SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two weeks after California elections, a closely watched effort to impose a new tax on tobacco in the nation's most populous state remains too close to call.
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With 400,000 ballots outstanding as of Tuesday, the measure that would add a $1-a-pack cigarette tax is trailing by 17,500 votes, according to data compiled by the secretary of state.
Through a barrage of campaign ads, tobacco companies were able to cut support for the tax plan spearheaded by champion cyclist Lance Armstrong. Backing for the measure dwindled from a two-thirds majority in March down to a dead heat on Election Day.
Opponents raised $47 million to fight the proposal, dramatically outspending supporters, who raised $12 million.
Since the June 5 voting, Proposition 29 has seemed headed for defeat by razor-thin margins, generally trailing by less than a percentage point.
In election night returns, the proposal, which would in part fund cancer research, was losing by tens of thousands of votes, prompting many to assume it was dead. But supporters have refused to concede defeat.
"Last week, someone was thinking about having a press conference and conceding, and everybody else said, 'Are you out of your mind?'" said Stan Glantz of the University of California, San Francisco's Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education.
Glantz has been running statistical analyses of the returns since the polls closed and said the chances of a reversal are "unlikely but not impossible."
"At this point, everybody's just biting their fingernails," he said.
Tobacco tax opponents are also watching returns, but with a more optimistic eye.
"We're not expecting any huge swings, and we are anticipating that our lead will hold," said Beth Miller, spokeswoman for the No on 29 campaign.
In order for the tax to squeak through, 54 percent of the remaining ballots would have to favor the measure, said Contra Costa Registrar of Voters Steve Weir.
Weir added that if the margin continued to tighten, it was conceivable that California would hold its first statewide re-count for a ballot measure.
"For there to be less than a half a percent spread, that's very, very unusual," he said.
Observers around the nation have also been watching the contest. Smoking foes say that Big Tobacco's success in branding the tax as a government boondoggle could reverberate in other states.
Election officials have until July 6 to report final results. Another California tobacco tax measure lost by a thin margin in 2006.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
Lana Del Rey unveils new single 'National Anthem' artwork - picture - Digital Spy
Source: www.digitalspy.co.uk
California gasoline prices drop; average falls below $4 a gallon - Los Angeles Times
Retail gasoline prices are plunging in California, with averages dropping below $4 a gallon for the first time since mid-February, according to one fuel-price survey.
The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in California reached $3.99, down 12.7 cents since last week, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. The third straight week of double-digit price drops left the California average 1.1 cents below the 2011 level. A month earlier, the state's average was $4.35 a gallon, AAA said.
An Energy Department survey put California's average a tad higher at $4.029 a gallon Monday, down 13.5 cents from a week earlier. The two polls of fuel retailers, which use different sources and methods, usually track each other fairly closely although their results may differ slightly.
Chatsworth resident Adil Mehta was more annoyed than thrilled by the recent price declines.
"Less than $4 is certainly better," said Mehta, who works in the aviation industry. "But this is still quite a high price."
"If the prices could stabilize at $3.50," Mehta said, "that is something I could live with, and it would still be possible to maintain a decent lifestyle without having to worry."
Prices should decline further, experts said.
Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, said California's average gasoline price could drop as low as 3.25 a gallon in the coming weeks. Kloza's company provides the data for the AAA Fuel Gauge Report averages, tallying daily credit-card receipts from more than 100,000 fuel sellers around the U.S.
"Motorists in California will be getting a nice break," Kloza said. But, he added, California's isolation from the rest of the nation's oil and fuel sources and its relatively tight refining capacity could throw a wrench into the works.
California refinery gasoline supplies are still running 14.7% below 2011 numbers, according to the state's Energy Commission.
The state's refineries had been operating at some of their lowest levels in many years. As of June 8, however, production of the state's expensive blend of gasoline was running at 6.71 million barrels, which was slightly ahead of last year's pace.
"West Coast wholesale gasoline prices are now among the lowest in the nation, with California, Oregon and Washington seeing their averages drop back under $4 a gallon," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for Gas.Buddy.com. California's average could fall to $3.75 a gallon soon, he said.
GasBuddy reports on prices at more than 140,000 retail outlets in North America. On Monday in California, service stations in Suisun City, Fairfield, Highland and near Travis Air Force Base were selling gasoline for as little as $3.59 a gallon.
Nationally, the average gas price was also falling, according to AAA and the Energy Department.
AAA put the U.S. average at $3.505 on Monday, down 3.5 cents from a week earlier. The Energy Department pegged the national average at $3.533, down 3.9 cents from a week earlier.
The U.S. benchmark oil contract was down 76 cents a barrel at $83.27 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, the Brent oil used to set the price of most U.S. imports fell $1.56 to $96.05 a barrel.
Source: www.latimes.com
Infrared approach in art studies reveals new details - BBC News
A novel technique has revealed never-before-seen details of Renaissance artworks in Italy.
The method images the faint reflections of low-power infrared light - the invisible light waves typically associated with heat.
However, in contrast to existing infrared imaging, the technique deposits little heat in precious works.
The approach, called Thermal Quasi-Reflectography or TQR, is described in Optics Express.
It joins a host of light-based techniques that restoration experts have at their disposal to analyse and care for artworks.
At the high-energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum, X-rays can be used to not only see through layers of pigments but also to identify the very atoms used in them - a crucial step in determining the age or authenticity of some works.
But at the other end of the useful spectrum lies the much lower-energy infrared light, with wavelengths longer than those we can see.
Established techniques called called near-infrared spectroscopy and thermography use chunks of this part of the spectrum, but TQR reveals details that these other techniques miss.
It makes use of a comparatively low-power halogen light, and a camera which can see some of the "mid-infrared" wavelengths of light - from three to five millionths of a metre.
A TQR analysis of a 15th-Century fresco called The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca showed retouches (bright spots marked A above), unevenness in the painting of a shield (marked B) and even changes in the painting technique (marked C) that do not show up in a near-infrared image (left-hand panel).
A similar study of frescoes in the Theodelinda's Chapel in the Duomo of Monza first showed that TQR adds unique new details to complement existing methods.
"Our system easily identified old restorations in which missed gold decorations were simply repainted," said Claudia Daffara of the University of Verona, lead author of the study.
"The TQR system was also much better at visualising armour on some of the subjects in the fresco."
The team, made up also of members from the University of L'Aquila and the National Institute of Optics in Florence, analysed an 1930s copy of a fresco by Ghirlandaio, finding that a TQR image (right panel) showed the use of cinnabar that did not appear in visible light (left panel) and two near-infrared (middle panels) bands.
However, Dario Ambrosini of the University of L'Aquila said that further studies are needed to turn TQR into a method that can actually identify pigments, rather than just showing that different pigments or techniques were employed.
"Determining the chemical makeup of the pigments is important in determining how best to protect and restore the artwork," he said.
He added that the approach could also find use in other analytical applications beyond those in art restoration.
"In principle, it should work whenever we desire to differentiate surface materials."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Artwork Of Herbie Pulgar, Chicago Teen At Center Of City Sticker Dustup, To Go On Display In D.C. - Huffington Post
Though Herbie Pulgar's winning design was yanked from the Chicago city sticker contest out of the concerns of some that it contained gang imagery, the 15-year-old's "Chicago's Heroes" work will be given a new honor Tuesday when it goes on display at the U.S. Capitol complex.
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez announced Monday that he had selected the Logan Square teen's design to represent his district in the annual Congressional Art Contest.
"Herbie is a great kid who deserves recognition and praise for this wonderful and positive piece of art," Gutierrez said in a statement. "I think it’s a credit to Herbie and his family that he chose to honor Chicago’s first responders and I’m very proud to have his artwork represent the Fourth Congressional District in Washington, D.C."
Pulgar and his mother will travel to D.C. Tuesday, where they will see the artwork unveiled in addition to meeting Gutierrez and touring the White House and U.S. Capitol.
Pulgar's design will be on display in D.C. through next year.
In February, Pulgar's design, chosen last fall, was scrapped by the city after allegations surfaced on a blog frequently read by Chicago police that the four hands depicted on the sticker referenced gang signs. Jody Weis, former Chicago Police Department superintendent and current president of the Chicago Crime Commission, agreed that the sticker's design was likely gang-related. The boy, his family and his art teacher denied those accusations.
The city proceeded to award the runner-up the $1,000 savings bond and bragging rights in the contest, but the runner-up's family dropped out because they did not want media attention associated with the debacle. Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza paid a $1,000 savings bond to Pulgar out of her own pocket to replace the prize that was taken from him.
The matter attracted the attention of CNN's Anderson Cooper, who addressed the city sticker controversy in his "RidicuList" segment.
"As far as we're concerned, you are a winner, and we're not going to take that back ever," Cooper said in a message for Pulgar.
WATCH Pulgar discuss his artwork last year:
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com
Chris Brown discusses 'coded' artwork - Belfast Telegraph
Chris Brown believes in "ancient aliens".
The rapper is promoting his upcoming record Fortune, which is out later this month. The record's artwork features Chris looking to the side, with a number of symbols and digits covering him. The 23-year-old explained it links to his beliefs on other-worldly creatures.
"You can see on the album cover, it's like a code. That's an encryption for my fans. I wanted to do something different because I'm into ancient aliens," he told Fuse TV. "I like being stuff that's other than what everybody expects? When they look in the booklet, they'll see the different code. Some of it says I love Team Breezy [Chris' term for his fans] or it'll say certain things directed to them and they'll know it if they break the code."
Although Chris is still young, he has noticed a shift in the music industry during his career. There isn't as much money around as there used to be, which he claims is having an adverse effect on artists' careers.
"The industry is so broke that it's starting to kill our creative side," he said.
"I started when they had the $600,000, $800,000 video budgets. My Run It! video [single out in 2005] was around that. Now you get it where people are like, 'We got $50,000.' It's really killing us in a sense because nobody believes in the brand anymore. If we don't do it, who gon' do it? So I'm like f**k it, I'ma do it myself."
Chris' love of Michael Jackson is well known, he met the superstar singer before his death in 2009 and also performed a tribute to him at an awards show after his passing.
Although the star still admires Michael's legacy, he's happy to carve his own path in music.
"My legacy is not to be Michael Jackson, but to just be me? I want to make him proud. I don't want to make it an effort to copy because I hate clones, so I don't want to be a clone," he said.
Chris was recently embroiled in a brawl with fellow rapper Drake while at a New York City nightclub.
© Cover Media
Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Faulty tests blamed for California nuclear plant leak - Reuters UK
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California |
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California (Reuters) - Tubes that leaked radioactive steam at a California nuclear power plant, leading to an indefinite shutdown, were not properly tested by the manufacturer prior to installation, nuclear regulators told an overflowing public hearing on Monday.
The San Onofre Nuclear Power plant, located in Orange County, has been shut down since January 31, when plant operators discovered a small radiation leak in one of the plants' two units. The 2,150-megawatt plant is operated by Edison International's Southern California Edison utility.
The nuclear station is located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego and is critical to the grid to import electricity into southern California. Its extended shutdown raises the possibility of rolling power outages as warmer temperatures boost demand for power over the summer.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday pinned the blame for the leak on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which it said underestimated the velocity of water and steam surging through the generator by a factor of three or four times in its computerized test of the equipment.
The tubes were also not held together tightly enough inside the troubled Unit 3 reactor, allowing them to rub against each other and causing premature wear, regulatory officials said.
Eight of the 129 tubes tested by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since the shutdown at the plant's troubled Unit 3 generator failed pressure testing, an unprecedented number, said Elmo Collins, regional administrator for the Region IV office of the NRC.
"We've never seen that before," he said of the test results. "This is a significant, serious safety issue."
Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Southern California Edison said they would not allow the plant to reopen until it was safe to do so, and declined to give a specific timeline for restarting the plant.
"Both San Onofre units will be shut down until repairs are made and we and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are satisfied it is safe to operate," said Pete Dietrich, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer for the power plant.
While the regulatory commission has some authority over contractors such as Mitsubishi, Collins made it clear that it's Southern California Edison that will ultimately be held accountable if penalties are eventually levied by the government.
A crowd of over 400 people showed up for the hearing, many asking pointed questions about the competence of the Southern California Edison and the regulatory commission, as well as raising questions about the safety of nuclear power.
Dozens of environmentalists held a rally prior to the meeting with anti-nuclear signs, including one banner that read "Fukushima not again!" - a reference to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster last year following the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.
Damon Moglen, climate and energy director for green group Friends of the Earth, said that Southern California Edison made significant design changes to the plant without seeking an amendment to its existing license, as is required by the regulatory commission.
His group submitted petition to nuclear regulators on Monday to require the company to obtain a new license, complaining that in his view the commission was "asleep at the regulatory wheel."
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said its investigation into what went wrong at the plant was ongoing and promised to keep the public apprised of any new developments. A written report on the findings will be released next month, regulators said.
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker)
Source: uk.reuters.com
Museum: Fast action may help save Picasso painting - US News and World Report
By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) — Within minutes of a vandal spray painting a Pablo Picasso painting, Houston museum officials had rushed the valuable artwork into their onsite conservation lab as if it was an injured patient in need of emergency surgery.
"I think that's a dramatic analogy, but I think that's apt," said Vance Muse, a spokesman for the Menil Collection, which owns the more than 80-year-old painting.
The fast action increased the odds of saving the painting, Muse said. The museum's chief conservator has been working on it tirelessly since it was damaged June 13, and the restoration is going very well, he added.
The act of vandalism was caught in a 24-second video posted on YouTube. It shows a man dressed in black holding a stencil up to the work of art and then spray-painting the stencil before ripping it away and walking off. An image of a bullfighter, a bull and the word "conquista," which is Spanish for conquest, is left behind.
Once the man walks away, the person taking the video walks up to the painting, recording the damage. This, plus the fact that the witness happened to film the vandal at the moment he damaged the painting, has some speculating whether the two were working together.
"People have wondered if this YouTube (video) was shot by a bystander who just happened to be there at that moment or if it's more akin to perpetrators, plural," Muse said. "I just don't know. But I hope we find out."
Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said investigators are reviewing both surveillance video from the museum and the video posted on YouTube. When asked if police think the vandal and witness were working together, she said, "We're taking all the information and we're looking at all aspects of the incident."
She would not say whether police have spoken to the witness who shot the video.
Muse, who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone from Berlin, said he didn't have specific details about the restoration process because he was out of the country. However, he believed it was going well.
"Most of the damage, virtually all has been taken care of," he said. "But you have to wait and see."
He also didn't know when the painting, "Woman in a Red Armchair," would return to display.
"Even if the treatment is completed, it would need rest for quite a while," he said. "We would not want to bring it out of the conservation lab prematurely."
The museum's chief conservator Brad Epley wasn't available for questions Tuesday because he was working on the painting.
The key thing in restoration probably would be identifying what chemicals are in the spray paint to determine which solvent would be best to remove it, said Jennifer Logan, a chemistry professor who has taught courses on art conservation at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.
Logan theorized a range of solvents were probably tested to determine which one was strong enough to remove the spray paint without also dissolving the work's original paint.
"It was most likely a tedious process," she said. "If they have the motivation and the skill and ability to carefully remove the spray paint, that's not surprising to me (that most of the damage has been fixed). I've read about much more drastic restoration cases. In the art world, this doesn't seem as bad."
This is not the first time one of Picasso's works has been vandalized. In 1999, an escaped mental patient in Amsterdam cut a hole in the middle of his "Woman Nude Before Garden," a 1956 painting.
Other works of art have also been the target of vandals. Rembrandt's "Night Watch" masterpiece has been slashed twice and sprayed once with sulfuric acid. The "Mona Lisa" has been attacked several times, including with acid, a rock and even a teacup.
The Menil, which opened in 1987 and is free to the public, will review its security measures, which include surveillance cameras and two dozen guards, Muse said. But he didn't anticipate major changes, such as placing paintings behind protective glass or keeping visitors farther from the works of art.
"I think a museum-goer always appreciates it when a work of art seems more accessible than that. You don't have all those layers," he said. "And I think the Menil loves the fact the art there is very accessible. It's almost like entering someone's wonderful house."
Source: www.usnews.com
California to Review and Update Flammability Standards - YAHOO!
California Gov. Jerry Brown is directing the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation to revisit the state's 40-year-old flammability standards and initiate updates, a news release says.
Why does the governor want to change flammability standards?
"We must find better ways to meet fire safety standards by reducing and eliminating -- wherever possible -- dangerous chemicals," Brown says. The news release comes after studies point to the toxicity of flame retardants being used and failed legislative attempts to change the requirement to apply them to consumer furnishings.
What are the current rules?
BHFTI summarizes the flammability standard in Technical Bulletin 117, which sets forth acceptable after-flame, after-glow and char-length measurements for furnishings. Regulations govern the use of flame retardants in bedding, upholstery, resilient filler materials and foam.
How do state fire statistics compare to the rest of the nation?
The U.S. Fire Administration says in 2009, the national average of fire deaths was 11 per million people, while California's rate was 5.5 per million.
What were previous efforts to change standards?
Since 2007, the legislature made five attempts to change the rules governing the use of mandated flame retardants. Environmental Health News recounts the introduction and failure of AB 513 seeking to outlaw decaBDE in 2007 and AB 706 prohibiting brominated and chlorinated flame retardants in 2008. Other failed attempts were SB 772 (baby furnishing exemptions in 2009), SB 1291 (attempting to shift oversight of regulations to the Green Chemistry Initiative in 2010) and SB 147 (looking to change flammability testing rules in 2011).
Why do proponents worry about changing the rules?
The Latino Times asserts California's low number of fire deaths is an outcropping of its flame-retardant material standards. The publication also questions the legitimacy of claims that flame retardants pose health risks. In support, proponents of current regulations point to the Polyurethane Foam Association, which notes TB-117-compliant foam "increases the safety of home furnishings by delaying the onset of free burning conditions."
What do critics say?
Critics assert the chemical industry lobby has thwarted lawmakers' efforts to change Technical Bulletin 117, which has remained in place for 40 years. The Environmental Health News outlines how industry trade groups have spent $22.5 million lobbying to prevent changes. The Chicago Tribune revealed a burn surgeon called to testify by Citizens for Fire Safety Institute -- the Consumer Federation of California identifies this group as a chemical industry front group -- recounted an event that "did not exist" as described. Environmental Health Perspectives warns chlorinated and brominated flame retardants are causes for concern over toxicity.
Sylvia Cochran is a Los Angeles area resident with a firm finger on the pulse of California politics. Talk radio junkie, community volunteer and politically independent, she scrutinizes the good and the bad from both sides of the political aisle.
Source: news.yahoo.com
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