If you've been following my anecdotes (or, more appropriately, my random ramblings) in the welcome section, you may have noticed that they've been getting progressively less interesting during the past several weeks (raving about putting photos on the Web and complaining about the lack of snow in New York aren't the most exciting topics, I know). If you've been crossing your fingers since last Monday hoping for something more entertaining this week...

Well, I hate to let you down again. But without further adieu, an excuse.

Most people will argue that the life of a college student (yes, for those of you who don't know, your CAW editor -- not writer, mind you -- is in his final year of college) is an easy one. For the most part, I'd agree. But perhaps "unique" is a more appropriate way to describe our lives. Our schedules are upside-down, we constantly take on more than we can handle, and we opt to engage in, shall we say, rowdy behavior, most weekends. Oh yeah, and we try to squeeze studying in there somewhere. Especially this time of year.

Although 'tis the season to be merry, 'tis also the season of endless nights of writing papers and studying for finals. I am, however, better off than most my friends: All my papers are done and there's only one obstacle between me and my homeland (that far-off place called Sacramento).

This afternoon, my knowledge of Old English (a dead language spoken from approximately A.D. 400 through 1100) will be put to the final test. And after that, I won't have any more excuses for being uninteresting -- at least until next semester.

On a final note, if you're looking for a way to impress (or scare, as the case may be) your friends this week, walk around chanting "neorxenawange" -- the Old English word for "paradise."

-Gabe

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Last week, for example, the board ordered tighter anti-pollution standards for marine engines, including two-stroke and four-stroke outboards, beginning in 2001. There are about a half-million such engines in the state now, and by the time the rule goes into effect there will be far more.

The panel also set new smog standards for motorcycles. In a separate agenda item, the board, in effect, sealed fragile ties between Los Angeles and Owens Valley in the long and contentious dispute over water. The board also considered a smog-related issue involving 330,000 Toyota vehicles.

These actions -- there are many more -- reflect the board's authority and stature. The ARB is unique in the nation, in part because California's miserable air quality required drastic cleanup action and Californians realized long ago that the state needed a tough agency to enforce clean-air standards. The board is the state agency everyone loves to hate. In a state where the car is king, any rules affecting automobiles are bound to draw resentment. And the ARB has made many such rules governing smog emissions that have hit Californians directly in their pocketbooks.

In recent years, the ARB went through at least one major upheaval when the panel eased off on its plans to require a phase-in of zero-emission, or electric, cars. In the midst of the controversy over the issue, the aggressive chairwoman of the board left -- in the Capitol, the speculation was that she had been forced out because of her determined anti-smog policies. The members of the board all are appointed by the governor; one member, the chairman, is a full-time salaried position.

As Gov.-elect Gray Davis prepares to take office next January, there is uncertainty at the ARB. Davis, of course, can replace all the members if he wants to, but it is unlikely that he would take such Draconian action. He is expected to replace the chairman and at least two other members, but beyond that Davis' plans are unknown. Among the possibilities for the new leader of the ARB is Mary Nichols, who was chairwoman of the agency during the governorship of Jerry Brown. Nichols also has been mentioned as the possible head of the Resources Agency.

What Davis does with the key appointments at ARB, Resources and the Coastal Commission, among others, will provide a signal of his administration's environmental policies. Environmentalists are nervous indeed about Davis. His 33-member transition group on agriculture and water has scant representation from environmentalists, and the head of his transition team is Barry Munitz, the one-time top aide to Charles Hurwitz, the Texas financier who is negotiating with the state and federal governments over the Headwaters Forest purchase.

Whether the environmentalists' fears are justified won't be known until after Jan.4, when Davis is sworn in and his administration starts taking shape.

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