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SFO to Return $2.1 Million in Misspent Funds

By Zusha Elinson, Bay Citizen
The Federal Aviation Administration will take back $2.1 million in stimulus funds that it gave to San Francisco International Airport because the money was used improperly, according to the Department of Transportation’s inspector general. The airport received $14.5 million in stimulus funds to improve runways and taxiways, which was completed in 2010. But the inspector general said in a report in November that $2.1 million was used for unauthorized construction. It is unclear what specifically the money was spent on. It is the second time in two years that the San Francisco airport has been found to be misusing federal stimulus money.

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U.S. Supreme Court and Proposition 8: End of the Road or Next Chapter?

By Scott Shafer, KQED News Fix
The next and final chapter in the legal saga of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage, is set to begin Friday morning at the U.S. Supreme Court. And unlike the previous legal skirmishes in which this measure has been mired for four years, this one will take place behind closed doors. The nine justices will discuss which cases to accept for review — or “grant certiorari” — at a conference meeting in Washington, D.C. In addition to this case, now officially known as Dennis Hollingsworth, et al., Petitioners v. Kristin M. Perry, et al., the justices will consider several cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, including one from California. Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.  

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Tuition Refund Will Net CSU Students $250, but Set System Back $132 Million

A tuition refund of $249 or more per semester that the California State University system is planning to give most full-time students will be a godsend for thousands feeling financially pinched in their academic pursuits.
But the move will also reduce tuition revenues into the system by about 3 percent this school year — money that administrators will have to find somewhere else if they want to avoid further cutbacks. » Read more

Climate Change in Coastal Communities: Riding the Tide

San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary on the Pacific coast of the Americas, and it is a place of great biological diversity. We journey underneath its surface to swim with the harbor seals; we look overhead at a million migratory birds; and we explore marshlands along its shores. This story is part of a media series called RISE: Climate Change and Coastal Communities by Claire Schoen Media. To see videos of all the stories in the RISE series, please visit: www.searise.org/webstories.

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Signs of the Season: From Crab Pot to Stovetop, Dungeness Crabs Arrive

By Jackson Karlenzig, Bay Nature 
Thanksgiving time marks the start of one of the most exciting sustainable, local food events of the year: Dungeness crab season. This year’s crabbing is expected to be lower than average, due to natural cycles in the crab population. But that hasn’t stopped fishermen like Don Murch of Bolinas from loading up his boat with crab pots and heading out into the cool waters of the Pacific. His catch of succulent crab is a reminder of the bounty of Northern California’s marine ecosystem. “We usually go out around 3 miles,” Murch said.

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Muni May Use Extra Funds on Fast Passes for Low-Income Youth, Maintenance

Advocates of free Muni Fast Passes for the city’s 40,000 low-income youth are a step closer to seeing their dream realized.
City transit director Ed Reiskin on Monday recommended that the Municipal Transportation Agency spend $1.6 million for a 12-month pilot program for free Fast Passes for low-income youth between the ages of 5 to 17, and $5.1 million to rehabilitate light-rail vehicles. » Read more

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Algae Fuel Comes to the Bay Area, but How Ecological Is It?

By Laird Harrison, KQED News Fix
To the list of things that started in the Bay Area (blue jeans, sourdough French bread, fortune cookies), you can now add automobile fuel made by algae. Last week, four service stations in Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley and Redwood City became the first in the world to pump the fuel, which is blended with conventional diesel in a 20 percent concentration. Other companies are working on algae fuels as well. This is a bioreactor being developed by OriginOil scientists. We were excited when we heard the news.

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Food Bank Looks to Make Up Loss of Federal Funds

Federal food aid cutbacks have forced the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks to seek more cash donations from the community after it failed to receive funds from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program for a second straight year.
Since 2010, the food bank has not received any funding from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which would have gone to purchasing more fresh produce. » Read more

Climate Change: The Flood Next Time

Chuey Cazares is part of a large extended Chicano family, living in the tiny hamlet of Alviso. Nestled in between salt ponds, on the southern tip of San Francisco Bay, Alviso is at risk of flooding from both the creeks above and the Bay below. Converting the salt ponds back to their original wetlands could save this town. This story is part of a media series called RISE: Climate Change and Coastal Communities by Claire Schoen Media. To see videos of all the stories in the RISE series, please visit: www.searise.org/webstories.