11-19-08

   11-19-08MCAGPublic NoticeThe Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is available for the Atwater-Merced Expresswayhttp://www.mcagov.org/pubnotice/2008/111808AME.pdfPublic Comment Period - November 17, 2008 to January 5, 2009Draft EIRhttp://www.mcagov.org/publications/trans.htmlAtwater Merced Expressway (AME)Recirculated Draft EIR - November 2008Merced Sun-StarAttachmentAtwater Merced Expressway ProjectPublic Meeting in AtwaterMerced Sun-Star, Merced, Calif        NATION & WORLD        Wednesday, November 19, 2008 A5The Merced County Association of Governments (MCAG) will hold a public meeting to solicit comments regarding the Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Atwater Merced Expressway (AME) Project.Atwater Community Center Tuesday, December 16, 20086:00 pm to 8:00 pm760 E. Bellevue RoadAtwater, CA 95301Wal-Mart report delayed again...Scott Jason, Reporters' Notebookhttp://notebook.mercedsunstar.com/wal_mart_report_delayed_againThe report that will evaluate the impact a Wal-Mart distribution center would have on Merced won't be released until January, Merced Planning Manager Kim Espinosa told me today. The revisions, at the suggestion of the city's consultant, are taking longer so it won't be published in December, as once anticipated. The report, which will be hundreds of pages, is one part of what the City Council will vote on when the project comes before it. It outlines what the distribution center would mean for roads, water, air quality and other environmental issues.Union calls for investigation of Merced County CEO TatumElected officials say they weren't aware vote was for pay raise...JONAH OWEN LAMBhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/554454.htmlThe county just saved itself more than $10,000 Tuesday by rescinding a raise for the county CEO's wife. But it may not have dodged the political fallout as angry residents attacked the board and called for the resignation of the CEO.A county union said it was going to ask a grand jury to investigate.Tuesday morning the Merced County Board of Supervisors voted to rescind a 10 percent raise for Iris Tatum, the wife of Dee Tatum, county CEO. The prospective raise had been buried so deep in the last meeting's agenda that at first no one knew it was there.While the board voted unanimously to rescind the action, numerous members of the public spoke about their outrage over the lack of transparency they perceived in the process. One union called for Dee Tatum's resignation and an investigation by the grand jury. "Mr. Tatum," said resident Chris Carpenter, before the board and Tatum, "you have betrayed the people that trusted you."The spokesman for the Merced County Sheriff Employee's Association (MCSEA), Jeff Miller, told the board of his organization's disappointment in Tatum's leadership. Miller gave the board a letter from MCSEA that said, "Mr. Tatum owes the citizens he serves an apology; more than that, he owes us all his resignation."But this statement was only the first shot across the bow in the union's reaction to the revelations surrounding Iris Tatum's attempted raise.Within the week, Miller said, the union will send a letter to the Merced County civil grand jury to ask it to investigate Tatum. "We are going to allege unethical, illegal conduct with the purpose of funneling taxpayer money to his spouse."Before the vote to rescind Iris Tatum's 10 percent differential, several supervisors served up comments on the matter too. Supervisor Jerry O'Banion noted that there had been a lot of confusion over this issue for the last couple of weeks. But he made it clear that he had no idea about the attempted raise when he voted on Nov. 4. "There was no resolution or discussion on salary raises for anyone or otherwise in the packet," he said.Supervisor Kathleen Crookham mirrored his statements. "None of us received that information," she said.Supervisor Deidre Kelsey said the board had never received the item on Tatum's wife. She added that ever since it was revealed that the item was missing, the board has been trying to find its reference -- or its absence -- in the Nov. 4 packets they received. "There was no reference to the item implied in the newspaper," she said, referring to several Sun-Star stories about the issue. "It's been a very stressful 10 days or so."County spokeswoman Katie Albertson contended that the board's action Tuesday was only a clarification. Rescinding Iris Tatum's possible raise by the Board of Supervisors didn't actually change the fact it had never gone into effect in the first place, she said.Dee Tatum made a statement on the matter in an e-mail. Here it is in entirety: "The Board of Supervisors took an action today that benefitted the public process by clarifying any confusion in the public that may have existed. Despite a number of mischararcterizations and egregious headlines recently printed, I remain fully committed to an open and transparent process. To be clear, while only one side of the story has been portrayed to date, I did not come up with the idea for nor was I involved in the planning of the differential pay raise for the Mental Health administrative operations manager. I was not involved in the differential issue and did not exert any influence over the process along the way."While one chapter in the saga of the missing raise may have closed, the next one may open with the grand jury.The Donation III: Merced Theatre contribution denied yet again...SCOTT JASONhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/554471.htmlIn the drama of politics, Merced County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kathleen Crookham wrote a third act in her play to give thousands of dollars to the Merced Theatre.Critics panned it.The script, filled with passionate monologues from both the heroes and villains -- depending on your point of view -- ultimately ended Tuesday with the board, 3-2, trashing Crookham's plan."If you have an idea of how I should distribute these funds, please let me know," she said after the vote.Crookham has about $270,000 in "special project funds" that she can spend before her last meeting, Dec. 16. There's an additional $100,000 in this year's budget, most of which will be set aside for her successor, Hub Walsh.Each supervisor is given a pot of cash yearly to fund pet projects that would otherwise be overlooked. Crookham, a 12-year supervisor, stashed her money so she could give a large gift to the theater foundation.The plan immediately faced opposition when she first brought it up earlier this year. Some argued it was too much money. Others wondered why the county would essentially help fund a city-based project that's well-supported. Crookham's gift of quarter-million dollars failed by a 3-2 vote in June.She revised her plan in early November, setting aside $150,000 for the downtown relic and, to snag Supervisor Deidre Kelsey's vote, earmarked $50,000 for the Snelling Courthouse Historical Foundation. It also failed.This time, she wanted to give $100,000 for the theater foundation, $187,000 to the Human Services Agency and $5,000 to the Merced County Arts Council.This spring, the county will lay off three dozen workers in the agency. The board didn't even bother to address the few jobs that the donation would save.Supervisor John Pedrozo blasted Crookham for wanting to spend $100,000 on the theater when the county's going through lean budget times. He was also upset because the building falls within his district and because she never bothered to chat with him about the plans for the donation."One hundred thousand dollars is a hell of a lot of money," he said, "especially when I'm hearing people crying and telling us of their problems." Mike Nelson, District 3 supervisor, argued that Crookham wasn't following typical meeting rules and used that as his reasoning for opposing her plan.Boards must approve a motion to reconsider before a failed item can be brought back, he explained. "But there are no rules of order for the board," he sighed, "so the chairman runs it as he or she pleases."Crookham said she feels as if she's being punished for being conservative and saving money, rather than "sprinkling it all over creation."I have the golden egg, but it just won't hatch," Crookham said after the meeting. She's planning to look at where else she can spend her money so she can put a meaningful ending on what's become an absurdist comedy.Shakespeare wrote, "All the world's a stage." In Crookham's play, it's the one in the Merced Theatre.As economy founders, more use Mercy Medical Center Merced's emergency roomLaw says hospital has to care for patients if they're insured or not...CAROL REITERhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/554464.htmlWith Merced County's unemployment hovering around 12 percent, a lot of people have lost not only their jobs, but also their health insurance.That loss has affected the local hospital: more people are being treated in the emergency room, and more patients being admitted to the hospital.Barbara Mullin, emergency services department director for Mercy Medical Center Merced, said the numbers of patients coming through the emergency room are at about 52,000 this year, compared to 50,000 in 2007. "I believe that part of the increase is because of the growth in the community," Mullin said. "But I think the other part is a lack of insurance."Mullin said the Mercy ER saw 3,439 patients in October 2007. This October, that number was up to 3,962.And along with the hike in numbers coming into the emergency room, Mullin said patients are coming in sicker."We admit about 60 percent of the people who come to the emergency room," Mullin said. In October of this year, 531 patients were admitted. In October of 2006, 487 patients were admitted from the emergency room.The hospital census has gone up and down, according to Bob McLaughlin, spokesman for Mercy. The average is about 120 patients a day, but that number has seen wild swings. It has varied from a low of about 95 patients, to more than 140, McLaughlin said. The higher numbers are some of the largest the hospital has seen in the past few years.Mercy has installed a quicker way to triage patients. When a patient comes to the ER, he is seen by either a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner. Mullin said this helps patients get in and out of the ER in about 60 minutes."It's like a mini-doctor's office," Mullin said. "They can be seen, and leave with a prescription in hand if they need it, pretty quickly."Last flu season, Mullin said the emergency room saw a record 206 patients in one day. "It used to be that 140 patients kept us busy," she said. "With the changes we made, we can take care of those extra patients."Using a provider in triage does more than get people in and out of the emergency room quickly."We are able to take care of our sicker patients better," Mullin said.Faithful pray for help in D.C.Activists ask national leaders for help with real estate crisis...MICHAEL DOYLE, Sun-Star Washington Bureauhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/554457.htmlWASHINGTON -- Prayers and politics combined Tuesday as Fresno minister Bill Knezovich joined some 170 activists pleading for help with the foreclosure crisis that's stricken the San Joaquin Valley.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was absent and heaven's intentions opaque as the faith-based activists bundled up in front of the Treasury Department. But through a half-hour prayer service, the faithful participants hoped they got their message across on an otherwise cold morning."We're praying for a just resolution, that money be used for Main Street and not just the banks," Knezovich said.The minister at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Knezovich is part of what's called the PICO National Network. This includes churches banded together under different regional names, including Fresno's Faith in Community and Modesto's Congregations Building Community.This week, as lawmakers and the lame-duck Bush administration conclude their final days together, the activists are gathering to shape the next agenda. It's a regularly scheduled grassroots lobbying event, dominated now by the 1.3 million foreclosure filings on U.S. homes in the first six months of the year.The two-and-a-half-day program blends idealism, practicality and a bit of theatrical staging. The morning prayer service at the Treasury Department missed Paulson, who was testifying on Capitol Hill about how he's managing a $700 billion economic bailout package. Later, the activists cannily met with John Podesta, who is co-chair of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team.Prior to the prayer services, activists convening in a United Methodist building near the Supreme Court warmed up by chanting "Wake Up!" Later, they carried to congressional offices detailed policy statements calling for new limits on monthly mortgage payments and new block grants to communities."We're really here to speak for people who can't speak for themselves, for people tired of vacant homes, tired of living on dark streets," said Dianne Hernandez, a Modesto resident and chair of the board of directors of Congregations Building Community. "We live on those streets, we live in those neighborhoods, we know their pain." Stockton had the highest foreclosure rate of any metropolitan region nationwide between April 1 and June 30, according to RealtyTrac, while Fresno was ranked in ninth place. Modesto and Merced have likewise been at the top of other foreclosure rankings.Those are numbers. Knecovich and Hernandez brought stories.Hernandez, 62, spoke of Faustina Avenue. This is a slice of unincorporated county land within Modesto's city limits where she said half of the street's 35 houses have been foreclosed upon. Knezovich, a soft-spoken 51-year-old, spoke of a member of his congregation who is working three jobs. Her husband works a fourth, and together they are trying to raise three kids while they stave off foreclosure."We're here to put a face on the abstract," said Knezovich.Hernandez said that "we want to see action, immediate action," but Congress may not be prepared for speed. A previously approved housing bill includes $3.9 billion in grants to help communities deal with foreclosed properties; including, potentially, buying them, fixing them up and selling them. California is currently slated to receive $529 million of the total, though state lawmakers have been pressing for more."There is no playbook," Paulson told the House Financial Services Committee, almost simultaneously with the start of the pray-in, "for responding to turmoil we have never faced." Capital Corp, parent of Merced's County Bank, says it's trying to find investorsBank needs more money as a hedge against risk...TIM SHEEHAN, The Fresno Beehttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/554451.htmlEven before announcing a third-quarter loss of more than $54 million this week, County Bank's parent company was under the gun from federal regulators to come up with additional cash to back its operations.Under the terms of a July agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, officials of Merced-based Capital Corp of the West pledged to develop a plan to maintain enough capital to balance out the bank's risks.But in the troubled economic climate -- with cash and credit in short supply -- bank officials said they aren't sure if they're going to be able to raise the capital to meet those regulatory obligations, and that's giving rise to concerns about the bank's future."I'm a little bit worried," Jorge Janas, a customer at County Bank's branch in downtown Fresno, said Tuesday afternoon. "I'm wondering what's going to happen to my CDs or IRA." Capital Corp's actual operating losses for the quarter came in at about $5.8 million, said Richard Cupp, the company's chief executive.But the red ink -- which totaled $54.6 million -- was exacerbated by non-cash charges for losses in 2007. Cupp explained that the bank suffered a loss of "goodwill," or company value after the acquisition of another bank in late 2007, which amounted to $23.5 million, mostly due to stock-price declines. He said the bank also lost out on $25.3 million in potential tax benefits from operating losses this year and last.Compounding its problems is the Valley's declining real-estate market.Capital Corp has about $1.26 billion out in loans, and about 63 percent -- or $813 million -- is for real estate, including construction and development loans.But its non-performing loans -- loans on which the borrower has stopped paying -- amounted to more than $138 million, or nearly 11 percent of the total loan portfolio.Deposits in County Bank amounted to $1.43 billion as of Sept. 30, down from the $1.67 billion reported at the end of 2007.While its quarterly loss isn't good news for the bank, what has regulators' attention is the bank's assets."Significant additional resources of liquidity and capital will be required for us to continue operations," officials reported in their earnings statement filed Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But, the statement adds, "the uncertainty regarding the company's ability to obtain additional capital raises substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue." For the quarter ended Sept. 30, County Bank reported it was "adequately capitalized" with $122.7 million, or a capital ratio of about 8 percent of total assets. That figure, however, falls short of the 10 percent required by regulators -- $153.4 million, according to its earnings statement.Regulators with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, which supervises County Bank, did not return calls Tuesday. Lily Ruiz, a spokeswoman for the Fed, said in an e-mail that, "as regulators, we don't discuss individual banks by name." K.C. Chen, a professor of business and finance in the Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno, said the capital ratio deals with how much money the bank has as a percentage of its total assets, including loans and other investments that carry varying degrees of risk.A sufficient cushion of capital is needed, Chen said, to enable any bank to absorb unexpected losses from the risky assets -- something particularly acute now with real estate serving as collateral for so many loans."If the firm loses money, that equity is even less," Chen said. "Whenever there are losses suffered beyond the available capital, the firm becomes insolvent." For County Bank, however, building up needed capital is proving difficult."This is one of the most challenging environments in the capital markets in a very long time," Cupp said Monday. "We're doing our very best to be aggressive to find capital sources on a private basis." Cupp said the bank is exploring a range of options, including seeking more investors, a possible sale and applying to participate in the bank bailout approved by Congress last month. Capital Corp is seeking to sell $46 million in preferred stock to the U.S. Treasury Department, but officials don't know when -- or if -- the application will be approved. UC Merced chancellor recognized for work...Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/554468.htmlUC Merced said its chancellor, Steve Kang, Ph.D., has been named as an inductee to the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame.The award came "for his outstanding professional achievements in engineering and technology and significant contributions to the community," a university news release said.Kang was among four inductees announced by the Silicon Valley Engineering Council (SVEC). Kang, an electric engineer, has made several contributions to the field of microelectronics as an engineer and inventor, to education as a professor and university administrator and to the community as volunteer and leader, UC Merced said in a news release.He is known for his contributions to microelectronics, in particular circuits and electronic computer-aided design. Before coming to UC Merced in March 2007, Kang served as dean of the Baskin School of Engineering and professor of electrical engineering at UC Santa Cruz. Kang received a doctorate in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley. He holds 14 U.S. patents in electrical engineering and has written or co-authored nine books and more than 350 technical papers and won awards and fellowships for his work and publications.The Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame Award recognizes engineers, technologists and scientists within the Silicon Valley region who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement, UC Merced said. SVEC was founded in 1989. Letter: Support Wal-Mart...MICHAEL D. GALLO, CEO, Joseph Gallo Farms, Atwaterhttp://www.mercedsunstar.com/177/v-print/story/554463.htmlEditor: As a member of the Merced Boosters Club, as well as a business owner in Merced County, I am writing this letter in support of the Wal-Mart distribution center. Once fully operational, Wal-Mart promises over 900 full-time jobs with medical, retirement and vacation benefits. This does not include the part-time positions that will be available, nor the construction jobs that will exist during the construction phase.With Merced County having one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, these jobs would tremendously benefit our county during this very difficult economic period.Wal-Mart is not asking for any financial support from the city of Merced. They are not asking for any tax credits or fee reductions. Wal-Mart is simply asking to come to Merced and provide much needed jobs that will produce much-needed revenue in our community.On behalf of myself and the Merced Boosters Club, we are asking the Merced City Council to give their support to this projectModesto BeeHome prices a first-time buyer's dream...J.N. Sbrantihttp://www.modbee.com/local/story/504411.htmlGreat news: Home prices have fallen!At least that's great news for people buying homes. New statistics show home affordability has soared in the Northern San Joaquin Valley as plummeting prices enable more families to attain the American dream.Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties now have some of the most affordable homes in California, even considering the region's relatively low income levels.The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index calculates that nearly 60 percent of homes sold in the region during July, August and September were affordable to local median-income families.That's a dramatic change from three years ago, when valley residents were almost priced out of the housing market.In Stanislaus, for instance, median-income families could afford barely 3 percent of the houses sold three years ago. But this fall, 59.7 percent of the homes sold were affordable. So Stanislaus has gone from one of the least affordable housing markets in the nation to having above-average affordability rates.Merced is doing even better, with 60.7 percent of homes affordable to median-income families. That's the highest percentage in Cali- fornia. Three years ago, by contrast, only 2.5 percent of homes were affordable, which was the nearly the worst in the United States.San Joaquin also has made great strides, as 58.1 percent of homes now are affordable compared with 4.6 percent three years ago.In California, 44 percent of homes are affordable. In the United States, 56.1 percent are affordable.The flip side of affordabil- ity, unfortunately, is that home values have crashed, wiping out many homeowners' equity. Boom for first-time buyersForeclosures have run rampant throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley, and banks have drastically slashed prices on repossessed homes just to unload them.That's pulled down the entire housing market, so homes now are selling for less than half of what they were three years ago.Back to the good news: First-time home buyers are jumping into the market and buying bargain-priced property."About 90 percent of the loans we do in our office are for first-time home buyers," said Kim Arivett, owner of Residential Pacific Mortgage and president of the MortgageLenders Association of Stanislaus County."The buyers are just absolutely thrilled to get their house keys," Arivett said. "It's heartwarming for our staff because we know they really can afford these homes."The vast majority of first-time buyers get their mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration, which Arivett said offers fixed-rate 30-year loans with 6 percent to 6.5 percent interest rates. Arivett said FHA loans are readily available to those who can verify sufficient incomes.The housing opportunity index bases affordability on what people in each com- munity earn compared with what homes cost. It assumes a family can afford to spend 28 percent of its gross income on housing, including mortgage costs, property taxes and insurance. The affordability index, however, is only as good as the data it's based on, and some question whether the income statistics used are current. The index, for instance, calculates that the median- income Stanislaus family earns $56,500 per year.But many workers in the region have lost jobs this year, and unemployment is rising."Income numbers often lag," cautioned Dr. Stephen Endsley, a Modesto real estate investor. "It may look like we have housing affordability, but do we really consider unemployment? First-time buyers have to have confidence before they go out and buy, but many of them have questions about (the stability of) their employment."Endsley said nearly 11 percent of Stanislaus' workers are officially out of work, and he estimated an additional 4 percent are underemployed and another 4 percent have become discouraged and dropped out of the job market.But home prices have fallen so low, Endsley said, that "speculative investors have come heavily back into the market."Fewer homes on marketWhether it's investors or first-time buyers, low prices have inspired many people to buy. Stanislaus home sales this September were 178 percent higher than during September 2007. About 25 percent fewer homes are on the market now than a year ago. That's partly because new construction has dramatically declined and the number of homes being foreclosed on by lenders has started shrinking.As low-priced houses enable more people to buy, the region may be able to more quickly whittle down its inventory of vacant foreclosure homes, said Kelvin Jasek-Rysdahl, an economics professor and co-director of the Center for Public Policy Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. Stanislaus allocates federal housing fundsUnincorporated pockets, 5 cities await final OK...Tim Moranhttp://www.modbee.com/local/story/504543.htmlThe Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors parceled out $9.74 million in federal housing money Tuesday night to five cities and several unincorporated areas.The money is designed to stabilize neighborhoods hit hard by home foreclosures and abandoned homes and is part of a $3.92 billion nationwide program by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.Cities and counties can use the money to buy foreclosed homes at a discount and rehabilitate or redevelop them, and help low- and moderate- income families buy them.Ceres, Newman, Patterson, Waterford and Oakdale are part of a consortium with Stanislaus County to apply for and receive federal grants, and those cities will share the money with the county. In addition, an allocation was made to the Weed & Seed program and the county's unincorporated pockets south and west of Modesto.Weed & Seed is a federal Justice Department program that seeks to fight crime and improve neighborhoods, such as in the area south of Paradise Road.Stanislaus County gets the biggest share of the money, $3.76 million, which will be used in areas of Empire, Keyes, Salida, the airport neighborhood south of Modesto, and the Shackelford-Butte-Glenn-Imperial area south of Modesto.The county plans to partner with Habitat for Humanity, the Stanislaus County Housing Authority and banks and community organizations to acquire and rehabilitate homes and help first-time buyers with down payments. The money will be used in a no-interest loan format to get people into homes, with the money coming back to the county to reinvest.The other allocations: Patterson gets $1.6 million, Ceres $1.12 million, Waterford $1.14 million, Newman $1 million, Oakdale $841,000, and the Weed & Seed and Modesto pockets $258,482. The other cities in the county get their own allocations from HUD.Representatives of the Weed & Seed area made a plea at the meeting for a larger allocation, arguing that the south and west Modesto population is greater and the incomes lower than in other neighborhoods.Kirk Ford, county interim planning director, told the supervisors that the county would partner with the city of Modesto to help the Weed & Seed area, but added that the federal guidelines for allocating the money aren't flexible.The Board of Supervisors approved the allocations on a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Tom Mayfield absent.The county hopes to have federal approval of the allocations by mid-January, with programs under way by April. The funds must be committed to projects within 18 months.MID beholds the power of cheeseUtility, dairy to make electricity from manure...John Hollandhttp://www.modbee.com/business/story/504465.htmlFor the first time, dairy cows are signed up to generate power for the Modesto Irrigation District.The district board voted 5-0 Tuesday for a power-purchase agreement with Fiscalini Cheese Co. It has installed a system that extracts methane from cattle manure and burns the gas to make electricity.The power will be sold to the MID for about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, said John Fiscalini, owner of the Kiernan Avenue company, when reached after the meeting.MID officials had declined to disclose the price. General Manager Allen Short said doing so would put the district at a disadvantage in negotiations with other dairy producers planning these systems.Tim O'Laughlin, the district's Chico-based attorney, said the figure is a "trade secret."MID officials did say the Fiscalini price, although more than conventional energy sources, was less than several other renewable options.The roughly $3 million system is expected to start feeding power to the MID by January. It will meet an estimated 0.2 percent of the district's demand, said Greg Salyer, manager of resource planning and development.But he said the system will help reach the goal of producing 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2017."Part of our strategy on renewables is to have a diverse portfolio, and this fits right in there," Salyer said.The district relies on wind for most of its renewable power. Its large hydroelectric resources do not count toward the goal.Manure-to-power projects are part of California's effort against climate change, believed to be caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere.Scientists say methane is an especially potent climate changer. Burning it to make power still releases some emissions, but far less than if the gas just drifted into the air from manure piles.The Fiscalini methane system is part of a project that will include a 10-fold expansion of the company's cheese- making capacity and a visitor center.The company has produced cheese since 2000, using milk from a dairy farm that has been in the Fiscalini family since 1914.Manure-to-power systems have been installed at several California dairy farms, although the fraction of the total is tiny.Tuesday also brought a milestone in a related effort to put manure-derived methane directly into gas pipes serving homes and businesses.The Kern County Board of Supervisors approved construction of a system that will collect methane from nine dairy farms. The gas will be refined and then fed into the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. system in that county.Fresno BeeTroubled Fresno homes get aidCity, county will use $18 million in federal funds on foreclosures...Sanford Nax and Marc Benjaminhttp://www.fresnobee.com/business/v-printerfriendly/story/1022096.htmlFresno city and county officials will use about $18 million in federal funds to buy and rehabilitate at least 285 foreclosed homes, and to help low-income families purchase or rent some of the properties. In addition, the Fresno City Council on Tuesday, trying to keep pace with mounting foreclosures, adopted a plan that requires lenders to maintain their vacant and foreclosed houses. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development earmarked $11 million to the city and about $7 million to the county for buying foreclosures, fixing the deteriorating houses and otherwise trying to stabilize neighborhoods racked by foreclosures. Tuesday, the City Council unanimously agreed to use part of its allocation to provide loans and other financing under the emergency Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help low- to median-income families purchase foreclosures. At least 25% of the funds must be used to help those making less than 50% of the median income, although city officials acknowledged the percentage could be more. Fresno County supervisors approved the county's plan Tuesday, and officials expect the county to buy and renovate 60 homes. That number may be conservative, said Gigi Gibbs, the county's community development manager. The county will be able to buy homes with the $7 million in seed money and then turn money from what it sells -- minus costs for repairs, mortgage assistance and administrative costs -- to buy more homes. City officials said their allotment is enough to buy or repair about 225 houses, or 10% of the total number of foreclosures in the city. "The $11 million really is a fraction of what we need," said city budget director Renena Smith. Specific properties in the city haven't been identified, but a team consisting of a nonprofit agency to identify potential buyers, a developer to do the construction and a real estate broker to sell them will be formed. The funds must be used within 18 months. Neighborhoods with higher foreclosure rates and significant risk of defaulted mortgages will be targeted. The properties will be bought at discounts of at least 15% below market value as determined by an appraiser. Council Member Brian Calhoun said foreclosures are a problem throughout the city, and he didn't want to see the money used only in the core area, which is generally south of Ashlan Avenue. He also worried about the effect on overall property values in areas that are heavily targeted. "People are hurting all over," he said in voting for the program. "And if you concentrate too much in one area, there is a risk of other houses in that area declining." Since values are determined by comparing recent sales, Terance Frazier, a real estate broker who specializes in buying and renovating foreclosures, said the city should require that buyers and sellers not disclose the transaction prices. Council Member Henry T. Perea said he wanted to make sure the program is done right. "We have one shot, one chance, to do good for a lot of people," he said. That's why city officials are partnering with developers, nonprofits and real estate brokers. "We hope success leads to more funding in the future," Smith responded. John Navarrette, interim county administrative officer, said county housing officials should consider working with lenders to get several foreclosed properties from one lending company. He said bundling properties through a single lender could lead to discounted homes. Supervisor Judy Case suggested that purchases be made in neighborhoods with primarily owner-occupied homes. Gibbs, the county's community development manager, said the first homes will probably be ready to sell by summer. "Our intention is to purchase homes that are in good shape," she said. Money will be available for use in any of the county's unincorporated areas and the cities of Sanger, Selma, Reedley, Kerman, Fowler, Kingsburg, Mendota and Coalinga. Overall, county documents show 783 foreclosures. Sanger has the most foreclosures among the eight cities with 247, Selma has 81 and Kerman 49, county documents show. D-B Heusser, Selma city manager, said the program will allow cities to fill some foreclosed homes, clean up foreclosed properties and place some first-time homebuyers into affordable housing. "This will certainly provide help to address foreclosure issues," he said. The HUD money will be used to deal with foreclosures that are bringing down neighborhoods. The Fresno council also took action designed to keep properties from getting in that condition. "The foreclosure rate is increasing exponentially. By the time we get involved, it is so far into the process that damage to the neighborhood has likely been done," said Jerry Bishop, assistant director of the Building and Safety Division. To prevent that, the council approved the plan forcing lenders to register foreclosures with the city. The mortgage holders have to inspect the property when they file a notice of default with the Fresno County Recorder's Office. Vacant properties will be registered with the city and must be maintained. Mortgage holders also must provide pertinent contact information, the name of a local representative and authorize city officials to enter the buildings. Occupied properties must be inspected each month and could be registered with the city if they become vacant. Don Scordino, president of the Fresno Association of Realtors, said it makes economic sense for banks to back the program because deteriorating properties carry lower price tags. "The registration process gets the lender involved sooner rather than later," he said. Frontier dreams of gold clash with fish habitat...PHUONG LEhttp://www.fresnobee.com/641/v-printerfriendly/story/1022338.htmlEd Levesque heads into the Wenatchee Mountains every weekend with the same fever that lured his forebears here during the gold rush of the 1870s. "There's lots of gold in this creek," the 63-year-old miner said. "In the old days, you could up come up here and dredge to your heart's content." But these days, the quest that beckoned people west more than a century ago is running headlong into a more recent Western goal: the survival of fish. To protect fish and fish eggs during critical spawning periods, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is limiting the time when miners can dig or dredge for gold in certain creeks, streams and rivers using motorized equipment. Fish and wildlife officials say dredging in spawning areas can disrupt stream bottoms, disturb sediment and harm habitat for fish already on the brink of extinction, such as bull trout and Chinook salmon. But many of the state's 2,000 small-scale prospectors view the new rules as another assault on their rights under the General Mining Law of 1872 to explore public lands for minerals. Over the years, lawmakers and environmentalists have unsuccessfully tried to rewrite parts of the federal mining law they see as a relic of frontier America. In Washington two years ago, small-scale mineral prospectors asked the state for better rules and work times than what they got in 1999, the last time regulations were revised. While miners got more liberal rules for panning and mining using nonmotorized tools, fish and wildlife officials restricted the periods when miners could dig or dredge for gold and other minerals. "We're most concerned about eggs in the gravel. A shovel and dredge will kill eggs," said Greg Hueckel, the agency's director for habitat programs. "They can still (dredge), but not during the times when fish eggs are there." At the heart of the debate is suction dredging. Prospectors essentially use an underwater vacuum cleaner to suck up stream bed material like rocks, sand and gravel. Heavy gold pieces are sorted out, and material is returned to the river. Levesque and others say they don't kill fish eggs and there aren't studies that show suction dredging is harmful to fish habitat. The National Marine Fisheries Service believes the new rules would reduce the potential for "take" of endangered species, said Gail Kreitman, a fisheries biologist for the agency. The friction between miners and fish advocates is playing out in other parts of the West as the fate of endangered salmon and other species increases conservation efforts. In Oregon, the Siskiyou Project environmental group has sued the U.S. Forest Service for allowing suction dredgers to dig up spawning areas used by endangered coho salmon. In California, fisherman and tribal members unsuccessfully pushed for a temporary moratorium on suction dredging to protect threatened fish such as coho salmon. "We should have access year-round because I own the minerals and I have a contract with the government to process those minerals," said Bruce Beatty of the Washington Miners Council, citing his rights under the 1872 law. Hueckel said such claims doesn't usurp environmental laws. Washington state's rules were developed by local, state, tribal and federal fish biologists using science to more accurately determine when fry will emerge from the gravel, he said. The state closed some areas, such as the Skagit River, to dredging. Miners who want to prospect there must get individual reviews. It took away some weeks during summer spawning periods on other waters. In some cases, miners actually got more time during fall and winter months - times they say remote creeks are too snowed in for them to work. When Levesque isn't selling auto parts in Tacoma, he shifts for gold specks near the old mining town of Liberty, about 100 miles southeast of Seattle. Gold was discovered in Swauk Creek in 1873, causing a gold rush and the formation of a mining district. Decades later, prospectors like Levesque still work the creeks and ancient riverbeds in search of tiny gold specks, nuggets and rare crystalline wire gold. "This is one of the richest areas of the state," said Levesque, who dredges Swauk Creek six weeks during the summer and works a nearby mining claim the rest of the year. He and other miners say the holes they dig fill up with cool water, providing water for fish and other animals during low water levels. While the new rules give miners more time on this particular creek, Levesque said the state has slowly chipped away at mining rights over the past couple decades. "There probably won't be any peace between dredgers and Fish and Game," he said. Stockton RecordCalaveras River unsafe after spill...Alex Breitlerhttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081119/A_NEWS/811190327/-1/A_NEWSSTOCKTON - Twelve days after a sewage spill into the Calaveras River downstream from University of the Pacific, the public is still warned to avoid swimming or fishing in the potentially polluted waterway.City officials have sampled the river to check water quality, but results from those tests were not available by Tuesday, said Mark Madison, director of Stockton's Municipal Utilities Department.For that reason, signs remained posted along the river warning of the possible danger. The signs were erected soon after the Nov. 7 spill, which Madison called "significant.""These are very precautionary steps that we think are reasonable and appropriate to protect public health," he said.The city also notified the state Office of Emergency Services and state water quality officials, he said. No announcement was made to the general public."I think we would (announce a spill) if there was anything really exceptional to public health and safety," Madison said.The spill was reported late Friday, Nov. 7 at a commercial complex on Grand Canal Boulevard. A pipe from the complex to the city's sewer system became clogged and backed up; the sewage then spilled out through the driveway and into a storm drain leading to the Calaveras, Madison said.First estimated at 1,875 gallons, the spill was later said to be 5,025 gallons, according to state reports.The city can bill the property owner, Stockton-based BLR Commercial Real Estate, for the cost of cleaning up the spill, Madison said. He was not sure Tuesday what the cost would be.Sewage spills such as these are the subject of an environmental group's lawsuit against the city. The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance filed suit in September, charging that 1,530 sewer overflows were reported in Stockton over the past five years, endangering human health and the environment. The group said the city needs to better maintain its facilities to decrease the number of spills.U.S. home construction sinks to new record low (7:45 a.m.)http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081119/A_NEWS/81119004WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction of new homes plunged last month to the lowest level on records going back nearly 50 years as U.S. builders slashed production while Wall Street nosedived. Embattled homebuilders, who enjoyed a five-year boom, are now building new homes and apartments at a record-low pace, according to government data released today. New building permits, a barometer of future activity, also plummeted to the lowest pace on record. With construction dropping, the number of unsold homes should fall quickly in the coming months, wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “But right now housing is a disaster area,” he said. The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments fell 4.5 percent in October, the fourth straight monthly decline. Construction sank to an annual rate of 791,000 units from an upwardly revised September rate of 828,000 units. The results were the lowest on government records dating back to January 1959. Previously, the slowest pace had been in January 1991, when the country was in recession and going through a similar housing correction. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected construction to fall even further to a rate of 780,000 units.Wachovia Corp. economist Adam York forecasts that construction will fall to around 650,000 units by next summer. While that’s going to be painful for the nation’s homebuilders, it will help stabilize the overall U.S. housing market, he said. “The broader housing market needs fewer homes,” York said in an interview. “We built too many homes in the United States and building less is one way to work off the excess inventory.” The declines in construction last month were led by a 31 percent drop in the Northeast, where construction of single family homes fell to a new record low. They also dropped 13.7 percent in the Midwest. Construction rose 7.5 percent in the West and 1.5 percent in the South. Applications for building permits, considered a good sign of future activity, fell by 12 percent in October to an annual rate of 708,000 units, the weakest on records dating to early 1960. New permits for single-family houses fell 14.5 percent to 460,000, the lowest level since February 1982. That decline was surprisingly large, wrote Global Insight economist Patrick Newport, adding that builders “will take a big hit from the financial problems that erupted in September,” when the government seized control of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and extended a financial lifeline to insurance company American International Group Inc. The U.S. housing recession has triggered severe economic problems and calls for further action in Washington. Builders’ sentiment about market conditions dropped to a record low in November, according to the latest survey from the National Association of Home Builders. The trade group’s housing market index, which started in January 1985, tumbled five points to nine in November, reflecting growing worries over the U.S. financial crisis, rising unemployment and weakening consumer confidence. Index readings higher than 50 indicate positive sentiment about the market. But the index has drifted below 50 since May 2006 and below 20 since April. Tighter lending standards, rising defaults and fear about the housing market’s future have sidelined buyers, an absence felt acutely by homebuilders such as D.R. Horton Inc., Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp. In recent weeks, homebuilders have ratcheted up pressure on Congress to take steps that go beyond trying to reduce foreclosures. The industry wants lawmakers to enact new incentives aimed at getting reluctant homebuyers back into the market. Specifically, the group is asking for a 10 percent tax credit of up to $22,000 for homebuyers that purchase a home over the next year, and a temporary interest-rate reduction on 30-year mortgages.7,000-home development is approved$3B Sanctuary would be twice size of Brookside...David Sidershttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081119/A_NEWS/811190333/-1/A_NEWSSTOCKTON - The City Council on Tuesday approved The Grupe Co.'s $3 billion plan to build 7,000 homes in a massive subdivision on a Delta island on the city's northwest side.The subdivision, Sanctuary, is planned to include a marina, four schools and twice as many homes as are in Brookside. Its construction is likely to begin once the housing market rebounds, after which it could take 16 years to complete, the developer said.Vice Mayor Leslie Baranco Martin said the project is a model."It should be setting the bar really high for future developments," she said.The project's unanimous approval followed the council's sanction last month of proposals to build about 13,000 homes in two subdivisions in south Stockton. The three developments - the first major housing projects considered since Stockton updated its growth-governing General Plan last year - require for the first time that developers and residents of new subdivisions pay special taxes and fees, if necessary, to fully compensate for growth's impact on police and other city services.The council is likely next month to approve a fourth project, a 1,500-home subdivision by developer A.G. Spanos Cos. on Atlas Tract, south of Bear Creek. The four projects are to be finished over 25 years.Sanctuary, to be built on Shima Tract, has suffered little criticism. It was endorsed by the slow-growth group Campaign for Common Ground, the first time that group has endorsed such a development.Two people spoke against the proposal Tuesday, saying the city is unwise to expand into the Delta and to approve vast housing plans while Stockton is in a foreclosure crisis."It cannot help but further depress the housing market," said one of the speakers, Ann Chargin.Developers and city officials said homes will be built only when the market allows and that to plan for future population growth now is prudent.The projects the council approved last month were John Verner's 10,562-home Mariposa Lakes project and Arnaiz Development Co.'s 2,365-home Tidewater Crossing project.Grupe has developed such upscale projects as Brookside and Lincoln Village West. Like those projects, developer Fritz Grupe told the council, Sanctuary is "going to be another leap forward in planning for the city of Stockton."Sanctuary is one of a number of so-called villages contemplated by the General Plan to include pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods at the city limits around centers with shops and offices. It is proposed to include lakes, a vineyard and an olive orchard. There is to be a winery at which residents could bottle wine, company officials said.It also is proposed to include senior housing, apartments and a hotel."This is not going to be a sprawl-type of development," Grupe saidAudit: Delta College violated state law, misspent millions (10:01 a.m.)...The Recordhttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081119/A_NEWS/81119008SACRAMENTO – A state audit found that San Joaquin Delta College failed to follow state laws and misspent $11.5 million in bond proceeds earmarked to repair, improve, expand and upgrade its educational facilities.Instead, the money was spent on state-of-the-art athletic facilities and high-tech electronic marquee signs, according to a statement released today by state Controller John Chiang's office.“When voters approved Measure L in 2004, they voted to provide funding to accommodate growing enrollment, prepare students for jobs and educational opportunities at four-year colleges, repair buildings and improve safety,” Chiang said in the statement. “This audit shows the (Delta College) Board of Trustees disregarded the priority projects reflected in Measure L and the college’s master plan and instead diverted bonds proceeds to build an Olympic-quality track and other athletic facilities," the statement continued. "Their actions lacked necessary oversight, and could lead to costly litigation. I am concerned the example set by Delta College could endanger voter-approved bond funding for future public works projects."The audit is available at the Controller’s Web site at www.sco.ca.gov.Check back for updates and read Thursday’s Record for more on this story by staff writer Alex Breitler.Delta trustees stick to decision…Alex Breitlerhttp://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081119/A_NEWS/811190323/-1/A_NEWSSTOCKTON - The transition of power at San Joaquin Delta College is proving a bit awkward.In the Board of Trustees' first meeting since the election, one trustee-elect on Tuesday pleaded with the old board to stop making decisions about the college's Measure L spending until four newcomers take their seats in December.But Mary Ann Cox was promptly reminded that she doesn't have a seat on the board - not yet - after which the old board took a 5-1 vote that basically reaffirms a series of earlier decisions, including a commitment to build a south county campus in Mountain House."There's only one board," outgoing Trustee Greg McCreary said. "You people are not on the board. ... You're not there yet."New trustees will have to wait a few more weeks and sit through one more session with the old board before they take their seats.When they do, several of them have indicated they want to revisit the college's controversial decision to build in Mountain House. The new board majority may, in fact, favor such a second look.Tuesday's vote was consistent with previous decisions to put millions of dollars into Mountain House and scrap, for now, a Lodi campus and improvements to the district's Manteca Farm. Trustee-elect Cox pleaded with the board to wait, to no avail."For the board to go ahead, it's just inconceivable to me," she said.Delta President Raul Rodriguez said disagreements between the old and new boards put the college administration "in a very awkward position.""We want to respect both boards," he said. "We're kind of caught in the middle."Also Tuesday, the board formally approved a new contract for Delta faculty members after more than two years of negotiation.The three-year contract gives them a retroactive raise - the faculty had been without a contract since June 2007 - as well as future pay increases.The labor disagreements had at times been ugly, as faculty picketed events last spring, including the groundbreaking of a new student services center."The faculty was generally very pleased" with the new contract, said Jeff Hislop, a vice president of the Delta College Teachers Association.The new contract, however, is so overdue that talks for the 2010-13 contract are scheduled to begin next spring, he said.Tracy PressA racy proposition A proposal by Altamont Motorsports Park to put raceways on city-owned land at the old Holly Sugar plant is gaining traction with the City Council...Eric Firpo http://tracypress.com/content/view/16502/2268/The owners of the Altamont Motorsports Park won unanimous approval to negotiate with the city of Tracy to lease or buy city-owned land near the old Holly Sugar plant on which to build race tracks for cars, motorcycles and off-roaders.The City Council also voted to go forward with an environmental study of proposed youth sports fields on 150 acres at the sugar plant, and to include in the study another 130 acres of adjacent land for passive recreation, such as disc golf or bike trails. With the votes, the council took another step to increase the uses for families and kids of 1,100 acres of land it owns near the plant. It’s also negotiating a deal to sell land to San Joaquin County and share construction costs for several hundred acres of wetlands, which would become a county park. Supporters of the youth fields applauded the design of baseball, soccer and football fields in a town that’s clamoring for more of them. The city plans to spend $11 million to put in roads, parking lots with 60 spaces for each field, sewer and water pipes, and storm drains on land north of Larch Road between Tracy Boulevard and Corral Hollow Road. The city expects the leaders of the various youth sports leagues in the town to do the rest — namely, to actually build the fields. Councilwoman Suzanne Tucker asked that the main road into the fields be extended all the way from Tracy Boulevard to Corral Hollow Road. That way, any league that was ready to construct a field wouldn’t have to wait for the city to extend pavement. Parks director Rod Buchanan suggested the road could stop short of Corral Hollow Road and instead have a turnaround at its end so cars can get in and out. Supporters of racing were also ecstatic at the thought that race tracks could be built in town. Jeff Macey, president of Altamont Motorsports, said he approached the city after a group of kids who like to race asked if he could find a place in town to build a track that would get them off the streets. He said he’d have several public meetings to talk about what he and his partners might build. Kids weren’t the only ones happy about it, though. A gray-mustachioed Mike Snider told the council it would be great if kids, as well as him, had a place to learn how to race. "We don’t need no wetlands out there," he said. And Ken Ucci, who’s son Mike’s death in a 2007car crash in front of West High School propelled him to launch efforts to teach kids to drive safely, urged the council to give kids who like to race an outlet. Macey was thrilled with the outcome. "It gives us a green light to go to the next step," he said. The council made no response to a suggestion by Dave and Trina Anderson of the Tracy Airport Association that a proposed water park be moved from a proposed location northwest of the Tracy Municipal Airport to land around Holly Sugar. San Francisco ChronicleUS biologists: 3 common pesticides harm salmon...JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writerhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/18/national/a115104S46.DTL&type=printableFarms and orchards that continue to use three pesticides that harm salmon will have to greatly expand buffer zones around their fields so the chemicals don't reach streams, federal biologists ruled Tuesday.Acting under terms of a lawsuit brought by anti-pesticide groups and salmon fishermen, NOAA Fisheries Service issued findings under the Endangered Species Act that chemicals malathion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos jeopardize the survival of all 28 species of Pacific salmon listed as threatened or endangered in the West."These measures will help keep these organophospates out of the water," said Josh Osborne-Klein, an attorney for Earthjustice, the public interest law firm that brought the case. "That is not only good for salmon and good for wildlife, but good for people, because these pesticides have been detected in drinking water."The chemicals, found by the U.S. Geological survey to contaminate rivers throughout the West, interfere with salmon's sense of smell, making it harder to avoid predators, locate food and even find their native spawning streams and reproduce. At higher concentrations, they kill fish outright."It makes no sense to allow uses of pesticides that poison salmon while we are trying so hard to save them," said Glen Spain of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, a plaintiff in the case.Banned from many household uses, tens of millions of pounds of the chemicals are still used throughout the range of Pacific salmon on fruits, vegetables, forage crops, cotton, fence posts and livestock to control mosquitoes, flies, termites, boll weevils and other pests, according to NOAA Fisheries.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a year to implement the findings.Buffer zones imposed by a federal judge in the case are expanded to 1,000 feet from streams for aerial spraying, 500 feet for ground spraying, plus a 20-foot strip of grass or brush. The chemicals cannot be sprayed when the wind is blowing or when a major storm might wash them into the water.The old buffers were 300 feet for aerial spraying and 60 feet for ground spraying, with no vegetation strip required."This is a step forward, I think an important step forward, but there is lots more to do," said Jim Lecky, director of protected species for NOAA Fisheries. "It's one of a gazillion things we need to work on. I think it's important to clean up waterways to optimize their reproductive capacity."Plaintiffs in the case hope the expanded buffers will convince farmers and growers to drop use of the chemicals entirely and turn to alternatives or even organic farming, Osborne-Klein said.That would be a hardship for growers, particularly apple and cherry growers, said Heather Hansen of Washington Friends of Farms and Forests. Without them, apple growers that get coddling moths and cherry growers that get cherry fruit flies could be quarantined and unable to sell their fruit.She added that organophosphate use has been declining in recent years, with water samples by the state of Washington showing cleaner water."The way they are using these products today, nobody has shown evidence of harm to fish," she said. "This is really about paperwork — government agencies not doing paperwork and not communicating well with each other."The chemicals are the first of 37 that NOAA Fisheries and EPA must evaluate by 2012 under terms of a settlement reached in a lawsuit brought by Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, Washington Toxics Coalition and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, which represents California commercial salmon fishermen.A total of 28 species of Pacific salmon are classified as threatened or endangered from overfishing, dams, logging, grazing, urban development, pollution, irrigation, misguided hatchery practices and other threats.On the Net:  NOAA Fisheries biological opinion: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/pesticide_biop.pdf(This version CORRECTS name of plantiff to Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, not Northwest Coalition Against Pesticides.)Interest surging in California's cow power...David R. Bakerhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/19/BUBE147B02.DTL&type=printableIt doesn't have solar power's high-tech sexiness, and it's far from clean. But cow power is slowly gaining ground in California.A Bakersfield company said Tuesday that it will build a pipeline network to collect methane generated by cow manure at three Kern County dairies. The methane will be purified and delivered to a nearby Pacific Gas and Electric Co. pipeline so it can be used to heat homes or run power plants."California is the leading dairy producer in the U.S., and its dairies, with their abundant supplies of cow manure, have great potential for the production of renewable natural gas," said David Albers, president of BioEnergy Solutions, the company that will build the network.Manure naturally gives off methane as it decomposes, and that's a problem. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, estimated to be 21 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. But methane is also a useful fuel. Collecting and burning it serves two purposes.Taken together, the three participating dairies - C&R Vanderham Dairy, Whiteside Dairy and Vermeer and Goedhart Dairy - have a total of 6,500 cows, enough to produce 615,000 cubic feet of gas per day. According to BioEnergy, that's enough to generate power for 3,000 homes. Six other dairy farms could later link up to the network. BioEnergy Solutions already has a cow-power project at Vintage Dairy in Fresno County, collecting 175,000 cubic feet of methane each day. Hefty pay raises in troubled times on campus...Jim Doylehttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/19/BAJ7147DGN.DTL&type=printableLong Beach -- The chancellor and governing Board of Trustees of the California State University system have continued to award hefty pay raises to top administrators this year even as the university moves toward capping student enrollment and slashing campus budgets.Chancellor Charles Reed approved salary increases of up to 19 percent for nine vice presidents at four of CSU's 23 campuses earlier this year, and approved 11 new appointments of vice presidents at nine campuses at salaries of as high as $225,000.A committee of the Board of Trustees reviewed those pay raises on Tuesday, endorsed a separate 10 percent salary raise for an interim vice chancellor who is receiving a permanent appointment and approved Reed's hiring of a vice chancellor for development for $240,000 a year - a job that had been vacant for about 5 1/2 years.Such generosity for those at the top of the CSU pyramid has once again raised the eyebrows of its faculty members and staff. "Paying managers and executives more at a time when everyone else is sacrificing is bad form," said Pat Gantt, president of the CSU Employees Union, which represents about 16,000 staff members. "It's like the executives at Enron taking bonuses while the company goes down ... . "In this kind of budget crunch, it's really a question of leadership," Gantt added. This year's pay raises and new appointments were disclosed Tuesday as part of the chancellor's annual report to the trustees regarding the compensation of campus vice presidents - a one-page chart that lists their appointments, salaries, pay increases and fringe benefits.According to the report, some of the raises were designed to recognize administrators for high performance, while other raises and "salary adjustments" were intended to provide salary equity to administrators doing substantially equivalent jobs at other campuses. The salary increases, which ranged from $1,548 to $22,500 a year, affected vice presidents at the California Maritime Academy, Cal State Sacramento, Cal State Stanislaus and Cal State Monterey Bay.Lt. Governor John Garamendi, who sits on the CSU Board of Trustees, said a hiring freeze and pay freeze of CSU's management may be necessary. "It will save a little money, and it's good for the optics," Garamendi said. "We need a better image to gain the public's trust. Unless we get the public's support, we won't get the funding we need." All 23 campuses have been directed to reduce their budgets by about 7 percent, and some campuses have already laid off or trimmed the work of lecturers and other part-time faculty."We've lost a lot of jobs," said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association, which represents the university's teachers and coaches.Jeffrey Bleich, who chairs the Board of Trustees, said the board has not given any consideration to an executive salary freeze, hiring freeze or layoffs."That's always a last resort, and we haven't got there yet," he said.Reed said he plans to instruct his campus presidents to fill vacant positions only on a "case-by-case basis" when appointments are necessary."The trustees and I do not want to cut a penny, but this state is in an economic free fall," Reed told hundreds of CSU faculty members, students, employees and union representatives who gathered for a vigil Tuesday outside the trustees' meeting in Long Beach.Among the campus vice presidents awarded salary increases this year, three administrators received the largest pay hikes:-- Ronnie Higgs, the interim vice president of student affairs at CSU Monterey Bay, received a $22,500 pay raise in July when he assumed that title, which pushed his salary from $117,504 to $140,004. Higgs had joined the Monterey campus in February 2007 as the associate vice president for student affairs, having worked previously at Ferris State University in Michigan.-- Susana Gajic-Bruyea, vice president of university advancement at Cal State Stanislaus, received a pay increase of $12,996 in July, which bumped up her salary from $130,008 to $143,004. Her pay increase was given for excellent job performance and equal pay consideration, according to Reed's report.-- Mark Nickerson, vice president of administration and finance at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, received a pay increase of $8,376 in July, which pushed his salary from $167,532 to $175,908.The trustees' Committee on University and Faculty Personnel on Tuesday approved without dissent a 10 percent pay raise and permanent appointment for Gail Brooks, who has served as interim vice chancellor of human resources. That pushes her salary from $232,000 to $255,200. The board's final approval of Brooks' appointment, salary and benefits is expected today. The committee also endorsed Reed's recent decision to hire Garrett Ashley as vice chancellor for university relations and advancement at an annual salary of $240,000, and to compensate him for as much as $40,500 to cover the brokerage commissions, escrow fees and other costs he incurs in selling his home in Sacramento.That executive position, based at the CSU headquarters in Long Beach, had been unfilled since June 2003.Reed explained that he and vice chancellor Richard West had jointly performed the development job's duties, but with West's planned departure from the CSU in December, he needed someone full time in the job."I'm too tired," Reed said.The salary matters came a day before the board is scheduled to review Reed's plan to impose a 450,000 student enrollment cap. On Monday, Reed said the cap will mean about 10,000 eligible students will be denied admission - primarily by moving up enrollment deadlines. He blamed a combination of overcrowding and underfunding by the state for necessitating the cap.Santa Cruz SentinelYudof decries state cuts, faces confrontation over ongoing labor talks...J.M. BROWNhttp://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_11020883Five months into his new job, UC President Mark Yudof is painting a bleak picture about the impacts of pending state cuts, saying California and the federal government need to increase investment in "human capital."In an address before the Commonwealth Club of California on Monday night, Yudof said the 10-campus system faces a total of $113 million in cuts, plus $100 million in unfunded cost increases, as lawmakers and the governor work to reduce a growing multibillion-dollar deficit.Yudof, who took office in mid-June after leaving the helm of the University of Texas, said more cuts could lead to limited enrollment, increased class sizes and reduced services, such as shortened library hours. Since 1990, taking into account enrollment growth and inflation, Yudof said the percentage of state funding for UC has declined 40 percent, causing student fees to double in that same time period.Yudof said he would like to see the federal government raise the family income eligibility cap for Pell Grants and spend more cash overall for higher education facilities, research and scholarships."We need the strongest creative and scientific infrastructure we can build, and we need to keep the doors of college open to students from every background and ethnicity so they can develop their own potential for the good of all of California," said Yudof, an advocate of affirmative action, which was banned by California voters in 1996. Yudof encountered some conflict over the yearlong contract struggle with labor leaders representing 7,000 service workers who are among the university's lowest-paid employees. Several UC Santa Cruz students and workers confronted Yudof and UC Regents Chairman Richard Blum after the event."We're going to hold you accountable," one worker yelled to Yudof, making a reference to what the president has identified as a key goal -- increasing accountability of university programs and costs."Their pay is not very good, I concede that," Yudof acknowledged in remarks after the speech. "We have a problem with the magnitude of the contract."Yudof said the university can't afford to increase salaries at the rate desired by the unions, but UCSC students said Yudof should find savings by cutting administrative pay. They noted the president's own annual compensation package exceeds $800,000."We're part of this institution, and to turn a blind eye to injustice is not acceptable to me personally," said third-year UCSC feminist studies major Satya Chima. "If UC is telling us this is such a great system, we're going to hold them accountable."UCSC workers are planning an "informational picket" at the entrance to UCSC from 7-9 a.m. today.Los Angeles TimesFarming with drip irrigation consumes more water...Bettina Boxall, Greenspacehttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2008/11/farming-with-dr.htmlIt's the opposite of conventional wisdom: When farmers use drip irrigation on their crops, they wind up consuming more water than if they used less efficient irrigation techniques. At least that's what water resources professor Frank A. Ward concludes in a new study.Ward, who is on the faculty of New Mexico State University, used computer models to analyze farm water use in the upper Rio Grande River basin. While drip irrigation can require half the water that flood irrigation does, plants absorb more water with drip, crop yield increases and more water is lost to evapotranspiration. Because drip is more efficient, there is also less overflow to seep back into aquifers or wash into nearby streams or rivers.That means less water for downstream users and future generations dependent on the aquifers. "Higher consumption comes from someplace -- someone else's use," Ward said. Drip, he added, has its benefits. "It's just not a water conserving thing."To get a true picture of water use and more equitably administer water rights, Ward suggests it should be measured according to how much is depleted from a basin, not by how much comes out of an irrigation pump.The study, published this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was co-written by Manuel Pulido-Velazquez of the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain.Washington PostEPA Moves to Ease Air Rules for ParksRegional Administrators Decry Decision...Juliet Eilperinhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111803813_pf.htmlThe Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing new air-quality rules that would make it easier to build coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other major polluters near national parks and wilderness areas, even though half of the EPA's 10 regional administrators formally dissented from the decision and four others criticized the move in writing.Documents obtained by The Washington Post show that the administration's push to weaken Clean Air Act protections for "Class 1 areas" nationwide has sparked fierce resistance from senior agency officials. All but two of the regional administrators objecting to the proposed rule are political appointees.The proposal would change the practice of measuring pollution levels near national parks, which is currently done over three-hour and 24-hour increments to capture emission spikes during periods of peak energy demand; instead, the levels would be averaged over a year. Under this system, spikes in pollution would no longer violate the law.In written submissions, EPA regional administrators have argued that this switch would undermine critical air-quality protections for parks such as Virginia's Shenandoah, which is frequently plagued by smog and poor visibility.EPA Region 4 Administrator J. I. Palmer Jr., whose office oversees the Southeast, wrote that the new formula "would reduce consistency, accuracy and public review" and "could allow greater deterioration of air quality in clean areas rather than preventing significant deterioration."Bharat Mathur, who until recently oversaw air quality for the Great Lakes states as acting administrator for Region 5, wrote, "The proposed approach is inappropriate and could lead to gaming the increment calculation." And Region 8 acting Administrator Carol Rushin, whose office covers Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, and North and South Dakota, wrote that the rule provides "inappropriate discretion" when calculating pollution levels.EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said in an e-mail that he could not comment in detail on the air-quality rule but said that the submissions "are all part of the regular agency process, so all I can say is that that process has been moving forward."The EPA could issue the final rule as early as this week. Shradar wrote that "work continues on a number of rules including the [Class 1 areas] rule, but no timeline has been set for completion at this point."Many national parks struggle with poor visibility shrouding otherwise spectacular vistas, as well as acid rain and other problems caused by air pollution, a situation that has intensified the debate over how best to regulate lead smelters, coal-fired power plants and other nearby pollution sources.Don Shepherd, an environmental engineer at the National Park Service's air resources division in Denver, noted that the agency determined in the 1980s that every one of its parks was "visually impaired," and "nothing really has changed that." Visitors to Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive in the mid-1930s reported seeing the Washington Monument more than 70 miles away; now, on some days, visibility is barely one mile."The approach that's being proposed is going to underestimate the emissions, both for power plants that are out there now and for the ones that are proposed," Shepherd said. "It's going in the wrong direction for our efforts to try to improve air quality in the parks."While limiting pollution in national parks does not have the broad public health implications of federal air-quality rules that govern soot or airborne lead pollution, it has symbolic and ecological importance. The four major pollutants affecting the parks -- sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and mercury -- contribute to degrading once-pristine habitats that Congress sought to preserve for generations when it decided to protect those areas.Jeffrey R. Holmstead -- who helped initiate the rule change while chief of EPA's air and radiation office and who now heads the environmental strategies group at the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani -- said it is unsurprising that regional officials would have a position different from that at headquarters."The headquarters perspective tends to be much broader," Holmstead said, adding that the Bush administration has pursued air pollution reductions but has seen its proposals tied up in court. "Air quality in national parks, in particular, has very little to do with an individual source. What you really want to do is lower air pollution in that region."Regional EPA officials, he added, want "every weapon in their arsenal" to reduce pollution from a given source: "Regions are focused on a permit for a specific plant. Often what they focus on is anything that gives them leverage."But Mark Wenzler, who directs clean-air programs for the National Parks Conservation Association, said regional administrators "weren't just looking at parochial concerns" but instead conducting a broad analysis of the rule's impact."The administration's staunch commitment to coal is so deep that they're willing to sacrifice our national parks on the way out the door," he said.If the EPA adopts the rule change, Wenzler added, his group plans to file a petition for reconsideration with the agency, which would allow the incoming Obama administration to reverse the policy. If the new rule is enacted, the association estimates it would ease the way for the construction of at least two dozen coal-fired utilities within 186 miles of 10 national parksCNN MoneyCiti in $17.4B move on troubled assetsThe bank acts to unwind class of interest rate funds in its effort to attain profitability.http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/19/news/companies/citigroup_SIV.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008111911NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup Inc. said Wednesday it is acquiring the remaining $17.4 billion in assets held by structured investment vehicles (SIV) it already supports, as the bank moves to unwind the troubled funds.Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) will move the SIV assets to a portfolio of assets held for sale. The transfer allows the funds to fully repay maturing debt obligations.Citi is acquiring the assets at their current fair value, net of cash. The assets' value fell to $17.4 billion from $21.5 billion as of Sept. 30. The value fell $4.1 billion, with $3 billion tied to asset sales and maturities, and the remaining $1.1 billion due to market value declines.The transfer of assets out the SIVs is the latest step as Citigroup has been working to shut down the operations.An SIV is a fund that borrows money by issuing short-term securities at a low interest rate and then lends that money by purchasing long-term securities at higher interest. That process can make a profit for its investors from the difference.However, SIVs began to struggle as demand dried up for short-term bonds during the ongoing credit crisis. As a result, the value of SIV holdings fell sharply, forcing banks such as Citi that operated the off-balance sheet funds to provide them with financial support.Citi, one of the biggest SIV holders, brought the SIVs onto its books last December.The move comes as Citi works toward returning to profitability. Citi has been among the hardest hit banks by the ongoing credit crisis.The bank has recorded four straight quarterly losses, including a loss of $2.8 billion during the third quarter. It has taken writedowns of more than $40 billion on its assets as their value has plummeted amid the ongoing mortgage and credit crisis.Earlier this week, Citi announced it was cutting an additional 53,000 jobs on top of a previously announced cut of 22,000 positions in an effort to help reduce expenses. Citigroup had a work force of 375,000 at its peak at the end of 2007.Shares of Citi fell 31 cents, or 3.7%, to $8.05 in morning trading.