Schwarzenegger Presses Obama on Auto Emissions

In only his first full day on the job, President Barack Obama was expecting to hear from a famous governor.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, sent a letter Wednesday to Obama requesting he give California and other states permission to implement tough tailpipe-emission standards.

Schwarzenegger believes Obama's backing would help move America toward global leadership on addressing climate change. If granted, the decision would change a 2007 conclusion by the Bush administration.

The letter details the fact that states do not have authority to impose greenhouse gas standards for new cars, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

According to the Bush administration, such goals can only be met by regulating fuel-efficiency standards, something that falls under the auspices of the federal government.

$1.43M in Disaster Aid Approved for Fire Victims

The Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that Californians who suffered losses from the wildfires are approved for more than $1.43 million in disaster assistance, so far. Approximately $1.2 million of that amount is in the hands of applicants.

"It's important for homeowners, renters and business owners to call FEMA's toll-free registration number 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA) or go online at www.fema.gov and register for federal-state aid if they had wildfire damages," said Mark Neveau, federal coordinating officer.

The current federal-state disaster aid tally is:

• 1,419 applicants registered

• $1,431,640 in grants approved for housing assistance.

• 655 home inspections completed

• 1,994 applicant visits to either Local Assistance Centers (LACs) or Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs).

FRIDAY HEADLINES.....

** Thought of the Day: It is Friday and all our heads are already thinking the weekend. With that being the case, I couldn't help but pull out a photo of our good friend Jocelyn Kirsch. Don't know who Jocelyn Kirsch is? Well, we blogged (see June 5 entry) about her a while back. Jocelyn is the young 20-something who got into a wee bit of trouble with her former boyfriend. Authorities say the two went on an identity theft crime spree in Philadelphia and stole ID's from other people to travel the world before finally being caught last year. Kirsch, whose mother lives in California, reportedly stole a credit card out here and used it after being nabbed in Philly in '07. She has since returned to Philly and was recently in court, with her sentencing yet to come. Anyhow, we couldn't resist another pic of the beauty to start the weekend off right. She definitely can work a camera.

On a more serious note, see story below if you like to drive with one hand on the wheel and one hand holding a cell phone. Times are about to change. Happy weekend!!

NEWS
* Starting July 1, drivers in California will have to stop using hand-held cell phones while driving or risk a fine. But one area not covered in the new law is texting.

The new law states that drivers must use hands-free devices to talk while driving, but it does not stipulate you cannot text while driving.

Looking to make things safer for all drivers on California's roadways, one state senator has proposed legislation that would add texting to the new cell phone ban. Sen. Joe Simitian (D- Palo Alto), has proposed that text messaging be added to the lists of things not to do while driving.

However, even if the no-texting legislation does gain approval and is signed by the governor, it would not take effect until Jan. 1.

The law taking effect next month takes special aim at juvenile drivers. While adults will no longer be able to use hand-held cell phones (they can use hands-free or text messagers), juveniles cannot use any mode of communication, including all cell phones and text messagers.

The violation, though, is a secondary offense, which means minors may not be pulled over for using a hands-free cell phone or text messager unless they are pulled over for breaking a second traffic offense at the same time.

California became the fourth state to ban motorists from holding cell phones while driving when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that passed in the state assembly back in 2006.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. are the other areas where it is illegal to drive and be talking on a hand-held cell phone, unless in an emergency situation.