Laird’s Toilet Bill Passes
Big changes are coming to California toilets in 2010. The State Assembly passed a bill Friday, authored by Assemblyman John Laird, to require all toilets sold in California to meet new flush standards beginning in three years.
The legislation, AB 715, passed 46-25.
According to Laird, who serves Assembly District 27 covering Morgan Hill, new toilet technology will save an estimated 8 billion gallons of water by 2020. That translates into lower energy bills because 19 percent of California’s electricity is consumed by pumping water.
The average Californian uses 70 to 80 gallons of water per day indoors. Toilets account for approximately one-third of indoor use.
Beginning in 2010, all new homes, schools, office buildings and other structures will be required to install the more efficient toilets.
Secretary of State to Review Voting Systems
Secretary of State Debra Bowen has unveiled a plan to conduct a top-to-bottom review of electronic voting systems.
“California voters are entitled to have their votes counted exactly as they were cast,” Bowen said. Â
Bowen is entering into an interagency agreement with the University of California to conduct the review – the first of its kind in the nation – that is scheduled to begin May 14 and conclude in late July.
UC will assemble three top-to-bottom review teams, drawing specialists from throughout the university system, as well as from public and private universities and private sector companies throughout the country. Each team will consist of approximately seven people and will conduct a review of documents and studies associated with each voting system, a review of the computer source code each machine relies on, and a red team penetration attack to see if the system’s security can be compromised.
Ranch Clean-Up Plan
Gilroy – Famed garlic producer Christopher Ranch has filed a plan with regional water regulators on how it intends to avoid another wastewater spill in Uvas Creek. In early February, a still unidentified person at the farm released garlic-tainted stormwater into the creek, killing thousands of fish and destroying plant life along an eighth-of-a-mile stretch of the water body. The plan submitted April 30 to the Central California Regional Water Quality Control Board details efforts – some of which have already been started – to avoid mingling stormwater and wastewater, and to prevent the latter from ever reaching Uvas Creek. Among other things, the company is using video cameras to map out its underground drainage system. The water board has set an August deadline for implementation of the plan.
