Environmental Policy & Law

About the segment: Last week a coalition of leading physicians, scientists and health advocates called for tougher regulation of chemicals in common household items — including flame-retardant furniture and food wrapping. We’ll talk with experts about how these chemicals could impact your child’s development, and about how to reduce your family’s exposure. We’ll also discuss the sweeping new federal law on toxic chemicals, which Congress passed last month.

Last November, Portland Metro voted for the first time not to expand its boundary. It wasn’t much of a surprise; people want to live near downtown, not on the fringes, and the Metro area has plenty of developable land. But you could also say it was a vote to preserve the essence of Portland by protecting what it was not willing to risk: the pristine Willamette Valley land that surrounded it.

Hunters and anglers should stop using lead products that can poison animals, a Nova Scotia wildlife rehab centre says. The Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Brookfield sees the results in sick animals who have ingested the lead-based bullets. Earlier this year they rehabbed an eagle nicknamed Birdzilla, which got very sick from lead poisoning. ...

Voters in the Democratic primary delivered an electoral mandate on Tuesday. Now, Sue Minter will try to use it to become Vermont’s first female governor in 25 years. Minter had the look of triumph on Tuesday night as she strode to the podium to deliver her victory speech. And for good reason. Supporters at her election-night watch party in downtown Burlington were hoping for a win. But even the most optimistic among them couldn’t have predicted her 14-point landslide over second-place finisher Matt Dunne.

Following a 10-hour hearing Thursday at the North Tahoe Event Center, the Placer County Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend the Village at Squaw Valley Specific Plan for approval, to move ahead with the 94-acre proposed redevelopment project for the resort and to certify the plan’s final environmental impact report. ... Sierra Watch Attorney Isaac Silverman, who was in attendance for the meeting’s duration, said he was surprised by the outcome because he’d met with Roccucci and Johnson prior to the meeting.