The most immediate changes will be mainly on the technical side (in fact, please feel free to test out our newest feature -- an e-mail Autoresponder with our latest price list -- by sending a message to info@capenq.com). We do, however, hope to expand CAW to better suit YOUR needs. Any input you would like to offer would be greatly appreciated.

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Lawmakers already missed their constitutional deadline to send a budget to the governor's desk by June 15. That's not unusual -- they've only met the deadline twice in the past since the mid 1980s.

But in a last-minute wrangle, majority Democrats removed the $130 million for the Headwaters that Gov. Pete Wilson put in the budget. They put the money in another bill, and have opened extensive hearings on the issue. Their basic message: The proposed deal is bad because it doesn't go far enough to protect trees, and it allows logging close to rivers, which environmentalists say would threaten fish and wildlife.

At issue is the $380 million draft pact signed in 1996 by Pacific Lumber Co. of Scotia, the state and federal governments to take 7,500 acres of forests -- including 3,000 acres of old-growth redwoods -- and convert the area to a public preserve. The money would be paid to Texas financier Charles Hurwitz, whose Maxxam Corp. owns Pacific Lumber.

The federal share of the money was approved months ago as part of the $13 billion Interior Department budget. But California's share has been stalled by environmentalists and their Democratic allies in the Legislature.

The money has been place in a separate bill, and at this hour it is an even bet whether it will be approved at all. If the state fails to approve its piece of the agreement, then the federal money will be withdrawn and the deal will fall apart.

The Wilson administration believes the Headwaters deal is not perfect, but that it reflects a sound compromise between timber interests and the environmental community. But the highly vocal environmentalists of California's majestic North Coast believe the agreement favors Pacific Lumber and does not provide adequate long-term protections to the forests.

They say the Habitat Conservation Plan, a document required by law that spells out Pacific Lumber's plans for the region, contains loopholes that would allow logging in environmentally sensitive areas.

The issue is a complex mix of science and politics, and it is all but sure to develop into an intense Capitol fight as the summer wears on.

In a year, when the state's coffers are filled with billions of dollars in new revenue from the booming economy, lawmakers are engaged in political warfare over how to spend the money on the traditional big-ticket issues, such as education and infrastructure.

But the Headwaters dispute is looming in the background, and it is likely to come to the forefront in the next month when the final, round-the-clock budget parley reaches its climax.

That's right -- not only are our '97 products reduced, but now our '98 products are as well! The latest price information is available exclusively via e-mail: request the price list by sending a message to mailto:info@capenq.com.

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