The Daily Catch: Bay Area headlines

• Dump truck drivers suing over California climate change law
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/23/2011

  It’s not just environmental justice groups that are having a problem with the California Air Resources Board’s decisions on implementing the state’s climate change law. A more expected point of contention is coming from the California Dump Truck Owners Association, which has filed suit on behalf of independent truckers who say that stricter emissions standards are going to cost them a hella more money — on the order of $150,000 to buy a compliant truck and tens of thousands of dollars in retrofit devices for existing vehicles. [Read more -  Legal Planet]

• Farewell to native fish in Lake Tahoe
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/23/2011

  Ever get the urge to cast a reel in Lake Tahoe? A new study says you won’t be finding many native fish if you do. “The numbers are alarming,” said a scientist from the University of Nevada. The study found 58 percent of the locations studied showed a decline of species or no native species at all. They’ve been supplanted by non-native fish like bass. [Read more -Sacramento Bee]

• San Francisco’s City Hall getting solar panels
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/23/2011

  San Francisco is calling for bids to install solar panels on top of City Hall and the nearby Davis Symphony Hall. The decision comes despite a disagreement with unions, which could take years to settle. [Read more- San Francisco Business Times]

• Solar energy inspires sizzling party in San Francisco
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/23/2011

  Veteran environmental reporter Todd Woody attended a packed and giddy party promoting solar energy in San Francisco this week and said it brought him back to the heady days of the Internet boom. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee riled the hundreds of party goers by championing the city’s 100% renewable energy goal by 2020. [Read more - Grist]

• San Francisco slow to improve pedestrian safety
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/23/2011

  Despite three pedestrian deaths in San Francisco last week, city officials are dithering over who is in charge of improving safety rather than taking action, critics say. At a San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) meeting yesterday, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu characterized the problem as “paralysis by analysis.” City health officials said accidents could be cut in half if speeds were reduced by 5 mph. [Read more - SF Streets]

• Emails suggest Lennar and city hid asbestos contamination at Bay View
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/23/2011

  The Environmental Protection Agency and the San Francisco Department of Public Health are investigating damning emails exchanged between city officials and Lennar Corporation over asbestos-contaminated dust stirred up during construction at Bay View Hunters Point. One of the most controversial messages by a city official reads, “It seems to me that the available facts are on our side, so we should stay away from trying to create more data.” [Read more - The Bay Citizen]

• Another tussle over Asian American fare, this time frogs and turtles
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/23/2011

  State Fish and Game officials are sparing over whether live frogs and turtles bound for dinner plates may be imported into the state. The Department of Fish and Game Director John McCamman recently started issuing permits allowing the imports, despite a unanimous vote by the Fish and Game Commission to ban them. Last spring a group of Asian American state legislatures said the ban “disproportionately target Asian American owned businesses.” [Read more - California Watch]

• Some San Francisco neighborhoods vulnerable to tsunamis
  By Alison Hawkes 

  03/22/2011

  How would San Francisco fare if a major tsunami hit? The topic has been well covered since 51 tsunamis have hit the San Francisco Bay since 1850, nine originating from Alaska. Fortunately no deaths happened as a result. Ocean Beach is at the top of the city’s list of tsunami hot spots. Check out the state’s “inundation map” to see how your neighborhood might be affected. [Read more - Richmond District Blog]

• California climate change law on hold
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/22/2011

  California’s historic climate change legislation, AB32, has been put on hold until the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) presents alternatives to the law’s key component, a cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gases. The San Francisco County Superior Court found merit in a lawsuit by Oakland-based environmental justice groups who sued ARB claiming the laws would increase pollution in disadvantaged communities. The ruling throws into question whether the law will be implemented by January 1, 2012 as planned. [Read more - San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle]

• Malicious vandalism may have been cause of Marin sewage spill
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  03/22/2011

  The Ross Valley Sanitary District is blaming a 2.6 million gallon sewage spill in Marin County last December on a negligent contractor and possibly also on a former Marin Board of Supervisor candidate suspected of vandalism. The district has asked the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to launch a criminal investigation. The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded its investigation, but refused to comment on the results.[Read more - Marin Independent Journal]

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