Amy Gahran's Public Library

14 Sep 09

Toxic Waters - Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering - Series - NYTimes.com

Big national story with lots of implications other than coal and appalachia.

www.nytimes.com/...13water.html - Preview

coal clean water environment EPA national data

Blogs @ The Charleston Gazette - » NY Times: Blockbuster on coal and dirty water

blogs.wvgazette.com/...buster-on-coal-and-dirty-water - Preview

coal clean water environment national WV

Blogs @ The Charleston Gazette - » Rahall weighs in on EPA’s latest on MTR

blogs.wvgazette.com/...eighs-in-on-epas-latest-on-mtr - Preview

coal clean water environment

Rep. Nick J. Rahall wasn’t going to comment on the Obama EPA’s latest action ordering a more thorough review of 79 strip-mining permits in Appalachia.

Rahall’s office issued the following statement this afternoon:

Blogs @ The Charleston Gazette - » NY Times: Blockbuster on coal and dirty water

zotero/30 - Preview

I was glad to see the Times make note of this fact about Ryan Massey, his mother Jennifer Hall-Massey and the family in question:

She and her husband, Charles, do not live in some remote corner of Appalachia. Charleston, the state capital, is less than 17 miles from her home.

Far too often, these kinds of coal-related stories paint the problems as something that’s happening in a far-away land, someplace none of us really needs to think about or be concerned with.
But in recent years, violations of the Clean Water Act have risen steadily across the nation, an extensive review of water pollution records by The New York Times found.
2 more annotations...
- In the last five years alone, chemical factories, manufacturing plants and other workplaces have violated water pollution laws more than half a million times. The violations range from failing to report emissions to dumping toxins at concentrations regulators say might contribute to cancer, birth defects and other illnesses.
  
  However, the vast majority of those polluters have escaped punishment. State officials have repeatedly ignored obvious illegal dumping, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which can prosecute polluters when states fail to act, has often declined to intervene.
- The Times included in its story on posted on its Web site a partial response from Randy Huffman, Gov. Joe Manchin’s environmental protection secretary. The most interesting part was this:
  
  It is important to note that if the close scrutiny given to our state had been given to others, it is likely that similar issues would have been found.
  
  In fact, a chart that was included in the print edition (I couldn’t find it online) showed that West Virginia ranked 10th in the nation in terms of enforcement actions issued per 100 facilities out of compliance, with 28.

29 Aug 09

BBC NEWS | Technology | 'Facebook Lite' gets public debut

Facebook Lite is currently on trial in India and it is thought there are plans to extend this to China and Russia. (Oh but I could SO use it here in the US! I hate the cluttered FB interface!)

news.bbc.co.uk/...8197442.stm - Preview

Facebook social media usability mobile interface problems

The site is currently on trial in India and it is thought there are plans to extend this to China and Russia.
- This is a major bummer to me, because the cluttered Facebook user interface is so difficult to use I don't get much value from this service. In face, in order to read Facebook (rather than post content) I typically view it on my iPhone, rather than visit the site on my laptop, because iPhone interface is far more usable and easier to interpret. - on 2009-08-29
Add Sticky Note

27 Aug 09

Oakland zoning guidelines getting pieced together - Inside Bay Area

6/23 Oakland Tribune backgrounder by Cecily Burt

www.insidebayarea.com/...ci_12676140 - Preview

Oakland Oakland Tribune backgrounder zoning history central business district building development

Rezone Lake Merritt

"The Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt is an active stakeholder in the Central Business District rezoning in the City of Oakland. Our goals are simple: to preserve access and views of Lake Merritt downtown and to preserve the current historic and natural elements there from over-development."

This blog has a lot of info on the process up through April 09, including lots of links to city govt reports & contacts in the local govt. However, they don't list their own contact info.

lakecoalition.blogspot.com - Preview

Lake Merritt zoning organization blog Oakland building activist

New zoning guidelines shape future of Oakland's downtown - Inside Bay Area

7/8 Oakland Trib story by Cecily Burt. Gives lots of specific examples, things we can photograph and map. We should see which building projects are planned for these areas, and map properties for sale.

www.insidebayarea.com/...ci_12788894 - Preview

Oakland Oakland Tribune central business district building zoning architecture

The final version approved by a vote of 5-2 encourages high-rise development downtown along the Broadway corridor and preserves a lower height limit of 55 feet for any new buildings along the mid- to southern end of Lake Merritt adjacent to the historic Lakeside Garden Apartment district.
A major revision to Oakland's planning code that will guide development from Lake Merritt to Chinatown was finalized Tuesday night. And if grumbling on both sides is any indication, the land-use plan was a study in compromise.

Zoning updates could have far-reaching consequences for historic buildings in Oakland's Central Business District - Inside Bay Area

Oakland Tribune 6/20 story on Oakland central busines district zoning updates. This was before the actual meeting took place in July

www.insidebayarea.com/...ci_12655802 - Preview

zoning Oakland central business district Oakland Tribune MSM history

Oakland Heritage Alliance members have been monitoring the issue for the past several months, and are encouraging more public input urging stronger preservation protections on its Web site.
Oakland Heritage Alliance members have been monitoring the issue for the past several months, and are encouraging more public input urging stronger preservation protections on its Web site.
5 more annotations...
- Oakland Heritage Alliance members have been monitoring the issue for the past several months, and are encouraging more public input urging stronger preservation protections on its Web site.
- Oakland Heritage Alliance members have been monitoring the issue for the past several months, and are encouraging more public input urging stronger preservation protections on its Web site.
- It often comes down to height maximums, says Naomi Schiff, a longtime Oakland Heritage Alliance member. When a district is zoned for unlimited height allowances, this puts development pressure on the smaller historic structures to make way for bigger projects, even if the older structures could qualify for rehab tax credits and could be otherwise successfully rehabilitated.
- Oakland Heritage Alliance members have been monitoring the issue for the past several months, and are encouraging more public input urging stronger preservation protections on its Web site.
- Though generally recognized today as being one of the city's most distinctive buildings, in the early 1980s, the Floral Depot was under threat of demolition because it stood in the way of a proposed shopping center. The building's owners at the time objected to landmark status proposed by preservationists, and succeeded in having the matter permanently shelved.
  Though it may seem unlikely that city leaders would allow a developer to pull down the depot building, under the rules proposed for review at Tuesday's meeting, it could conceivably happen.

Oakland Heritage Alliance - Current Events

oaklandheritage.tumblr.com/...current-events - Preview

Current Events

SAVE THE DATE!

OAKLAND HERITAGE ALLIANCE HOUSE and GARDEN TOUR 2009
“Oakland’s Fernwood Neighborhood”
October 4, 2009 1:00-5:30PM

This charming section of the Montclair district was formed in 1852, just as Oakland (then four miles away!) was being incorporated. Once an isolated community near the headwaters of Temescal Creek known for exotic wildlife and an abundance of Redwoods, Fernwood as we know it grew out of the real estate boom of the 1920s when Period Revival homes were built and marketed towards people “of average means.” Join us as we tour eight beautiful privately owned Fernwood homes in Tudor, Spanish, French and Colonial revival styles. For more information, contact OHA at (510) 763-9218or visit us on the web: www.OaklandHeritage.org

04 Jun 09

NewsU | Online Group Seminar

www.newsu.org/...index.php - Preview

We plan to target North Carolinians ages 15 to 21, a universe of close to 500,000 users.
We plan to include stories, videos and photos of particular interest to this age group. They won't be drawn to the Observer brand as much as to the compelling content. Users of the site will also be rewarded for their engagement in the news. By commenting on a story, posting a story or taking other actions on the site, users will earn points that can be redeemed for prizes.

19 May 09

On Washington - After Israeli Visit, a Diplomatic Sprint on Iran - NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com/...19web-sanger.html - Preview

“There’s a three-way race going on here,” one of Mr. Obama’s strategists said the other day. “We’re racing to make diplomatic progress. The Iranians are racing to make their nuclear capability a fait accompli. And the Israelis, of course, are racing to come up with a convincing military alternative that could plausibly set back the Iranian program.”

03 Mar 09

Bush Adm. Weighed Restricting 1st Amendment | Newsweek National News | Newsweek.com

www.newsweek.com/187342 - Preview

In perhaps the most surprising assertion, the Oct. 23, 2001, memo suggested the president could even suspend press freedoms if he concluded it was necessary to wage the war on terror. "First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully," Yoo wrote in the memo entitled "Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activity Within the United States."

This claim was viewed as so extreme that it was essentially (and secretly) revokedâ€”but not until October of last year, seven years after the memo was written and with barely three and a half months left in the Bush administration.

BBC NEWS | Technology | The Tech Lab: Bruce Schneier

news.bbc.co.uk/...7897892.stm - Preview

data privacy security problems

Data is the pollution of the information age. It's a natural by-product of every computer-mediated interaction. It stays around forever, unless it's disposed of. It is valuable when reused, but it must be done carefully. Otherwise, its after-effects are toxic.

And just as 100 years ago people ignored pollution in our rush to build the Industrial Age, today we're ignoring data in our rush to build the Information Age.