It is that time a year again the 38th Annual Fungus Fair is January 13-15, 2012 in Santa Cruz California at the Louden Nelson Community Center. All you mushroom lovers like me, this is the place to be. There are hundreds of mushrooms on display you also get to learn about different mushrooms in their recreated habitat. There is a special room for the kids with hands on activities where they can also learn about the mushrooms. If you enjoy cooking with mushrooms like I do there culinary stations set up teaching you how to prepare the mushrooms to get the best flavor out of them. Mushrooms in the wild can also be very dangerous if you don’t know what to look for. There will be renowned speakers on all three days informing people on edible and poisonous mushrooms. Mushrooms are very healthy for you there rich in iron, copper, calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and folic acid. My favorite mushrooms are Shitake, Beef Steak and Button mushrooms. If you love mushrooms like me the 38th Annual Fungus Fair in Santa Cruz California is definitely the place to be, so pack up the kids and make this a family day trip.
How many California drivers don't know there's a law requiring motorists to move over or slow down when approaching emergency vehicles with lights flashing while stopped on the side of the road? The law is SB1610, and it includes safely steering clear of CalTrans workers, police officers, fire trucks, ambulances, and tow trucks.
We are already required to pull over and make way for approaching emergency vehicles with sirens or lights flashing. This law instructs drivers to safely slow down and/or change lanes (more than one lane adjacent to) any stopped emergency vehicle. Violators face a $50 fine.
The California Highway Patrol originally rejected this law in 2005, arguing that pulling over violators would place traffic and drivers in more danger. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed by vetoing the bill, saying, "This law could result in unintended consequences and additional road hazzards".
However, SB1610 was eventually passed in 2006 before expiring last month, and then re-instated by the Governor on January 1, 2010. Sponsoring Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto says the "Move Over, Slow Down" law closely resembles similiar laws in more than 40 states.
"This bill is about promoting highway safety, plain and simple, says Simitian. "I hope it puts a stop to the senseless deaths of police officers, tow truck drivers, paramedics and other emergency personnel out there simply helping stranded motorists".
Over the past five years more than a dozen police and state road workers have been killed along California roads. The latest was CalTrans worker Don Lichliter, who was struck down by a passing truck in Lodi on July 23, 2009. Since 1924, 176 CalTrans employees have died from roadside accidents.
North Carolina was the first of 45 states to pass such a law in 2002, following the injury or death of 66 state troopers over three-year period. Violators there are fined $250.
If you think that's expensive try Virginia, where passing a stopped police officer without changing lanes is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by a $2500 fine! This may be a bit steep, however, the message here seems clear!
Use common sense! Drive defensively by seeing the BIG picture! (Remember drivers ed. class?) Above all, pay attention around, and, ahead of you....particularly with emergency vehicles.
After all, our law enforcement and emergency professionals put thier lives on the line to protect us every day! Slowing down or changing lanes to give these first responders enough room to work safely, is the least we can do in return! Move over California! It's the law!
How soon before the San Francisco Bay Bridge re-opens? More importantly, will the fix hold for good this time?
High winds Tuesday night caused a steel cross-beam and two tie rods to snap off and fall to the upper deck, damaging three cars and injuring one person. The three steel pieces were part of an emergency repair made just seven weeks ago during a planned Labor Day expansion project.
An un-forseen crack in a structural beam then, forced that repair... and threatened a possible major delay in the bridge's re-opening. However, the crack was repaired, and thus, swiftly allowed the bridge to re-open...nearly on schedule!
After Tuesday's accident, which caused enormous commute problems throughout the entire North and East Bay Area, Caltrans refused to predict when the Bay Bridge would re-open, though the lead contractor predicted the new repair woud be complete sometime today.
Under intense public scrutiny--and now the eyes of the Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans blames high winds and traffic vibration for Tuesday's accident, claiming the repair design was a first-of-its-kind innovation, done on a type of cracked beam never before seen.
"Wind is something that should have been accounted for in that design," Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said Wednesday. "We've identified fatigue as a factor, and our new design should address that."
Still, there are skeptics who believe the initial brace design was an inadequate fix for a 73-year old bridge. UC-Berkeley engineering professor Abolhassan Astaneh-Asi said, "They rushed this repair over Labor Day, and now they refuse to acknowledge that it's an incorrect design."
Caltrans officials defended their brace design, claiming they are making vast improvements this time in order to provide additional protection. Meanwhile, Thursday's commute could set new traffic records as drivers crawl along adjacent highways and bridges, and pack into Bart train stations...all hoping that their sacrifices will lead to a FULLY fixed Bay Bridge--once and for all!
One final question. Who is going to pay for the three smashed autos damaged on the bridge, and the medical bills for the woman who was injured? (Just wondering!)
Thanks, and see you on the other side of the bridge.
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