Congress delivered its first override of a veto by President Bush on Thursday, giving final approval to a $23 billion bill that authorizes water projects eagerly sought by lawmakers from both parties. In the Bay area the bill would provide money to study the feasibility of developing a desalination project, a number of waterway enhancement projects, a water recycling plant in Richmond, and salt marsh and pond restoration projects. Contra Costa Times 11/9/07
The black oil spreading for miles from the Golden Gate is staining one of the richest wildlife regions on the Pacific Coast and threatening hundreds of thousands of birds as well as marine mammals and fish that feed around San Francisco Bay. SF Chronicle 11/9/07
An attorney for the U.S. Navy urged federal appeals judges Thursday to allow the Navy to continue to use high-powered sonar during training exercises in Southern California waters, saying it would cause only "temporary and minor problems" for whales and dolphins. Judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had recently overturned an injunction stopping the process until the court could hear the case. The Department of Defense this year exempted the Navy from the Marine Mammal Protection Act, citing national security. But the environmental groups won an injunction under the National Environmental Policy Act, which has no provision for such an exemption. LA Times 11/9/07
Fruit flies from Mexico, among the most voracious of crop pests, were found this week in Escondido, prompting immediate spraying and a new quarantine that could last for months. The good news is the flies were young and had not mated. But officials are nonetheless concerned and are treating the find as an infestation. Sign on San Diego 11/9/07
After four straight nights of no-show due to fog, planes took to the skies over Santa Cruz County and sprayed a pesticide in residential areas in an attempt to wipe out the light brown apple moth, a crop-eating bug that's capable of causing millions of dollars in damage to California's agricultural industry. SJ Mercury 11/9/07
Israeli researchers are calling for a reassessment of the use of desalinated water for irrigation, warning in an article published in today's issue of Science Magazine that desalinated water adversely affects some crops, such as tomatoes, basil and certain varieties of flowers. The article says that the water's the low mineral content, once believed to be an advantage, is bad for the crops. Calcium shortage, for example, causes physiological defects, while magnesium shortage damages the plant's development. Haaretz 11/9/07
A host of interesting wine facts in today’s SJ Mercury:
- Wine sales in the U.S. peaked for the 13th year in a row in 2006, outpacing beer as the preferred alcohol beverage of Americans. Sales grew 3 percent.
-Wineries are second only to Disneyland as tourist hot spots in California. More than 14.8 million tourists visited wineries throughout the state in 2005.
- Behind France, Italy and Spain, California is the fourth largest wine producer in the world.
11/9/07
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