Coast Guard officials said they knew within an hour Wednesday that the original report of the size of an oil spill in the Bay was too small, but they could not get a full handle on its size until late afternoon. Original estimates of 150 gallons have since grown to 58,000 gallons, of which officials had cleaned up at least 9,500 gallons of the marine bunker oil Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard deployed 10 vessels equipped with cleanup gear, seven inside the Bay and three in the Pacific. Contra Costa Times 11/9/07
The pilot guiding a container ship that struck the Bay Bridge early Wednesday, causing the biggest oil spill in the Bay in more than a decade, passed his alcohol tests along with the Cosco Busan's 26-member crew, the Coast Guard reported Thursday. Meanwhile, an official with the Board of Pilot Commissioners said the bar pilot's record reflects 13 reportable incidents in his 26-year career, although not all of them were found to involve pilot error. The law holds the employer, not the Coast Guard, responsible for drug testing. Contra Costa Times 11/9/07
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown sued the Bush administration Thursday to allow California to set a stricter tailpipe emission standard than the federal government. After filing the lawsuit, the top legal officials of 14 other states, interested in implementing similar laws, released a joint statement that they back California in the federal court case and would join on as co-plaintiffs. Contra Costa Times 11/9/07
The Oakland A's took a major step Thursday toward playing ball in Fremont, submitting a long-awaited development application. The submittal kick-starts an estimated 14- to 18-month environmental review of the A's plan for a 226 acre park. Contra Costa Times 11/9/07
In a sign that Californians may be open to funding the global warming fight, a majority of residents support a carbon tax on businesses and individuals, according to a Field Poll released Thursday. Only a slight majority of Californians favored taxing individuals however, but support grew to 65 percent if the money from the tax was dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The survey found 70 percent of Californians believe global warming is extremely or very important, compared to 52 percent of Americans who reported the same in a national poll earlier this year. Sacramento Bee 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
On a hot day, so-called "cool coatings" can reduce the air temperature in a parked car by more than 17 degrees, according to a federal study. The coatings, including sun-shielding windows and specially treated paint, may become mandatory on new cars if a draft by the CARB goes to vote in 2009. Sacramento Bee 11/9/07
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