Firing at ‘near Earth’ objects

Paul Clinton

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher launched a bill, which passed the House of

Representatives Tuesday evening, that establishes a scholarship for

astronomers who identify “near Earth” objects.

The legislation, called the Charles “Pete” Conrad Astronomy Award

Act, passed the House shortly before 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Rohrabacher, during a speech delivered from the House floor, said

the bill would encourage amateur astronomers to seek out and identify

asteroids and meteors that are dangerously close to the planet.

“Let me just state that for those people who believe that there is

no threat and that we live in a world today where ... asteroids

colliding with the world ... is all science fiction, I have bad news

for them,” Rohrabacher said. “It is not science fiction.”

The bill is named for Conrad, a veteran astronaut who flew Gemini,

Skylab and Apollo missions.

He was killed on July 8, 1999, in a motorcycle crash in Ojai.

Conrad lived in Rohrabacher’s 45th District, which includes Costa

Mesa.

In October of 2001, a 300-meter asteroid crossed into Earth’s

orbit about 500,000 miles from the planet.

On Jan. 7, an asteroid the size of three football fields made its

closest approach to Earth, at roughly the same distance.

Green awards all around

Environmental group Orange County CoastKeeper honored Supervisor

Tom Wilson and a Newport Beach man at a Saturday fund-raiser in

Newport Beach.

Joe Warren, who converted his charter boat into the only electric

charter liner in the county, joined Wilson, who represents Newport

Coast in his Fifth District, as an honoree.

The group also saluted the Irvine Ranch Water District for moving

forward on a plan to install wetlands to filter out urban runoff.

Wilson was honored for his work with coastal protection and clean

water issues, said Garry Brown, the group’s executive director.

“He’s a big proponent of water-quality issues,” Brown said. “He

has been the county’s biggest champion for getting federal and state

money for water-quality and beach-related issues.”

Warren converted his charter boat “Angela Louise” from diesel to

electric power. The boat is based in Newport Harbor.

The Saturday evening fund-raiser was held at the Village Crean in

Newport Beach. Dinner was served for $150 per plate.

The event also included a live, silent auction of a new Ford Think

electric car, valued at $7,000.

The group raised about $35,000 from the event.

The money will go toward projects such as replanting kelp off of

Crystal Cove State Beach and finding ways to reduce urban runoff in

Buck Gully and other drainage canyons.

Traveling for the transportation authority

Supervisor Jim Silva began the search for a federal lobbyist for

the Orange County Transportation Authority this week, as he traveled

to Washington, D.C. on a two-day trip.

Silva, who also sits on the authority’s board, began the process

by meeting with several firms who could ultimately emerge as leading

candidates for a county contract.

The lobbyist, who will be known as an “advocate” in the

authority’s lingo, will help the agency pursue federal grant money or

lobby members of Congress for needed changes in legislation.

Silva returned Wednesday evening from the trip, said Steve Franks,

the supervisor’s press deputy.

A gold medal for democratic gains

Rep. Chris Cox presented Taiwan’s first lady with a gold medal

last week for her role in the “remarkable economic development and

democratization” in the country.

Cox gave First Lady Madame Chen Wu Sue-jen the National Endowment

for Democracy’s Democracy Service Medal.

Madame Chen, a former legislator and social advocate, worked to

help her husband, President Chen Shui-ban, win in the 2000 elections.

Those elections marked the first time the Kuomintang Party lost

power. Chen is the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party.

The United States has fostered close ties with the island republic

of Taiwan, which now counts 23 million people, since at least 1949,

when China’s Communist regime forced former Kuomintang leader Chang

Kai-shek from the mainland.

The ceremony, which was attended by a handful of senators,

representatives and other dignitaries, took place Sept. 25 in the

Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.

The award is given to persons who advance the cause of democracy

around the globe.