The News Review:

- Dr. David B. Ast, 104, Pioneer in Efforts to Fluoridate Water, Dies
- Official: floods in China may worse this year
- Tenders.(BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES)(www.meedprojects.com)(tenders@meed.co…
- Water supply corporation gets long-sought improvement loan
- Why I refused to sign up to Howard’s plan

Dr. David B. Ast, 104, Pioneer in Efforts to Fluoridate Water, Dies
New York Times – Feb 23, 2007
Ast, a dentist and public health official who led an effort to begin fluoridating the water supply in New York State in the 1940s and helped prove its safety and effectiveness in preventing tooth decay, died on Feb. 3 in Laguna Hills, Calif. Skip to next paragraph.

Official: floods in China may worse this year
̴̴̬̩ РFeb 23, 2007
22 (Xinhua)– Chinese Water Resources Vice Minister E Jingping has warned local governments of the increasing possibility of natural disasters such as floods in major Chinese rivers and droughts this year. E, also secretary general of China’s Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said, "Major Chinese rivers, including Yangtze and Yellow rivers, have not seen serious floods in recent years. It increases the possibility of flood disasters this year based on the law of nature. The warning comes at a time when drought is plaguing Chinese rivers. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have been experiencing a sharp fall in the water level, affecting the water supply for both industrial and agricultural use…
It increases the possibility of flood disasters this year based on the law of nature. The warning comes at a time when drought is plaguing Chinese rivers. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have been experiencing a sharp fall in the water level, affecting the water supply for both industrial and agricultural use. Water flow into the major rivers and lakes has dropped by 40 percent on average, with that of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake plummeting by 60 percent and 10 percent respectively. He urged local authorities to ensure the safety of major rivers, cities as well as large and middle-sized reservoirs and take concrete measures to prepare for possible floods and droughts in different parts of China in 2007. Drinking water safety for urban and rural residents must be guaranteed, and the demand for water supply in industrial production should also be guaranteed, he said.

Tenders.(BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES)(www.meedprojects.com)(tenders@meed.co…
Free with registration – MEED Middle East Economic Digest – AccessMyLibrary.com – Feb 23, 2007
Supply of five fully equipped ambulances. Bid bond is BD 1,000. Details on payment of $135 from Health Ministry, Directorate of Materials Management, PO Box 12, Manama, telephone (97317) 288888, fax (97317) 246245, website www.

Water supply corporation gets long-sought improvement loan
Monitor – Feb 23, 2007
Design plans must be submitted to the state agency in September, City Manager Juan Zuniga said. El Tanque and El Sauz water supply corporations signed agreements similar to those proposed by the city. The third local supplier, Rio Water Supply Corp. , is frequently at odds with city officials. The company approved an agreement at its Thursday evening meeting but has attached conditions that Zuniga called “unreasonable. ”Rio Water Supply moved to secure private funding for a water treatment plant Thursday, and board members hinted that they hope to tackle their own wastewater infrastructure plan. If the city and the company can’t agree on an interlocal agreement, the planning will have to exclude the area west of the city served by the corporation, a blow to city planners who have been eyeing the western edge of the city for new development.

Why I refused to sign up to Howard’s plan
The Age – Feb 23, 2007
Howard’s answers were vague and open-ended, leaving me with the clear impression that his plan was poor public policy. Having read the plan, and the subsequent answers to my 44 questions, it appears this national reform effort is a scrapbook affair — a paper-thin improvisation cut and pasted outside normal departmental and cabinet channels. Why else would there be no guarantee of security of existing water for Victorian irrigators? Why else, in contradiction of Howard’s earlier statements, would Canberra now want to seize control of every river in the Murray-Darling Basin? Why else would Canberra think creating a layer of draconian planning powers covering almost 60 per cent of the state a good idea? Why else would Canberra think irrigators had the resources, after a decade of drought, to afford the costs associated with the extra red tape? Why else would Canberra think farmers and regional communities would trust remote control of their water supplies?There was no detail on new trading rules and arrangements — and no detail on how or where funding would be allocated and pricing developed. No one knows how much water is going to go into the rivers and no one knows what security farmers will have for their property rights. Furthermore, much of the $10 billion in federal funding attached to Howard’s water plan would be spent buying back over-entitlements for water that farmers don’t receive in NSW and Queensland. In other words, billions will be spent buying thin air — and not enough will be spent rebuilding infrastructure. Despite these manifest problems, Canberra wants Victoria to have draft legislation in place by next month and up and running by July.