Author: Claudia Cowan

A self-proclaimed Sanctuary City, San Francisco has long been a safe haven for illegal immigrants: They can live, work, and even get a government I.D. without fear of deportation.

Now, San Francisco is taking action to punish Arizona for cracking down on illegal aliens.

Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered an immediate ban on all non-essential travel there for city workers, and the Board of Supervisors has taken the first step toward an economic boycott: No contracts, no purchasing, and no conferences — like the one in Scottsdale next weekend for members of the the San Francisco Housing Authority.

“We as San Franciscans need to send a very clear message that this kind of discriminatory law is not going to be tolerated,”
says San Francisco Supervisor David Campos.

Similar sanctions are being considered by city leaders in Los Angeles, and there’s a proposal in Sacramento to cancel state contracts with Arizona businesses until the law is repealed. Thousands of California prisoners are currently housed in Arizona, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to send more. He made it clear he does not want *that* contract threatened.

In San Francisco, department heads — before taking further action — are studying whether sanctions could backfire.

“One of the companies we do business with for the Jobs Now program that accepts and processes payments is in Arizona. So if we move injudiciously, if we don’t move prudently and smartly and effectively, we could be looking at a situation where 2,500 San Franciscans would lose their jobs,” says city spokesman, Tony Winnicker.

San Francisco business interests are also worried about a boycott backlash. “Would Arizona and other states that are more conservative than San Francisco retaliate, and stop sending conventions to San Francisco? Certainly, in a recession, we don’t want any retaliation,” says Kevin Westlye with the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.

But some city leaders want to broaden the attack, and are even calling on professional and collegiate sports organizations… Not to schedule events like the Superbowl, and All-Star games in the Grand Canyon State while this law is in effect.

Earthquake country– brace yourself. Southern California and Baja are experiencing a significant increase in seismic activity.

The region’s faults were relatively quiet for about 10 years, but not in 2010.

So far this year, there have been more than 70 earthquakes greater than magnitude 4.

That’s more quakes than in any other year of this decade, and more than in the last two years combined.

Scientists are studying the numbers, and can only theorize as to what’s behind the uptick.

Turns out, we can blame much of this shaking on just one quake: The 7.2 temblor that hit Mexicali, in Baja, California, a few weeks ago.

It was followed by more than a thousand aftershocks, including dozens of very strong– the region was rocked just yesterday by a 4.4 temblor. In fact, that that one event, the Mexicali quake, accounts for more than 50 of the 70 mag-4-quakes we’ve seen so far this year.

Dr. Lucy Jones with the USGS says “everytime a big earthquake happens,everytime any earthquake happens, it makes another earthquake more likely, and if it’s a really big earthquake, it makes lots of earthquakes more likely.”

Scientists also say major earthquakes tend to occur in cycles, and that Southern California’s last cycle happened about a decade ago.

The region was hit with the 7.3 Landers quake in 1992, and the deadly Northridge Quake in 1994. This recent surge could mean we’re heading into a more active seismic period, with bigger earthquakes on the way.

There’s also the possibility that a major quake could trigger activity in another fault, perhaps one that was ready to starting shifting. That could be significant because the San Andreas fault, the source of some of California’s most catastrophic quakes, is long overdue for a major event.

Scientists say there’s no cause for panic, and no reason to think that the so-called “Big One” is any more likely to hit: earthquakes are still impossible to predict.

Here’s the bottom line:

If the Southern California-Baja region is headed into a new period of siesmic activity, not only will we see more earthquakes, chances are, we’ll see stronger ones.

-Claudia Cowan

For a fourth straight year, bee hives aren’t buzzing with activity the way they should. 

For no apparent reason, commercial honey bees are flying off to die, leaving beekeepers, the insect equivalent of cattle ranchers, reporting losses of half their livestock.

Outside Tucson, Arizona, Roy Wilson has been raising honey bees for five years, and puts their role as pollinators into perspective.

“It supposedly takes 120 visits to make a fully developed watermelon,” he says. “But if you don’t get those visits, you’re not gonna get that watermelon.” 

Watermelon, or many other fruits, vegetables, and nuts we enjoy:

Nearly a third of America’s food supply requires pollination.

The cause of the die-off, called “Colony Collapse Disorder,” remains a vexing mystery.

At the USDA’s Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, scientists say a number of factors are to blame, including poor nutrition, pesticides, and the parasitic Varrola mite that preys on baby bees.

While there is cause for concern, researchers are quick to add there’s no cause for panic– at least not yet.  “The colonies that we have, and the ability of beekeepers to keep colonies healthy and use them to pollinate crops is still very  much here with us, and United States beekeepers are extremely good at that,” says Gloria DiGrande-Hoffman, a lead researcher at the Center.

So far, there have been enough bees available to pollinate crops like apples, berries and avocado’s, and prices have remained relatively stable. But if the problem isn’t resolved, the health of the beekeeping industry could be in peril.  “Beekeepers are small business people and when they experience these losses, it’s difficult for them to recover if these losses occur year after year after year,” DiGrande-Hoffman says.

Beyond that, we may see impacts on crops like almonds that are pollinated early in the year, before beekeepers have had enough time to replenish their hives.

If there aren’t enough bees to make enough visits, the result could be reduced production, and higher prices — a sting consumers will feel… in their wallet.

-Claudia Cowan, Tucson, Arizona

There are firefighters.

And then, there are Smokejumpers. 

With only about 400 nationwide, Smokejumpers are an elite group of pros who parachute into forest fires to surround and attack them, fast. During fire season, California’s Smokejmpers live and train north of Sacramento, in Redding, next to city’s airport. It was there we met the newest recruits in the middle of an intense, 6-week training course that resembles basic training in the military. 

By the time they’re accepted into the program, rookies have already spent years fighting fires, usually with Hot Shot crews or the U.S. Forest Service. What they learn at Smokejumper School is how to leap out of a fixed wing airplane at 1,000 feet, how to maneuver their parachute in shifting winds, and how to hit the ground without breaking a leg.

Once the jumpers land safely, the plane drops them their gear: cargo boxes of shovels, and chainsaws that are used to cut containment lines, which starve the fire of fuel and keep it from spreading. The boxes also contain enough food and water to last 3 days in the remote wilderness. 

Once the fire is completely out, Smokejumpers must haul all their equipment and rigging out on their backs… that’s about 125 lbs. after nights of little or no sleep, and days of backbreaking work in the middle of nowhere.

Along with rigorous conditioning and classwork, the rookies practice exit jumps, landings, and rapelling, in case their chute gets caught in a tree. Since that does happen, Smokejumpers must also become skilled tailors. A long row of sewing machines is a surreal sight, as hardened firefighters patch up their torn parachutes and jumpsuits.

There are nearly 400 Smokejumpers in the US, including 40 in California. Of the 200 professional firefighters who applied to become California Smokejumpers last year, only five made the cut, including Jim Rebeneck, a former Hot Shot from Craig, Colorado.

“We’ve only been together a couple weeks, but you know, we’re already pretty tight and just relying on each other, keeping eachother in it mentally,” he says.

While leaping out of the airplane becomes fairly routine over time, experienced jumpers say the biggest challenge is hitting the “jump spot,” which might be a few hundred feet, or a mile away, from the flames.  Sometimes they hit it exactly. Other times, they barely make it, on account of shifting winds, tall trees and big rocks. If they totally miss it, they’re in for a long hike with 80 lbs. of gear on their back. 

They jump roughly 65 fires a year, usually fires sparked by lightning, and are often the first responders. Their quick arrival and fast action can literally save property, and lives.

“We take the risk of jumping into a fire so a lot of other people don’t have to, over time,” says veteran Josh Matheisen, who’s closing in on 300 jumps. He says it’s the most exciting, rewarding job in the world. The rookies we met say that’s why they’re here.

In California, fire season starts almost as soon as the winter rains subside– and by May 1st, these Smokejumpers will on duty and standing by 24/7. 

-Claudia Cowan, in Redding, California

Being a student at an elite university like Stanford is challenging enough. But imagine the difficulty for undergrads who’ve chosen to serve our country after they graduate.

Because Stanford doesn’t offer Reserve Officer Training Corps, ROTC, they must drive to other Bay Area schools to participate, such as San Jose State and the University of California at Berkeley. For some cadets, that means a half hour commute, and missing out on coveted spots in officer training courses.

As one cadet put it, “we’re doing what soldiers always do– improve, adjust and overcome.”

For nearly 40 years, ROTC has not been welcome at The Farm. Stanford kicked ROTC off-campus in 1973 following anti-war protests that included the torching of a Navy ROTC building. Students and faculty didn’t like the idea of teaching the art of war on campus, and had issues with the academic standards, as well.

But now there’s a growing effort to bring the 200-year old military leadership training program back, spearheaded by former Defense Secretary William Perry, and Pultizer Prize winning historian David Kennedy– both Stanford professors.

In their view, reinstating ROTC goes to the heart of Stanford’s mission statement as an institution of higher education. Kennedy argues the nation’s universities should expose students to every reasonable option for their future.

“Institutions like Stanford, that enjoy tax-exempt status, and are the objects of all kinds of philanthropy, have an obligation to train leaders for institutions of importance in the Armed Forces. There’s something wrong with the picture where a privileged, I daresay elitist, institution like this one doesn’t make room for training people for that walk of life,” Kennedy said.

But opposition remains. Sociology Professor Cecilia Ridgeway, who voted against reviewing this policy, and refused to speak to Fox News, says universities should not encourage “military approaches” to problem solving.

In nearby Palo Alto, anti-war activist Paul George says Stanford is no place for such military training.

“We appreciate what the military does for us,” says George. “But this attitude of glorifying war, and just accepting war, is exacerbated by programs like the ROTC that come into an academic community as if it’s a natural part of it. And I have a problem with that.”

Many cadets, like Akhil Iyer, a junior at Stanford and future Marine, ask why Stanford shouldn’t welcome ROTC students in this global security landscape.

“We’re going to have people going into policy, we may have a President from one of my classes.  For them to get some sort of exposure to ROTC is important, because they’re going to influence the policies of the military, and of the Armed Forces.”

Any change in policy won’t happen in time to help out Akhil and his dozen or so fellow cadets. The return of ROTC to Stanford is also contingent on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and there’s no telling when that may happen. But this school is not alone in rethinking Vietnam-era anti-ROTC policies.  Harvard, Columbia and other universities are also considering reinstating the program.

One of the provisions in the new health care law requires small businesses to provide coverage for workers. Such an “employer mandate” has been in place in San Francisco, Calif., for over a year. The mandate has earned mixed reviews at best.

Under the law, businesses with 20 or more employees are required to provide medical coverage, either on their own or by paying into a city-run program. That’s what most restaurants are doing — albeit grudgingly.

To cover the cost, owners are either having to raise their menu prices or tack on a so-called “Healthy Surcharge” onto the tab. At some places, it’s around 4 percent of the check. Others charge a flat fee of a dollar or two.

Either way, customers are footing the bill for the health care of their waitstaff, busboys, and cooks, regardless of whether the workers work part time, live in San Francisco, or are in the U.S. legally.

How well the plan is going over seems to depend on where the restaurant is located. Management at many neighborhood bistros and cafes say customers don’t seem to mind paying the extra surcharge. But folks running downtown restaurants — many of which depend on visitors — say the mandate is hurting their bottom line.

At the venerable Fior D’Italia in North Beach, Calif., owner Bob Larive says he’s having to tax his customers to fund a political mandate. “It makes doing business here much more expensive, which makes the city less attractive in the long run to the visitors and the locals,” he says.

Some eateries worry they’ll have to let people go, or cut shifts. But Mayor Gavin Newsom gives a different view. A former restaurant owner himself, who lobbied hard for this universal health care program, Newsom argues it’s saving restaurants and taxpayers money, by offering workers preventative care. Newsom argues that this in turn keeps them out out emergency rooms, and on the clock.

“Businesses get the benefit in the back end,” Newsom says. “We have a more robust work force, greater productivity and output because employees have health care.” He adds the program is providing healthcare to 50,000 people who don’t have insurance.

But in a city that lost more than 200 restaurants in the past 4 years, critics say the extra expense is costing jobs and revenue San Francisco can’t afford. What’s more, the local restaurant lobby, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, has filed suit, claiming the “employer mandate” violates federal law. The U.S. Supreme Court is now deciding whether to hear the case.

Could unwanted fat actually provide health benefits?

Researchers at Stanford University say human fat removed during liposuction surgeries may actually hold the key to better health, and life-saving cures.

What’s more, one of the central controversies surrounding genetic research might soon be a thing of the past, because this kind of stem cell research doesn’t involve embryos.

Researchers say globs of fat contain cells that can be reprogrammed into an embryonic-like state, and used for regenerative medicine. It would be a natural and plentiful source of healing power, easily obtained from liposuction leftovers.

Dr. Michael Longaker is the director of Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. He says cells from discarded fat are so versatile, they can become bone, tendons, or muscle, as needed.

“As our population ages, it’s becoming obvious that the problems of musculo-sketetal diseases, for example, are only going to grow in time,” says Dr. Lonaker. “So that’s the initial concept of fat derived from multi-potent cells.”

With an estimated 30-40 percent of Americans suffering from obesity, and many others just hoping to trim a few pounds, there’s plenty of raw material to work with. What’s more, the approach is supported by pro-life activists who oppose embryonic research.

Cecelia Cody of California Right to Life says the emerging technology is a win-win. “No lives are sacrificed in getting the liposuction,” she says. Dr. Lonaker concurs. “This has really fast-forwarded the concept of what could be ethically or morally acceptable depending on the patients views in this case. We don’t have to be anywhere near an embryo.”

Researchers hope this approach will win FDA approval for clinical testing by the end of the decade, ensuring a smoother future for a promising area of science that’s long been weighed down by politics.

Most pet owners take steps to protect their animals. In Santa Rosa, California, Odessa Gunn worried a car or coyote might one day claim the lives of her dogs, which is why she and her husband, renowned American bicyclist Levi Leipheimer, fenced in their property.

But now they’re mourning the loss of their beloved Chihuahua, Trooper, and nursing their other dog, Bandit, back to health. The attacker came from an unlikely place — the sky.

Gunn had just let her dogs out into the backyard and was preparing to join them. She recalls, “in the time it took me to put my boots on, I heard what sounded like a really horrendous cat screeching noise. I thought it was a mountain lion or a bobcat or something.”

In fact, it was a pair of Great Horned Owls, birds that typically eat rats and squirrels. On this recent night, the birds set their sites on larger prey. From out of the darkness, the two owls swooped down and attacked Trooper and Bandit, just feet away from where Gunn stood.

After a violent struggle, Bandit escaped, bloody and limping, but Trooper was carried off and hasn’t been seen since. No fur. No blood. Nothing.

While there are really no good statistics on the frequency of such attacks, wildlife experts say they’re rare but almost always lethal. In many ways, owls are the perfect predators; they approach without warning, and their razor-sharp talons can snatch a pooch or cat two to three times their own body weight.

This is a particularly active hunting time for owls. As homeowners encroach on the birds’ natural habitat, attacks on pets could become more problematic.

Right now, baby owls are hatching, so pet owners should keep an ear out for the distinctive hoots of these fiercely protective birds, and stay well clear. It’s also a good idea to keep small pets indoors when the sun is down, or walk them on a leash. If the owls recognize something as prey, they won’t discern the fact that it’s somebody’s pet.

First “Avatar.” Now “Alice in Wonderland.” Next up, “How to Train Your Dragon,” and scores of others on the way for movie fans willing to pay a bit more for that total immersion experience.

But for a growing number of people, the 3-D revolution also means a paycheck.

The credit goes, in large part, to “Avatar,” the world’s biggest grossing movie. This phenomenal blockbuster isn’t just wowing audiences and winning awards. “Avatar” has turbo-charged the comeback of 3-D technology– and that’s generating jobs. Paul Dergarabebian of Hollywood.com says this specialty area of the film industry is creating work for people with a specific skill set to bring this vision to audiences.

Last year, 14 3-D features were released, banking over a billion dollars.  This year will see 22 movies, including “Shrek” and “Harry Potter” sequels. But it takes more than glasses to bring these films to life. Special equipment is needed throughout the process, like rigs capable of holding two cameras, instead of one. Dergarabebian says the revolution requires engineers and technicians – people who know how to develop the cameras, the technology, the software everything that’s going to drive this from a technical point of view.

Among those making the most of this explosion: JDSU, a Northern California company manufacturing the next-generation 3-D specs, and hiring dozens of workers to refine the special optics, improve the frames, and make this viewing experience even better.

In these tough economic times, 3-D technology is kind of like the hero in a feel good movie— exciting audiences, creating jobs, and helping an entire industry.

As they rumble throughout the Bay Area, hundreds of garbage trucks are running on  L-N-G: Liquid Natural Gas–  fuel produced at the dump.

Every landfill produces methane gas, and while it’s been used to produce electricity for years, new technology is paving the way to use methane to produce gas for vehicles.

Harvesting the methane also keeps thousands of tons of greenhouse gas from being released into the atmosphere. At the Altamont Landfill in Livermore, California, 200 wells extract methane from the depths, where it’s generated by decomposing organic waste. A series of tubes and blowers convey the landfill gas to a “mini-refinery” right next door. The methane is filtered and turned into L-N-G, which is cheaper and cleaner than diesel. Drivers of the garbage trucks say they appreciate having a fuel that offers the same horsepower, is clean burning, and helps the environment.

While the plant in Livermore isn’t the first of its kind, it is the biggest and most efficient. Every day, it produces 13,000 gallons of liquified natural gas, and will eliminate 30-thousand tons of carbon dioxide every year.  Perhaps the only drawback is the cost: $15-million dollars for this plant, due in large part to a multi-step purification system to filter out impurities in the methane. But supporters of this process say as technology improves, costs will come down, and more trash heaps will become fuel depots. It could also change the traditional view of the dump. As landfill operations director Kennth Lewis said, “we’re turning our landfills into an energy production facility, rather than just a simple disposal site.” A second facility opens in Southern California next year, and other large landfills are looking at how they can “close the loop,” by turning garbage into gas.

Does anyone use the White Pages to look up phone numbers anymore? I know some people use them as doorstops and booster seats. But in this Internet age, they’re becoming a huge waste. Roughly 147 million White Pages are sent to phone customers in the U.S. every year – chewing up 5 million trees.

Now environmentalists and some California lawmakers are trying to put an end to the residential listings. State Senator Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, has written legislation that would limit distributing the White Pages to people who specifically ask for it. Yee says disposing and recycling 165,000 tons of phone books costs state taxpayers $17 million a year, when the same information is readily available online.

But some consumer groups fear the digital divide could become a chasm. “We can’t make public policy on the basis of the assumption that every consumers has fast broadband access and a working computer. That’s simply not the case,” said Mindy Spatt with the Utility Reform Network in San Francisco.

Many Americans still rely on the White Pages to contact government offices, local merchants, and friends, Spatt said. Critics also point out calling 411 costs nearly $2 per call. They argue instead of taking the directory away, better to encourage people to cancel their delivery with a call to their phone book provider. Such “opt-out” programs have worked well in states like Alaska and New York.

But environmentalists say requiring people to request directories would ensure fewer are printed, pointing to pilot programs in Miami, Atlanta, and Austin where “opt-in” rates are as low as 1 percent. With government and telecoms looking to save money, this plan is likely to get a lot of support.

Some people are now wondering if the Yellow Pages could be next, but that’s a whole different story. Paid for by the businesses inside, the Yellow Pages generate $14 billion in ad revenue every year, which means they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

A free parking spot is one of life’s little perks, and at one free lot, customers told us at a time when the price of everything seems to be going up, free parking is something they can still hang onto.

But in California, environmentalists say all that free parking comes at too high a cost- in greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists say if people drove less, there would be an environmental benefit.

With the support of green groups, the state senate passed a plan offering cities and counties financial incentives to slash the number of free parking spaces on the street and in government-owned lots, and to reduce the number of free spaces businesses are required to provide.

Sponsors suggest that will encourage people to walk, take the bus or even ride a bike.  Critics say it’s just another example of Sacramento Democrats’ far left agenda.

“This is step one – sort of a camel’s nose under the tent, if you will, to do away with free parking and force people to take mass transit, which currently in many parts of the state, simply does not exist,” says State Senator Tom Harmon (R-Huntington Beach, Calif.).
While the plan might help reduce CO2 emissions, business owners like Stephanie Nishikawa worry it will dissuade customers who won’t want to pay to park at her stationary store.

“I don’t want them to feel like they can’t come in and see the pretty stuff that’s in here. They might have to go shopping online, and that would kill me,” she says.

The bill’s sponsor, State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach, Calif.), insists the measure is pro-business.

“There is no problem with so much free parking,” he says. “The problem is that we over-regulate sometimes, to force massive amounts of parking… we could do less of that.”

The bill now heads to the State Assembly, where even Senator Lowenthal is pessimistic about it’s chances.  He does hope the effort will get the conversation started about the hidden costs of free parking.  But here in car-loving California, the conversation.. may be a short one.

It’s a hard image to forget: a surveillence camera capturing the start of Haiti’s recent earthquake. Moments after the shaking started, buildings had already begun to collapse. Had there been even a few seconds warning, thousands of lives might have been saved. That’s the goal of an early warning system now being developed at UC Berkeley’s Seismology Lab. Project leader Richard Allen explains the system is not predicting quakes. “What we are doing,” Allen says, “is rapidly detecting the beginings of the earthquake and then we’re predicting the ground shaking and that means we can have a few seconds warning.” The system relies on hundreds of motion sensors -called seismometers- stationed along California’s active earthquake faults. The seismometers are linked to special computers, called “dataloggers,” which analyze the initial waves of a quake and predict it’s power. Dr. Peggy Hellweg, another project leader, says the bigger the earthquake, the longer it takes to develop. “The Haiti earthquake for example was a magnitude 7, it took about 30 seconds to actually happen- the zipping and unzipping of the earth, so to speak,” Hellweg says. Depending on the quake’s strength and distance from major population centers, seismologists hope to give as much as a minute of warning – but say tens of seconds is more likely. Still, even 30 seconds could be enough time to take cover or get outside, move away from dangerous equipment or chemicals – even slow trains, divert aircraft and protect the power grid. Alerts might come through radio, television, even cell phones– much the way similar earthquake warning systems work right now in Japan and Mexico City. Project managers say it will take 5 years and about $80-million dollars to build a functioning system in California, and even then, it won’t be perfect. But, in a state plagued by earthquakes, any warning- even a few seconds- could save lives.

-Claudia Cowan