New rules that require retailers to label where fish
come from have gone into effect — sort of. The new rules,
which were mandated under the 2002 Farm Bill, require fish and
shellfish to be labeled as “farm-raised” or “wild-caught,” as well
as identified by their country of origin (HCN, 3/17/03). The only
catch is the rules won’t apply to processed
fish, canned tuna, smoked fish or fish sold in
restaurants and delis. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving
grocery stores until April 2005 to comply.
The 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals is too big, according to the U.S. House of
Representatives. In early October, the House voted 205 to 194 to
split the traditionally liberal court into three
smaller districts (HCN, 2/16/04). Under an amendment sponsored by
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, the court — which currently
serves 11 Western states and 56 million people — would
continue to hear cases from California, Hawaii, Guam and the
Northern Marianas Islands. The new 12th Circuit would serve Idaho,
Nevada, Arizona and Montana; the 13th Circuit would serve Oregon,
Washington and Alaska.
Xcel Energy is committing
its customers to coal: In September, the energy company
submitted its 10-year “least cost resource plan” to
Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission (HCN, 9/13/04). The
utility — which opposes the state’s renewable energy
initiative on the grounds that it will cost customers millions of
dollars — plans to begin charging customers for a new
coal-fired power plant. According to the plan, beginning in January
2005, residential customers will start paying 89 cents per month,
and commercial customers $1.89 per month, to fund the plant’s
construction. Xcel is also letting its “demand side management”
plan expire at the end of 2005; the five-year, $75 million plan
offers rebates to conservation-minded customers who install, for
example, energy-efficient appliances.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Follow-up.
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