A new hot line, 211, is a national number modeled after 911, is just beginning to catch on in the Bay Area. Trained operators answer the phone and direct callers to social services that help with food, housing, shelter, immigration assistance and many other needs. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and in 150 languages. On Monday, 211 will expand to Marin, Napa, Solano and Contra Costa counties. SF Chronicle 2/09/08
The Bering Sea trawl fleets last year set a new and unwelcome catch record: Their vessels accidentally snared more than 120,000 chinook salmon as they dropped their nets in pursuit of pollock in North America's biggest seafood harvest. The pollock harvest rules are shaped by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, a group of state, federal and industry officials who are meeting this week in Seattle. Saturday, they are scheduled to consider several options to reduce the chinook catch, including placing a limit on the chinook harvest that -- if reached -- would terminate the annual Bering Sea pollock harvest. CC Times 2/10/08
Today, fishers are helping lead the process of defining the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that officials hope will help overfished near-shore species rebound. A variety of major protected areas are proposed for state waters off San Mateo County. On Tuesday, at the Montara Lighthouse, the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve will sponsor a public workshop on the different proposals that have been submitted by a group of specially appointed stakeholders, including fishers, conservationists and local park managers, over the past few months.On Wednesday and Thursday, the public is invited to attend two all-day meetings of the Blue Ribbon Task Force, a group of corporate and municipal representatives. CC Times 2/10/08
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading a cast of California food and wine celebrities in a new tourism ad campaign. The campaign focuses on a new Web site, http://www.landofwineandfood.com, and stems from a partnership between the California Wine Institute and the California Travel and Tourism Commission. The TV ad features a number of food and wine stars, including top chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley and vintner Andrew Firestone, who also appeared on ABC's "The Bachelor." SJ Mercury 2/11/08
A Democratic lawmaker is pushing legislation that would prohibit doctors from considering age, race or genetic factors in determining the size of workers' compensation benefits for employees who suffer job-related disabilities. The bill by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, would alter a key provision of the sweeping workers' compensation changes promoted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and employers in 2004. AP 2/11/08
This week, the Bush administration proposed a revamped guest worker program meant to make it easier for farmers to legally hire foreign workers. But the move failed to soothe California's agricultural employers, who say the little-used guest worker program will remain costly and cumbersome. The change also drew protests from farmworker advocates for provisions that cut wages and weaken current guarantees on employer-provided housing and travel expenses. Whether a significant number of the state's farmers use the new rules will depend largely on whether the White House follows through on a promise to prosecute the employers of undocumented workers, experts said. Sacramento Bee 2/11/08
You can take the salt out of the water, but can you make the policy stick?: Politically divisive in the past, desalination is steaming forward as the Delta's water supply grows more tenuous. More than a dozen seawater treatment plants are proposed in California, including a large regional plant in the Bay Area. A pilot project is under way at Mallard Slough in eastern Contra Costa County. RecordNet 2/10/08
Scuba divers plunged into a reservoir south of San Jose on Friday to hunt for a tiny, troublesome shellfish that is seeking, like so many travelers from afar, to start a new life in the Bay Area. In this case, it's the dread zebra mussel, a native of Russia and the scourge of fishermen, boaters and reservoir managers everywhere. SF Chronicle 2/10/08
No comments:
Post a Comment