Regardless, I hope you had a great Independence Day weekend and enjoyed the fireworks, from wherever you watched them. My girlfriend was in town from New York for the weekend, of which we spent the majority basking in the Santa Cruz sun and visiting family. Our only disappointment with the weekend was that we did NOT get to see any fireworks. We thought we'd be able to see them from the back porch of the apartment where we were in San Francisco Sunday night. But alas, all we could see were puffs of smoke -- the top of the explosions that were being launched from near the Embarcadero.

Have a great week, and keep that feedback coming!

-Gabe

P.S. My apologies for not being able to respond to many of your letters lately; this past week has been incredibly busy for me.

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Journalists rarely cover the board -- an unfortunate circumstance, since the board is an increasingly important cog in the state's machinery of environmental regulation.

But this week, two things are happening that may bring the board to the public's attention. And rightfully so, since the board's actions have a profound impact on logging, an issue that has become of increasing importance in recent years as timber companies clash with environmentalists over how trees should be harvested in forests across the north state.

First, Capitol sources say Davis is considering appointing a member to the board who represents the carpenters' labor community. Carpenters have sided with timber industry on some key environmental issues, so environmentalists are worried that the Davis appointment could tip the board's majority to the side of logging interests. That fear is not ungrounded, since Davis -- who is beholden to labor for the role it played in his election last November -- has appointed a number of organized labor people to key positions in his administration.

Second, the board is planning to consider a set of logging rules that environmentalists fear could make it easier for timber companies to cut trees. Timber-cutting rules in California are enforced by the California Department of Foresty and Fire Protection, or CDF as it's known in Sacramento, and any rules that enable logging companies to boost their yield are viewed with apprehension by the environmental community.

Whether either of these possibilities will come to pass is still unknown. But they carry the potential for a showdown over environmental policy that could spell political trouble for Davis, no matter how he decides.

The big question for environmentalists is this: Will Davis, a moderate Democrat, act any differently than his predecessor, Republican Pete Wilson, who strongly favored the timber industry? Environmentalists last year strongly favored Davis over his conservative Republican rival Dan Lungen, but the environmental community has yet to see persuasive evidence that Davis is committed to strong environmental protections.

So environmentalists are closely watching the Board of Forestry this week to see if Davis was worthy of their support.

On the other side, the timber industry and foresters are wondering whether Davis will take a tough stand against loggers, or whether he is amenable to negotiate such things as how much timber can be logged, and where.

Davis, ever the moderate, likely will strive to steer a middle course between the competing interests. On other hot political issues, such as prison construction, welfare and tax breaks, he has done so.

What will he do on logging?

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