Steps to prevent catastrophic wildfires in the Lake Tahoe basin have been hampered for years by bureaucratic infighting among agencies that often work at cross purposes, according to thousands of pages of documents reviewed by the Associated Press. The failure of the agencies to adequately protect the basin was brought to light last June when the Angora fire ripped through a thickly forested ravine and destroyed 254 homes near South Lake Tahoe. Using state and federal freedom of information laws, the AP obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents from local, regional, state and federal agencies involved in planning, environmental protection and fire prevention around Tahoe. CC Times 3/21/08
The public trust doctrine could lead to sweeping revisions in the amount of water that may be taken from the Delta. The doctrine, which has been buttressed in California's courts, says that certain values belong to present and future generations and that the state has an obligation to protect those values. In the Delta, for example, that could mean regulators might strike a new balance between the needs for Delta water and recreational fishing and water quality. CC Times 3/22/08
Congress is considering permanent protection for 26 million acres of historic landscapes in the American West, but it quietly has excluded millions of acres of California desert. In a system that would rival the national parks and forests, the National Landscape Conservation Act would unify the management and funding for areas such as the original Pony Express National Historic Trail. But more than half of the 10.6 million acres of the California Desert Conservation Area, which stretches from the Mexican border to Mono Lake, have been dropped on technical grounds. Because the word "national" isn't in its title, the conservation area doesn't qualify, according to U.S. Bureau of Land Management attorneys. CC Times 3/23/08
Retail egg prices have been increasing at rates not seen in at least 30 years. Egg eaters are feeling the pain of soaring chicken feed prices, which egg producers are passing down to the grocery aisle. What's more, the egg industry's normal response to good times, which is to feverishly add capacity until prices drop like a rock, hasn't materialized. That could keep supplies tight and prices high well into 2009. CC Times 3/23/08
This winter, a controversial new item has been showing up in the fine print of menus at some of the hottest restaurants: a surcharge to help pay for worker health insurance. At issue is the city's new effort, kicked off Jan. 9, to provide health care for all residents. Since then, employers with more than 20 workers are required to spend a minimum amount on health insurance, set aside money in health reimbursement accounts or pay a fee to the city's Healthy San Francisco program. CC Times 3/23/08
Throughout Contra Costa county's agricultural core, growers are looking forward to a strong year and bountiful U-pick season, which will likely be in full swing Memorial Day weekend. The fertile soil on the county's eastern edge is coming alive with the fruits of the upcoming summer harvest as sunny days, mild nights and a decent amount of rain have combined to create ideal growing conditions. Inside Bay Area 3/24/08
Amid growing concern over an imminent shutdown of the commercial and sport chinook salmon season, scientists are struggling to figure out why the largest run on the West Coast hit rock bottom and what Californians can do to bring it back. SF Chronicle 3/24/08
Representatives of the Bay Area Sutter Health hospitals weathering a strike by registered nurses said it was business as usual Saturday with babies delivered smoothly, trauma patients treated quickly and elective surgeries, except in one case, going ahead as planned. Several said that a third to more than half of the nurses were crossing their own picket lines and that with replacement workers already hired, their staffing levels were about normal. SF Chronicle 3/23/08
According to a study by Davis researchers, a warming trend already under way could shut down the deep churning of oxygen and nutrients that supports life in Lake Tahoe – in just 11 years. Sacramento Bee 3/22/08
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