The Daily Catch: Bay Area headlines

• Don’t mess with Rover: Dog owners vocal in park debate
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/14/2011

  Put dog lovers against bird lovers to a match and guess who wins in the Bay Area? Despite this region’s love of the outdoors, love for Rover proves stronger. Dog power has become a major force in the debate over a national parks department proposal to restrict pooch access to beaches and parks. The local bird lobby has yet to squawk as loudly. [San Francisco Examiner]

• Small businesses protest curbs to San Francisco Yellow Pages
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/14/2011

  Small business advocates protested outside San Francisco city hall Monday morning to oppose an effort to restrict the distribution of the Yellow Pages phone books. The participants said they rely on the phone books to advertise their services. Board of Supervisors president David Chu introduced the measure last month in an effort to reduce city waste. Residents and businesses would receive the Yellow Pages only after being asked if they wanted one. [Read more -SFAppeal]

• House GOP seeks to strip CA of fuel efficiency standards
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/14/2011

  California has led the nation in its vehicle fuel efficiency standards, and it’s been in the process of developing new, tighter restrictions to meet the state’s climate change law, AB 32. But House Republicans are attempting to thwart that effort with a bill that would revoke the EPA’s authority to grant California the federal waivers it needs. A California Air Resources Board spokesman said the move is a violation of state’s rights and could eliminate a 25 percent cut to fuel consumption nationwide. [Read more - San Francisco Chronicle]

• A california life lost to tsunami and damage in Bay Area
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/14/2011

  A young man was swept away from the bank of the Klamath River by Friday’s tsunami and is presumed dead, making him the first California death from a tsunami in more than 40 years.  Around the Bay Area, 18 boats sank in the Santa Cruz Harbor, which is expected to remain closed for the coming week as $17 million worth of damages is cleaned up. The Berkeley Marina suffered comparatively little upset, but docks and pilings were broken. [Read more - NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, Berkeleyside]

• The paradox of Whole Foods in a city that eschews chains
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/14/2011

  For a great read about the new Whole Foods in the Haight, check out writer Rachael Levin’s funny struggle with putting her foodie money where her mouth is and supporting local markets versus the gleaming, comparatively cheap bounty sold at Whole Zoo, as she calls it. [Read more - The Bold Italic]

• A Japan update on KQED’s forum
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/14/2011

  KQED’s Forum will discuss the relief effort underway in Japan. Among the panel of guests are Brad Alexander, spokesman for the California Emergency Management Agency, and Ross Stein, geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.  [Hear more - KQED]

• California Delta canal plans threatened by little-known agency
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/14/2011

  California’s big plans to build a canal flowing water around the Delta and down to Southern California is facing challenges from a little-known water agency whose members own more than half the acreage in the Delta. Landowners from the North Delta Water Agency say a canal may infringe on their rights to freshwater for crop production. Thirty years ago the state’s Department of Water Resources signed a contract with the agency agreeing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta would be managed to support their farming, or at least not harm it. [Read more - The Sacramento Bee]

• Great list of ways to help in Japan
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/14/2011

  Oakland Local has compiled a list of local and national organizations providing relief funds to people in Japan effected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant meltdowns. If you’re looking to help, check here. [Read more - Oakland Local]

• Communities that opposed San Francisco’s Sunday Streets join the party
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/14/2011

  The popular Sunday Streets events have added a new location: North Beach and Chinatown. The San Francisco program closes streets to cars for part of a day making room for community activities, including biking, information booths, and street performances. The Sunday Streets season begins this week with festivities along the Embarcadero between Mission Bay and Fisherman’s Wharf. [Read more - The San Francisco Examiner]

• Health officials say radiation from Japan unlikely to be danger to U.S. West Coast
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/13/2011

  As conditions at nuclear reactors in Japan continue to deteriorate, one obvious question for we West Coaster is the potential danger for radioactive fallout to travel across the jet stream. So far, authorities are downgrading the potential that the West Coast of North America is in danger. A spokesman for the California Department of Public Health said “at present there is no danger to California” and a monitoring system is in place to detect levels. Washington State is also monitoring air for radiation and said even in the event of a significant release, radiation would be so diluted before reaching [...]

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