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Crosscurrents

Daily news roundup for Monday, March 16, 2015

Pacific Gas & Electric's Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County. (Michael Mariant / Associated Press)

Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW news:

Diablo Canyon nuclear plant safe in earthquakes, PG&E says in report // LA Times

"California’s last remaining nuclear power plant can safely withstand earthquakes, tsunamis and flooding, according to documents submitted by the owner of the Diablo Canyon plant to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

"Pacific Gas & Electric officials said this week that the company had submitted new documentation ordered by the regulatory agency in the aftermath of the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in Japan."

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NASA official says California has one year of water left // ABC 7 News

"SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- An official with NASA has some dire news for California -- we have just one year of water left.

"Jay Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, says data shows water storage in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins will be gone in a year. He adds that our backup supply, groundwater, will also be gone soon.

Famiglietti believes the state has to start mandatory water rationing and needs to speed up a groundwater sustainability plan."

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Facebook floats idea for more housing in Menlo Park// Mercury News

"MENLO PARK -- Amid the rumble of bulldozers and buzz of traffic, a 394-unit apartment complex partly funded by Facebook is taking form here, with perks such as a bike repair shop, pet spa and sports pub designed to attract tech workers.

"Called Anton Menlo, it may be only the start of a bold and innovative effort by Facebook to bolster the housing market surrounding its Menlo Park home.

"As Facebook hires more employees, purchases more land and expands its college-inspired campus, the social network has floated the idea of creating thousands of new housing units for its workers and the public, city documents show."

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Lawsuit filed to stop Oakland clearcutting // Beyondchron

"FEMA’s plan for clearcutting and chipping eucalyptus in the hills above UC-Berkeley and spread the wood chips up to 2 feet deep will not reduce fire risk but increase it, a conservation group claims in court.

"The Hills Conservation Network sued FEMA, the regents of the University of California, the City of Oakland, the East Bay Regional Park District and the director of the California Office of Emergency Services, on March 6 in Federal Court.The nonprofit claims that the defendants’ Hazardous Fire Risk Reduction plan for the East Bay Hills is ill-advised and illegal."

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The stories behind San Francisco's street names// SF Gate

"Haven't you ever wondered whom San Francisco's Castro Street is was named after? Or if there ever was a big market on Market Street? The stories behind the names of San Francisco streets involve Gold Rush prostitutes, a high-profile criminal imposter and a notorious double-murder, a highlight of the city's politically corrupt past.

Would you expect anything less from San Francisco's history books? Of course not. Naturally, we decided to compile some of the more interesting historical tidbits behind the city's street names."

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Aiming the stream in another direction — paint vs. pee// SF Gate  

"The urine-soaked walls that line San Francisco’s alleys and streets are getting ready to fight back. Mohammed Nuru, head of the city’s Department of Public Works, is looking at a new weapon in his long-running — and so-far losing — war against people who make the world their toilet.

"The streets czar is looking for public suggestions about the best places to test a new paint that is so, ah, water repellent that a stream of, shall we say, liquid directed against a wall rebounds onto the shoes and pants of the offender."

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Crosscurrents Housing & Homelessness