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TheAssociatedPress SANFRANCISCO Agroupof San Francisco Bay Area cit- ies, counties and water agen- cies has joined forces for what is being billed as one of the largest single govern- ment purchases of all-elec- tric vehicles in the country. The six cities, two coun- ties and two water agencies have united to buy 90 elec- tric vehicles with the help of a $2.8 million grant from the Metropolitan Trans- portation Commission, a regional transportation agency, officials with the Bay Area Climate Collabor- ative said Tuesday. The vehicles will save more than $500,000 in fuel costs and about 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over five years, Bay Area Climate Collabor- ative Executive Director Ra- fael Reyes said. The collaborative — a public-private initiative of the Silicon Valley Leader- ship Group that was started by three Bay Area mayors — developed the proposal for funding that was submitted to the Metropolitan Trans- portation Commission. "The Bay Area is clearly in a leadership role here," Reyes said. The vehicles include Ford Motor Co.'s Focus and Nis- san Motor Co.'s Leaf. The to- tal cost was $5 million, with the rest of the money com- ing from funds set aside by the governments and agen- cies to buy new vehicles. The 10 governments and agencies are: San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Fremont, Concord, the Sonoma County Water Agency, the Marin Munic- ipal Water District, and Al- amedaandSonomacounties. San Jose and three other Bay Area cities bought 50 all-electric vehicles last year, Reyes said. The all-electric vehicles are a small part of the cit- ies, counties and water agencies' overall fleets. But Reyes said the purchases shows what can be done. "We're just scratching the surface," he said. GREEN TECHNOLOGY Bay Area locales purchase e-cars 6 cities, 2 counties, 2 water districts buy 90 electric vehicles "W e' re ju st sc ra tc hin g t he su rf ac e. " — R af ae l R ey e s, B ay A re a Cl im at e C ol la bo ra ti ve ex ec u ti ve d ir ec to r THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A customer looks toward a refrigerator holding sodas and other drinks as she orders food at Chile Lindo in San Francisco. San Francisco and Berkeley are aiming to become the first U.S. cities to pass per-ounce taxes on sugary drinks. By Candice Choi The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. If two of the most progressive U.S. cities don't pass a tax on sugary drinks, will the idea finally fizzle out? Sugary drinks have been under fire for years, with many blaming them for rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases. Yet efforts to curb consump- tion by imposing taxes and other measures have failed, in part because the bever- age industry has spent mil- lions to defeat the efforts. Now, the question of whether a bottle of Dr Pep- per with 64 grams of sugar should be treated like a pack of cigarettes is being considered in San Fran- cisco and Berkeley, with the two California cities aim- ing to become the coun- try's first to pass per-ounce taxes on sugary drinks. The stakes are high, es- pecially given the Bay Ar- ea's reputation for liberal politics. If approved, Coca- Cola, PepsiCo and other companies fear it could galvanize health advocates elsewhere. If defeated, the idea of a soda tax could be dead. "The industry is really motivated to beat us here. If they can beat us in San Francisco and Berkeley, nobody is going to take them on," said Larry Tra- mutola, the political con- sultant handling the cam- paign in support of the tax in Berkeley. The odds aren't in fa- vor of taxes. Since 2009, about 30 special taxes on sugary drinks have been introduced around the country. Few have gained traction and none have prevailed. Chris Gindles- perger, a spokesman for the American Beverage Association, the lobbying group for Coke and Pepsi, says the failures show peo- ple don't support the idea. Others say the industry uses unfair tactics to de- feat measures, such as set- ting up groups with names like "Citizens Against Bev- erage Taxes," which sound like they are community- driven but aren't. They are nevertheless influential in shaping people's attitudes. In San Francisco and Berkeley, supporters of the tax say they're better orga- nized to battle such tactics. They're hitting the streets to educate voters and plan to run TV ads, work phone banks and mail fliers. "In other places, bless their hearts, but they were ill-prepared for what was coming at them" said Mag- gie Muir, a consultant who was hired by San Fran- cisco lawmakers to lead the political committee in support of the soda tax. The San Francisco pro- posal is for a two-cent- per-ounce tax on sugary drinks and would not ap- ply to milk or natural fruit juices without any added sugars. It needs a two- thirds vote to pass in the November election. Berkeley, SF prep for sugar showdown SODA TAX The Associated Press WINTERS Crews boosted by hundreds of additional firefighters increased con- tainment on Tuesday of a wildfire in rugged and steep terrain in Northern California, and full con- tainment is expected by the end of the week on what is one of dozens of blazes blackening parts of the West. Drought has made for a fire-friendly landscape in several western states, where flames are churn- ing through dry vegetation. The White House on Tues- day said President Barack Obama would ask Congress for $615 million to help fight the fires this season. The 10-square-mile Monticello Fire near Lake Berryessa in Yolo County didn't grow overnight and was 55 percent as of Tues- day morning, up 10 percent from the previous night, state fire spokesman Den- nis Mathisen said. "Firefighters made lot of good progress," he said. Fire crews also in- creased containment of several wildfires covering a combined 33 square miles of desert rangeland in east- ern Nevada and southwest- ern Utah, including the 14-square-mile Lages Fire. No homes or other struc- tures were threatened. In Northern California, Mathisen said about 300 additional firefighters were brought in Monday from another blaze in Northern California that is nearing full containment. All road closures were also canceled. Evacua- tion orders for about 40 homes were called off on Sunday. Lake Berryessa, about 75 miles northeast of San Francisco, is a popu- lar recreation spot that at- tracts boaters and campers during the Fourth of July weekend. The fire, which started on Friday, has been fueled by gusty winds and thick, brittle brush that has not burned for at least two de- cades and is extremely dry because of the drought. Temperatures have soared past 100 degrees. Such dry conditions have hurt the fight against other wildfires in Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Washington state. In northern New Mex- ico, a lightning-sparked, 5 -square-mile fire was 95 percent contained. In Idaho, all evacuations were lifted Monday as more crews were dispatched to the Colorado Gulch Fire in Blaine County as flames spread. The fire has black- ened a square mile since it started Sunday, and of- ficials hope to have it con- tained by Tuesday. In central Washing- ton, authorities had ad- vised residents in about 70 homes near a wildfire to prepare to evacuate, but by Tuesday morning authori- ties said evacuations were unlikely. WILDFIRES Progress reported vs. major western blazes By Felicia Fonseca The Associated Press GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, ARIZ. The National Park Service created a na- tional landmark Tuesday to commemorate a 1956 colli- sion between two airliners over the Grand Canyon, a disaster that helped lead to major changes in aviation safety and creation of what is now the Federal Aviation Administration. The crash killed all 128 people aboard the two planes in the deadliest avi- ation disaster in U.S. his- tory at the time. A nation already struggling with in- creasingly busy skies pres- sured Congress for ma- jor changes to improve air traffic control and radar systems in response to the tragedy. About 200 people gath- ered Tuesday for a cer- emony overlooking the gorge where the wreck- age was scattered over 1.5 square miles. Park rangers set up binoculars so people could get a closer look at the buttes where the planes came crashing down. Some of the wreckage still re- mains in the canyon but is not visible from the over- look. Mike Nelson, a nephew of one of the passengers, hoped the landmark would help bring new awareness about the crash to the tens of thousands of Grand Can- yon visitors. He said most people he meets have never heard of the disaster. "We are here to care about the victims again, to picture them walking the ground and to tell them how sorry we are," Nelson said. The park also unveiled a small marker at the over- look that reads: "This tragic site represents a watershed moment in the modernization of Amer- ica's airways, leading to the establishment of the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration and national stan- dards for aviation safety." Some of the victim's re- mains never were identi- fied, and most of those that were have been buried to- gether en masse at ceme- teries at the Grand Canyon and the northern Arizona city of Flagstaff. The United Airlines Douglas DC-7 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constel- lation both left California on June 30, 1956, eventu- ally cruising at the same al- titude — 21,000 feet — after the TWA pilot requested to fly above the clouds. Shortly before 10 a.m., both pilots reported to different communications stations that they would be cross- ing over the canyon at the same position at 10:31 a.m. The Salt Lake City con- troller who had that infor- mation was not obligated to tell either of the pilots they could be on a crash course. It was the sole re- sponsibility of the pilots to avoid other aircraft in un- controlled airspace. The investigative agency, the Civil Aeronautics Board, determined simply that the pilots did not see one another. The agency speculated that the pilots were treating passengers to views of the Grand Can- yon while flying through scattered cloud buildup. AVIATION HISTORY Grand Canyon plane crash site designated as historic THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Nearly 400relatives and friends of the 70people who died in the crash of a TWA Super-Constellation over the Grand Canyon attend a mass funeral service in Flagstaff, Arizona on July 9, 1956. Since 1950 705 Mill St. (Next to Walmart) Red Bluff, CA • 527-2649 Voted Best Auto Body Shop in Tehama County Since 2006 Gibbs Auto Body Trivia: Inwhatyeardidthefounder sell his ownership rights to Gibbs Auto Body? 1980 In what year did Gibbs Auto Body move to it's new location at 705 Mill St? 2013 | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014 8 A