronicle 4/4/08

 

The collapse of ATA Airlines Inc. on Thursday stranded numerous passengers at Oakland International Airport and severed the East Bay's direct air travel connections to the Hawaiian islands. ATA's abrupt demise marked the second time this week that a major carrier serving the Oakland-Hawaii route suddenly terminated operations. ATA blamed the loss of a military contract for its shutdown. The airline said it depended on the revenue from the government deal to offset a "tremendous spike in the cost of jet fuel." CC Times 4/4/08

 

In an editorial Michael Dukakis gets behind high-speed rail, saying "The bond issue is a small price to pay for a high-speed rail plan that will create thousands of jobs, reduce congestion on our highways and at our airports, cut pollution and global warming, help revitalize the state's older cities, preserve our parks for generations to come and save us a lot of pain at the pump." Sacramento Bee 4/4/08

 

Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen have started to introduce American versions of their latest diesel models that are clean enough to be sold even in environmentally conscious California. Japanese and American carmakers aren't far behind. Diesels are seen as an answer to soaring oil prices. The Economist 4/4/08

Agriculture Daily News April 4

After more than a year of debate, the endgame for the federal Farm Bill is now in full swing. And California farmers still stand to gain much from the legislation. On Thursday, environmental groups and several allied congressmen protested a move by the bill's negotiators to take about $1 billion from conservation programs to help pay for a new disaster-relief fund. Fewer dollars for conservation could affect California farmers, who have long clamored for compensation for the loss of land they cannot farm because of the federal Endangered Species Act. Record Net 4/4/08

 

In a new government report, farmers said they would make significant cuts in corn acreage this year in favor of soybeans. If they carry through with their intentions, the resulting additional soybean oil could help alleviate global shortages of cooking oil that have led to sharply higher prices, hitting poor countries hard. But a smaller corn harvest would most likely raise prices for that crop, which could also increase the prices Americans pay for meat. NY Times 4/1/08

 

California's native oak trees face daunting odds against survival. Most will never grow up to become the giant gnarled oak trees that provide California's iconic foothill and valley landscapes, as well as valuable habitat for a host of birds and mammals. "We have between 1 percent and 5 percent of our oak woodland left," said Zarah Wyly, manager of the Sacramento Tree Foundation's native tree planting program. CC Times 4/4/08

 

As the company turns 75 this year amid public and private festivities, outsiders say that the Gallo family has gained a measure of peace from the tensions and tragedies that have chased it through the generations. With annual sales of $3.5 billion -- about 70 million cases of wine -- Gallo is the nation's largest winemaker. One out of every five glasses of wine drunk in America is a Gallo wine. LA Times 4/4/08

 

The federal government plans to escalate its eradication of marijuana plantations in the backwoods of national forests this year, beginning in California with the deployment of larger strike teams and the controversial launching of miniature, remote-controlled spy planes to outfox growers, a top Bush administration official said Thursday. Sacramento Bee 4/4/08

 

Disagreement over just how many unattached table grapes can be sold in a package as U.S. Grade No. 1 has created a rift between California growers and produce sellers. They’re debating whether there should be a change in the standard. For three years, California growers of what is more than a $1 billion crop have been trying to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow more separated grapes to be included in packages. The News Tribute 4/4/08

 

Several pieces of legislation that could have far-reaching impact on California farmers and ranchers have been introduced in the state Senate and Assembly. Bill 1436 removes the sunset provision for accidental take of species listed under the California Endangered Species Act. That provision is set to expire Jan. 1, 2009.  Current law allows the accidental taking of species listed under the California Endangered Species Act during routine and ongoing agricultural activities such as harvesting and ordinary pasture maintenance and renovation. Assembly Bill 2168, introduced by Assemblymember Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, would make it easier for farm stands to sell processed product. California Farm Bureau 4/2/08

 

California wine sales in the United States hit a record 457 million gallons last year, a 2 percent increase over 2006, the Wine Institute announced today. SJ Mercury 4/1/08

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the availability of $16.8 million in emergency funding to continue efforts to eradicate bovine tuberculosis in California, Michigan and Minnesota. The emergency funding will be used to depopulate known tuberculosis-affected cattle herds, which is crucial to prevent the spread of the disease and to indemnify producers. USDA Press Release 4/2/08

 

After prodding from lawmakers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a list Thursday of all school districts nationwide that received ground beef recalled from a California slaughterhouse last month. Seven local school districts -- including Pajaro Valley Unified and Santa Cruz City Elementary -- and Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall are listed in the 226-page document. But it's not clear how many pounds of recalled meat each district received, which schools it went to, or when. SJ Mercury 3/28/08

 

Tiny quagga and zebra mussels are an invasive species that represent an environmental nuclear bomb for California's reservoirs and waterways. In Northern California, the East Bay Municipal Utility District considered closing three of its most popular fishing lakes - San Pablo Reservoir near El Sobrante, and Pardee and Camanche in the Sierra foothills. EBMUD opted instead for rigorous checks for all trailered boats and to ban boats from Santa Clara County, San Benito County and Southern California. SF Chronicle 4/2/08

 

School gardening is an important part of nutritional education, said Deborah Giraud, the UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor. Through growing their own food, students can learn about the process of farming from the raising of crops to the nutritional components of food. Press Telegram 4/4/08

          

 

Transporation Daily News April 3

California Attorney General Jerry Brown joined officials in 17 other states Wednesday to demand that the federal Environmental Protection Agency release its internal finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. The move comes after EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson wrote last week that he plans to open a months-long public comment period on greenhouse gas emissions, a procedure critics say serves to delay action on emissions until after President Bush leaves office.  CC Times 4/3/08

 

The state now charges drivers registration and licensing fees and gasoline taxes at rates that do not take into account vehicles' pollution levels. But the survey, conducted by Asha Weinstein Agrawal, a research associate with the university's Mineta Transportation Institute, found that Californians would support a variety of taxes and fees to raise money for transportation improvements as well as combat global warming. SF Chronicle 4/3/08

 

Removing a major hurdle to growth at the Port of Los Angeles, harbor officials have agreed to pay $12 million over the next year on pollution reduction initiatives in adjacent San Pedro and Wilmington, officials said Wednesday. In the tentative agreement with environmental groups, the port promised to create a trust fund to address the long-term effects of port operations on local neighborhoods, including $6 million for the installation of air filtration systems in Wilmington public schools. LA Times 4/3/08

 

Dozens of international investors are poised to float a proposed high-speed rail system that would take San Francisco and Peninsula residents to Southern California in 2½ hours, officials said Wednesday. More than 60 international investors were interested in helping bankroll the $42 billion train system, said Rod Diridon, a member on the California High Speed Rail Authority Board. About $10 billion in private investments is needed for the train system to be built, officials said. Voters are being asked in November to support the state in taking out a $9.95 billion bond to fund the first phase of the project. A recent poll indicated 58 percent of Californians would support the bond, which could then be used as leverage for another $9 billion in federal funds, Diridon said.  Examiner 4/3/08

 

A plan to create a high-speed railway that will transport people between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2.5 hours should also advocate high-density housing near its stations, according to a report issued yesterday by the High Speed Rail Authority. San Mateo Daily Journal 4/3/08

 

Authorities were investigating a cargo container marked with black graffiti saying "Anthrax a gift from Osama," sent to Pier T at the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday morning. Fortunately, the container was found to be empty and showed no sign of contamination, Long Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Frank Hayes said. eflux media 4/3/08

 

Agriculture Daily News April 3

Richmond has joined the growing chorus of local governments denouncing a state plan to use an aerial spray to eradicate the light brown apple moth. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously opposed the spray, saying that the state must study the health effects first and explore safer methods. CC Times 4/3/08

 

Dow Chemical Company discharges about 500,000 gallons of used industrial water per day from its Pittsburg process water treatment facility and power plant about 100 feet offshore into New York Slough, releasing a tiny bit of the poison cyanide into the water. The amount is roughly the same as putting approximately one-tenth of an ounce into two Olympic-sized swimming pools. As part of the process of granting Dow a new permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board prepared a tentative cease and desist order to address compliance with the cyanide discharge. CC Times 4/3/08

 

Led by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, yesterday lawmakers introduced a package of eight bills to address the rise in diagnoses of children with autism, including one, SB1563, that would require health insurers to provide coverage for autism-related disorders.  CC Times 4/3/08

 

An NPR story on doctors making use of the internet to consult with patients looks at an office in San Francisco. As more doctors go online to communicate with patients, two of the country's biggest health insurers have started reimbursing patients for the Internet visits. But critics say the online advising could lead to errors, and patient privacy could be compromised. 4/3/08

 

Napa used to be the first and last word in American wine. But that's changing, with wineries branching into all corners of California, and the other 49 states (yes, Alaska and Hawaii, too). In climates where traditional wine grape varieties struggle, or perhaps won't grow at all, resourceful winemakers have adapted Old World techniques to a range of landscapes.  CC Times 4/3/08

 

Last year, a Schwarzenegger administration investigation found Blue Cross had illegally canceled health insurance policies for 90 sick patients. But more than a year after the administration released its findings, it has refused to require Blue Cross to reissue the policies that were canceled illegally, even though it has the power to do so. Capitol Weekly 4/3/08

 

Transporation Daily News April 2

Dan Little says $4-a-gallon diesel fuel and other soaring costs forced him to temporarily halt his cattle-hauling business in Missouri several days ago, and he may have persuaded truckers across the country to pull their rigs off the road next week. Officials at several organizations that represent independent truckers say that a widespread shutdown could have a noticeable effect on the country's transportation network within a matter of days. Truckers have tried to organize shutdowns in the past, with little success. NY Times 3/29/08

 

U.S. truckers caused minor traffic snags in parts of the country on Tuesday to protest soaring costs for diesel, according to members of a major trucking association and law enforcement officials. Reuters 4/1/08

 

Attorney General Jerry Brown joined officials in 17 other states Wednesday in demanding the federal Environmental Protection Agency release its internal finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. The move comes after EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson wrote last week that he plans to open a months-long public comment period on greenhouse gas emissions, a procedure that critics say serves to delay action on emissions until after President Bush leaves office. Sacramento Bee 4/2/08

 

California High Speed Rail Blog responds to Dan Walter's Bee column the other day questioning the need for a bullet train in California. Chief in his arguments are Walter's failure to mention Butthe words 'peak oil' or soaring gas prices. 3/31/08

 

Frozen credit markets, sky-high gas prices and a rising federal budget deficit are hurting cash-strapped states as they confront increasing congestion on the nation's deteriorating roads and bridges.
From Texas to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to California, states are more desperate than ever to tap every possible source of funding -- tolls on leased roads, sharp hikes in motor fuel taxes and partnering with the private sector -- to finance the building and repairing of roads and bridges. CNN Money 4/1/08

 

Senator Jim Battin of Riverside recently spent a week in Japan leading a bipartisan delegation that met government officials and studied the country's high-speed rail system. In November, Californians will be asked to approve our own high-speed rail project. From what he saw, he recommends taxpayers need to approach the idea with great caution. He argues the Japanese "Shinkansen," or bullet train, model has been a success, but that California needs to be sure to maximizing the private sector's role, and investment, and most importantly, protecting taxpayers and advocates AB 3034, currently in the Legislature, which would encourage greater use of public-private partnerships and limit the amount of bond money spent on environmental studies and consulting fees. Desert Sun 3/30/08

 

Financial advisors for the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) held a "Request for Expressions of Interest for Private Participation" session on 3/27.  Advisors from the Infrastructure Management Group and Lehman Brothers discussed the public-private partnership (PPP) have determined that funding the multi-billion-dollar system will require an upfront state funding commitment, as well as a significant investment of political capital to obtain other necessary funds. Progressive Rail Roading 3/28/08

 

The number of Americans heading abroad for medical procedures is surging as the country's 46 million people without health insurance look for treatment they can afford and cash-strapped U.S. companies struggle to find cheaper ways to provide high-quality medical care to their employees, according to the American Medical Association. Wouter Hoeberechts, head of WorldMed Assist, the California-based firm they used, said India is the most popular destination for high-end surgeries among his patients because the costs are so low. Dallas News 4/2/08

               

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is probably the least military organization associated with America's military. Members of the Auxiliary help the regular Coast Guard by patrolling the nation's waterways, coming to the rescue of boaters in distress, running safety checks on recreational boats, and helping out whenever the Coast Guard needs assistance. Last year, Auxiliary members in Northern California sailed in 2,000 patrols, assisted 285 vessels, and ran 6,953 safety checks on recreational boats. SF Chronicle 3/30/08

 

 

Agriculture Daily News April 2

Rising prices and a growing fear of scarcity have prompted some of the world’s largest rice producers to announce drastic limits on the amount of rice they export. The price of rice, a staple in the diets of nearly half the world’s population, has almost doubled on international markets in the last three months. That has pinched the budgets of millions of poor Asians and raised fears of civil unrest. NY Times 3/29/08

 

The Department of Water Resources wants to see if growing rice on islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta can reduce subsidence, the process in which peat soils slowly vaporize when exposed to air. This loss of soil has caused dozens of island interiors to drop below sea level, harming the stability of surrounding levees and increasing risks of catastrophic flooding. But there are potential drawbacks. Rice growing could increase the amount of organic carbon, fertilizers and pesticides in the runoff leaving islands, possibly causing water pollution or problems for drinking water treatment systems. Sacramento Bee 4/2/08

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has moved to ban physicians and hospitals from billing patients for the cost of services above what their HMOs are willing to pay.
Such bills, which patient advocates call a consumer abuse, are the product of a protracted feud between insurers and healthcare providers, principally emergency room doctors, radiologists and anesthesiologists. LA Times 4/1/08

 

The Environmental Protection Agency is taking control of the cleanup of an oil spill in Santa Barbara County after failed efforts by Greka Oil & Gas Inc., a company whose long record of inland oil spills could lead to new legislation. Officials announced the federal takeover of the Bell lease site in Santa Maria on Tuesday, saying that Greka has not removed petroleum-contaminated soil in a creek in the two months since the spill. Contra Costa Times 4/2/08

 

The California Senate on Tuesday approved spending $5.3 million to restore salmon habitat, responding to a population decline that may end salmon fishing off the coasts of California and Oregon this year. The money would help remove barriers to salmon migration, restore spawning areas and monitor salmon populations. CC Times 4/2/08

 

California lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation that would slap slaughterhouses with criminal penalties if they process meat from cattle and other livestock that are too sick to stand. The 6-1 vote by the Assembly Public Safety Committee was in response to the illegal processing of sick cattle at a Southern California slaughterhouse, which last month resulted in the country's largest beef recall. Ventura County Star 4/2/08

 

As the economy sputters, American drinkers are moderating their taste for fine wine – but not by much. And with a weak dollar making imports more expensive and consumers hunting for lower prices, the Central Valley's wine industry could be poised to benefit.  Figures released Tuesday by the Wine Institute, an industry group, show U.S. wine purchases rose 7.9 percent last year to $30 billion, making the nation the world's largest wine market. All the better, it seems, for mid-range wineries. Sacramento Bee 4/2/08

 

Agriculture Daily News April 1

After attending Monday's Cabinet meeting in a flannel work shirt and tattered jeans, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman was gently reminded by President Bush about the executive-branch dress code. Bush also encouraged Veneman to consider dress shoes instead of her usual steel-toe work boots. The Onion

 

The U.S. Agriculture Department sent shudders through much of the food industry Monday when it released estimates that showed farmers would plant 8% less corn this year. With corn prices already pushing up food prices, a spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers Assn. called the projection "alarming" and warned that the estimate bodes ill for consumers at the supermarket. Competing demands for farmland from high-priced wheat and soy crops play into reduced corn plantings, officials said. LA Times 4/1/08

 

A well-drilling boom not seen since California's last big drought in the early 1990s is under way in the San Joaquin Valley, as farmers chasing high crop prices tap the region's vast, largely unregulated groundwater reserves in the face of an increasingly bleak outlook for water from the state's rivers and reservoirs. The economics of the situation are keeping well-drillers busy. Fresno County permitted 204 new farm wells last year, the most since 1992. In Madera and Tulare counties, the number of new farm wells tripled between 2006 and 2007. The three counties are on pace in 2008 to sink even more wells than last year. Drillers from coastal areas and even other states are flocking to meet the demand. Sacramento Bee 3/30/08

 

Campuses participating in the National School Lunch Program must be inspected twice during the school year or risk losing federal funding. But of the 253 Contra Costa schools in the program, only 16 percent were inspected twice by Contra Costa Health Services in 2005, the Contra Costa grand jury reported this month. CC Times 3/29/08

 

The Bush administration announced requirements Monday that would encourage developers to compensate for the destruction of wetlands or streams by paying for the restoration or creation of wetlands elsewhere, sometimes many miles away. The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced final approval of the regulations Monday, saying it will help replace wetlands and streams that are unavoidably destroyed or severely damaged in construction or other activities. But environmentalists worried that the new mitigation policy could encourage wetlands destruction and overall wetlands loss. CC Times 4/1/08

 

In an aggressive move to finish building 670 miles of border fence by the end of this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced today that it will waive federal environmental laws to meet that goal. The two waivers, which will allow the department to slash through a thicket of environmental and cultural laws, would be the most expansive to date, encompassing land in California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas that stretches about 470 miles. LA Times 4/1/08

 

California moved a step closer to permanently protecting its shores from offshore oil drilling Monday when the House approved legislation to ban development in federal waters along all 76 miles of Sonoma County's coastline and off the southern tip of Mendocino County's coast. SF Chronicle 4/1/08

 

Pacific Ethanol Inc., a California biofuels darling that boasts political connections and an investment from Bill Gates, is short on cash and suffering from higher corn and plant construction costs, which threaten to derail the once-promising biofuels maker. The Sacramento company on Monday posted record-high sales but a larger-than-expected $14.7-million loss in the fourth quarter, reflecting a financial squeeze that has clouded prospects for ethanol producers nationwide. LA Times 4/1/08

 

The Justice Department on Monday asked the Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court decision limiting the Navy's use of sonar off the Southern California coast because of potential harm to dolphins and whales. Freno Bee 3/31/08

 

Scientists breed smelt in case species becomes extinct in Delta Sacramento Bee 3/31/08

 

Sometime this year, a San Francisco entrepreneur’ company, Climos, expects to seek permits to drizzle an iron slurry over roughly 4,000 square miles of ocean. In its wake, a green film of phytoplankton would bloom, absorb carbon dioxide, and fade, either naturally or as some other creature's meal. As waste and decomposing fragments from this eruption of life drift downward, carrying their internal carbon with them, some could sink deeply enough to be sequestered for 100 years or more, potentially slowing down global warming. The process could create saleable carbon credits.  Sacramento Bee 3/30/08

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transporation Daily News April 1

Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters unveiled a new $270 billion federal project Monday to build special lanes for dangerous and careless drivers on most major U.S. highways. Peters said the Department of Transportation plans to construct some 1,400 of the new lanes over the next four years, all of which will feature a special bowl design to keep cars in the lane while drivers are sleeping, drunk, or applying makeup in the rearview mirror.  The Onion 3/12/08

 

On Monday, a new Bay Area public transit agency came to life, promising to launch a fleet of new ferries and then rally those boats to move commuters across the Bay if and when a major earthquake disables bridges or BART's trans-Bay tube. As an organization, the new Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority will closely resemble the Bay Area's Water Transit Authority that it replaced. On Monday, the board hired WTA Chief Executive Officer Steven Castleberry as its new executive director, who promised to maintain the current management structure. In addition, the agency is empowered to actually operate ferry services. Inside Bay Area 4/1/08

 

At first, Oakland International Airport officials were skeptical of the new program that promised travelers a quick trip through security checkpoints. On Thursday morning's opening, those same officials were praising the Oakland arrival of Clear, the largest of three private companies that provide what amounts to a fast-track service for airport security. The federal Transportation Security Administration allows airports to award contracts to the companies to provide the service for a fee. Nationwide, Clear has about 124,000 customers, 25,000 of them who signed up at Bay Area airports for the service. Red Orbit 3/28/08

 

California air regulators on Thursday slashed the number of battery-powered and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that must be sold in the state, a setback for environmentalists and health advocates. The decision is expected to affect 12 other states that had adopted California's target for zero-emission vehicles. The California Air Resources Board voted to lower by 70 percent the number of those vehicles that automakers must sell here and in the states that intended to follow California's get-tough rules for vehicle emissions. CC Times 3/28/08

 

The Cosco Busan was the only big ship to get under way the morning it sideswiped the Bay Bridge, as at least four other large vessels waited out the heavy fog, the Coast Guard said Thursday. The decision of the Cosco Busan's crew and pilot to get moving despite the weather is a focus of the Coast Guard's investigation into the Nov. 7 collision. SJ Mercury 3/28/08

 

Longshore worker jobs are extremely tough to land at the Port of Oakland, and it's only going to get tougher with new rules from the Department of Homeland Security, experts predict. Under the 2007-2008 wage scale beginners earn $22.11 an hour while those with 4,000 or more hours of service earn $30.68 an hour, making them very popular jobs. Starting this year The Maritime Security Act requires background checks for any worker who has access to secured areas of regulated ports. Inside Bay Area 3/29/08

 

The jobs can also be fairly dangerous. Twenty-six workers were killed in 2007 at ports on the West Coast, including California and Washington, including two at the Port of Oakland. Inside Bay Area 3/29/08

 

Rail tankers with deadly chlorine and ammonia would have to slow down unless they were shipped in more impact-resistant tanks under a new rule proposed Monday by the Federal Railroad Administration. Touted as the "most sweeping and far-reaching" tank car safety regulations proposed in decades, the rules, if enacted after public hearings in Washington in May, would force the shipments of poisonous inhalants to keep to 30 mph. CC Times 4/1/08

 

Motorists in Los Angeles County could end up paying an extra 9 cents per gallon at the gas pump, or an additional $90 on their vehicle registration, under proposals aimed at getting them to help fight global warming. But opponents already are rallying against the measure, saying it exploits public concern about climate change to tap taxpayers for the MTA's regular services: providing bus and rail lines. LA Times 4/1/08

 

The High-Speed Rail Commission's environmental impact reports contain some underlying air travel projections that are very difficult to swallow. It would have us believe that air travel demand between Northern and Southern California would nearly double between 2000 and 2010. That flies in the face of actual airport traffic figures and seems to conflict with another commission projection that in the absence of building the bullet train, air travel times would increase only fractionally between 2000 and 2020. The projections are important because assumptions about bullet train passenger business are based, in part, on the notion that airlines can't handle the demand. Dan Walters in Sacramento Bee 3/31/08

 

The California Air Resources Board, acknowledging that development of air pollution-free vehicle technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells is lagging, moved Thursday to require major automakers to produce more low-emission cars such as plug-in hybrids. SF Chronicle 3/28/08