Water

Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman wants to send a letter asking the California Coastal Commission to deny Poseidon Resource's permit application. She will be asking council members Monday to allow her to write the commission addressing "substantial...

As if we didn't have enough to worry about with fires, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes, now we have worry about arsenic in apple juice, grape juice and rice. Consumer Reports has been warning us about the high levels of arsenic in juice for several...

Vic and I attended the Newport Beach Film Festival this past weekend. Naturally, Vic and I focused on environmental documentaries. We saw three films, "A Fierce Green Fire,""Last Call at the Oasis,"and"Bitter Seeds." "A Fierce Green Fire" is based on...

An official with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board said he knew of no plans to have the board rescind its vote on Poseidon Resources' permit to build a desalination plant, despite rumblings in the community that one member's participation...

After getting approval from a regional water board last week, Poseidon Resources is one permit away from starting construction on a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, a spokesman for the company said. The Poseidon plant, which has divided...

Thursday is Groundhog Day. According to legend, if a groundhog comes out of hibernation and sees its shadow on this day, we will have six more weeks of winter. We sure could use more winter. Since California, like most of the United States, hasn't had...

Huntington Beach earned straight As in water quality from Heal the Bay's annual report card, thanks to ongoing efforts to keep the water clean, city officials said this week. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit, which monitors bacteria levels at 447...

Vic and I had an out-of-town guest last week, Harold Drabkin from Bangor, Maine. We were friends with Harold back in our graduate school days at Wesleyan University, nearly 40 years ago. We've seen Harold only a couple of times since then. It's amazing to...

I received an interesting e-mail last week: "With all of the nuclear plant concerns in Japan due to the earthquake/tsunami, it might be timely to do a column on Bolsa Island. Most residents of H.B. and very few politicians realize how close we came to...

Vic and I took off for Big Bear Lake on Christmas to enjoy the snow there. The roads were clear, but there were several inches of snow on the ground, making a beautiful scene. Our son Scott rented a large house on the lake so we could have our...

Vic led his Irvine Valley College Emeritus Program bird class for adults to the Mojave National Preserve this past weekend. I tagged along to take photos and provide a guest lecture on the natural history of the area. We stayed for three days at the...

Southern California beaches had overall good water quality during the last year, and a vast majority of beaches received good to excellent ratings, according to an annual report released Thursday by Heal the Bay. The organization's beach report card was...