Residents upset over poisoned peacocks
PALOS VERDES ESTATES “”mdash; Someone poisoned two peacocks whose
colorful plumage and hideous screeching have been a controversial
fixture of this wealthy beachside community, officials said.
A necropsy concluded they ate feed laced with the insecticide
diazinon, authorities said Tuesday.
The deaths did not appear to be accidental, said Debbie Mott,
president of Friends of the Peacock, which financed the
examination.
The group is offering a $1,500 reward leading to a
conviction.
Some residents consider the nonnative birds a cherished symbol
of the community’s semi-rural ambiance. But their
destructive, messy habits and earsplitting cries have inspired
complaints and even lawsuits.
Sinkhole in Sun Valley will not be filled soon
A 30-foot-deep, 200-foot-wide sinkhole that opened in Sun Valley
during last month’s rain cannot be filled until June,
officials said.
“˜”˜It was a major loss of a roadway, and it
can’t be fixed overnight,” deputy city engineer
Tim Haug said. “˜”˜As far as a washout I’ve been
involved with, this is biggest I’ve seen.”
The ground under Tujunga Avenue opened up on Feb. 19 and the
hole kept growing.
Eventually 25,000 cubic yards of soil were washed away by runoff
from the nearby foothills.
Public works supervisor Rory Shaw, 47, who was working on the
site, was killed Feb. 20 when he fell into the sinkhole and was
engulfed by rushing water at the bottom.
Workers spent the last week pouring concrete along the sides of
the hole to prevent it from growing but major work must wait until
the rainy season is over, officials said.
Report links second-hand smoke to breast
cancer
SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; Scientists at an influential state agency
have completed a draft report linking second-hand smoke to breast
cancer, a finding that could lead air quality regulators to
strengthen the state’s indoor smoking laws.
It’s the first major report to draw that connection, and
one of many findings about the health effects of so-called
environmental tobacco smoke.
The report establishes a connection between so-called passive
smoking and breast cancer ““ a disease that kills about 40,000
women in the United States each year.
Compiled from Bruin wire services.