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Hello all. In the news today:

• State candidates receive more than $60 million in first half of 2009;
• Calbuzz ruminates on Jerry Brown’s political career;
• PG&E backs measure to tighten grip on cities;
• Transcript of Netroots Nation California panel;
• Major water action vowed, but all sides are skeptical;
• Time to dump your bisphenol-A baby bottle?
• State parks to become more expensive, less accessible;
• When it comes to our lawns, brown is golden;
• First Solar, SoCal Edison set new solar projects;
• Tesla moving headquarters and powertrain operations to Palo Alto;
• Researchers study cougar’s lineage to determine if ecosystem is viable for mountain cats;
• Make practical green fixes before going solar;
• Search for green power on and off the grid;
• Companies nudge rallies against climate bill;
• The climate and national security;
• Cap and Rage: The fight over health-care reform could hobble climate-change legislation;
• Cash for Clunkers didn’t boost hybrid sales;
• Chasing after the elusive narwhal.

State Politics

San Francisco Chronicle 8/18/09
“State candidates receive more than $60 million in first half of 2009”
“Recession? What recession? That’s what the state’s campaign finance watchdog is saying today in announcing that candidates and potential candidates of state offices such as governor and state lawmakers collected more than $60 million in campaign contributions in the first half of this year.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=45665 &
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?xid=y7c0xfweoe1pn8

CalBuzz 8/18/09
“Jerry Brown and the Woman With a Glass Eye”
“Every time we see a suggestion that millionaire former Controller Steve Westly might jump into the 2010 governor’s race (which — Yo Willie! — isn’t happening*), we’re reminded of the last time he and Jerry Brown sought the same office. The year was 1988, and Brown big footed his way into the race for California Democratic Party Chairman, which had been looking like a sure thing for Westly.”
http://www.calbuzz.com/2009/08/jerry-brown-and-the-woman-with-a-glass-eye/

San Francisco Chronicle 8/18/09
“PG&E backs measure to tighten grip on cities”
“For years, cities dissatisfied with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. have tried to break away from the utility company, either by joining another or going into the power business for themselves. They have rarely succeeded in breaking free. Now PG&E is backing a statewide ballot measure that would make it even harder for cities and counties to leave.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/17/BUDR199Q6D.DTL

Calitics 8/15/09
“Transcript of Netroots Nation California Panel”
“As part of my observer duties, I took a rough transcript of the panel on California (how process creates crisis) moderated by Dave Dayen, and including Jean Ross, Robert Cruickshank, and Kai Stinchcombe.”
http://www.calitics.com/diary/9847/transcript-of-netroots-nation-california-panel

State Environmental News

Sacramento Bee 8/18/09
“Major water action vowed, but all sides are skeptical”
“But with only four weeks left in the legislative session, groups on all sides of the debate are skeptical that Democrats and Republicans can strike a deal to stabilize city and farm water supplies while reversing the environmental decline of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta… In fits and starts, the governor and lawmakers have sought a major water deal for three years. But like previous leaders, they’ve been paralyzed as regional interest groups fight for their own needs.”
http://www.sacbee.com/politics/story/2117532.html

San Jose Mercury News 8/18/09
“Package of water bills seek to balance thirst of water users and environment”
“With the state’s budget resolved for now, lawmakers this week will take up a comprehensive reform package that is the most ambitious attempt in at least a decade to revamp management of the increasingly unreliable Delta. Though the package is certain to draw debate, supporters say it is the best attempt in years to resolve the intensifying conflict between the thirst of California’s cities and farms and the needs of a severely damaged Delta ecosystem.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13146086

Greenspace (LA Times blog) 8/18/09
“Time to dump your bisphenol-A baby bottle?”
“As federal and state lawmakers consider banning bisphenol A, a chemical found in hard plastic that has been linked in animal tests to cancer and hormone disruption, a group of doctors, activists and legislators are literally trashing it. At a ‘toxic baby-bottle swap’ on Wednesday, attendees can dump plastic bottles into trash cans and go home with BPA-free bottles donated by the Los Angeles-based company Green to Grow. The event is aimed at garnering support for state Sen. Fran Pavley’s SB 797, which would ban BPA in food and beverage containers targeted at children under 3 years old.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2009/08/bisphenol-a-baby-bottle-infants-pavley-bpa.html

California Report (KQED-FM) 8/18/09
“State Parks: More Expensive, Less Accessible”
“This week, camping fees at state parks shot up from $10 to $21 a night, and day use fees from $2 to $5. Sometime after Labor Day, we’ll learn what state parks are closing altogether in response to state budget cuts. Park advocates are hoping to find other ways of closing the budget gap.”
http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R908180850/b

Los Angeles Times (opinion) 8/18/09
Emily Green: “When it comes to our lawns, brown is golden”
“Beautiful native plants are a water-wise antidote to Southern Californians’ obsession with green grass.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-oe-green17-2009aug17,0,6078890.story

Reuters 8/18/09
“First Solar, SoCal Edison set new solar projects”
“First Solar Inc and utility Southern California Edison said on Tuesday that they would build two photovoltaic solar power projects with a capacity of 550 megawatts. The projects in the California counties of Riverside and San Bernardino would provide enough power to supply 170,000 homes when completed in 2015, the companies said.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE57H3OH20090818

San Jose Mercury News 8/18/09
“Tesla moving headquarters and powertrain operations to Palo Alto”
“Tesla Motors, Silicon Valley’s flashiest entry into the race to electrify the auto industry, will build a powertrain production facility in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park as it ramps up efforts to sell battery engine technology to other carmakers, the company said late Monday.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_13146859

Los Angeles Times 8/18/09
“Researchers study cougar’s lineage”
“The female, found recently in the Santa Monica Mountains, could be descended from the habitat’s lion king. If so, researchers say, that could prove the ecosystem is viable for mountain cats.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mountain-lion18-2009aug18,0,3726475.story

San Francisco Chronicle 8/16/09
“Make practical green fixes before going solar”
“Nothing screams “I’m saving the planet” like a gleaming set of rooftop solar panels. In our increasingly enviro-conscious world, there may be no greater status symbol for a homeowner wanting to project those cool enviro-friendly vibes. It’s like driving a brand-new Prius. For San Francisco architect Mark English, though, comparing driving a Prius to expensive ‘green’ home improvements like solar panels is apt – especially if your 10-year-old Corolla still runs.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/16/HO4S18S799.DTL&type=green

National Environmental News

National Public Radio 8/18/09
“Search For Green Power On And Off Of The Grid”
“Hundreds of utilities around the country — and a growing number of companies — are offering customers a chance to buy green power. These programs are especially popular with businesses, which use them to promote their environmental consciousness. Packaging for all kinds of products now includes claims that producers use renewable power. But where does the power come from?”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111665647

Green Inc (NY Times blog) 8/18/09
“Companies Nudge Rallies Against Climate Bill”
“So it’s not surprising that Houston-based oil employees would start to gather to make their voices heard as Congress considers climate change legislation — including cap-and-trade provisions, which would issue decreasing emissions allowances for industry and utilities, and then let companies trade their excess allowances. The concept is not popular with many in the industry.”
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/energy-companies-nudge-workers-citizens-to-rallies-against-climate-bill/

New York Times (editorial) 8/18/09
“The Climate and National Security”
“One would think that by now most people would have figured out that climate change represents a grave threat to the planet. One would also have expected from Congress a plausible strategy for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that lie at the root of the problem.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/opinion/18tue1.html

Washington Post 8/18/09
“Cap and Rage: The fight over health-care reform could hobble climate-change legislation.”
“The rancorous debate over health reform has given voice to considerable uneasiness among Americans. Many are worried about how a new system will be paid for in an economy that has unraveled, and they are anxious about a kudzu-like expansion of an already unwieldy bureaucracy.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/17/AR2009081702477.html

Sacramento Bee 8/18/09
“Cash for Clunkers didn’t boost hybrid sales”
“The federal Cash for Clunkers program is getting a lot of trucks and sport-utility vehicles off the road, but it hasn’t made best-sellers out of the Prius or other gas-efficient hybrids.”
http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2117337.html

National Public Radio 8/18/09
“Chasing After The Elusive Narwhal”
“Narwhals are an Arctic whale known as the unicorn of the sea. The males have a distinctive long, spiral tusk. For centuries, traders sold these tusks as the legendary unicorn horn, which people thought had magic powers.”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111865328&ps=cprs