But today has not been a vacation, by any means. I've been busy all day long, doing this and that. And as the day goes on (and will inevitably not be long enough), I continue to realize more and more "stuff" that I have to do -- everything from paying bills to signing the dog up for puppy school to consolidating my student loans to editing this very newsletter...the list goes on.

With Stella (for you new readers: she's the pup, not the girlfriend) taking an afternoon nap by my side, I'm content and happy. And enjoying my day off from work.

-Gabe

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Last spring, Gov. Gray Davis issued an executive order that required the fuel additive known as MTBE to be gradually eliminated from California gasoline by Dec. 31, 2002. The governor's long-awaited action was generally supported by the environmental and business communities in a rare display of compromise.

On the one hand, environmentalists wanted the additive removed because of studies that showed MTBE, which accounts for about 10 percent of the gasoline sold in smoggy areas, to be a health hazard and a danger to ground water supplies.

On the other, the business community supported the idea of a gradual phaseout: To eliminate MTBE overnight could cause a severe economic disruption to the state, business interests argued.

The compound had been added to gasoline to make it burn more completely and reduce air pollution.

Davis took care that his executive order was issued to the accompaniment of statewide publicity that depicted him as a prudent defender of the environment. He got the coverage he wanted.

But during the summer, the governor also took a major action on MTBE, and this time he did not seek attention from reporters.

An MTBE bill moving through the Legislature authored by Sen. Byron Sher of Palo Alto contained the 2002 deadline, and it would have placed that deadline in statute. But at the 11th hour, the Davis administration told Sher to remove the deadline or the bill would be vetoed. The deadline was stricken from the bill, which later passed and was signed into the law.

Thus, the law says that MTBE should be eliminated "as soon as possible." But the executive order says it should be eliminated by Dec. 31, 2002.

So the question is, which takes precedence, the law or the executive order?

The governor says the deadline was removed from the Sher bill to give him flexibility to negotiate with the federal government and other parties over the removal of MTBE.

But environmentalists -- already suspicious of Davis from his actions on several other environmental issues -- believe the deadline was removed under pressure from the petrochemical industry and that the law takes precedence over the executive order. Moreover, they say, Davis knew he was scuttling the deadline when he demanded that Sher's bill be amended.

The result, despite the public perception to the contrary, is that there is now no hard deadline to remove MTBE from fuel. The only legal requirement is that it be done "as soon as possible."

The issue is now headed to the Air Resources Board, which will consider the question next month at a meeting that is promising to offer a confrontation between environmental and petroleum interests over the phaseout deadline.

The deadline, an issue that many thought was resolved when Davis issued his executive order last March, is clearly alive and kicking.

It appears that the board, not Davis, will have the final say on the deadline.

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