Accidents and Disasters

Orange County Register Wildfire Coverage Has a Huge Hole in It: Media Watchdog

Orange County fire officials recently held a press conference to go over their strategies and, more importantly, warn the public about an ever-earlier fire season. The Orange County Register covered this, as it did Southern California's recent wildfires, but a media watchdog saw a huge hole in the c ... More >>

Ace Hoffman Is Tilting at 'Nofre

The anti-nuke activist has spent years fighting the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Now, the impossible is on his horizon: its permanent shutdown

[BREAKING:] California Coastal Commission Denies PG&E Seismic Studies Off Central Coast

See the breaking news update at the end of this post on the Coastal Commission's denial of PG&E's seismic studies proposal and foe Surfrider's reaction.ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 13, 12:02 P.M.: As the Coastal Commission considers Pacific Gas & Electric's Fukushima-inspired plan to fire underwater ... More >>

San Onofre Nuclear Plant Restart Proposed

Southern California Edison (SCE) announced today that it has submitted a proposal to federal regulators to restart one of two mothballed reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The plan would have Unit 2 run at 70 percent power for five months, shut down again and re-inspected ... More >>

[UPDATED with "Industry Winning":] San Onofre Nuclear Plant Reopening Pushed Back as 1,300 More Damaged Tubes Found

UPDATE, MAY 21, 5:23 P.M.: The energy director of a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group calls Gregory Jaczko's resignation as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) "a terrifying example of industries trying to wreak havoc on those who regulate them-and winning.""Jaczko sou ... More >>

[UPDATED with VIDEO:] That 70s Show: San Onofre No Nukes Rally Sunday

UPDATE, APRIL 30, 10:01 A.M.: About 100 people marched to the gate of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Sunday to demand the facility be shut down.They were led by Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, who said nuclear power is an unsafe option for communities surrounding such plants. Video from the ral ... More >>

San Clemente's Nuke Plant Radiation Mystery

​The visitors arrived just a day short of the one-year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami that wiped out the country's Fukushima nuclear plant and nearly caused a countrywide nuclear emergency. They were a pair of residents of Miyagi Prefecture who had come to San Cl ... More >>

[UPDATED with Radiation Report OK'd:] Water Leak Shuts Down San Onofre Nuke Unit

​UPDATE, FEB. 23, 10:01 A.M.: The San Clemente City Council is to receive a staff report March 20 that should help city leaders decide whether more radiation monitoring should be done in the town 2 miles from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).Some residents have called for stepped- ... More >>

UC Irvine Law School Learns About Gulf Oil Spill From Chairman of Presidential Panel

​It's a long way from the Gulf of Mexico to UC Irvine, but the institution is close enough for Harvard Professor Richard Lazarus, who delivers the inaugural lecture for UCI's Law Center for Land, Environment and Natural Resources this afternoon.Lazarus discusses his experiences leading a presiden ... More >>

Two Earthquakes Strike Southern California

Feel that? The end is near.​Two 3.0-plus earthquakes rocked Southern California in a recent 14-hour period.According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the last one, a 3.5 "shallow" strike, hit just before 9 a.m. today in the mountains near Coachella.A Palm Springs newspaper is reporting that resident ... More >>

'Louis Slotin Sonata' Has Its 19th Nuclear Breakdown

Bizarre and all over the place, Cal Rep's latest is still a (atom) smash

4.3 Earthquake Rattles Los Angeles: A Dispatch from the Burbank Bureau:

Was that a foreshock?​There's nothing more disconcerting than those first moments of an earthquake. Is this the Big One? Is it going to get worse?When you're almost 30 stories up in a building that's attached to bedrock (as I was), even a small earthquake, like the 4.3 earthquake that struck Newha ... More >>

Linkin Park to Play Secret Show in LA for Tsunami Relief

Linkin Park​ Foreign tragedies have a way of hitting close to home when you're world famous and have embarked on several world tours. For Southern California's Linkin Park, the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan affected them on a personal level. "We have family ties to Japan," Chester Ben ... More >>

[UPDATED with Memorial Service Details:] Brian Hayes, Veteran Anaheim Police Officer, Dies in Plane Crash

​UPDATE, JULY 20, 5:25 P.M.: A memorial service for veteran Anaheim Police Officer Brian Hayes, who died in a plane crash with his girlfriend Sunday in Arizona, will be noon Saturday at Calvary Church East Anaheim, 5605 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim.Hayes is survived by his father, Judge W. Michael Ha ... More >>

Lady Gaga Sued Over Japan Fundraiser

Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly​Lady Gaga brought together her love of rubber and charity work in a recent effort to support Japanese tsunami victims--and is now facing a lawsuit.

[UPDATED: TCA's Thoughts] Time for a Rematch? TCA Rekindles 241 Toll Road Talks, Citing Japan Devastation; Surfrider Foundation Responds

Surfrider FoundationThe swindle'n continues.​UPDATE, MAY 9, 4:20 P.M.: The basis for the most recent PR campaign--pushing the need for additional evacuation routes in the case of a emergency at SONGS or Camp Pendleton--was a concern expressed in a public poll from November 2010 (months before ... More >>

OC (Hearts) Japan

House of Blues

Tonight: Baja Sharkeez Newport Beach Fundraiser for Japan

​The always loud and festive Baja Sharkeez Newport Beach is stepping up to help the Japan relief effort by hosting a silent auction and raffle tonight from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. There's some serious loot up for bidding--Lakers and Angels tickets, autographed Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings equipmen ... More >>

Fear-mongering at the Farmers' Market Over Strawberries and Radiation

​We have a ritual, my daughter and I. Every Saturday we wake up quietly (well, as quietly as a small child and a pre-caffeinated father can manage, anyway) and head to the farmers' market. We make a stop at the bank and then at a coffeeshop: coffee for me and chocolate milk for her, and we share a ... More >>

Radiation Detected in Japan's Tap Water and Anaheim's Air

​If you don't want to be exposed to radiation, don't drink the water in Japan.Or . . . gulp . . . breathe the air in Anaheim. The Japanese government says today elevated levels of radioactive iodine from a crippled nuclear plant we ... More >>

Haven Gastropub's Fundraiser for Japan

​On Monday, March 28, Haven Gastropub will host a fundraising event and contribute 100% of profits to the survivors of the Japanese earthquake disaster.Employees are donating their time and all of their gratuities from 11 a.m to 2 a.m. Last year, Haven customers raised nearly $11,000 for a similar ... More >>

Just What We Needed--An Email Hoax Warning California Residents of 'Acid Rain'

Go ahead and sing in the rain. It's OK.​In case you weren't freaked out enough over last week's report of a radioactive plume heading this way (which officials say was innocuous), a prank email with the heading "Acid Rain Precautions" has been in circulation, warning California residents that part ... More >>

Black Eyed Peas, Blink-182, Simon Cowell and More Host Benefits for Japan Via Shows, T-Shirts, Albums, Vids, Tweets

​In the wake of the unfathomable disaster in Japan, musicians are showing their support through benefit shows, merch and other creative endeavors, rallying fans to help the country. Their efforts can make a real impact--Gaga's Japan-relief wristbands raised $250,000 in just 48 hours.  Here's ... More >>

End Days Alert: Radioactive Plume to Reach OC From Japan Late Friday

​Here's the bad news: a United Nations forecast says that a so-called "plume" of radiation from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant will reach Southern California by late Friday after blowing across the Pacific Ocean via the Aleutian Islands. The plume is then expected to continue its eastward journey ... More >>

San Onofre Nuke Plant Needs Inspection Now, Say Senators Boxer and Feinstein

​One of the terrible ironies of the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan is that two of the reactors that are overheating weren't even turned on when the earthquake and tsunami occurred. What sparked their meltdowns weren't the reactors, which were cool, but rather the toxic waste being stored next t ... More >>

Japan Radiation No Threat to California, Officials Say

​Maybe it's the fact that Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has already suffered several explosions, is currently leaking radiation into the air, and seems to be headed toward total meltdown. Maybe it's the fact that a cold pressure system is sucking cold wind out of China and Korea and sendin ... More >>

How the Video Game Community Is Responding to Japan's Quake Disasters

Masahiro Sakurai's TwitterA photo by Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai shows empty Tokyo streets after the earthquake​With the death toll rising above 10,000 people, 88,000 people reported missing and the threat of numerous nuclear meltdowns, Japan is facing its worst national catastrophe since World ... More >>

UCI Scientists Shake Up History Channel's Megaquake 10.0, But Is 'Big One' Threat Real?

USGS​Two UC Irvine scientists are among the experts featured in tonight's world-premiere showing of Megaquake 10.0 on the History Channel. The two-hour special is set to shake up your flat-screen at 9 p.m., but, as Fritz and Fred always say, check local listings to confirm the time.The UCI academi ... More >>

OC On Flash Flood Watch, Snow Summit Closed Today

​Yes, Southern California, it's true. Water is falling from the sky in a crazy phenomenon called "rain."     Which means that stuff is getting wet and people are freaking out.  It's best to be very careful out there. This morning, the National Weather Service put Orange County ... More >>

Major Quake Hoax Shakes Up Twitter, Facebook

​Scientists agree an earthquake early warning system is close to being a possibility, but everyone agrees the messages posted on Twitter and Facebook about a major California quake happening some time over the next few days is bullshit."Fake California 'Earthquake Warning' Currently Scaring Idiots ... More >>

Will Wyclef Jean Get to Run for Haiti President as One of 30 Candidates?

www.myspace.com/wyclefjean​ Today the Haitian elections board will decide whether Wyclef Jean is eligible to run for the country's presidency. There's a five consecutive year Haitian residency requirement for candidates, but Jean has said his roving ambassador stint by President Rene Preval in 200 ... More >>

The Funniest Food-Related Traffic Accident Report Of The Week

http://www.sxc.hu​Traffic accidents are rarely funny. But if no one is hurt and it involves 39,000 pounds of cheese and a truck fire, you bet it is. Add to that mix a newspaper reporter with a penchant for puns and what results is comedy gold! In his report, Sean Dugas, writer for News Herald ... More >>

How to Predict an Earthquake with a Doughnut

​There is a sweet new way to predict earthquakes and it's making waves throughout Southern California. Many scientists believe that predicting earthquakes is still impossible, but the Mogi Doughnut seems more credible than the Quake Quack's theory. Colorful charts do not a seismologist make. Acco ... More >>

As Everyone Looks Down at What Gulf Oil Spill Has Wrought, UC Irvine Researchers Look Up

​Tar balls created by the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico reached the Texas shore today.But researchers from UC Irvine are not looking at the sands, shorelines and waters impacted by the muck, they are checking out the air hovering over the spill zone. The initial findings: all is not well.

John Campbell Weighs in on Totally Predictable BP Apology Scandal

Flickr user tifotter / Creative Commons​A mild brouhaha broke out today when Texas congressman Joe Barton told BP CEO Tony Hayward that he was "ashamed" at the way the Obama administration had asked the notorious oil-spilling company to set aside $20 billion in a fund to help cover the damages cau ... More >>

Map Brings Home British Petroleum Disaster

​The website If It Was My Home allows anyone to personalize the magnitude of the British Petroleum (BO) Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill--also known as "the greatest environmental disaster in United States history."The site opens with a map superimposing the shape of the spill as of t ... More >>

40 in 4 Haiti Releif Fundraiser

El Dorado Park

New UCI Research Will Have You Looking at Earthquakes and Lawns Differently

UC Irvine researchers have discovered new ways to look at earthquakes and your front lawn. No, not how shakers rip up your green playground. We're talking one study that dispels notions about how experts estimate the potential for the next so-called "Big One," and a second that disproves the idea th ... More >>

Website Predicts When Next Earthquake Will Hit

InternationalProtectionConsulting.comHow far is Kobe, Japan, from 92626 again?​"Open Hazards is a group of scientists, technologists, and business people dedicated to the proposition that, through advances in forecasting and sensor technology, as well as an open, web-based approach to public infor ... More >>

Live From Earthquake Central!

WikicommonsYou know what's funny? Earthquake coverage. To be specific: coverage of moderate earthquakes. NPR's coverage of the devastating Chengdu tremor in 2008 can be called many things, but not "funny" isn't one of them.When a 4.7 quake hits Southern California, as one did last night, you have to ... More >>

Stinkin' Royal George Brett Buys Angels Farm Team

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, which has been an Angels farm team since 2001, has been sold to a group led by Bobby Brett and his former Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer brother, George Brett. Majority owner Hank Stickney of Valley Baseball Club Inc., which moved the Quakes to Rancho Cucamonga from ne ... More >>

Earthquake Strikes So Cal

Just before noon this morning, an earthquake rocked Southern California--Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles. From the fifth floor of OC Weekly's Santa Ana headquarters, the 5.8** magnitude quake felt like I was standing on a rocking waterbed for at least 12 seconds. The build ... More >>

Tuesday - 11/20

When the Levees Broke: Part II at the Irvine Fine Arts Center, The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey at the Barclay

Mother Nature gone wild

"Wild" seems to be the word of choice among headline writers to describe yesterday's weather. The LA Daily News bucked the trend, going with "Crazy", but for the most part, editors across the country agree, it was wild. Of course, in the impressive natural events category, yesterday's weather, wil ... More >>

You Are Like a Hurricane

Local nature filmmaker fixed his lens on Louisiana wetlands. Then along came Katrina...

Hear The Earth Move

Via the excellent BLDGBLOG: German artist Florian Dombois translates the subaudible sound of plate tectonics into something the human ear can hear, revealing unique geological characteristics of brewing earthquakes around the planet. Says Dombois: Usually seismic waves have a frequency spectrum b ... More >>

Shake and Break

'State of Emergency: Disaster Response in California'

See MirrorMask, Help the Hungry

The Car Crash Set

Five more musicians who put the pedal through the metal

Foster-Child Meat

Californias Republican make-over