President Bush's 2009 budget plan would slash money for fire prevention and preparedness in the wake of October's devastating wildfires in California, prompting an outcry from Democratic lawmakers who warned of massive layoffs at the U.S. Forest Service. The proposals were in Bush's final, $3.1 trillion budget blueprint, which he presented to Congress on Monday. CC Times 2/05/08
Made in Japan Teriyaki Experience, a restaurant chain based in Canada, will open its first two California locations here and in San Francisco on Thursday. Teriyaki Experience's concept is to offer fast and healthy Japanese food and has plans of opening 600 locations nationwide, including 40 in the Bay Area, within five to seven years. The menu includes teriyaki rice bowls, yakisoba noodle dishes, salads, wraps and sushi.
A state senator and environmentalists are calling for a probe of public notification procedures following last week's spill of 2.7 million gallons of raw and treated sewage into San Francisco Bay. It took at least three hours for officials at the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin to realize there was an overflow Thursday evening at its Mill Valley treatment plant. State emergency officials weren't notified for more than two hours after that. SF Chronicle 2/05/08
The California Department of Water Resources has increased its allocation of 2008 State Water Project water for long-term contractors from 25 percent to 35 percent of requests. Central Valley Business Times 2/04/08
Despite efforts by hospitals to curb aggressive collections practices, a study released Tuesday found the uninsured in California still pay more on average for services than government payers such as Medicare. Uninsured people are typically billed the highest prices for hospital care - the so-called retail rate - because government and commercial payers negotiate steep discounts. SF Chronicle 2/05/08
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday rejected the Bush administration's attempt to exempt Navy sonar training from key environmental laws, saying that there's no real emergency to justify overruling court-ordered protections for whales and dolphins. The 36-page order means the Navy will have to follow Cooper's previous injunction forbidding the use of powerful submarine-detecting sonar in areas where whales are abundant, such as within 12 nautical miles of the coast and between Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands. LA Times 2/05/08
A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 will make a flight later this month from London's Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam and for the first time a commercial aircraft has flown on biofuel. Airlines are under great financial pressure because of soaring fuel costs, and according to the EPA represent up to 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the U.S. transportation sector. The fuel used in the flight will be a blend of 80 percent conventional jet fuel, which is essentially kerosene, and 20 percent biofuel. SF Chronicle 2/05/08
A new campaign touting California’s wine industry is being launched by the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers. The "California First" 2008 campaign is designed to educate policy leaders, the media and consumers about the state's diverse winegrowing regions, wide array of wines and the industry's efforts in sustainability, the two industry groups say. Central Valley Business News 2/05/08
Kawamura follows agricultural secretaries from 18 other states who have visited Cuba in recent years, and he acknowledges that California is behind many states in establishing major trade relationships here. Despite being America's largest generator of agricultural trade, his state shipped only $735,000 worth of farm products to Cuba in 2006, largely powdered milk, rice and wine. a 2000 law allows the Cuban government to buy U.S. food and agricultural products in cash, and America has been the island's leading source of food and farm items since 2003. LA Times 2/04/08
Federal officials said a 600-foot-thick layer of usable groundwater is sitting under Balboa Park in San Diego, ready to be tapped for watering thirsty park lawns and golf courses.
A $300,000 drilling project has found the aquifer sitting about 1,500 feet beneath Florida Canyon. 10 News 2/02/08
A bill proposed by a Mississippi lawmaker to ban restaurants from serving food to obese customers has no chance of being approved – but this was never the lawmaker’s goal in the first place.
Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier filed a bill asking that it be illegal for restaurants with more than five seats to serve people who are obese, the criteria for obesity being set by the state Department of Health. Restaurants that failed to abide by the new law would have their permits revoked. eflux Media 2/05/08
An article in National Geographic Magazine asserts that the American West was won by water management, but asks what happens when there's no water left to manage. 2/05/08 (cool photo gallery)
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