Eelgrass a boon to the ecology, a bane to boaters

Feds join wave of protest vs. Hub
Federal officials jumped in on a Lawsuit yesterday accusing Boston of dirtying up the water by dumping raw sewage and pollutants into the Mystic, Charles and Neponset rivers. Dishwashers and Washing Machines illegally hooked up to storm drains are part of the problem, water officials say. Runoff is another toxic source. “It’s disappointing the feds say we haven’t done enough,” said Vivien Li, Executive Director of the Boston Harbor Association. “The last remaining ...

McCarthyism on Steroids: Monitoring Americans
Technically, "Suspicious Activity" is defined as: observed behavior reasonably indicative of pre-operational planning related to Terrorism or other criminal activity [related to terrorism]. But in the hyperventilating terrah-hysteria that our government works so hard to sustain, this includes the neighbor buying Fertilizer for his plants, the Student studying for a metallurgy test, or (lest you think this is my own hyperbole) the real-life example of a tourist snapping a picture of a ferry i...

Strongest Storm Yet to Hit Southern California
The latest in a week of storms could bring thunder, hail, Flooding, tidal surges and even waterspouts and small tornadoes. Some foothill Evacuations are ordered. Authorities and residents were bracing for Flooding, thunderstorms, hail, tidal surges and even small tornadoes Wednesday as the worst of a seven-day series of storms was expected to sweep into Southern California. Wednesday's storm was projected to be the most intense of the week, the result of a powerful, cold storm from the Gulf o...

Storm Lashes California, Leaves Polluted Water
Some have called it a storm of biblical proportions. But, the rain that deluged Southern California for the past seven days has started to clear out. The rain washed trash, Pesticides and Bacteria into waterways, prompting several health warnings. Twelve miles of beach from Laguna Beach to San Clemente in Southern California's Orange County were off-limits because of sewer overflows. In Laguna Beach, nearly four feet of runoff raced through the streets. Flooding made many roads impossible to...

S. Calif. storm weakens as it moves east
SANTA FE, N.M., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The storm leaving Southern California headed southeast, sparing much of the Midwest but raising snow fears in places where snow rarely falls, forecasters said. The system that had Southern California houses and cars slathered with mud, flooded city streets and collapsed hillsides onto roads, neared New Mexico Thursday morning but was still expected to bring snow to central Illinois late Thursday night. The storm weakened and slowed as it headed east, the National...

Obama wants health insurers to defend large hikes
Health Insurance Companies that increase premiums by more than 10 percent would be required to justify those higher rates publicly, according to new rules proposed Tuesday by the Obama Administration. Under the proposal, premium increases of more than 10 percent in 2011 for individuals and small businesses would set off a review by states or the Federal Government to determine whether those rates are unreasonable. While federal health officials said the new policy would help curb unjust incre...

Branstad ideas on deregulation of ag industry are risky, groups warn
In the fall, then-GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Terry Branstad proposed a plan that he said would create jobs for Iowans while growing the state’s agricultural production. A key component of the plan is a “systematic review” of all state Regulations regarding business, including agricultural businesses, and a promise to toss aside any regulatory policy that hindered a focus of Job Creation in the state. Within hours of the unveiling of the plan, however, a group of local Activist...

Today's shepherds are alone on the range at Christmas
There were shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them ...— Luke 2:8-9 CANYON COUNTY, Idaho— This Christmas they are out there still, watching their flocks at all hours, in snow, rain and fog, so we can eat our lamb and wear our wool. They are from places you might expect — the Peruvian and Chilean highlands, mostly — working in a place you might not, here in the USA. About 1,500 shepherds...

Calif. rain eases but storm contaminates water
Silverado Canyon in Orange County was among the hardest-hit areas in the storm that drenched Southern California on Wednesday, Dec. 22. Canyon residents Bob Lee and Rick Schaeffer work to prevent a van from going into a river. Storm runoff and mud prompted the evacuation of about 30 people in the area. (Alex Gallardo / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation This road into Silverado Canyon was among the dozens cut off on Wednesday throughout Orange County. (Nick Ut / AP)...

PG&E; pushed controversial pipeline inspection plan
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. led the successful lobbying campaign to persuade federal Regulators writing natural-gas safety rules seven years ago to endorse a pipe inspection method many experts see as deficient - the technique used on the Pipeline that later failed catastrophically in San Bruno. A PG&E; executive was one of the main industry proponents of the then-new testing regimen, interviews with people who were involved in the rule-writing process and a Chronicle review of documents show...

PG&E; pushed controversial pipeline inspection plan
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. led the successful lobbying campaign to persuade federal Regulators writing natural-gas safety rules seven years ago to endorse a pipe inspection method many experts see as deficient - the technique used on the Pipeline that later failed catastrophically in San Bruno. A PG&E; executive was one of the main industry proponents of the then-new testing regimen, interviews with people who were involved in the rule-writing process and a Chronicle review of documents show...

With poplar trees, a one-time polluter makes some green
NORTH LIBERTY - Lou Licht was once a Polluter - aiding and abetting companies that spewed Toxins into the air and water. Today he could hardly be greener. With a quick-growing, toxic-zapping tree and a patented technique, Licht cleans up the types of messes he once helped create. His professional and environmental interests are wrapped up in trees, and he hopes to apply his work in Iowa. He’s an entrepreneur with a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from the Unive...

Californias Pay as You Drive Insurance Program Could Reduce Driving
The California Department of Insurance has approved a pay-as-you-drive insurance program encouraged by environmental advocates and transportation planners because it provides an incentive to drive less by reducing premiums for low-mileage drivers. Widespread adoption of similar insurance policies could reduce driving in the U.S. by as much as eight percent, according to a Brookings Institution study. “The voluntary pay-as-you-drive initiative is an innovative program that will allow insure...

Wells Fargo agrees to modify California ARM loans
Wells Fargo Bank has agreed to make $2 billion in loan modifications for California Homeowners with risky pay-option, adjustable-rate Mortgages that Wells purchased from other banks, and to pay $32 million to 15,000 borrowers who had similar loans and lost their homes to Foreclosure, according to an agreement with the California Attorney General's office. "Customers were offered adjustable-rate loans with payments that mushroomed to amounts that ultimately thousands of borrowers could not aff...

The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up
What a night! The Heavy Rain began about 10:30 last night and is still falling at 6:30 this morning. I'm seeing colors on the radar we don't normally see in Southern California - stuff you'd normally see in a Midwestern supercell thunderstorm. If we haven't gotten 3" of rain overnight I'll be surprised, with more to come during the day. Here's what's going on in Southern Orange County according to the OC Register:An early morning storm wreaked havoc across South Orange County causing Flooding, ...

Land sinking and seas rising
It's easy to be fatalistic about the results from a new Virginia Institute of Marine Science study. Like earlier investigations, this one found that not only are seas rising here, but the land is sinking. Given such big phenomena, perhaps there's nothing we can do. But it's even easier to be optimistic. Since the study found that seas are rising more slowly than expected, we may have more time to adapt. Finally, history suggests that the easiest and most likely reaction of all will be procrastin...

Banks Accused Of Breaking Into Homes
Arriving at her home in Truckee, Calif., Mimi Ash found it had been cleared of her possessions New York Times: TRUCKEE, Calif. — When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend Ski Trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks. When she finally got into the house, it was empty. All of her possessions were gone: furniture, her son’s ski medals, winter clothes and family photos. Also missing was a wooden box, its top inscribed with the word...

EPAs Hidden Taxes Increase Your Heating Bills
The Washington Times The Federal Government is ushering in 2011 with new powers that will jack up energy costs for consumers. In the name of fighting unproven climate-change theories, Bureaucrats are pushing through tough new business restrictions on emissions from energy plants that light and heat homes across the country. As a result, Americans in the near future may be forced to pay a hidden tax in their electric bills or, worse, find themselves in the dark and cold. The Environmental Prote...

California storm leaves mudslides, polluted water
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California residents who endured Flooding, Mudslides and Evacuations during a week-long onslaught of rain now have another problem: contaminated water and fouled beaches. The rain washed trash, Pesticides and Bacteria into waterways, prompting health warnings. Four beaches were closed in Northern California's San Mateo County and another 12 miles of beach from Laguna Beach to San Clemente in Southern California's Orange County were off-limits because of sewer overflows. P...

Storm Lashes SoCal; Mudslides Bury Homes, Cars
As Firefighters in California are fighting surging waters from torrential rain, the risk of dangerous Mudslides is increasing. Ben Tracy reports. The storm battering the Western U.S. is causing major damage and hundreds of Evacuations. Bill Whitaker reports on the five-day ordeal. Learn about the people, economy and geography. LA Evacuations Ordered as Calif. Braces for Rain (CBS/AP) Laguna Beach, Calif. - Axl Dominguez awoke early Wednesday to a bumping sound and looked out the window to a scar...

Storm lashes California and leaves polluted water
LOS ANGELES (AP) - California residents who endured Flooding, Mudslides and Evacuations during a weeklong onslaught of rain now have another problem: contaminated water and fouled beaches. The rain washed trash, Pesticides and Bacteria into waterways, prompting health warnings. Four beaches were closed in Northern California's San Mateo County and another 12 miles of beach from Laguna Beach to San Clemente in Southern California's Orange County were off-limits because of sewer overflows. While...

Hillside Slides Onto I-10 Ramp in Calif.
LOS ANGELES - A rain-soaked hillside has collapsed on part of a busy Interstate 10 transition road east of Los Angeles as relentless rains begin to torment Southern California commuters. Some coastal cities have received several inches of rain since Friday, and forecasters have issued ominous warnings that another drenching squall is poised to strike Wednesday morning. More than 200 homes have been evacuated in Los Angeles hillside suburbs where Mudslides inundated homes and backyards in Febru...

The power of young pens
Every Christmas, I think about Julie Smit. As a 16-year-old in 1994, Julia wrote a first-person article about her life for L.A. Youth, a nonprofit newspaper written by and for Los Angeles teenagers. It started like this: "As a couple of friends and I cruised down an alley to find a spot to kick back and smoke a joint, we saw a head with long blond hair pop up from a dumpster. In front of the dumpster was an old 10-speed that had been put together piece by piece. Every piece on the bike was a dif...

Your Opinions
In response to the Journal Sentinel's heart-wrenching stories concerning emergency detentions, we must emphasize that difficult or catastrophic behaviors in persons with dementia are not inevitable consequences of this disease. In Dane County, we have developed a model program to deal with this issue by utilizing a small team of experts, who, within days, assess the individual's situation, make recommendations, such as a more definitive diagnosis, medication changes and individualized daily ro...

Brown plans low-key, low-budget inaugural
Reporting from Sacramento — It'll be a little more upscale than the impromptu dinner at a Chinese restaurant where Jerry Brown celebrated his first swearing-in as California governor three decades ago — but maybe not by much. Brown, who takes back the office on Jan. 3, won't be holding an extravagant inaugural ball and raising eye-popping sums to fund it as the last few incoming governors have done. His party will be a decidedly modest affair. Special interests eager to curry favo...