Which Way, L.A.?

LNG Terminal at Long Beach

Tomorrow, the Long Beach City Council is scheduled to decide if a liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Long Beach is a good idea after all. Every day, three tankers the length of three football fields would discharge LNG at the facility. Environmentalists are opposing the LNG terminal, but they're not alone. Even a business-friendly city councilman wants to cut off talks with a Japanese importer, claiming a massive terminal would create the risk of a conflagration in the refurbished downtown. What's the increased risk to people in one of California's most heavily industrialized cities? We hear both sides, in a conversation with Councilman Frank Colonna and Seiichi Tsurumi of Sound Energy Solutions, the Mitsubishi-ConocoPhillips subsidiary that is developing the project. Making News: Medical Marijuana The US Supreme Court today did not throw out medical marijuana laws in California and nine other states, but it did rule that federal authorities can prosecute growers and users even if their doctors say it's okay for them to smoke pot. Where does that leave state and local officials in California? We ask Attorney General Bill Lockyer, California's top law enforcement official. Reporter's Notebook: Product Placement in Schwarzenegger Ads> A recent TV commercial shows Arnold Schwarzenegger in a lunchroom, surrounded by food products--all with easily read labels. The Governor's office calls it coincidence, but a researcher with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights reminds that the products are all made by Pepsi, a $30,000 contributor to the Governors' campaign committees. Bob Stern of the nonprofit Center for Governmental Studies says the ad is a blatant attempt to get more political bang from the buck.