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.
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