Tag Archives: california

California Paves the Way for Lower-VOC Cleaning Products to Reduce Smog

Image: Guerrilla Futures via flickr Household cleaning products in the U.S. might soon be a little greener, thanks to a new rule in California that will require companies to reformulate products so they contain fewer volatile organic compounds, or VOCs , which are significant contributors to smog—and pose health hazards for people. The new regulation will cover window cleaners, degreasers, general purpose cleaning sprays and other cleaning products you probably have arou… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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California Paves the Way for Lower-VOC Cleaning Products to Reduce Smog

Man Takes wifes life after 70 years of marrige. Deemed mercy killing.

SEAL BEACH, Calif. — The husband of an 86-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murder after his wife of nearly 70 years was found dead from a gunshot to the head in a Southern California nursing home. The couple's daughter told the Los Angeles Times the shooting a month before their 70th anniversary was “a mercy killing” by a husband who had long fed and bathed his wife as she suffered from dementia and decline. Reports of gunshots at Country Villa Healthcare Center came at about noon, and within a few minutes officers arrived from the California Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff's Department and three local police departments, Seal Beach police Sgt. Steve Bowles said. A tactical team surrounded the facility and soon entered. Inside they found Clara Laird dead of a single gunshot wound to the head, and found her husband Roy Charles Laird, 88, in a nearby chair, Bowles said. More U.S. news Guilty verdict in Chandra Levy murder case Updated 8 minutes ago 11/22/2010 11:05:59 PM +00:00 A jury on Monday found an El Salvadoran immigrant guilty of murdering Washington intern Chandra Levy. Full story Report: Capping BP spill was chaotic, creative White House evaluating TSA security methods Tell TSA 'Don't touch my junk' — here's how Updated 40 minutes ago 11/22/2010 10:33:08 PM +00:00 TSA workers face verbal abuse from travelers Officers recovered a .38 caliber revolver from the elderly man. “It was in his pocket,” Bowles said, and added Laird gave no trouble to officers who arrested him. Laird was being held at Seal Beach jail Sunday night. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40310189/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?Gt1=43001 added by: littlwarrior

Water Supply in CA Town Contaminated with Toxic Chemical Used to Make Explosives

Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri , Wikipedia, CC The vast majority of the time, tap water is your best bet for clean, cheap water in the US. Not so in Barstow, CA. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently declared a state of emergency in San Bernadino County when it was discovered that the water supply was contaminated with the toxic chemical perchlorate. Perchlorate is commonly used to make explosives and rocket fuel. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Water Supply in CA Town Contaminated with Toxic Chemical Used to Make Explosives

Lindsay Lohan — On the Road Again

Filed under: Lindsay Lohan , Celebrity Justice TMZ has learned … Lindsay Lohan is officially a California driver again, because her privilege to get behind the wheel has just been restored. The L.A. County Probation Department and officials at the Betty Ford clinic signed off this morning, so… Read more

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Lindsay Lohan — On the Road Again

‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Director Jon Favreau Offers Trailer Play-By-Play

Favreau sits down with MTV News to talk about opening scene, villainous Harrison Ford and a ‘mistake’ fans found in the sneak peek. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Jon Favreau Photo: MTV News “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau sure knows how to cut a trailer. Going back to his sneak peek for the first “Iron Man” — which brought down the house at that year’s San Diego Comic-Con — to the debut of the highly anticipated “Cowboys & Aliens” trailer last week, Favreau seems to be an expert at getting fans into a frenzy. Due in large part to the response from the trailer, and our own excitement for Favreau’s upcoming flick, MTV News caught up with the man himself at his editing bay in Santa Monica, California, for a play-by-play look at his titillating teaser. “This is new for me,” Favreau said of commenting on his trailer. “I’m already doing a commentary track on a [trailer]. I’m in the middle of [editing] my director’s cut.” Beginning with the first shot — in which a rough-and-tumble Daniel Craig wakes with a start to discover a mysterious metal band on his arm — Favreau addressed the challenge of melding two genres: western and sci-fi. “When you’re doing a mash-up of two genres, if you play with either of them tongue-in-cheek, the combo is not going to be what’s special,” he said. “It allowed us to play western pretty dead straight.” Also, that opening shot will likely be the film’s opening sequence too. “It’s the first shot — I’m in my director’s cut, but right now, this is essentially how the movie starts,” Favreau revealed, adding that the credit for that opening goes to executive producer Steven Spielberg. “The writers told me when Spielberg was developing the script, this was one of his big ideas, this [opening] image.” Another arresting image in the teaser is iconic actor Harrison Ford looking not-so-Harrison-Ford-like but rather grizzly and villainous. Favreau explained that he wants fans to see another side of their favorite actor, with shades of Han Solo and Indiana Jones. “When Harrison comes into the movie, how do you separate him from everything he’s done? How do you present him in a way that I, as a fan, would want to see him?” Favreau said of the challenge in having Ford portray a seemingly villainous character. “He was always this bastard with a big heart; that’s the archetype I like for him. “Everybody’s got kind of a rough edge,” Favreau added. “This is a genre film.” One more aspect to touch on, via hundreds of comments on the Internet, is a certain shot in which fans claimed that they could see a wire pulling an actor into the air; Favreau said that was no accident. “When you see more about the way the aliens work, there is a device that they abduct people with that that is a practical element of,” he explained. “It’s not a mistake — we didn’t miss the paint-out — but thanks to the people playing at home. If you could catch that, I’m very proud.” Favreau ended his first trailer play-by-play with a good-natured “thank you” to all the fans. “We’re working hard. Thanks to all of you for putting wind in our sails,” he said. “I’m glad you liked what we put out there.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Cowboys & Aliens.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos Jon Favreau’s ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Director’s Commentary Related Photos ‘Cowboys & Aliens’

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‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Director Jon Favreau Offers Trailer Play-By-Play

Hibernating Off The Grid At Wilbur Hot Springs

photo: Ricardo Vacapinta under a creative commons license As colder temperatures crept into the Bay area this weekend, my toes began to get that familiar chill and I started to dream about hibernating until Spring. One place that alleviated this feeling and the countdown until Summer (201 days!) was Wilbur Hot Springs. I’m reluctant to sing Wilbur’s praise, for fear that it will soon become too difficult to obtain a same day reservation, but the natural hot mineral waters and lack of cell phone reception, make it a perfect winter weekend escape from rainy day blues. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Hibernating Off The Grid At Wilbur Hot Springs

No Security Pat-Downs for Boehner

Representative John A. Boehner, soon to be the Speaker of the House, has pledged to fly commercial airlines back to his home district in Ohio. But that does not mean that he will be subjected to the hassles of ordinary passengers, including the controversial security pat-downs. As he left Washington on Friday, Mr. Boehner headed across the Potomac River to Reagan National Airport, which was bustling with afternoon travelers. But there was no waiting in line for Mr. Boehner, who was escorted around the metal detectors and body scanners, and taken directly to the gate. Mr. Boehner, who was wearing a casual yellow sweater and tan slacks, carried his own bags and smiled pleasantly at passengers who were leaving the security checkpoint inside the airport terminal. It was unclear whether any passengers waiting in the security line, including Representative Allen Boyd, a Florida Democrat who lost his re-election bid, saw Mr. Boehner. At a Capitol Hill news conference after Election Day, as Mr. Boehner began laying out the changes he would make when he becomes House Speaker, he announced that he would continue to fly commercial airlines (usually Delta) back to Ohio. It was a not-so-subtle dig at the outgoing Democratic speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, who had been criticized by Republicans for flying military airplanes when she returned home to San Francisco. “Over the last 20 years, I have flown back and forth to my district on a commercial aircraft,” Mr. Boehner said at the time, “and I am going to continue to do that.” And so on Friday, he did. But not without the perquisites of office, including avoiding those security pat-downs that many travelers are bracing for as holiday travel season approaches. Michael Steel, a spokesman for the Republican leader, said in a statement that Mr. Boehner was not receiving special treatment. And a law enforcement official said that any member of Congress or administration official with a security detail is allowed to bypass security. “The appropriate security procedures for all Congressional leaders, including Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, are determined by the Capitol Police working with the Transportation Security Administration,” Mr. Steel said. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/no-security-pat-downs-for-boehner/ added by: ThatCrazyLibertarian

Sarah Palin Slams Michelle Obama in Racially Charged Passage From New Book

In passages leaked from her forthcoming book America by Heart, Sarah Palin — the erstwhile quitter governor of Alaska, who now, by all indications, fancies herself as President of the United States — has taken another cheap shot at First Lady Michelle Obama. In a passage on perceptions of racial inequality in the United States, Palin slams President Barack Obama, who, she asserts, “seems to believe” that “America — at least America as it currently exists — is a fundamentally unjust and unequal country.” 2010-11-19-americabyheart392x600.jpg And then she goes after Michelle Obama: Certainly his wife expressed this view when she said during the 2008 campaign that she had never felt proud of her country until her husband started winning elections. In retrospect, I guess this shouldn't surprise us, since both of them spent almost two decades in the pews of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church listening to his rants against America and white people. The passage — coming on page 26 in a chapter entitled “We, the People” — echoes remarks made by Palin on the eve of the midterm elections, at a rally in San Jose, California, at which point she mocked remarks made by Michelle Obama during the 2008 campaign: “You know, when I hear people say, or had said during the campaign that they've never been proud of America,” Palin spat out. “Haven't they met anybody in uniform yet? I get tears in my eyes when I see that young man, that young woman, walking through the airport in uniform…you too… so proud to be American.” In fact, Michelle Obama's remarks were made (in Madison, Wisconsin, during the 2008 campaign) in a context of Americans being “unified around some basic common issues”: What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something–for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction, and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment. I've seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues, and it's made me proud. Afterwards, the First Lady further clarified her remarks by noting that she was referencing the “record number” of young voters participating in the political process in the 2008 campaign: For the first time in my lifetime, I am seeing people rolling up their sleeves in way that I haven't seen and really trying to figure this out, and that's the source of pride I was talking about. The passages from Palin's latest book first appeared at Palingates, where several other pages from American by Heart have also been posted. Palin followed up her comments about Michelle Obama by throwing an elbow at U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, also focusing on racial overtones: It also makes sense, then, that the man President Obama made his attorney general, Eric Holder, would call us a “nation of cowards” for failing to come to grips with what he described as the persistence of racism. added by: TimALoftis

Tony Parker: Not Blindsided By Eva Longoria Divorce

Tony Parker, whose marriage crumbled amid a relationship with Erin Barry , says he was not blindsided when wife Eva Longoria filed for divorce this week. “Eva and I have been discussing our situation privately,” Parker told People magazine. “I was aware that she would be filing for divorce in Los Angeles.” Parker also denied a report – since retracted – that he went to court first, only to have Eva convince him not to, at which point she filed out of revenge . Tony and Eva split amid reports of him sexting Erin Barry . “I did not file for divorce in Texas and did not hire attorneys in either California or Texas,” Parker says . “We plan to continue to keep discussions of this private.” Good luck with that. When you have an affair with a teammate’s wife – although sources close to Tony say there was only sexting and no actual sex involved – stories spiral out of control. Erin Barry, whose husband Brent played with Tony on the San Antonio Spurs from 2004-08, is in the process of divorcing him as well. What a bizarre, sad story.

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Tony Parker: Not Blindsided By Eva Longoria Divorce

Schwarzenneger’s Post-Governor Plan: Fight Climate Change

Photo: the Guardian Arnold Schwarzenegger will not likely be remembered as California’s most beloved governor — he’s leaving office with his approval rating in the 20 percent range. But history may be kinder to his legacy on climate — addressing global warming eventually became his trademark issue with the passage of the state’s solid climate law AB 32, that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Defending the law from Texas oil companies, who attempted to shut it down w… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Schwarzenneger’s Post-Governor Plan: Fight Climate Change