Environment
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Thursday Must Reads: Bay Area Housing Market Remains Red Hot; Oakland Council Shelves Plan to Audit the City Auditor
Politics / Business / Environment Robert Gammon — Thu, May 16, 2013 at 7:01 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The Bay Area housing market remained red hot in April, as the median home sales price soared to $510,000 — its highest point in five years and a 30.8 jump over the same month a year ago, the Chron$ reports. A relatively small number of homes on the market are continuing to spark fierce bidding wars. However, the region’s median home price is still short of its peak of $650,000 in the summer of 2007. The low point was $375,000 in March 2009 during the height of the foreclosure crisis.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Wednesday Must Reads: Assembly Speaker Perez Rewarded Big Fundraisers; Brown’s Budget Boosts Spending for Schools, But Nothing Else
People / Education / Environment Robert Gammon — Wed, May 15, 2013 at 7:00 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Speaker John A. Perez rewarded politicians who raised the most funds to help elect more Democrats last year with prime jobs in the Assembly, the Center for Investigative Reporting reports. In all, Perez’s efforts pumped $5.8 million into campaigns to help Democrats win a super-majority in the Assembly. And then Perez handed out choice positions to the biggest fundraisers. San Diego Democrat Toni Atkins donated the most money — $282,000 — and Perez made her Assembly majority leader. Most of the cash raised by Democrats came from special interests with business in front of key committees in the Assembly.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Appellate Court Appears Ready to Rule Against Drakes Bay Oyster Farm
Breaking News / Environment Robert Gammon — Tue, May 14, 2013 at 12:49 PM
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco appears to be ready to rule against a controversial oyster farm in Point Reyes, according to reporters and environmentalists who attended today's hearing. Scott Graham, a longtime, respected journalist for the The Recorder legal newspaper, tweeted after the hearing: "Sounds like win for the govt and enviros." And Pamela MacLean of Trial Insider wrote, " The days may be numbered for the popular Drakes Bay Oyster farm, if the questions Tuesday from three judges on 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are any indication." The Obama administration and environmentalists want the courts to uphold then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's decision last fall to not renew Drakes Bay Oyster Company's lease in Point Reyes in order to make way for the first marine wilderness on the West Coast.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Monday Must Reads: Badly Designed Bolts in New Bridge Tower, Too; Frazier Was Going to Seek Jordan’s Ouster
Law Enforcement & Crime / Environment / Transportation Robert Gammon — Mon, May 13, 2013 at 6:53 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The signature tower of the new Bay Bridge contains more than four hundred giant steel bolts that may be inferior to the 32 rods that have already snapped, SF Gate reports. The 400-plus bolts in the tower had been dipped in hydrochloric acid even though doing so violated industry standards. The acid can make steel more brittle and susceptible to failure, but instructions from Caltrans to forgo the acid baths apparently never made it to the Alabama manufacturer of the rods. It’s too late to replace the rods, however, because they’re no longer accessible in the tower. If the giant bolts break during an earthquake, it could be catastrophic.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Tuesday Must Reads: State Regulators Recommend No Fines Against PG&E for Deadly San Bruno Blast; CO2 Levels Soar Worldwide
Politics / Business / Environment Robert Gammon — Tue, May 7, 2013 at 7:00 AM
News stories that East Bay progressives and environmentalists shouldn’t miss:
1. State regulators sparked criticism from consumer groups yesterday when they recommended no fines against PG&E for the deadly San Bruno blast of 2010. Regulators with the California Public Utilities Commission said that, instead of fines, the utility should be required to spend $2.25 billion on upgrading its aging natural gas lines, SFGate reports. The CPUC contends that levying fines against PG&E for the explosion that killed eight people “does not make sense,” because it would leave the utility without enough money to complete the safety upgrades. But San Bruno officials and consumer advocates quickly criticized the CPUC’s recommendation, and said PG&E should be fined for its gross negligence. The CPUC recommends that the $2.25 billion for upgrades come from PG&E’s shareholders — and not its customers.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Special Report: 'Chemicals of High Concern' Found in Thousands of Children's Products
Business / Health & Medicine / Environment Jane Kay of Environmental Health News — Mon, May 6, 2013 at 12:55 PM
Cobalt in plastic building blocks and baby bibs. Ethylene glycol in dolls. Methyl ethyl ketone in clothing. Antimony in high chairs and booster seats. Parabens in baby wipes. D4 in baby creams. An Environmental Health News analysis of thousands of reports from America’s largest companies shows that toys and other children’s products contain low levels of dozens of industrial chemicals, including some unexpected ingredients that will surprise a public concerned about exposure.
Monday Must Reads: Climate Change Could Cause Drought in California; Boxer Angers Environmentalists Over Flood-Control Plan
Politics / Environment / Transportation Robert Gammon — Mon, May 6, 2013 at 6:56 AM
News stories that East Bay environmentalists and progressives shouldn’t miss:
1. Southern California, along with much of the Southwest, could become much more susceptible to drought because of climate change, according to a new study led by NASA, the LA Times$ reports. The study essentially predicts that dry regions around the world will become drier and wet regions will become wetter. Drought and dry conditions also could lead to more massive wildfires in Southern California and an increase demand for water from the Sierra.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Funding to be Slashed for Program that Cut Air Pollution
Politics / Health & Medicine / Environment Brian Bienkowski of Environmental Health News — Fri, May 3, 2013 at 11:13 AM
More than 50,000 high-polluting diesel engines have been cleaned up or removed from US roads in a federal program designed to reduce smog and greenhouse gases, according to a new US Environmental Protection Agency report to Congress. But while both industry and environmental officials call the program a success, it is now threatened with a 70 percent cut in funding under the Obama Administration’s new budget.
Friday Must Reads: Bad Bolt Total Climbs to 2,300 on New Bay Bridge; Sierra Snowpack at Just 17 Percent of Normal
Politics / Environment / Transportation Robert Gammon — Fri, May 3, 2013 at 7:01 AM
News stories that you shouldn’t miss:
1. The number of badly designed bolts installed on the new Bay Bridge now stands at more than 2,300, the Chron$ reports, adding that Caltrans continued to use the overly hard metal fasteners even after the agency had banned their use elsewhere in the state. The newspaper also reports that Caltrans has concluded that 96 of the huge bolts are defective — 32 of those have already snapped. Caltrans allowed the banned bolts to be installed on the bridge because the span was designed in 1995 — nine years before the agency had concluded that they were unsafe because the fasteners can become overly brittle when exposed to the environment.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday Must Reads: Bay Bridge Bolt Scandal Widens; Berkeley to Consider Raising Minimum Wage
Politics / Environment / Transportation Robert Gammon — Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 6:54 AM
News stories that East Bay progressives and environmentalists shouldn’t miss:
1. Caltrans officials circumvented the agency’s own regulations, along with state and federal standards, when establishing specifications for the giant bolts that snapped on the Bay Bridge, the Chron$ reports. As a result, the huge bolts were made to be too hard and then broke because they were brittle. So far, 32 bolts have snapped, but there are a total of 1,200 pieces on the new bridge that are at risk of breaking as well. One expert told the newspaper that Caltrans’ jury-rigged system for designing bolts was, at minimum, “irresponsible,” and possibly fraudulent.
