Hands-Free Cell Phone Laws Take Effect Tonight

Don’t forget! Tonight at midnight California’s hands-free cell phone laws will go into effect. So last chance to set up that Bluetooth device, unearth the headset you remember seeing in the box when you bought your phone, or stop at a store on your way home.

Photo By: William Hook

Either way, starting at 12am tonight, using your cell phone without a hands-free device can cost you, so you better prepare yourself and get the necessary accessories. Of course, you could always choose to simply not use your phone at all while driving, but judging from what I’ve seen on the roads, that’s not really an option for most. Unless, you’re under 18, then it’s your only option.

Questions? Check out the DMV Webpage.

California Fires Cause Unhealthy Air Conditions

There are now over 1,100 wild fires in Northern California. And it could still get worse over the weekend as dry lightning is again threatening the region.

If you need to go somewhere, you should first check out this map to see if the area is accessible. Temporary road closures are not uncommon these days. It only shows about thirty or so of the major fires, but it is constantly updated.

If you don’t need to be somewhere this weekend, experts advise to try and stay indoors as much as possible as another health threat is now becoming more serious: poor or even unhealthy air quality. There is so much smoke coming from all these fires, that Northern California is under a constant cloud of smoke. Depending on wind conditions and proximity to fires, air quality can be moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups (e.g., asthma sufferers), or very unhealthy for everyone.

If you need to go outside, you should definitely check the air quality for your region and prepare accordingly. Experts advise to set your car fan or air conditioning to ‘reuse’ or ‘recycle’ and to not open the windows. Refrain from exercising or other strenuous activities outdoors. If you need to be outside, you should consider wearing a mask or to otherwise cover your nose and mouth (and also your eyes) as the smoke particles that are in the air are damaging to your lungs and body.

But the best solution is to stay indoors. As in your car, Experts say to only use recycled air when running your air conditioning system and to keep your windows closed if possible. You can find more information and health tips here.

Fires Blaze Up In Northern California

A week after smoke enveloped the Bay Area (see story below), fires are still raging in Northern California. Actually, it’s still getting worse. One news station reported there are almost 30 major fires and a seemingly endless number of smaller fires. Oddly enough, while fires already raging didn’t see a drop of rain water, new fires were caused by lightning strikes.

The worst part is that resources are stretched very thin so that fires have to be put into categories depending on severity. As a result, many smaller fires cannot be contained simply because the manpower isn’t there. And while I understand the necessity for this, it is still shocking. I cannot even imagine how homeowners must feel who have to leave their houses and who may loose their houses only because the resources are just too limited.

Most of us only hear about the fires on TV, we shake our heads and we are glad that we are not affected beyond the occasional smoke clouds drifting through. But this weekend while taking a trip to Highway 1, we got to see some of the devastation firsthand. While going South on Hwy 101, we saw huge smoke clouds and even flames coming out of the Santa Cruz Mountains West of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. We had to take a detour to Watsonville because of road closures due to fires. We had to turn around on Highway 1 because of the fire South of Big Sur. And finally, while heading North on Highway 1, we went past the area where someone is suspected of having deliberately set fires. There were burnt down structures and cars. Why would someone deliberately start fires with all of this going on?

A look at the map shows just how desperate the situation has become and Summer has just begun. I don’t even want to imagine how the rest of the Summer (and year) is going to be like…