9-26-08

 9-26-08Merced Sun-StarBailout may kill Central Valley projectsPolticians' plans lose attention and funding in shadow of massive bill...MICHAEL DOYLE, Sun-Star Washington Bureauhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/471117.htmlWASHINGTON -- The proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout will rewrite -- and, in some cases, erase -- the California congressional agenda.Money will become harder to find, for big projects like restoring the San Joaquin River. Political momentum may be harder to build. Old priorities could simply evaporate, as some already have this week."Any project that has a cost attached to it becomes more difficult," conceded Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno.Costa is the chief House author of the San Joaquin River restoration bill. The legislation to revive the river's salmon population downstream of Friant Dam authorizes $250 million in federal funding. Long-term costs could grow even higher, some believe.Under a lawsuit settlement, Congress was theoretically supposed to have approved the San Joaquin River legislation by Dec. 31, 2006.Senate supporters have planned for many months to fold the San Joaquin River restoration bill into a much larger public lands package, the kind that has a little something for every lawmaker. The mega-package ultimately was slated to cover more than 140 separate bills, possibly spanning 1,000-plus pages.But now, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee spokesman Bill Wicker acknowledged Thursday, the prospects for the big public lands bill have become "real grim." Although he didn't rule out action following the November election, Wicker stressed the bill is a "long shot." Several reasons contribute beyond the bailout, including the adamant objections of some conservative senators and the lack of time left for the 110th Congress. But even when the 111th Congress convenes in January, lawmakers will find money harder to come by because of the financial bailout package. The bailout's final cost remains a moving target."The bailout bill is certainly likely to change the landscape for an awful lot of bills that will need funding," Wicker said.Nor is money the only exhaustible Capitol Hill asset. Time, too, is a limited resource. With lawmakers and staffers attending back-to-back meetings with colleagues and serially telephoning bankers and community leaders back home, other priorities wither."We're doing nothing but this," said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia.On Thursday, for instance, Nunes had planned to introduce legislation reforming congressional earmarks. Technically, the bill limiting the ability of House members to slip in targeted spending was ready. Tactically, though, the timing was all off."That was set aside, because I couldn't get people to pay attention to it," Nunes said.Nunes further worried Thursday that the bailout and its fallout will complicate completion of a long-delayed Colombian free trade agreement before the Bush administration expires. Supporters stress the deal would boost California exports, as Colombia would immediately eliminate its tariffs on grapes, tree fruit and nuts.The all-consuming bailout deprives Republicans of a chance to press home their energy agenda. Even though the GOP won this week when the House let a longstanding offshore oil drilling moratorium lapse, public attention had turned elsewhere. Politically, that could help Democrats like Rep. Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton, who Republicans have sought to impale on the energy production issue.The single-minded congressional focus can also so distract lawmakers and members of the public that otherwise debatable measures can slide through untouched.On Wednesday, for instance, the House overwhelmingly approved a multibillion-dollar bill that funds military, homeland security and veterans programs. Taxpayers for Common Sense identified 2,322 earmarks in the bill, which self-styled reformers have vainly tried to restrict.Many of the putative earmarks were requested by President Bush. Others came strictly from lawmakers. For instance, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, successfully requested $500,000 for "pre-disaster mitigation" work in the city of Merced. This Federal Emergency Management Agency work isn't controversial by itself, but its inclusion underscored how the bailout has blown away the once-heated earmark debate."I understand that this all may seem a little trivial in a week that we may approve $700 billion," anti-earmark crusader Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., acknowledged on the House floor. Schwarzenegger vetoes tougher restrictions on mortgage brokersBill would have banned 'exotic' loans for subprime borrowers...KEVIN YAMAMURA, The Sacramento Beehttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/471126.htmlGov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a proposal Thursday that would have imposed tougher restrictions on mortgage brokers, such as banning them from issuing exotic loans to subprime borrowers that cause balances to grow rather than shrink over time.The Republican governor signed several other bills dealing with mortgage lending, but his veto of Assembly Bill 1830 blocked what consumer groups considered the most significant state housing-related proposal on his desk.Lawmakers wrote a multitude of mortgage bills this year in the midst of a battered housing market in California, whose problems have been partly blamed on irresponsible lending practices.The bill by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, would have banned subprime borrowers from obtaining "negative amortization" loans, agreements that offer low initial payments but increase the principal balance over time, boosting interest costs and making them difficult to pay off.AB 1830 also would have specified that mortgage brokers owe a "fiduciary duty" to borrowers. It would have prohibited brokers from steering borrowers toward higher risk loans than they would qualify for based on their income and credit. Merced County's housing panel votes to give delayed farmworker project to West Sacramento firmConstruction workers say project should have stayed local...SCOTT JASONhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/471127.htmlThe Merced County Housing Authority awarded a multimillion-dollar construction contract to a West Sacramento-based firm, despite pleas from area builders to keep the money local.After a three-hour meeting, with two closed sessions, a flip-flop vote and pressure from the state to move on, the authority's commission decided 6-1 to have Brown Construction build the Felix Torres Farmworker Housing Center in Planada.Commissioners Tom May, Joe Ramirez, Margaret Warmack, Maria Lucio, Mary Stillahn and Charles Reyburn all voted to hire Brown Construction, saying that federal regulations limited their freedom to chose a firm.Patrick Bowman dissented. (Bowman is facing criminal charges after the collapse of a nonprofit, Firm Build, that got funding from the Housing Authority. Bowman served as president on the nonprofit's board.)The migrant center, already controversial and running behind schedule, has been one of the top priorities of the Housing Authority, charged with providing low-income housing. It's projected to be built in about a year.Greg Opinski Construction workers, wearing blue jeans, muddy boots and T-shirts, spilled into the hallway as their boss asked the commission to hire his company."We'd like to put some faces behind the name Greg Opinski Construction," Greg Opinski said. "We are a perfect fit for these type of projects. I've just never understood sending jobs out of town."Though big jobs always draw bids, they've become more competitive and contentious as the amount of work has dwindled.A handful of subcontractors, who've all seen fellow builders lose their jobs, echoed the same point."Work is scarce," Creative Plumbing estimator Ron Gilbert said, adding the shop has shrunk from 46 plumbers to eight.While the board discussed who to hire behind closed doors, Bob Asmus, Opinski's business development director, made his case for why it's foolish to hire the West Sacramento company: The sales tax won't stay local, most of the workers won't be from Merced County and the salaries won't be pumped back into local businesses.Workers rapped about how money going out of town will only cause more foreclosures and increase unemployment.Opinski put in a $15.4 million bid in August. The Housing Authority's work request was based on a qualifications, not just the lowest bidder for the job. He argued it gives the board leeway in who to hire...May made a motion to approve the award. It failed 3-4, only gaining the support of May, Reyburn and Warmack.Bowman said the board should either rebid the project or take another look at all the proposals..."If we do not decide this today, we'll likely lose the funds," Ramirez said, later adding that they'll put heavy pressure on Brown to hire local workers and subcontractors.Federal regulations tied the commission's hands, he said, urging them to contact legislators so that the rules can give local firms an advantage. "I know how much this would help you guys, said Ramirez, a manager with County Bank. "I know it would help us."Opinski will understand why the other company got the job once the scoring reports become public, he said. They weren't immediately available.As the workers walked out to their trucks, one muttered, "They better keep building (low-income) houses because I'm going to be in one soon."Central Valley air passes EPA benchmarkActivists argue PM-10 standard was set too low...MARK GROSSI, The Fresno Beehttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/471140.htmlThe San Joaquin Valley's air is now classified as healthy under the federal standard for dust and soot, the dangerous, tiny specks that can trigger lung problems.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made the landmark announcement Thursday following two years of protests from environmentalists who say officials have simply ignored many violations.Environmentalists sued the EPA in March after the agency waived several violations because of high-wind conditions in the Valley.Arguments are supposed to be heard in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court in February.Local air officials say the Valley -- 25,000 square miles from Stockton to Bakersfield -- has not violated the so-called PM-10 standard since 2003. It is the first completed cleanup of a major pollutant here since the 1990s.The EPA's action Thursday means the Valley no longer faces PM-10 cleanup deadlines or possible federal sanctions, which include temporarily cutting off $2 billion in federal road-building funds.But environmentalists say the EPA's approval is illegal because the agency should not have waived bad-air readings in Bakersfield and Corcoran over the past few years."There are literally dozens of exceedences that have been ignored," said attorney Paul Cort with Earthjustice, a nonprofit legal watchdog group in Oakland. "This is the Bush administration patting themselves on the back when people are clearly suffering." Federal, state and local air officials disagreed, citing Clean Air Act exceptions for natural events, such as excessively windy days.Environmentalists say that if they prevail in the case, they may have a legal reason to force the EPA to rescind the Valley's new clean-air classification for PM-10.Meanwhile, authorities will not shy away from stricter rules to hold down dust from industries and residents, said Seyed Sadredin, executive director of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District."We have a maintenance plan in place for the next 10 years so there will be no backsliding," he said.Sadredin said the PM-10 cleanup relied heavily on rules requiring farmers to water unpaved roads, make fewer passes over their fields with tractors and other similar measures. Fireplace regulations over the past several years also have helped, he said.Sadredin added that if the district has even one bad reading in the future, the Valley will again be in violation of the standard.EPA officials said they would push for stricter requirements on other major pollutants as well."In addition to the current controls, many additional reductions will be needed to attain the more protective PM-2.5 standard and the ozone standard," said Deborah Jordan, air division director for the agency's Pacific Southwest region.Activists were not impressed, saying the EPA doesn't pay enough attention to the health problems created by the dust and soot."When I stop seeing Valley residents in the emergency room gasping for breath, then I'll pop the champagne," said respiratory therapist and Fresno resident Kevin Hamilton. "Until then, we'll see EPA in court." UC Merced enrolled in environmental program to track carbon use230 campuses, UC Merced included, haven't yet turned in report...DANIELLE GAINEShttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/471163.htmlUC Merced is one of the more than 230 colleges across the country that didn't submit initial reports required by the Presidents Climate Commitment, an agreement dedicated to cutting higher education net carbon emissions to zero.The agreement, created in June 2007, charges colleges to achieve a "carbon neutral" status by decreasing overall greenhouse gas emissions and buying carbon credits to offset those that remain."We are very much committed to the program, and we are working on the objectives already," Merced's campus energy manager John Elliott said. "We are actually ahead of the Climate Commitment -- our report is just not in."Though UC Merced hasn't filed its report, that shouldn't be seen as a sign that the school isn't taking the agreement seriously, said Lee Bodner, executive director of ecoAmerica. "In some cases, it just took colleges a little longer to get the paperwork together," Bodner said.The university already participates in a similar program called the California Climate Action Registry. The most recent report filed with that organization was in March 2007, documenting the university's greenhouse gas emissions for 2006 which were 2,764.17 metric tons at that time.Elliott is now in the process of filing that report for last year's emissions, and it will be available publicly by the end of the year, he said.The overdue report is the initial inventory required of each college that signed the agreement to establish current emissions at the campus. A second report that details specific actions toward climate neutrality is due Sept. 15, 2009, but that will also be filed by the end of this year when the university system requires it as part of its own plan, Elliott said.Despite the fact that committing to several climate change programs can get confusing, Elliott said the effort is worth it. "A national commitment has a lot of value," he said. "This is a global problem, a national problem, and colleges are the ideal organizations to lead the way on this." There are some major differences between two of the programs, Elliott said. For instance, the Action Registry requires that emissions reports are verified by a third party while the Climate Commitment does not. UC Merced will submit its verified report to the Climate Commitment, which is part of the reason for the delay, Elliott said. The Climate Commitment is more stringent in other areas, requiring the college to include auto emissions from student and faculty travel as well as emissions from the delivery of supplies to the campus in its total numbers. "That requirement is pushing the boundary for how to define climate neutrality," Elliott said. "But that is good."Elliott and others on campus are trying to steer residents away from car-oriented lives to improve the air quality of the Valley. Elliot said the university considers air quality and commuting requirements in how it develops campus, trying to house as many students on the grounds as possible.Melissa Kelly-Ortega is a member of the Merced Bicycle Coalition, which sponsored a bicycle maintenance workshop and group ride on campus last Saturday. "I think it is great. It is what we all need to be doing -- pushing for zero carbon emissions," she said of the program at UC Merced. In addition to encouraging less driving, Elliott said groups on campus are in the process of setting up a competition to find the dorm that conserves the most energy and other programs. As part of the Climate Commitment, the university must buy carbon credits to offset any continuing emissions. "Offsets will hopefully be a pretty small component at the end of the day," Elliott said. "We will be looking at ways to push renewable energy as far as we can to get as close to zero net emissions in the first place."Systemwide, the University of California aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by 2014 and to 1990 levels by 2020.Former UC Merced student gets plea deal in 'supermeth' caseGrad student gets nearly six years in prison...VICTOR A. PATTONhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/471131.htmlA UC Merced grad student accused of stealing school equipment to make methamphetamine pleaded no contest to charges of felony conspiracy to make meth and to embezzlement.And attorneys from both sides downplayed earlier reports that the grad student was trying to produce a so-called "supermeth."Jason West, a 36-year-old former UC Merced doctoral student, reached the agreement with prosecutors on Thursday, after his Aug. 7 arrest for stealing thousands of dollars in chemicals and equipment from a university lab over a period of three years to make meth.The plea agreement means that West will either be sentenced to five years, eight months, in state prison or an in-custody state rehabilitation facility for substance abusers. West is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7.Wearing a goatee and a grey jailhouse jumpsuit, West wore a downcast expression in Merced County Superior Court as Commissioner Ralph J. Cook read the details of the plea agreement. William Davis, West's attorney, said his client is "extremely remorseful" about his crimes."This is a real tragedy," Davis said. "This is someone that had problems in the past, that had managed to work himself up to a place where he was going to a university. His problems with drugs got a hold of him." Prosecutor Steven Slocum said West is a person who violated the public's trust. Slocum will also argue to have West sent to state prison, as opposed to a state treatment facility. He said West has previous drug convictions. "He was given an opportunity to attend a university in this state. He abused the power and opportunity that he was given," Slocum said...UC Merced officials said West conducted most of his research at the university's off-campus labs at Castle Commerce Center in Atwater, though he spent time on campus as recently as May working as a teaching assistant in undergraduate chemistry courses. A nonuniversity Web site previously listed West as the contact for UC Merced's chemistry club.Under the terms of the plea agreement, conspiracy to distribute meth and grand theft charges were dropped against West. He will be eligible for parole. Modesto BeeWest Park facing court challenge...last updated: September 26, 2008 02:39:39 AMhttp://www.modbee.com/local/story/443044.htmlA grass-roots organization said it has filed a legal challenge to stop the planning of the PCCP West Park LLC industrial park proposed for the West Side. The challenge was filed Wednesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court, according to a news release from WS-PACE.org, or West Side-Patterson Alliance for Community and Environment. PCCP West Park is the master developer of Stanislaus County's Crows Landing Air Facility. West Park is a 4,800-acre business and industrial park proposed in and around the air facility. WS-PACE.org President Ron Swift said the petition asks for an order stopping the county and West Park from taking any action to construct, develop or alter the former Navy air base, which is about two miles south of Patterson. Among other concerns, WS-PACE.org cites problems with the project's environmental reviews. Patterson also is pursuing legal action to stop the project.WS-Pace.orgLawsuit Filed...WS-Pace.ogr - West Park...Press Release...9-25-08http://ws-pace.org/Suit/NewsreleaseFinal.pdfA legal challenge was filed Wednesday (Sept. 24) in Stanislaus County Superior Court asking that the planning of the West Park industrial site on county land just south of Patterson be halted.The petition, filed by the grass roots organization West Side – Patterson Alliance for Community and Environment (WS-PACE.org) which opposes the 7-and-a-half square mile proposed industrial park, cites California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines that require Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) to “…be prepared as early as feasible in the planning process to enable environmental considerations to influence project program and design and yet late enough to provide meaningful information for environmental assessment.”The legal complaint was filed against Stanislaus County, the Stanislaus County Redevelopment Agency, PCCP West Park, LLC, and Union Pacific Railroad. It asks that the county’s Memo of Understanding (MOU) with West Park, approved April 22 by the Board of Supervisors, be set aside on the grounds that it violates CEQA. Ron Swift of Patterson, president of the organization filing the court action, explained that the petition asks for an order enjoining the county and West Park from taking any action to construct, develop or alter the former Navy military base. The county-owned base, some 1,527 acres, is located some two miles south of Patterson. “This project no longer appears financially viable in these economic times and WS-PACE.org will exhaust all necessary legal avenues to stop the project as proposed by PCCP West Park LLC from being approved or moving forward.” Swift said.“We further feel that the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors should reexamine the feasibility of this project which now appears to be in jeopardy and not proceed with a costly effort in these trying times. WSPACE. org favors an open and transparent process for the 1,527 acres and it would be better for the county to stop the West Park effort now and concentrate on a plan that is more feasible,” he continued.West Park’s plan is to purchase surrounding agricultural land to expand the project from 1,527 to 4,800 acres. To date, the lone industrial usage of the property that has been publicly discussed is for a cargo container terminal with imported containers to be shipped by rail from the Port of Oakland. Up to $26 million in state bond money would be required to make this work.“Surely that state tax money, if the bonds can be sold, would be better expended elsewhere than 27 miles south of the nearest rail intersection at Tracy,” Swift noted.He said his organization, formed in early spring of 2007 after the county supervisors on a 3-2 vote granted West Park the exclusive right to develop plans for the site, has “from day one” been opposed to expansion of the project beyond the county’s 1,527 acres. WS-PACE.org also opposes major rail and truck usage at the site.“Our position is, and always has been, that expansion of this industrial project beyond the original 1,527 acres of the former Navy base is unacceptable,” Swift explained. He pointed to the nearly 5,000 acres of industrially-zoned available land within the nine cities of Stanislaus County as a better solution for the promotion of new jobs.He termed the infrastructure costs needed to develop the proposed 4,800 site, particularly the need for road widening in rural areas, as “monumental.” West Park’s plans project 37,000 employees at build-out.“The necessary truck and train traffic needed to accommodate the transportation of foreign cargocontainers would not be compatible with our agricultural area,” Swift continued. “There’s also the question of water availability and a high level of air pollution. These are of major concern to our local farmers.“The West Park project as it is presently conceived by the majority of our supervisors and the developer must be stopped,” he added. “The project size would be equal in acreage to that of the present cities of Newman and Patterson. It would become the largest industrial park in the Central Valley.”The legal action initiated this week comes on the heels of similar petitions filed earlier by the city of Patterson, the West Stanislaus Rural Fire District, and the Del Puerto Health Care District. WS-PACE.org’s petition also asks that negotiations with the California Transportation Commission for state bond money to upgrade the rail tracks be halted.“We sincerely hope our Board of Supervisors will take a serious look at the financial viability of the project,”Swift said. “The nation’s economic downturn and the failure of Lehman Brothers, which is listed as a majorfinancial backer of West Park, should raise some serious questions.”“We strongly believe Californians should not be required to subsidize the start-up of a privately- ownedindustrial park,” Swift concluded.Stanislaus County Superior Court #____________________ Contact information:Ron Swift, president WS-PACE.org209-892-6355Email: ron@ws-pace.orgClaude Delphia, vice-president WS-PACE.org209-892-5037Email: claude@ws-pace.orgPetitioners attorney:DONALD B. MOONEY (SBN153721)MARSHA A. BURCH (SBN 170298)Law Offices of Donald B. Mooney129 C Street, Suite 2Davis, California 95616Telephone: 530-758-2377WS-Pace.org...9-23-08 Final Petitionhttp://ws-pace.org/Suit/9-23-08FinalPetition.pdfWEST SIDE – PATTERSON ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTPetitionerv.COUNTY OF STANISLAUS; STANISLAUS: COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS; STANISLAUS COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY; and DOES 1 to 20, RespondentsPCCP WEST PARK, LLC; UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD; and DOES 21-40, Real Parties in InterestAP Exclusive: Gas cards give lawmakers free ride...DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writerhttp://www.modbee.com/state_wire/v-print/story/442139.htmlCalifornians have been feeling pain at the pump for months amid record-high gas prices, with one notable exception: state lawmakers.Members of California's Legislature enjoy a perk not available in any other state capital - unchecked use of gasoline charge cards that stick taxpayers with the bill.Through the first seven months of the year, California taxpayers have spent $220,000 to pay the gasoline charges of their lawmakers, according to a review of records requested by The Associated Press. That includes July, when lawmakers already were passed their deadline to approve a budget and the state faced a $15.2 billion deficit.California is unique in giving legislators free rein on transportation spending, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In most other states, lawmakers must submit the same kind of mileage expense forms used by companies to reimburse employees for their business travel."You have to prove what you're using it for," said Morgan Cullin, a Denver-based researcher for the bipartisan national organization.On top of free gas, California lawmakers also get state-issued vehicles, another perk that most states avoid.The fuel card given to lawmakers is supposed to be used "for legislative purposes," but there is no way to check if they use it for public business or private travel.Lawmakers pull up to the pump, swipe the gas card and never see the bill, which is sent directly to the Senate and Assembly rules committees. The taxpayers take over from there.The charge cards also can be used for incidental purchases such as snacks, drinks, windshield wipers or even oil changes. Legislative officers said there is no way to know how much lawmakers are charging for those but said the bulk of the payments are for fuel.Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, said use of the charge cards should be scrutinized more closely or scrapped altogether."There should be a random audit done of the use of the car and other expenses by an outside auditor," said Stern, the former general counsel of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. "If everybody knows there is no oversight, they're going to slip a little bit."He said California could save money by reimbursing legislators for each mile they drive on official business instead of handing them a taxpayer-funded car and gasoline charge card. The practice of giving legislators both began about 50 years ago, when gas was cheap and part-time lawmakers earned little."Now they're paid a lot, and they still get the perk," Stern said.California lawmakers make $116,208 a year plus $170 for daily expenses. The Assembly speaker and president pro tem of the Senate make $133,639 annually...Lawmakers are on pace to set an annual record for gasoline charges, billing taxpayers nearly $40,000 more through July than during the same seven-month period last year. Part of that is certainly due to this year's soaring gas prices, but there is no efficient way to check whether lawmakers are driving more or cutting back on the miles they drive, as most Americans have.Of California's 120 lawmakers, 21 charged more than $3,000 to their gasoline cards from January through July. Of those, 13 are Republicans, who preached about fiscal austerity during this summer's record-long budget impasse...Florez and his fellow senators get yet another perk. He is one of 25 senators with access to a second car that is leased for him through the state Department of General Services. The second car is for their use around Sacramento.Senators fill those cars at state gas pumps, costing taxpayers $9,535 this year in addition to what they charged on their individual fuel cards. The state Assembly owns a fleet of pool vehicles, but they can be used by any member at any time so fuel purchases can't be traced to individuals...Calif. lawmakers with the highest gasoline charges...last updated: September 26, 2008 12:12:08 AMhttp://www.modbee.com/state_wire/v-print/story/442153.htmlAmid rising gas prices, California lawmakers spent nearly $40,000 more on fuel for their state-issued vehicles during the first seven months of 2008 than they did the year before. Taxpayers pick up the tab, thanks to a unique perk that gives lawmakers unchecked use of a state-issued gasoline charge card.Of California's 120 lawmakers, 21 spent more than $3,000 on fuel during the first seven months of the year. Here are the biggest gas guzzlers, according to legislative records requested by The Associated Press:- Assemblyman Guy Houston, R-Pleasanton, $5,139.84- Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, $5,135.37- Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, $4,612.95- Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Tracy, $4551.89- Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, $4,336.99- Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, $4,307.50- Assemblyman Mike Villines, R-Clovis, $4,091.49- Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, $4,003.64- Assemblyman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, $3,783.89- Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, $3,558.68- Assemblyman Bill Maze, R-Visalia, $3,481.09- Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, $3,742- Assemblyman John Benoit, R-Riverside, $3,333.71- Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, $3,291.44- Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Willows, $3,288.39- Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, $3,212.21- Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles, $3,199.66- Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico, $3,163.77- Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, $3,160.87- Assemblyman Chuck Devore, R-Irvine, $3,066.19- Assemblyman Curren Price, D-Inglewood, $3,036.82Reimbursed the Senate for $5,015.89, the amount spent on travel within his district.---Total charged by California lawmakers to their state fuel cards:2003: $253,4422004: $242,4282005: $308,0702006: $362,9262007: $305,400First seven months of 2007: $175,788First seven months of 2008: $215,397---Here is the complete list of California lawmakers and their gasoline charges, January-July:SENATE...ASSEMBLY...Fresno BeeKB Home 3Q loss widens as housing slump drags on...ALEX VEIGAhttp://www.fresnobee.com/state_wire/business/story/896246.htmlKB Home, one of the nation's largest home builders, said Friday its third-quarter loss quadrupled from a year-ago period, missing Wall Street's expectations as revenue plunged by 56 percent amid falling sales and home prices. Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger said weak demand for new homes - half of the company's homebuyers backed out of their contracts in the quarter - and falling home values don't appear likely to improve significantly in the near term. He also blamed rising foreclosures and tight lending standards for the company's poor results.The Los Angeles-based company reported a net loss of $144.7 million, or $1.87 a share, for the three months ended Aug. 31. Those results paled compared to the loss of $35.6 million, or 46 cents a share, in the same period last year, when KB Home recorded a generous gain from the sale of its French operations...KB Home, which builds homes to order and has operations in nine states, was ranked the fifth-largest homebuilder last year by Builder magazine...KB's financial results were released a day after the Commerce Department reported that new home sales slowed from July to August to the slowest pace in 17 years...On Tuesday, Miami-based builder Lennar Corp. reported that it narrowed its third-quarter loss, but saw revenue plunge by more than 50 percent. Management said it does not expect the housing market to improve "for some time to come."...New home starts continue decline...Jim Wassermanhttp://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/895352.htmlFor most of 2008, it has seemed that California's home building industry could hardly scale back its expectations further. But it did just that this week. The Construction Industry Research Board has downsized estimated home starts in California this year to 70,000. A month ago, it estimated construction would begin on 75,000 homes this year.The board now predicts California builders will start only 74,000 residences in 2009... The central San Joaquin Valley is no exception. Builders have cut production drastically in the Valley as they find it increasingly tough to compete with foreclosures and other houses for sale. The 92 building permits issued in Fresno County last month was down a third from July and a 37.7% decrease from August 2007, the California Builders Association reported. Builders in Madera County were off 60% from July and 55.3% from a year earlier. The story was similar in Tulare County, where developers pulled 103 permits, down 41% from a year earlier and a decrease of 4.6% from July...Sacramento BeeUC Davis fined for Putah Creek pollution...Matt Weiserhttp://www.sacbee.com/101/v-print/story/1267438.htmlState officials on Thursday fined UC Davis $78,000 for pumping too much pollution into Putah Creek from its campus sewage treatment plant.The fine is one of numerous penalties announced recently by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, which is clearing dozens of backlogged violations from its books. On Thursday the agency also announced a $33,000 penalty against the Calaveras County city of San Andreas and a state prison facility in San Joaquin County – both for similar sewage treatment problems.In the UC Davis case, the campus sewage treatment plant violated numerous pollution limits from Jan. 1, 2001, to March 31, 2008. Treated wastewater from the campus is discharged into Putah Creek. But on numerous occasions over that period, the effluent included too much aluminum, chlorine, copper, cyanide and coliform. Limits were also violated for salinity, sediment and acidity.UC Davis spokesman Andy Fell said the violations were caused by storm events that overwhelmed the campus treatment plant, and by improper disposal procedures. These have been corrected by upgrading the plant and staff education."We work to be a good citizen and minimize our environmental impact," Fell said.The campus also recently expanded its wastewater treatment capacity by 50 percent at a cost of $7 million.Ken Landau, a water board spokesman, said many of the backlogged penalties date to 2000, when a change in state law required minimum penalties to be assessed for certain pollution violations. The state's nine regional water boards did not keep pace with the numerous fines that accumulated under the mandate, and only recently began to clear the backlog.In most cases, Landau said, water quality regulators worked with violators for years to adopt new methods and technology to prevent additional violations. "They weren't necessarily ignored," he said. "We just had not processed the penalties."Some small communities, like San Andreas, are allowed under state law to apply their fines toward new systems to prevent pollution in the future. The law recognizes some small agencies lack the resources to both pay a fine and clean up their operations. The city's multiple violations involved coliform and suspended solids entering the Calaveras River.In the state prison case, the Deuel Vocational Institute near Tracy repeatedly pumped too much chlorine, dichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, trichlorethene, oil and grease into a tributary of Paradise Cut and Old River, both part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.Still-falling home prices dim encouraging signs...Jim Wassermanhttp://www.sacbee.com/103/v-print/story/1267210.htmlExisting homes are selling faster and there are fewer on the market now than last year, the California Association of Realtors said Thursday. But the Realtors' group said prices are still falling too fast to signal any real estate recovery."We don't expect to see a housing market recovery until prices stabilize and the number of distressed properties on the market declines," said a statement from association President William Brown.The group said August sales were up 56 percent from the same time last year, a fifth straight month of year-over-year gains. Strong August sales also finally pushed 2008 sales totals above the same months last year.Many of the gains are attributed to a 40.5 percent drop in the statewide median sales price across the past year. The new median, where half cost more and half less, is $350,140. The association said that reflects dominance of sales of bank-repossessed homes across much of the state.The Realtors' group said California has 6.7 months of unsold inventory – the number of months it would take to sell all the homes at the current sales pace. A year ago, the state had 10.6 months of inventory.The association also pegged Sacramento County's median price in August at $220,890, an 0.8 percent increase from July. It was one of the few regions in California to show a gain.WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history...MADLEN READ - AP Business Writerhttp://www.sacbee.com/830/v-print/story/1267045.htmlAs the debate over a $700 billion bank bailout rages on in Washington, one of the nation's largest banks - Washington Mutual Inc. - has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the mortgage market.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu on Thursday, and then sold the thrift's banking assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion.Seattle-based WaMu, which was founded in 1889, is the largest bank to fail by far in the country's history. Its $307 billion in assets eclipse those of Continental Illinois National Bank, which failed in 1984 with $40 billion in assets; adjusted for 2008 dollars, its assets totaled $67.7 billion. IndyMac, seized in July, had $32 billion in assets.One positive is that the sale of WaMu's assets to JPMorgan Chase prevents the thrift's collapse from depleting the FDIC's insurance fund. But that detail is likely to give only marginal solace to Americans facing tighter lending and watching their stock portfolios plunge in the wake of the nation's most momentous financial crisis since the Great Depression.Because of WaMu's souring mortgages and other risky debt, JPMorgan plans to write down WaMu's loan portfolio by about $31 billion - a figure that could change if the government goes through with its bailout plan and JPMorgan decides to take advantage of it.WaMu is JPMorgan Chase's second acquisition this year of a major financial institution hobbled by losing bets on mortgages. In March, JPMorgan bought the investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. for about $1.4 billion, plus another $900 million in stock ahead of the deal to secure it.JPMorgan Chase is now the second-largest bank in the United States after Bank of America Corp., which recently bought Merrill Lynch in a flurry of events that included Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. going bankrupt and American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, getting taken over by the government.JPMorgan also said Thursday it plans to sell $8 billion in common stock to raise capital. Its stock rose in midday trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, gaining $1.90, or 4.37 percent, to $45.36.The downfall of WaMu has been widely anticipated for some time because of the company's heavy mortgage-related losses. As investors grew nervous about the bank's health, its stock price plummeted 95 percent from a 52-week high of $36.47 to its close of $1.69 Thursday. On Wednesday, it suffered a ratings downgrade by Standard & Poor's that put it in danger of collapse.WaMu "was under severe liquidity pressure," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair told reporters in a conference call."For all depositors and other customers of Washington Mutual Bank, this is simply a combination of two banks," Bair said in a statement. "For bank customers, it will be a seamless transition. There will be no interruption in services and bank customers should expect business as usual come Friday morning."...The seizure by the government means shareholders' equity in WaMu was wiped out. The deal leaves private equity investors including the firm TPG Capital, which led a $7 billion cash infusion in the bank this spring, on the sidelines empty handed...JPMorgan Chase said it was not acquiring any senior unsecured debt, subordinated debt, and preferred stock of WaMu's banks, or any assets or liabilities of the holding company, Washington Mutual Inc. JPMorgan also said it will not take on the lawsuits facing the holding company.JPMorgan Chase said the acquisition will give it 5,400 branches in 23 states, and that it plans to close less than 10 percent of the two companies' branches.The WaMu acquisition would add 50 cents per share to JPMorgan's earnings in 2009, the bank said, adding that it expects to have pretax merger costs of approximately $1.5 billion while achieving pretax savings of approximately $1.5 billion by 2010."This is a definite win for JPMorgan," said Sebastian Hindman, an analyst at SNL Financial, who said JPMorgan should be able to shoulder the $31 billion writedown to WaMu's portfolio.Editorial: Fate of a crucial bill is uncertainhttp://www.sacbee.com/110/v-print/story/1267194.htmlWhen Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California's landmark law to curb greenhouse gas emissions in 2006, he was unequivocal about its importance. "There is nothing that is more important than protecting our planet," the governor intoned."So I hope that all of you are as proud as I am today," he added, "as California leads the way in one of the most important issues that are facing our time, which is the fight against global warming and protecting our environment."Schwarzenegger's signing of Assembly Bill 32 was momentous, but the real test of his legacy is whether the measure effectively reduces emissions that are warming the plant. To do that, California will need to rapidly improve energy efficiency, change its sources of electricity, promote alternative transportation and take other steps to reduce the pollutants that waft from automobiles and other sources.Toward that goal, California lawmakers this year have sent Schwarzenegger another landmark bill, Senate Bill 375, that will go a long way toward improving regional planning, promoting transit and preventing the growth of long-distance commutes.This bill is the work of Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the incoming Senate leader from Sacramento. After two years of painstaking negotiations and bill revisions, Steinberg has managed to bring together an unlikely coalition of environmentalists, the building industry and cities around a bill that has garnered national attention. It is now on the governor's desk.Despite that achievement, there were reports Thursday from the governor's office that Schwarzenegger may veto SB 375. If that were to occur, it would undermine the governor's hard-earned environmental legacy, and even worse, sour his dealings with the incoming Senate president pro tempore.Why would Schwarzenegger play this card? We don't know. His office declined comment. We'd like to think that, if a veto is being considered, the governor has real policy concerns with the bill.One aspect of SB 375, favored by the building industry, is that it grants relief from the California Environmental Quality Act for developments that comply with regional strategies for constraining leap-frog growth. During negotiations, some Southern California transportation agencies wanted road projects also exempted from CEQA. Since they lost that bid, it's possible they are pressuring the governor to veto the bill.But there's another possibility, and it is far more disturbing. Schwarzenegger has been upset that Democrats didn't pass a multibillion-dollar bond measure this session to fund reservoirs and other water projects. It could well be that the governor wants some promises from Steinberg on a water bond before he agrees to sign SB 375.If that's the case, the governor might want to think long and hard about the consequences.Steinberg has made clear that, in his first months of leadership, he wants to work on health care reform, political reform and water – all priorities of the governor. He has a proven record of working with diverse parties to craft deals.But if Schwarzenegger uses strong-arm tactics in a naked attempt to extract promises from Steinberg, it could poison a budding relationship between these leaders before it has a chance to flower.Play your cards carefully, Governor. And preserve you legacy while you're at it. Sign Senate Bill 375.Stockton RecordWater report targets farmersThink tank says they can help Delta with more conservation; some balk at findings...Alex Breitlerhttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080926/A_NEWS/809260325/-1/A_NEWSTRACY - A solar-powered probe buried in Keith Robertson's walnut orchard tells the fourth-generation farmer how much water the young trees need.Not far off, drip lines dampen vineyards, and sprinklers spritz a fine mist on almond trees. While old-fashioned flood irrigation is employed on Robertson's mint-green alfalfa fields, any excess water is pumped back for reuse.After all this, he bristles when someone suggests farmers should save more water."I grew up out here and did every job there is," he said. "I hate to have someone else tell me how to do it when they've never seen a hayfield."Such is Robertson's reaction to a water think tank's recent report suggesting that farmers could help save the overstretched Delta by conserving enough water to fill anywhere from three to 20 hypothetical reservoirs.Among other tactics, the Pacific Institute recommends growers shift a small percentage of water-thirsty field crops to less demanding varieties and reduce flood irrigation in favor of sprinklers or drip lines. It also calls for changes in water rights, groundwater management and a shift in subsidies, all controversial ideas."I really believe that there are two options for agriculture," said Peter Gleick, president of the nonprofit Oakland-based institute. "One is to plan for dealing with these water challenges, and the other is not to plan for it. If we don't plan for it, I think it's going to be much worse for agriculture."Not only is the state stuck in a drought, but water exports from the Delta are restricted to protect endangered species. Farms, not cities, soak up about 80 percent of those exports.This makes it critical for farmers to conserve water - and for the government to help them do it through rebates on irrigation equipment, for example, and changes in the types of crops that are subsidized, the institute says.Reaction from farmers have been mixed, Gleick said."We hear, 'Don't tell us what to do,' " he said. "I'm also pretty consistently getting phone calls from farmers saying, 'We're doing these things. This is great. We need more help.' "Some farmers say the institute's report misses one huge point:"They don't even mention what this would do to the food supply," south Delta farmer Alex Hildebrand wrote to Gleick. Dropping field crops such as alfalfa and grains means less feed to produce milk, cheese, ice cream and eggs, he said.Gleick responded that farmers have been growing more food with less water for years, and some water conservation methods proposed in the report can increase both farm productivity and profits.Bruce Blodgett, head of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation, had a different read."It implies you're going to feed people with foreign food, and it implies we're going to have a lot more land paved over in San Joaquin County," he said. "It's nothing more than a hit piece."It's not always economically realistic to shift crops, farmers say. Doing so can upset supply and demand and affect profits. And sometimes, installing drip lines limits what kinds of crops can be planted in a field.The answer is not additional conservation, but rather storage - dams and reservoirs to capture wintertime flows, said Jim McLeod, a neighbor of Robertson's.He farms land south of Tracy in the Banta-Carbona Irrigation District, which has a federal contract for Delta water but typically gets only half of what it's entitled.Next year, it may get none."Do you think these guys, who get 45 percent of their contract, would waste water?" McLeod said. "We need storage. That's what got us here."Spanos' reasons for battle...Michael Fitzgeraldhttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080926/A_NEWS0803/809260323/-1/A_NEWSWhat does the Spanos Cos. really object to in the General Plan settlement?The giant developer's public objections - expressed mostly by the Alliance for Responsible Planning, its Astroturf front - cannot be taken seriously.Those claims are outrageously, disturbingly false. Such as the claim that the public didn't have its say in this "closed-door" process.Puh-lease. The settlement was given a full public hearing on Aug. 26. The City Council voted to delay approval; the public was given a second hearing two weeks later.During that time, builders feverishly lobbied the (pro-growth) council. They and the public both had more input than before a normal council vote.(Background: The city of Stockton recently settled a lawsuit over its General Plan 2035 by agreeing with the Sierra Club and Attorney General Jerry Brown to consider curtailing sprawl and pollution. The alliance is gathering signatures to force a referendum and undo the settlement).The alliance's disingenuous campaign, however, does not mean that the Spanos Cos., or others, has no valid concerns."It requires development downtown at the expense of other portions of the city - that's one," said David Nelson, senior vice president of A.G. Spanos Cos.The agreement obliges the city to build 4,400 homes over time as it adds homes to the fringes."I don't see ... any evaluation of the kinds of impacts that 4,400 units may have on the downtown area," Nelson said. "Impacts on traffic. Impacts on transit. Impacts on air quality. Impacts on job creation."That's a valid concern - though if the Spanos Cos. has such a concern for downtown, one wonders why it has ignored the area for decades.The Spanos Cos. also objects that nonresidential buildings must meet new green building standards, the so-called LEED - Leadership in Energy and Building Design."That's a cost burden," Nelson said. "That is going to have an impact on attracting new businesses to the city."The rule hurts Stockton's ability to compete with other regional cities because no others have mandatory LEED standards."We've had responses from prospective tenants who are taking Stockton off their list of places to relocate," Nelson said.Furthermore, the agreement never "sunsets," Nelson said.Should state lawmakers pass planning legislation that doesn't jibe with Stockton's, "Stockton might still have to comply with the settlement agreement, unless the Sierra Club and attorney general agree to changes," Nelson said.More important to the Spanos Cos., undoubtedly, are its planned developments, such as The Preserve, 1,400 homes on Atlas Tract north of town."To the extent that the settlement agreement requires infill development downtown at expense of other areas of the city," Nelson said, "that's impacting my ability to move forward with development on non-downtown property."Finally, a forthright statement of self-interest. How refreshing.Of course, "impacting" sprawl was the point of the lawsuit. By approving the settlement, the council agreed more balanced growth was best for the city.John Beckman, head of the Building Industry Association of the Delta, added several concerns. Significantly, the BIA is not a member of the alliance; neither are most local developers.Beckman believes city staff now must toil for a year or two to revise growth policies. This will drain municipal resources. The cost is sure to be passed on to new homes.During this do-over, furthermore, employers seeking to locate in Stockton will be scared off by regulatory uncertainty. Companies will not invest in an uncertain proposition.Slowing growth slows job creation, Beckman argued.Reducing new housing (backers say it doesn't) lessens new retail, meaning sales tax revenue lost to the city.Beckman expressed other concerns. "All of these issues could have been solved in three or four weeks if we'd just been allowed to sit down and chat with the city of Stockton, attorney general and Sierra Club," he said.Clean air fund... exhausted...Alex Breitler's Bloghttp://blogs.recordnet.com/sr-abreitlerIt seems people are more than willing to ditch their dirty diesel big rigs -- when offered a buck or 50,000.It took no time at all for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to breeze through $40.5 million in Proposition 1B funding; the district granted incentives of up to $50,000 to folks willing to get rid of or upgrade their pollution-spewing rigs.The district says it got 580 requests for 2,758 trucks, totalling $135 million.The district announced this in a press release, probably in part because officials are still angry they didn't get a larger portion of the Prop 1B pie overall. The valley earlier this year was awarded about one-quarter of the $1 billion total. LA got more.Stay tuned... more money available later.Critical diesel program exhausts funds for first round...San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control DistrictAir District program requests exceed available funds...9-23-08...News Releasehttp://www.valleyair.org/recent_news/Media_releases/2008/PR%20Prop%201B%20requests%20exceed%20funding.pdfA new program that grants funds for replacing and retrofitting polluting diesel engines has proven so popular that funding requests were more than three times the available money.California Proposition 1B, which grants funds for the Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program, provides $40.5 million in the first year to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District for projects that address the 95 million miles per day traveled through the air basin, mainly on Highway 99 and Interstate 5. Diesel engines are a significant source of the pollution that plagues the Valley.The Air District offered up to $50,000 for each truck replacements and up to $5,000 for installing control devices on existing trucks. More than $135 million in requests was received by the Air District. The application period ran from July to September.“The good news is that we were very successful in our efforts to get the word out and identify cost-effective projects to reduce air pollution throughout the Valley. The bad news is that the Valley’s needs far outweigh available funding,” said Seyed Sadredin, the District’s air pollution control officer and executive director.For the first round of funding, the District received 580 applications for 2,758 trucks, totaling more than $135 million. The number of applications received by the Air District for this program totaled 41 percent of all non-port applications received for the program state-wide, even though the Valley was granted just 20 percent of available funds for the first year. Applications received by the Valley District exceeded applications received by any other agency in California, including the populous South Coast Air Basin (Los Angeles).The District conducted extensive, targeted outreach for funds disbursement, including application assistance workshops that were held in August in each of the District’s three regions, a bilingual advertising campaign, detailed website information and Spanish-language outreach through a toll-free number.The District is continuing to process all applications received by the deadline although funding will cover just onethird of requests. Officials are uncertain whether applications that are unfunded will need to be resubmitted in subsequent funding rounds.“The program’s overwhelming success and the Valley’s air-quality challenges illustrate why it is critical for our legislators to keep the spotlight on the Valley’s fiscal need for support in cleaning up our air,” Sadredin said.The Valley Air District covers eight counties including San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings,Tulare and San Joaquin Valley air basin portions of Kern. For assistance, contact the nearest District office inModesto at (209) 557-6440, Fresno (559) 230-6000 or Bakersfield (661) 326-6900.San Francisco ChronicleCalif. warns people not to flush pharmaceuticals…APhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/25/state/n202156D24.DTL&hw=drugs&sn=019&sc=474The state of California has a warning for its 36 million residents: Do not flush pharmaceuticals down the toilet or drain, or they may end up in a river near you.Or, it turns out, even in the drinking water.State and local officials are teaming with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a "No Drugs Down the Drain Week," starting with events Oct. 2. The program recommends that drugs be dropped at special collection sites or tossed in the trash.The event comes less than two weeks after The Associated Press published an investigative report about the dangers of flushing millions of pounds of unused pharmaceuticals annually by the American health care industry and consumers. The ongoing AP investigation has revealed that tests show the drinking water supplies of at least 46 million Americans contain minute concentrations of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants and mood stabilizers.Researchers have found evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild. Related research reports that human cells fail to grow normally in the lab when exposed to trace concentrations of certain drugs.The AP first reported on the pharmaceutical contamination issue in March.The awareness week is part of a bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Simitian that funds pilot projects allowing consumers to drop off old prescriptions at retailers and public facilities."I think the public will step up, if they're told how to dispose of drugs the right way," Simitian said. "If you want people to do the right thing, make it easy for them to do it."V and W may spell confusion in Redwood City...Peter Fimritehttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/26/BA22132LT2.DTL&hw=wetlands&sn=001&sc=1000The rhetorical mud is flying around Redwood City these days over competing ballot measures that could - depending on who is talking - bring development, restore wetlands or block anything from happening on a large salt flat in San Francisco Bay.At stake in the increasingly volatile battle are 1,433 acres of salt ponds owned by Cargill Inc., which has hired a developer to come up with plans for housing on the saliferous flats just off Highway 101, near the Port of Redwood City.Preliminary plans call for development of half of the property and wetlands restoration on the other half, but the process is on hold until Nov. 4, when residents will vote on measures W and V, which would both require an election before homes could be built.Most of the mudslinging is over Measure W, which is backed by the environmental groups Save the Bay and Friends of Redwood City. The initiative, placed on the ballot after 6,500 residents signed a petition, would require two-thirds of the voters to approve developments on the Cargill property and in designated parks, tidal plains and open space in Redwood City. Measure V, placed on the ballot by the City Council, applies strictly to the Cargill land and would require only that a simple majority approve development. "The bottom line is who gets to decide whether the precious remaining open space in Redwood City is going to be destroyed," said David Lewis, executive director of Save the Bay. "We believe it should take a two-thirds vote to destroy that open space because once it is gone, it is gone forever. A majority vote could mean a massive and highly controversial project could be narrowly approved." Private property affectedBut some believe Measure W would do more harm than good. Numerous private homes and businesses would be impacted by the measure, including 41 private parcels, a church, a radio station, a wastewater treatment plant and a portion of Oracle's corporate headquarters... The battle comes at a time when land use is a huge issue in the Bay Area and nationwide. Cities are trying desperately to build housing closer to job centers and transportation, so the Redwood City site would make sense except for its location along the San Francisco Bay shoreline.The restoration of bay wetlands has for years been a major goal of environmental groups. Saltwater marshes and mudflats were once everywhere along the edges of the bay, but at least 80 percent were diked or filled over the past century, ruining a vast, thriving ecosystem for fish, crabs, birds and unique plant life. Former Cargill-owned salt ponds are now the keystone of a $1 billion, 50-year wetlands restoration effort. That program, one of the most ambitious in the country, is using 16,500 acres of ponds purchased for $100 million in 2003 by the state and federal government and private foundations.The plan includes the restoration of marshes and beaches, the cleanup of mercury pollution from old mines, invasive-plant removal, new trails, the planting of native grasses and construction of numerous levees to prevent flooding. When completed, miles of shoreline in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties as well as 1,400 acres in a wildlife refuge in the North Bay would be restored to as close to their natural condition as possible. Site too expensiveThe 1,433 acres of ponds in Redwood City were offered for sale by Cargill along with the other land, but government officials balked, saying it was too expensive. With little government money available, some regulators believe Cargill officials should at least be given the opportunity to develop their plan to restore some of the land...Cargill and the developer, DMB Associates of Arizona, are helping fund the opposition to Measure W through a group called Citizens Against Costly Initiatives. A group of property owners that call themselves the Redwood City Seven has joined the City Council in supporting Measure V."Measure W divides the community, and Measure V goes to what the community is concerned about," said Mayor Rosanne Foust. "They want to have a say in what happens on the Cargill property."Lewis accused the City Council of putting Measure V on the ballot to confuse voters, which Foust denies. Confusion, though, may be the result. After all, Redwood City will be voting in November on whether to hold a referendum on plans that don't yet exist for a salt flat that could be flooded by the rising bay water before anybody gets around to restoring it. Measures at a glanceMeasure W would require property owners covered by the measure - which includes land designated for agriculture, parks or wetlands - to obtain approval from two-thirds of Redwood City voters for developments that require zoning changes or amendments to the general plan. It is backed by the environmental organization Save the Bay and the citizen's group Friends of Redwood City.Measure V would require future development on property owned by Cargill Inc. - about 1,450 acres of mostly salt ponds east of Highway 101 and south of Seaport Boulevard - to be approved by a majority of Redwood City voters. It is backed by the City Council of Redwood City.UC Irvine hospital's anesthesiology records probed...GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writerhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/25/state/n151245D36.DTL&hw=uc&sn=007&sc=333A University of California, Irvine hospital could lose its federal funding after state inspectors discovered that doctors filled out anesthesiology records and surgery outcomes before the procedures were completed.An Aug. 15 letter made public Thursday says state inspectors working on behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found records deficiencies at the Orange hospital that "substantially limit the hospital's capacity to render adequate care to patients." The letter accompanied a report on a May inspection at the hospital.The review, portions of which were posted on the Orange County Register's Web site Thursday, did not describe any patient harm from the faulty records, and hospital officials said no one was injured by the lapses.The vice chancellor who oversees the medical school and the hospital called the falsified records "sloppy, outrageous and stupid" and said the center had instituted a zero tolerance policy for its doctors and staff...According to the report, state inspectors who arrived at the hospital in May found 10 instances where doctors had filled out medical records about a surgery before it happened...Jack Cheevers, a spokesman for Medicare, said UCI Medical Center had presented a plan to correct the problem, which had been approved by his agency. Until the hospital passes a follow-up inspection, however, its Medicare reimbursements remain at risk, he said."If there are additional findings, they could still be at jeopardy for losing their funding," he said. "As of right now, they seem to be on track to be OK, but that could change."The record-keeping problems are the latest bad publicity for UCI Medical Center.In the mid-1990s, a newspaper investigation revealed that UCI fertility doctors had stolen eggs and embryos from patients and implanted them in other women.In 1997, cancer researchers improperly charged patients for experimental treatments and the following year, a professor used patients' blood samples for research without permission.In 1999, the facility was rocked again by revelations that a staff member from the school's willed-body program sold spines from donated cadavers and returned cremated remains to the wrong people.In 2005, a federal investigation found that more than 30 people died over a two-year span while awaiting transplants in the hospital's now-defunct liver program. The report prompted dozens of lawsuits from patients and their families.Feds seize WaMu, sell most of it to JPMorgan...Bill Virgin, Andrea James,Dan Richman, Hearst Newspapershttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/26/MNP3135RKJ.DTLWashington Mutual Inc. came to an ignominious end Thursday when federal regulators seized the company and sold its branches, deposits and loans to New York-based banking giant JPMorgan Chase in the largest bank failure in U.S. history.Although Seattle-based WaMu, as recently as two weeks ago, had told investors that it had sufficient capital to work its way through the housing market and losses in its own loan portfolio, regulators said they stepped in because depositors had lost confidence in the institution.The federal Office of Thrift Supervision said $16.7 billion in deposits had been pulled from the company just since Sept. 15."With insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations, WaMu was in an unsafe and unsound condition to transact business," the office said in a statement. It turned WaMu over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which conducted an auction for the company.JPMorgan Chase, which had actually offered to buy WaMu earlier this year for $8 a share, paid $1.9 billion to FDIC, which said the insurance fund incurred no cost...The deal gives JPMorgan branches in California and other markets where it had none. In fact, it becomes California's third-largest deposit holder overnight...For shareholders, including employees who had held the company's stock, the takeover of WaMu means major losses. They now have nothing to show for a stock that as recently as the middle of last year sold for more than $44 a share.The biggest loser is the investor group led by private equity firm TPG, which invested $7.2 billion in WaMu earlier this year in an effort to shore up the company... Customer Q&AJPMorgan Chase is buying Washington Mutual's banking operations, including branches, checking and savings accounts, mortgages and credit card accounts. The company offered questions and answers, excerpted here:What will happen to my account and my branch? You can continue to access your accounts just the way you've accessed them in the past: Use your same branch, same debit, credit and ATM cards, same checks.Is my money safe? Yes. If you have money in both banks, your deposits have separate FDIC insurance for up to six months. At that time, your deposits will be insured by the FDIC for up to $100,000 per depositor (with an additional $250,000 for self-directed retirement accounts).Where do I send my credit card and loan payments? There is no change in how or where you make payments; payment instructions and addresses remain unchanged.Mercury NewsAP IMPACT: Nuclear waste piles up at hospitals...SEANNA ADCOX, Associated Press Writerhttp://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10562844BARNWELL, S.C.—Tubes, capsules and pellets of used radioactive material are piling up in the basements and locked closets of hospitals and research installations around the country, stoking fears they could get lost or, worse, stolen by terrorists and turned into dirty bombs. For years, truckloads of low-level nuclear waste from most of the U.S. were taken to a rural South Carolina landfill. There, items such as the rice-size radioactive seeds for treating cancer and pencil-thin nuclear tubes used in industrial gauges were sealed in concrete and buried. But a South Carolina law that took effect July 1 ended nearly all disposal of radioactive material at the landfill, leaving 36 states with no place to throw out some of the stuff. So labs, universities, hospitals and manufacturers are storing more and more of it on their own property. "Instead of safely secured in one place, it's stored in thousands of places in urban locations all over the United States," said Rick Jacobi, a nuclear waste consultant and former head of a Texas agency that unsuccessfully tried to create a disposal site for that state. State and federal authorities say the waste is being monitored, but they acknowledge that it is difficult to track and inspected as little as once every five years. Government documents and dozens of Associated Press interviews with nuclear waste generators, experts, watchdogs and officials show that thousands of these small radioactive items have already been lost, and that worries are growing. "They'll end up offered up on eBay and flea markets and sent to landfills, or metal recycling plants—places where you don't want them to be," said Stephen Browne, radiation control officer at Troxler Electronic Laboratories, one of the world's largest manufacturers of industrial gauges that use radioactive material. There are millions of radioactive devices in use for which there is no long-term disposal plan. These include tiny capsules of radioactive cesium isotopes implanted to kill cancerous cells; cobalt-60 pellets that power helmet-like machines used to focus radioactive beams on diseased brain tissue; and cobalt and powdered cesium inside irradiation machines that sterilize medical equipment and blood. Most medical waste can simply be stored until its radioactivity subsides within a few years, then safely thrown out with the regular trash. Some institutions store their radioactive material in lead-lined safes, behind doors fitted with alarms and covered with yellow-and-black radiation warning signs. Over the past decade, however, 4,363 radioactive sources have been lost, stolen or abandoned, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report released in February. Though none of the material lost was rated "extremely dangerous"—meaning unshielded, up-close exposure can cause permanent injury within a few minutes and death within an hour—more than half the radioactive items were never recovered, the NRC said. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, owners of dangerous amounts of radioactivity have been told by the government to take greater precautions, such as having 24-hour surveillance, erecting barriers and fingerprinting employees, regardless of whether the devices are in use or stored as waste. Yet in 2003, the federal Government Accountability Office reported there wasn't even a record of how many radioactive sources existed nationwide. In June, the GAO concluded that while there has been progress, more must be done to track radioactive material to prevent it from falling into terrorists' hands and ending up in a dirty bomb, or one that uses conventional explosives to scatter radiation... In 1987, four people died and hundreds fell ill after looters in Brazil found a cancer-therapy machine in an abandoned medical clinic and sold it as scrap metal. More recently, 19 small vials of cesium-137, implanted for cervical cancer treatments, disappeared in 1998 from a locked safe at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, N.C. The tubes were never found and were believed stolen... For decades, the government urged states to build low-level nuclear waste landfills, either on their own or in cooperation with nearby states. But those efforts have run into strong not-in-my-backyard resistance of the sort that led South Carolina lawmakers to close the Barnwell County landfill to all but three states. Only one low-level landfill, in Utah, has opened in the past 30 years. One more could open in Texas by the end of next year, but it would accept trash from only Vermont and the Lone Star State... Rich Janati, chief of nuclear safety for Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, said: "It's a national issue, and we should look at it as a national problem and come up with a solution." The government this week did move to shore up security by requiring hospitals and labs to better secure machines used to irradiate blood. Also, dirty-bomb fears have prompted the National Research Council to urge replacing the roughly 1,300 such machines in the U.S. with less hazardous but more expensive equipment.Chase pledges business as usual for WaMu customers...Eileen AJ Connelly, Associated Presshttp://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10567027?nclick_check=1NEW YORK — The collapse of Washington Mutual left customers and investors with many concerns and questions in the wake of the nation's biggest bank failureSuccumbing to problems in its home loan business that have been evident since 2006, WaMu was seized Thursday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which then sold the thrift's banking assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion. Q: What does the sale mean for customers?A: JPMorgan Chase assured customers on both the WaMu Web site and its own that it's business as usual after it assumed the deposit and loan accounts, and all branches of Washington Mutual. "You can continue to access your accounts just the way you've accessed them in the past: use your same branch, same debit, credit and ATM cards, same checks." FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair also promised customers a seamless transition. For all depositors and other customers of WaMu, "this is simply a combination of two banks," she said. Q: How safe is WaMu customers' money?A: "No one lost any money that was deposited in Washington Mutual Bank," the FDIC said. FDIC insurance protects deposits up to $100,000, or $250,000 for some individual retirement accounts and 401(k)s. But that insurance should not be needed if the JPMorgan takeover proceeds smoothly. The purchase prevents WaMu's collapse from depleting the FDIC's insurance fund, which stood at $45 billion on Thursday. JPMorgan bought WaMu's assets, which are valued at about $307 billion, for $1.9 billion. Now the nation's second largest bank, JPMorgan plans to write down about $31 billion worth of bad loans and sell $8 billion in common stock to raise capital. Q: What about WaMu investors?A: The news is much worse. Stockholders, who had already seen shares plunge 95 percent since their October high of $36.47, have the lowest priority for claims against WaMu. "Equity investors generally get the short end of the stick on these kinds of things," said "Stock Trader's Almanac" author and publisher Jeff Hirsch. "The company goes belly up, you lose." Investors who hold senior notes or other debt will be notified by the FDIC as to their treatment as claimants of the receivership. Q: Do direct deposit, automated payments, transfers remain the same? What about credit card and loan payments?A: JPMorgan Chase says all those services will continue without interruption or change. Payment instructions and addresses remain the same. Q: If customers have deposit accounts at both WaMu and Chase, are both insured?A: Yes. FDIC regulations say deposits at WaMu that transferred to Chase will be separately insured from any accounts at Chase for at least six months after the sale. CDs from WaMu are separately insured until the earliest maturity date after the six-month period. Q: When can WaMu customers bank at Chase bank branches?A: Not yet, according to JPMorgan Chase, which will need some time to get the two systems combined. Q: Can existing Chase bank customers make credit card, car loan or mortgage payments at a WaMu branch now?A: No. JPMorgan Chase says the date for that isn't yet known. Q: How big will JPMorgan Chase be now?A: JPMorgan Chase, which also bought the investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. for about $1.4 billion in March, now trails only Bank of America Corp. in assets. For customers, it now has over 5,400 branches and 14,000 ATMs in 23 statesSanta Cruz SentinelMercury emissions at cement plant pass EPA tests...Kurtis Alexander...9-25-08http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_10553974?IADID=Search-www.santacruzsentinel.com-www.santacruzsentinel.comTesting by the Environmental Protection Agency this summer indicates that mercury emissions at the Cemex cement plant meet state safety standards.The discharge of the plant, the sixth largest polluter of mercury in California, was under the scrutiny of federal regulators this year after independent tests suggested area residents could be breathing in unsafe levels of the neurotoxin.Officials with the regional air district, which is in charge of regulating the plant and have long insisted that emission levels are safe, say the findings released this week should dispel any health concerns...Cement plants, because of both the limestone used to make cement and the coal that powers the operation, are one of the nation's top sources of mercury pollution. Mercury, when inhaled regularly, has been shown to cause damage to the nervous system and kidneys, and can be particularly harmful for pregnant women and young children...District officials intend to present their findings to the Davenport community at a public meeting next month.Not everyone is convinced that the issue of air safety is settled, however.Miriam Rotkin-Ellman, an environmental scientist with the National Resources Defense Council who has looked at the EPA data, says the testing reveals that mercury is ever-present in the air and more should be done to limit its presence."This is an additional burden on the community," she said, noting that there's technology, used at other cement plants, that could be used locally to lower mercury levels even further beneath the state standards.Last year, Rotkin-Ellman's organization performed tests near the plant that showed elevated levels of mercury in the air. The air district dismissed the finding as a brief and negligible spike, but the tests prompted district officials to pursue the additional monitoring...Los Angeles TimesPETA launches campaign over rats and frogs in UC Irvine class...Alice Short...L.A. Unleashedhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2008/09/peta-launches-c.htmlThink the days of freaking out over animal dissection are over? Think again. The Orange County Register reports on some goings-on at UC Irvine:IRVINE -– Animal-rights activists have launched an e-mail campaign aimed at UCI, where they say biology students are forced to pour poison into live rats' brains and cut up living frogs for study.One day after launching the national campaign, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says 2,000 e-mails have already been sent to University of California, Irvine asking the campus to switch to a computer simulation.PETA spokesman Justin Goodman said his group contacted UCI after a student complained in July that she was ordered to poison a rat in her biology class, or flunk the lesson."According to the student whistleblower, students drill into the heads of healthy rats and drop in poison to damage their brains, and then they staple that the rats' heads closed," a PETA statement reads. "After two weeks, the students poke the rats with blunt sticks in a crude attempt to gauge the brain damage the rats have suffered."But James Hicks, who heads an oversight committee at UCI, said PETA was not accurately describing how the animals were being treated, and wrongly using inflammatory words like "whistleblower" to portray classroom instruction that had been properly reviewed and approved by campus officials.After WaMu, sellers slam Wachovia, FirstFed and Downey...Money & Co. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2008/09/after-the-failu.htmlAfter the failure of Washington Mutual on Thursday, Wall Street today is back to bashing the usual suspects as the next potential casualties: Wachovia Corp., National City Corp., FirstFed Financial Corp. and Downey Financial Corp.But there’s no blaming short sellers for what’s happening to these stocks this time around. Remember, starting last Monday the Securities and Exchange Commission outlawed short selling in more than 800 financial issues, including all four of the above.Wachovia shares were down $4.67, or 34%, to $9.03 at about 11:15 a.m. PDT -- below the previous multiyear low of $9.08 the stock reached on July 15, amid the worst of the mid-summer selling in financial issues.So if the short sellers can’t pound these stocks, the selling today must be by investors who were expecting the shares to rise -- and now have changed their minds, big timeRationally, if you expect Congress to pass the Bush administration’s $700-billion bailout plan for the financial system, you might also expect that the banks most burdened with bad mortgages -- including Wachovia, National City, FirstFed and Downey -- would stand to be potential beneficiaries of the program."But this is a very emotional market, and when people are emotional they aren’t rational," said Todd Clark, director of trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners in San Francisco.There’s also a common thread here with Wachovia, FirstFed and Downey: All three have huge, troubled portfolios of pay-option adjustable-rate mortgages, which allow borrowers to pay so little that their loan balances can rise. Option ARMs also were a favorite loan at WaMu.FirstFed was down $5.34, or 29%, to $12.91 at about 11:15; Downey was down $1.48, or 38%, to $2.42.National City was off $1.48, or 30%, to $3.51.Deposit run at WaMu forced their hand, regulators say...From Times staff writer E. Scott Reckard...Money & Co. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2008/09/just-as-with-in.htmlJust as with IndyMac Bank, the fate of Washington Mutual was sealed by a run on deposits as customers lost faith in the bank, federal regulators said Thursday in seizing the nation’s biggest thrift.WaMu had continued to assert in recent weeks that it had adequate capital to keep going, despite heavy losses this year on defaulted mortgages.But the Office of Thrift Supervision said "significant deposit outflows" began on Sept. 15. "During the next eight business days, WaMu deposit outflows totaled $16.7 billion," the OTS said in a statement.WaMu had total deposits of $188 billion as of June 30."With insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations, WaMu was in an unsafe and unsound condition to transact business," the OTS said.Kar Chin of East Los Angeles said Thursday that he withdrew $20,000 from a WaMu branch in City of Industry late last week even though he knew the money was within federal insurance limits.He said friends had advised him to take out his money because of the possibility that he might lose access to it temporarily, so he opened an account at Wells Fargo & Co. instead. Chin said he stood in line for more than a half hour, mostly because of other people making withdrawals, and then heard the teller talking to a supervisor about customers losing faith in WaMu.Richard Dunne, 56, a 15-year WaMu customer, said Thursday he had withdrawn nearly his entire business account from the Laguna Hills branch the week before on the advice of financial advisors, even though his account did not exceed federal insurance limits."Any interruption would cause real problems in my life," said Dunne, who sells women’s accessories.Maureen, a Laguna Niguel resident who declined to give her last name, said Thursday she withdrew her savings from a WaMu branch in Greenbrae because of a customer there who told her the bank would be taken over. "I didn’t want to be caught in a time lag," she said, citing a friend whose funds were stuck during the federal takeover of IndyMac in July.WaMu bank customers flock to branches to find business as usualWashington Mutual depositors rush to check on their accounts at Southern California locations a day after the bank failed and was sold to JPMorgan Chase. So far, calm has supplanted panic...Andrea Chang, Tiffany Hsu and E. Scott Reckardhttp://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-banks27-2008sep27,0,7113636,print.storyWashington Mutual depositors flocked to Southern California branches to check on their accounts this morning, a day after their bank failed, was seized by federal regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. But most were relieved to find it was pretty much business as usual.At a WaMu branch in Larchmont Village in Los Angeles, about a dozen people waited in line before the doors opened at 9 a.m."Everybody is scared," said Zahira Fazilat of Laguna Niguel, who withdrew a few thousand dollars from her savings account last week and moved it to Bank of America. "It's recession time. You deposit money to pay your bills and God forbid the next day your bank is closed."But after talking to a bank representative, Fazilat, a skin-care specialist, said she felt comfortable depositing two checks into her checking account.Customers stood outside reassuring one another that things would be OK. Inside, bank workers were handing out papers with information on Thursday's takeover.Although some depositors said they were worried, most said they expected a smooth transition to JPMorgan Chase...WaMu, which had suffered huge losses in its mortgage loan and credit card businesses, had seen its stock plummet and was further crippled as nervous depositors withdrew $16.5 billion in the last two weeks. Although its collapse was not entirely unexpected, the failure is the latest in a series that have shaken the financial world.Thursday's sale of WaMu will make JPMorgan the No. 1 U.S. bank by deposits, with more than $900 billion. Bank of America Corp. will be No. 2, with $785 billion.JPMorgan's stock rose today on the news, up $2.94, or 6.8%, to $46.40 in the midafternoon. But shares of other banks that have suffered problems similar to WaMu's were taking a beating.Wachovia was down $5.15, or 37.6%, to $8.55. Downey Financial Corp fell $1.67, or 42.8%, to $2.23 about an hour before markets closed...With assets of $307 billion and deposits of $188 billion, the thrift is by far the largest bank to fail in U.S. history. The record had been held by Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust of Chicago, which had $40 billion in assets when it failed in 1984 -- about $84 billion in today's dollars, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator.The sale means the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., facing an expected rash of bank failures in the midst of the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s, won't have to drain its $45-billion insurance fund to cover losses from Washington Mutual.How takeover of Washington Mutual will affect customersFor now, the changeover doesn't alter how you conduct business with WaMu...Andrea Changhttp://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wamuqanda26-2008sep26,0,7636893,print.storyFederal regulators are hoping for a seamless transition after seizing money-losing Washington Mutual Bank and selling it immediately to JPMorgan Chase & Co. late Thursday. They want WaMu customers to know it's business as usual today.Here are some questions you may have about your accounts at WaMu:What will happen to my account?All deposit accounts, which include checking, savings, money market, retirement and certificates of deposit, have been transferred to JPMorgan Chase, regardless of the dollar amount. No one lost any money that was deposited in WaMu.Will I have immediate access to my money?Depositors won't lose access to any of their money, even if it wasn't fully insured.Will my ATM card still work? Can I write checks as usual?Yes.Will branches be open today?Bank branches were to open today as usual. Eventually, the branches will be rebranded as Chase.I have checks deposited directly into my WaMu account. What happens now?Direct deposits will continue as usual, including Social Security checks. What about my loan or mortgage with WaMu? All mortgages and loans have been assumed by JPMorgan Chase. Your payment amount and due date are the same. Continue to make your checks out to Washington Mutual Bank and send your payments to the same address you have been using. If you are having your payment taken out of your account, it will continue to be taken out. Will the bank continue to pay the same interest rates on deposits?All interest on deposits accrued through Thursday will be paid at the same rate. JPMorgan Chase will review rates and will announce any changes soon. I already have other deposit accounts with JPMorgan Chase. When combined with my balances at WaMu, my deposits exceed $100,000. Are all funds insured? The accounts transferred to JPMorgan Chase will be separately insured for at least six months after the takeover. This grace period gives a depositor the opportunity to restructure the accounts, if necessary, so that they stay fully insured.If you have certificates of deposit that mature more than six months from now, they will be separately insured until then.I'm a WaMu shareholder. How does the takeover affect me?Shareholders have a claim against the receivership; they have the lowest priority, however. You should discuss this with an accountant or the Internal Revenue Service concerning the requirements for recognizing the investment as a loss for tax purposes.Washington PostDown-Payment Spigot to Shut OffBuilders Fret Over Loss of Seller Help...Dina ElBoghdadyhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092601718_pf.htmlIn the past two months, most of the people who bought condominiums at the Stratford Club in Leesburg used no-money-down mortgages insured by the federal government, through a program that will be dismantled on Oct. 1.The builders are concerned about what's going to happen now. "This is another obstacle to overcome," said Larry Breneman, senior project manager at the new community.The federal government eliminated this popular financing arrangement in a broader housing package enacted this summer. Lawmakers and regulators said that this type of lending, called a seller-funded down payment, contributed to the foreclosures that crippled the housing market and damaged the economy at large.But the nation's largest builders say thousands of first-time home buyers, minorities and single parents will be shut out of the housing market without this financing tool. They're stunned by the government's decision to wipe out a program that has generated 15 to 30 percent of their sales -- especially now, when the building industry is struggling to stay afloat."Today is not the time to cut off the blood supply to the patient that's on the operating table," Stuart Miller, chief executive of Lennar, told analysts this week.Under this arrangement, the Federal Housing Administration allows charities to provide down-payment money to buyers. The sellers then reimburse the charities and pay an administrative fee for the service. About 79,000 people bought homes this way last year, most from builders.Seller-funded down payments allow builders to sell to cash-strapped customers without lowering prices and depressing values in the subdivisions they're constructing."Some builders have used this program for so long that it's part of their everyday business, and they don't know the effect it's going to have once it's removed," said Ken Wenhold, a regional director at real estate advisory firm MetroStudy.Michael Rehaut, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, predicts that one in every 10 potential new-home buyers will be forced out of the market once the program vanishes.That helps explain why some builders' mortgage representatives are "just freaking out," as Kelvin Clarke of Countrywide Home Loans in Gaithersburg put it."There is a lot of panic," said Clarke, who works closely with builders. "They're definitely worried that it's going to hurt sales. A lot of them were rushing to get contracts done well before deadline."For years, the FHA has tried to get rid of seller-assisted down payments, calling them the single biggest challenge to its solvency. The agency says borrowers who receive them go into foreclosure at nearly three times the rate of those who do not.FHA officials have never targeted down payments from other sources, such as family, employers or churches. They say those perform well and function as "gifts." The down payments at issue do not fit the "gift" definition, they maintain. Instead, they skirt FHA policies that prohibit a seller from directly financing a down payment.Nationwide, there are at least 100 groups that enable seller assistance. The largest is Nehemiah Corp. of California, which has been lobbying feverishly to resurrect this type of financing. Scott Syphax, the group's chief executive, said the FHA's numbers are skewed. They undercount the number of loans made while properly capturing the number of foreclosures it has had to pay for, thus inflating the percentage of bad loans, Syphax says. The FHA denies that.The National Association of Home Builders was "distraught" about the decision to abolish seller-funded down payments but did not oppose the housing package because other elements of it helped the industry, said Jerry Howard, the group's chief executive.Still, some builders are stunned that Congress would get rid of a program so vital to their sales, especially heading into a time of year when demand for homes tends to be seasonally low...Supporters of seller-assisted financing say this option meshes with the FHA's mission to serve low- to moderate-income people. While they acknowledge that the system has problems, they say it should be fixed, not nixed.To that end, House lawmakers have offered legislation to restore the program but limit it to borrowers with good credit. This bill is likely to languish. Congress will be in session only one more week before election time.Also, the FHA has said it has "deep reservations" about the measure...Many builders hope that a new $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers will boost sales and offset any losses related to the demise of seller funding. But many financial analysts are skeptical that this deferred credit, which must be repaid, will appeal to a large number of buyers.That leaves many builders little choice but to develop other financial incentives for buyers, as Centex said it is trying to do...U.S. Forces WaMu Sale As Bank FoundersHistoric Failure Prompts Deal With J.P. Morgan...Binyamin Appelbaumhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092503710_pf.htmlFederal regulators last night seized the massive, troubled mortgage lender Washington Mutual in the largest bank failure in U.S. history, then immediately sold much of the company to J.P. Morgan Chase for $1.9 billion in a deal that will create the largest bank in the country.The historic two-step was orchestrated by Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., on terms that preserve Washington Mutual's deposits and avoid what could have been a huge drain on the insurance fund that protects deposits of up to $100,000.The fall of Washington Mutual, which was the country's largest savings and loan, expands once again the vast, burned-over landscape of the financial industry. The federal government has seized mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and insurance giant American International Group. The five largest independent investment banks are closed or have changed their business model. Most of the largest mortgage companies are closed or have been sold. This is the first time, however, that a large bank funded mostly by deposits has failed during the current crisis.The sale furthers the consolidation of the U.S. financial industry, which is increasingly dominated by a few colossal banks with more than $1 trillion in assets, offering a vast range of services. J.P. Morgan will become the largest, surpassing Bank of America.The willingness of J.P. Morgan to cover all of Washington Mutual's deposits narrowly averts a massive hit on the FDIC. Washington Mutual held $188 billion in deposits as of June, far more than any bank that has ever failed. Analysts estimated that a Washington Mutual failure could have soaked up half the money in the government insurance fund, forcing a huge increase in the premiums paid to the fund by other banks.Bair said Washington Mutual lacked the cash to fund its business. Since Sept. 15, depositors pulled $16.7 billion from the bank, and the company's bond rating, a measure of its financial health, was slashed several times until Washington Mutual was ranked among the nation's most fragile companies...She said the FDIC had been planning to seize the company Friday night but acted yesterday because of concerns that media leaks would scare depositors. "This was an eroding situation," Bair said.With the acquisition, New York-based J.P. Morgan will gain a massive, long-desired presence on the West Coast. Neither company has branches in the Washington area. Washington Mutual's branches are concentrated in California, with large clusters in New York, Florida, Texas and the company's home state of Washington. J.P. Morgan has large numbers of branches in the Midwest, the Southwest and New York.J.P. Morgan submitted the highest bid in an auction regulators held Wednesday night, buying Washington Mutual's 2,200 branches, its $135 billion in remaining deposits -- and its vast portfolio of troubled investments in mortgage-related securities. The deal does not affect depositors -- even those with deposits over the federal insured maximum -- or people with mortgage loans held by Washington Mutual...J.P. Morgan and Bank of America are emerging as the great winners in the current crisis. Funded by deposits and less involved in the business of securitizing loans, they are strong at a moment of weakness for erstwhile rivals. J.P. Morgan already has carried off the remnants of investment bank Bear Stearns, which collapsed in March. Bank of America has picked up Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch.J.P. Morgan is not buying the holding company that owns the thrift, nor is it paying anything to shareholders in the company, who have essentially been wiped out, or those who have purchased its bonds. The $1.9 billion J.P. Morgan paid to the government will be paid out to the holding company's surviving creditors, but many of them will suffer large losses...The failure marks the second time in recent months that a large bank has been seized by regulators before it was included in the FDIC's quarterly count of troubled institutions. IndyMac Bancorp, another large mortgage lender, was seized by regulators in July. That reflects the rapid pace of the financial crisis but has also raised questions about the care with which regulators are scrutinizing trouble companies.The Washington Mutual-J.P. Morgan deal is not subject to any of the reviews that normally attend a major bank merger."When you have a failing institution, you don't have time for that," Bair said.New York TimesGovernment Seizes WaMu and Sells Some Assets...ERIC DASH and ANDREW ROSS SORKINhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/business/26wamu.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=printWashington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night, in what is by far the largest bank failure in American history.Regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan, to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, averting another potentially huge taxpayer bill for the rescue of a failing institution. The move came as lawmakers reached a stalemate over the passage of a $700 billion bailout fund designed to help ailing banks, and removed one of America’s most troubled banks from the financial landscape.Customers of WaMu, based in Seattle, are unlikely to be affected, although shareholders and some bondholders will be wiped out. WaMu account holders are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $100,000, and additional deposits will be backed by JPMorgan Chase. Many WaMu employees came to work Friday wondering about their jobs. JPMorgan executives said that it was too early to know how many employoees might be laid off, but industry analysts said the number could be as high as 5,000. Analysts expect the bank to close about 540 branch sites, many that overlap with JPMorgan offices...JPMorgan Chase, which acquired Bear Stearns only six months ago in another shotgun deal brokered by the government, is to take control Friday of all of WaMu’s deposits and bank branches, creating a nationwide retail franchise that rivals only Bank of America. But JPMorgan will also take on Washington Mutual’s big portfolio of troubled assets, and plans to shut down at least 10 percent of the combined company’s 5,400 branches in markets like New York and Chicago, where they compete. The bank also plans to raise an additional $8 billion by issuing common stock on Friday to pay for the deal.Washington Mutual, with $307 billion in assets, is by far the biggest bank failure in history, eclipsing the 1984 failure of Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust in Chicago, an event that presaged the savings and loan crisis. IndyMac, which was seized by regulators in July, was one-tenth the size of WaMu. But fears of the fallout from the government takeover of a big bank were balanced with the removal of one of the largest remaining clouds looming over the banking industry. “This institution was a big question mark about the health of the deposit fund,” Sheila C. Bair, the chairwoman of the F.D.I.C., said on a conference call Thursday. “It was unique in its size and exposure to higher risk mortgages and the distressed housing market. This is the big one that everybody was worried about.” She said that the bank’s rapidly deteriorating condition prompted regulators to seize it Thursday, and not on a Friday as is typical for bank closures. For weeks, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department were nervous about the fate of WaMu, among the worst-hit by the housing crisis, and pressed hard for the bank to sell itself. Washington Mutual publicly insisted that it could remain independent, but the giant thrift had quietly hired Goldman Sachs about two weeks ago to identify potential bidders. But nobody could make the numbers work and several deadlines passed without anyone submitting a bid. But as panic gripped financial markets last week after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, WaMu customers started withdrawing their deposits. The government then stepped up its efforts, at points going behind WaMu’s back to work privately with four potential bidders on a deal. On Wednesday afternoon, the government solicited formal written bids. On Thursday morning, regulators notified James Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, that he was the likely winner.“We are building a company,” Mr. Dimon said in a brief interview. “We are kind of lucky to have this opportunity to do this. We always had our eye on it.”But the seizure and the deal with JPMorgan came as a shock to Washington Mutual’s board, which was kept completely in the dark: the company’s new chief executive, Alan H. Fishman, was in midair, flying from New York to Seattle at the time the deal was finally brokered, according to people briefed on the situation. Mr. Fishman, who has been on the job for less than three weeks, is eligible for $11.6 million in cash severance and will get to keep his $7.5 million signing bonus, according to an analysis by James F. Reda and Associates. WaMu was not immediately available for comment. The government has dealt with troubled financial institutions differently. Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, which were less entangled with the rest of the financial system, were allowed to collapse. But the government took emergency measures to stabilize Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and the American International Group, the insurance giant. Federal regulators had been trying to broker a deal for Washington Mutual because a takeover by the F.D.I.C. would have dealt a crushing blow to the federal government’s deposit insurance fund. The fund, which stood at $45.2 billion at the end of June, has been severely depleted after suffering a loss from the sudden collapse of IndyMac Bank. Analysts say that a failure of Washington Mutual would have cost the fund as much as $30 billion or more. Until recently, Washington Mutual was one of Wall Street’s strongest performers. It reaped big profits quarter after quarter as its then chief executive, Kerry K. Killinger, enlarged its presence by buying banks on both coasts and ramping up mortgage lending. His goal was to transform what was once a sleepy Seattle thrift into the “Wal-Mart of Banking,” which would cater to lower- and middle-class consumers that other banks deemed too risky. It offered complex mortgages and credit cards whose terms made it easy for the least creditworthy borrowers to get financing, a strategy the bank extended in big cities, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. With this grand plan, Mr. Killinger built Washington Mutual into the sixth-largest bank in the United States.But underneath the hood, the bank’s machinery was failing. Then the housing market began to crumble. Like so many other financial institutions, the bank tried to hedge its mortgage bets — but did so poorly. It retrenched on its branch-building ambitions. But none of that was enough to deflate ballooning losses on mortgage loans, nor defuse ticking time bombs like interest-only and pay-option amortization products that had reeled in bottom-grade borrowers. With rising mortgage payments and higher gas and food bills, WaMu’s losses in its big credit card loan portfolio also surged. By then, however, WaMu’s troubles had set off alarm bells on Wall Street, which ground its share price down daily.With options narrowing, WaMu frantically reached out to several banks and big private equity firms, including the Carlyle Group and the Blackstone Group. In March, JPMorgan Chase saw an opportunity and urged WaMu in a letter to consider a quick deal. On the same weekend that Mr. Dimon negotiated his daring takeover of Bear Stearns, he secretly dispatched members of his team to Seattle to meet with WaMu executives. When JPMorgan Chase offered WaMu $8 a share, largely in stock. But Mr. Killinger balked at the deal. In April, David Bonderman, a founder of the TPG private equity firm, and a group of institutional investors agreed to infuse $7 billion of capital into the bank. Mr. Killinger kept his job, and Mr. Bonderman, who had served as a WaMu director from 1997 to 2002, returned with a board seat and 176 million WaMu shares priced at about $8.75 each — steep discount of more than 25 percent to that day’s share price. While the deal was sweet for Mr. Bonderman, it eroded the value for existing shareholders, enraging them. They moved on June 2 to strip Mr. Killinger of his chairmanship. Mr. Bonderman, meanwhile, watched his golden bet turn to dross. In a statement Thursday, TPG said: “Obviously, we are dissatisfied with the loss to our partners from our investment in Washington Mutual.”CNN MoneyBeltway medicine menDon't be surprised if the cure conjured up by Washington fails to solve the market's woes...Allan Sloanhttp://money.cnn.com/2008/09/25/news/economy/sloan_crash.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008092610NEW YORK (Fortune) -- The proposed bailout of the world's financial system isn't really about money, folks. It's about psychology. In fact, you can think of it as the most expensive piece of psychotherapy in the history of the world. The idea is that having Uncle Sam buy tons of trashy, hard-to-value financial assets will change the psychology of lending institutions throughout the world. This financial Prozac, as it were, would cure the lenders of their fear and depression, encourage them to start lending again, and induce investors to pump new capital into these capital-short institutions. But psychology - even when practiced by masters like Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke - isn't an exact science. That's why I wouldn't bet the farm on this bailout working as planned. How can I say that when some of the smartest investors in the land, like Warren Buffett and Bill Gross, shilled for the bailout plan? Answer: Because Paulson and Bernanke have tried one thing after another to stimulate lending and restore confidence since the markets blew up in the summer of 2007, but nothing has worked for more than a brief period. The two amigos had to ask Congress to fund the bailout, which comes directly from taxpayer money. But for the past 14 months they've thrown hundreds of billions of dollars of fed assets into the market, and lenders still won't lend. Recent figures show that the Fed has used recently created programs to put about $400 billion of cash and Treasury securities (which are the same as cash) into the credit markets, much of it as loans against hard-to-value securities. Despite that, debt markets are still glopped up (though things might be far worse, absent these programs). What I find especially disturbing is that the Fed's post-Bear-Stearns-collapse program to lend to investment banks didn't forestall runs on investment banks, and Paulson's guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt didn't settle those markets, forcing the Treasury to take the companies over. I thought both those programs would work. It's going to take quite a while to see whether the debt markets' depression is lifted by the bailout - I wouldn't place much faith in early reports. And let's not forget that there's a long-term psychological cost to this fix: It has enraged ordinary taxpayers-and rightly so. Don't be surprised if they lose faith in the supposed miracle of free markets, and in the financial system, and in the Fed and Treasury, which - unlike Washington pols - have been generally revered. That loss, in fact, may be the bailout's biggest cost of all.Analysts: Wachovia to avoid WaMu fateInvestors nervous about the bank's future, despite experts' hopeful outlook...September 26, 2008: 3:43 PM EThttp://money.cnn.com/2008/09/26/news/companies/wachovia.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008092615NEW YORK (AP) -- Although Wachovia Corp. has been mentioned as one of the more troubled big U.S. banks, at least some analysts believe it is not at risk and is unlikely to suffer the same fate of Washington Mutual Inc. They also believe that Wachovia will be able to survive on its own, without merging with another big financial institution.Still, shares of the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank plunged Friday as investors, the day after WaMu's failure, shifted their focus to other financial institutions that also suffer under the weight of mounting losses tied to toxic assets...Wachovia's (WB, Fortune 500) current problems stem largely from its acquisition of mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. in 2006 for roughly $25 billion at the height of the nation's housing boom. With that purchase, Wachovia inherited a deteriorating $122 billion portfolio of Pick-A-Payment loans, Golden West's specialty, which let borrowers skip some payments.Essentially, the feeling on Wall Street is that Wachovia is hurting, but it's not in the same dire straights as WaMu had been before it was seized by the FDIC. The company has been mentioned as a possible merger partner for Morgan Stanley.The bank may need to raise additional capital or speed up its turnaround plans in some way to soothe investors in the short term, analysts said.Wachovia-Citi talking: ReportTwo banks have entered preliminary discussions, according to New York Times. Sources note deal may not happen...Last Updated: September 26, 2008: 4:51 PM EThttp://money.cnn.com/2008/09/26/news/companies/citi_wachovia/index.htm?postversion=2008092616NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wachovia has entered preliminary merger talks with Citigroup, according to a report published Friday afternoon.Citing people familiar with the matter, the New York Times reported that the talks are early and that a deal may not happen.Citigroup and Wachovia spokespeople declined to comment.News of a potential deal failed to prop up Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500) shares in after-hours trading, after a particularly tough session in which shares of the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank plunged 27%. Shares of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) gained 2% after the bell.Such a deal would mark yet another big shake up of the nation's banking industry, which has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past two weeks. Among the developments: the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the acquisition of Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500).Late on Thursday, Washington Mutual (WM, Fortune 500) became the biggest bank failure in U.S. history after it was seized by federal regulators, only to have its assets subsequently purchase by JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500). JPMorgan buys WaMuIn the biggest bank failure in history, JPMorgan Chase will acquire massive branch network and troubled assets from Washington Mutual for $1.9 billion...David Ellis and Jeanne Sahadihttp://money.cnn.com/2008/09/25/news/companies/JPM_WaMu/index.htm?postversion=2008092612NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JPMorgan Chase acquired the banking assets of Washington Mutual late Thursday after the troubled thrift was seized by federal regulators, marking the biggest bank failure in the nation's history and the latest stunning twist in the ongoing credit crisis.Under the deal, JPMorgan Chase will acquire all the banking operations of WaMu, including $307 billion in assets and $188 billion in deposits.To put the size of WaMu in context, its assets are equal to about two-thirds of the combined book value assets of all 747 failed thrifts that were sold off by the Resolution Trust Corp. - the former government body that handled the S&L crisis from 1989 through 1995...The acquisition is JPMorgan Chase's second major purchase this year following the mid-March acquisition of investment bank Bear Stearns, a deal that was also engineered by the government...As a result of the acquisition, the New York City-based JPMorgan Chase will now boast some 5,400 branches in 23 states.Federal regulators, who helped shepherd the deal, stressed that the transition for WaMu customers would be "seamless.""There will be no interruption in services and bank customers should expect business as usual come Friday morning," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said in a statement.WaMu is the 13th bank to fail so far this year and earns the title of the nation's biggest bank failure by assets on record, ahead of Continental Illinois, which had about $40 billion in assets ($67.7 billion in 2008 dollars) when it failed in May of 1984.The FDIC, however, was quick to point out Thursday evening that the WaMu-JPMorgan Chase deal would not have any impact to its insurance fund which covers customer deposits when banks fail. "WaMu's balance sheet and the payment paid by JPMorgan Chase allowed a transaction in which neither the uninsured depositors nor the insurance fund absorbed any losses," Bair said.The FDIC insures the assets held by 8,451 banking institutions with a total of $13.4 trillion.A road to collapseWaMu had been one of the most hard-hit banks during the financial crisis after it bet big, like many of its competitors, on the strength of the U.S. housing market -- only to see its fortunes sour as housing prices fell...In a press conference held late Thursday, Bair said regulators deemed it was necessary to act as the company had come under "severe" liquidity pressure. Regulators said that WaMu was experiencing a "run on the bank", as roughly 10% of WaMu deposits were pulled on Monday.As a result, regulators saw the need to act this week, even as Congress and the White House continued to hash out a bank bailout plan.Bair added that the company was on the FDIC's latest so-called "problem bank" list for the third quarter, which has yet to be published.Questions remainQuite possibly the biggest losers in Thursday's deal, however, are WaMu's stock and debt holders, who were effectively wiped out.Among that group was the private equity giant TPG, which was part of a consortium of investors that acquired a stake in WaMu for $7 billion in April...When pressed about what might be next for JPMorgan following two massive deals this year, Dimon didn't close the door altogether on acquiring another commercial bank...Tough times for banksThe fall of WaMu is the latest turn in a dizzying two weeks that have seen the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and the near collapse of insurance giant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500).The widening credit crisis has prompted President Bush to seek from Congress extraordinary authority to spend as much a $700 billion to bail out the nation's financial system by purchasing toxic assets from banks.President Bush, in a televised address Friday morning, said the nation's economy is at risk, adding he believed that Congress will move quickly on a bailout proposal."We've got a big problem," he said.Regulators acknowledged they were encouraged to get a deal done but Dimon stressed to investors that a potential bailout by the government was not a factor.WaMu CEO: 3 weeks work, $18MAlan Fishman could be eligible for a multi-million paycheck after only three weeks on the job ... if he decides to keep it...Aaron Smithhttp://money.cnn.com/2008/09/26/news/companies/fishman_wamu/index.htm?postversion=2008092615NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Washington Mutual Chief Executive Alan Fishman could walk away with more than $18 million in salary, bonuses and severance after less than three weeks on the job, according to the terms of his employment agreement. But will Fishman follow the lead of another troubled financial firm and turn his severance package down?JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) grabbed up the banking assets of WaMu on Thursday after federal regulators seized the company, making it the largest bank failure in history. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a conference call with reporters Friday that no decisions have been made about the fates of WaMu senior executives.Still, the demise of WaMu is likely to be the end of Fishman's brief tenure at the helm. Fishman was hired on Sept. 7, replacing former long-time CEO Kerry Killinger, who was ousted as a result of the company's many financial woes. WaMu did not reply to requests for comment about Fishman's severance package. But some details were outlined in his employment agreement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 11.Fishman had a base annual salary of $1 million, which translates to $19,230 per week. So during his three weeks on the job, he would receive a base pay of about $60,000 before taxes.His target annual bonus was 365% of his salary, or $3.65 million. In the agreement, it was unclear how much of the annual bonus he would be eligible for, if any. The agreement said that Fishman could be eligible in 2009 for a long-term incentive award, which would be worth at least $8 million. But the agreement also said this is based on the assumption that would serve as CEO for the "full year" of 2009. Also, if Fishman has to pay taxes because of any severance he receives as a result of the takeover, then the company would cover those taxes. That would potentially give Fishman millions of dollars more.Fishman also got a multi-million dollar sign-on bonus. But he may have to pay it back, depending on certain conditions outlined in the agreement.Fishman's sign-on cash bonus was $7.5 million as well as 612,500 shares of WaMu, which are now virtually worthless. Shares of WaMu plunged more than 90% to 16 cents a share on Friday. The agreement says that Fishman would have to pay back part or all of his bonus if he ends his employment for any reason other than "constructive termination," or if the company terminates his employment with "cause."If Fishman is terminated without "cause" - which could mean the loss of a job due to a takeover of the firm - or if he resigns because of "constructive termination," than he would receive a lump severance payment of $6.15 million. This figure is 2.5 times his base salary of $1 million plus the maximum bonus of $3.65 million.The agreement did not specify constructive termination, but it is generally characterized as an employee voluntarily quitting because of intolerable working conditions.When you add up his salary, the possible bonuses and the lump sum payment, Fishman could walk away with more than $18 million.But the CEO of another prominent financial firm in a similar situation recently decided to turn down his severance package after the firm essentially collapsed.Robert Willumstad, former chief executive officer of insurance giant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), which the government took an approximately 80% stake in after giving it an emergency $85 billion loan, was dismissed last week after only about three months on the job.Willumstad has reportedly told his successor that he has decided not to accept his $22 million severance package since AIG shareholders and employees had lost so much money as a result of its meltdown.Matt McCormick, portfolio manager with Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel, said he thinks that Fishman will not be rewarded extravagantly given that the bank failed."I will give WaMu the benefit of the doubt that they hired this person to make WaMu work, not to get foreclosed," he said. But McCormick added that the WaMu failure wasn't necessarily Fishman's fault, because "their goose was cooked long ago." In the future, employment agreements for CEOs might include more details on restricting multi-million dollar bailouts after brief tenures, McCormick said. -------------------------------------------------------------CENTRAL VALLEY SAFE ENVIRONMENT NETWORKMISSION STATEMENTCentral Valley Safe Environment Network is a coalition of organizations and individuals throughout the San Joaquin Valley that is committed to the concept of "Eco-Justice" -- the ecological defense of the natural resources and the people. To that end it is committed to the stewardship, and protection of the resources of the greater San Joaquin Valley, including air and water quality, the preservation of agricultural land, and the protection of wildlife and its habitat. In serving as a community resource and being action-oriented, CVSEN desires to continue to assure there will be a safe food chain, efficient use of natural resources and a healthy environment. CVSEN is also committed to public education regarding these various issues and it is committed to ensuring governmental compliance with federal and state law. CVSEN is composed of farmers, ranchers, city dwellers, environmentalists, ethnic, political,and religious groups, and other stakeholders.