CoastWatcher

In a major development that will likely bring about the end of the outrageous project to construct a private toll road through the middle of San Onofre State Park and devastate San Mateo Creek and Lagoon and the endangered plants and animals living there, yesterday the US House Armed Services Committee voted to restore California laws related to the project, meaning that the Toll Road builders will now have to comply with California law, something they are highly unlikely to be able to achieve.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tollway10may10,1,5626971.story?ctrack=3&cset=true
Bill could imperil tollway extension
House committee member seeks amendment that could scuttle road that would go through San Onofre state park.
By Dan Weikel and David Reyes
Times Staff Writers

May 10, 2007

Plans to build a toll road extension across San Onofre State Beach could be in jeopardy if a key congressional committee votes to eliminate legislation that would expedite the highway’s construction.

Late Wednesday night, Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) was planning to offer a military bill amendment affecting the Foothill South tollway — a 16-mile road that would run through southern Orange County.

Her measure before the House Armed Services Committee would overrule a 1999 decision by Congress giving the Navy power to grant tollway operators a 340-acre easement inside San Onofre. The popular coastal park sits on leased land within the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.

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Border sewage plant delayed
Commission suspends all Bajagua wastewater plans
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070510/news_1m10bajagua.html
By Mike Lee
STAFF WRITER

May 10, 2007
A major effort to improve treatment of Tijuana sewage has stalled at the U.S. agency that is under orders to upgrade its faulty wastewater plant in San Ysidro.

The International Boundary and Water Commission said in letters made public yesterday that it is “suspending all activities” related to the $600 million project pushed by Bajagua LLC of San Marcos.

The company aims to build a wastewater treatment facility in Mexico that would treat 59 million gallons of wastewater a day from the boundary commission’s existing plant in San Ysidro, as well as other sewage from Mexico. Bajagua then would sell that reclaimed water to businesses in the Tijuana area. Bajagua would privately finance the construction, but U.S. taxpayers ultimately would pay for the facility and its operation over two decades.
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Shrinking giants: The grey whales under threat from starvation
They survived the hunters – just – and their numbers surged. But now grey whales of the eastern Pacific are again under threat, this time from starvation.

Julia Stuart

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2508688.ece

03 May 2007
They were one of the triumphs of conservation worldwide. Grey whales were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1850s after the discovery of calving lagoons, and again in the early 1900s with the introduction of floating whaling factories. In 1937, they were given partial protection by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and full protection 10 years later.

From then on, the eastern North Pacific grey whale started its remarkable recovery. By 1993, the population had increased to around 25,000. The following year, grey whales were the first great whales to be removed from the endangered species list.

But now scientists are worried. Grey whales, whose numbers in the eastern Pacific have fallen to around 18,000 in recent years, have been arriving at their breeding grounds off the coast of Mexico looking decidedly slender. Experts have declared that they are suffering from what they term “skinny whale syndrome”.

“I went down to Mexico this winter and my colleagues and I were finding whales that were starving,” says Dr William Megill, whose work is funded by the Earthwatch charity. “You can tell because the fat has disappeared from the back of their heads. There are these big divots.”

Nor do the whales appear to be breeding. Conception usually occurs between November and January. Grey whale females usually are pregnant over a two-year cycle, producing a single calf every other year. “It’s pretty obvious when whales are breeding. The penis of a grey whale is about 9ft long and bright pink. You can’t miss it. Usually when tourists come ashore in Mexico they are talking about having seen them. This year there was no talk of it, really. We have a feeling that the animals are looking for food,” says Dr Megill.

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