Free Republic

The owners of businesses that spew diesel fumes and other toxic gases will have to drastically cut emissions if they want to build, modify or expand their facilities, according to stringent new regulations announced Wednesday by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The new permitting requirements, which were approved Jan. 6, will force some businesses to emit two to three times less pollution than what is currently allowed or move, said Ana Sandoval, the spokeswoman for the air quality district. The district conducts several hundred health risk screenings a year, the vast majority of which are for new or...

State Controller Steve Westly on Thursday said he has decided to make a move toward running for governor because Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "has taken a conservative right turn." The former eBay executive, who will be eligible to run for re-election in his controller's post next year, announced that he is forming an exploratory committee in a first step to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006. Westly had said in the past that he did not plan to run for governor if Schwarzenegger seeks re-election. But on Thursday, Westly said that has changed. "This year the tone and...

FRENCH government ministers will attend a Jewish prayer service in Paris today as a show of anger against the perceived rise of anti-Semitism in France. The visit by Nicolas Sarkozy, the Interior Minister, and other colleagues follows vigorous condemnation by President Chirac of a knife attack last Friday on Rabbi Gabriel Farhi of the Jewish Liberal Movement (MJLF). The rabbi was wounded in the stabbing at his synagogue by a man shouting pro-Palestinian slogans. On Monday, Rabbi Farhi’s car was set on fire outside his home. In dozens of attacks last year, synagogues were burnt and damaged and Jews were...