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A legacy of toxic pollution lingers in San Francisco’s Hunters Point Shipyard, which was once a booming hub for wartime construction efforts, but now is largely shuttered and represents a constant threat to the health of marginalized communities that live nearby. The U.S. Navy and diverse community groups are at odds over the best way to address the problem.
A succinct listing of candidate positions and quotes on more than two-dozen key policy issues and ballot initiatives.
Environmental and indigenous groups stepped up their attacks against Canadian oil sands development as two U.S. representatives met with Canadian officials in Ottawa to discuss energy policy.
Citizen media is driving, and skewing perceptions of, mainstream coverage of Iran’s turmoil. Postings on Twitter, Flickr and YouTube provide an unfiltered look at the situation on the ground, and include propaganda as well as first-person witnessing. Photo: .faramarz
By Kwan Booth
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Part of the Bay Area Toxic Tour
Tuesday night saw the end of two years of negotiations between the Port of Oakland, environmentalists, truckers and West Oakland residents, with a vote to reduce toxic emissions from trucks serving the busy shipping center. The Comprehensive Truck Management Plan aims to reduce the levels of diesel particulates in the air around the port, by banning diesel trucks built before 1994 — as well as newer trucks that lack air filters. The plan also authorized a registration system for all trucks doing business with the port, and $3 million for independent truck who need to upgrade their vehicles. However, a vote to implement findings from a study conducted by the consulting firm Beacon Economics was postponed until a later meeting. This includes a controversial recommendation that larger trucking firms hire contractors as employees, thereby making companies responsible for truck upgrades and maintenance.
Teen pregnancies are in the spotlight, from Sarah Palin’s unwed daughter Bristol in magazines and on TV with her baby in her arms, to 2007’s Academy Award-winning film “Juno,” and MTV’s new reality show “16 and Pregnant.” Talk about reality: This year in the United States, more than 750,000 teenagers will become pregnant, according to a report in Women’s E-News, while the Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed the teen pregnancy rate increased by three percent in 2006 — the first such U.S. increase in 14 years. The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world — 14 times higher than Japan, and twice that of Australia and Canada, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, WHO notes that more than 14 million teenage girls have babies each year — most in developing countries. Though it does not attribute its statistics, the Christian advocacy Web site Vision.org notes that teen pregnancy rates in Latin America and Africa are double — and in some cases even quadruple — those of the United States.
Despite recent gestures, the ideological chasm between Cuba and the United States remains wide and deep. The latest development: An invitation to rejoin the Organization of American States was greeted with a shrug by the communist nation, which is sticking with its Cold War-era isolationist script. Photo: wjklos
Updated: 6/22 Newsdesk.org is collecting links to realtime citizen and mainstream news feeds and blogs following the turmoil in Iran. Post updated information sources in the comments section below. Not all citizen-media postings are clearly sourced, and include propaganda as well as first-person witnessing. Use your judgment when interpreting the text, video and images. Twitter hashtag: #IranElection
140-character bulletins and links sent by members of the public.