European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 stars and stripes thursday april 5 2007 Calif tries to put a lid on australian Moth by Garance Burke the associated press Fresno retired entomologist in California first spot Ted the fruit eating australian Moth when one stuck to a trap in his backyard in Early february since that sighting of the Light Brown Apple Moth thought to be the first in the Continental United states trappers have found about 75 More throughout the san Francisco Bay area evidence that the voracious pest is Breeding now state and Federal officials Are considering slapping a quarantine on the More than 250 plants the invasive Moth eats everything from grapes to oranges to Redwood avoid an estimated million in annual losses to California agriculture on monday the state depart ment of food and agriculture or dered nurseries in eight cities where the Moth has been spotted to inspect their plants before ship ment hoping to keep the Apple Moth away from the Fertile san Joaquin Valley this pest likes Oak Trees and it likes ornamental plants in peo Ples Yards department spokes Man Steve Lyle said but if s a major threat to the production of agriculture should it become established in the Central Valley trappers have found the Light Brown Yellowish insects in an area measuring nearly 120 Square Miles it has not turned up at farms or nurseries but peach Apricot nectarine Farmers and grape growers Are already Wor ried about what a Moth infestation could do to their crops were very be cause there ares Many hosts to this thing said Tony Fazio who grows and ships table grape sin Fresno county you cant estimate the damage that Possi ble with these pests when you dont understand them As caterpillars the dim sized Moths eat insatiably chomping through fruit leaves and bark can kill or deform seed Lings mar the appearance of Orna mental plants and spoil Stone fruit crops in Australia the Spe cies causes annual crop losses of about million with a wingspan of just 16 to 25 Millimetres less than an the Moths usually spread not through flight but by laying their eggs on the leaves of Trees or Nurs Ery plants or travelling hidden in Side fruit or Green waste agricultural authorities in Australia new zealand new Cale Donia Hawaii and the British Isles have used a variety of techniques including mating Dis parasite ids and various i keep new Gener in actions from hatching the ils department of Agri culture has assembled an International team of experts to discuss How to deter the pest in the Cali fornia landscape once officials identify the pests reach they will Likely quarantine All Host plants until shippers can prove they Are Mot free Lyle said farm associations said a quarantine would address the prob Lem but suggested the Moth could have been kept out of the country through better pest control at airports seaports and other Border Crossings according to a recent govern ment accountability office re port the number of agricultural inspections at san Francisco ports of entry has fallen by 214 percent in the last four years since the animal and Plant inspection service moved under the jurisdiction of the depart ment of Homeland Security from Thesda tax divides no county the associated press Las Cruces no dents of a Southern new Mexico county were divided tuesday on a tax that would help pay for a commercial spaceport that could one Day turn the area into a Hub for space tourism with All precincts reporting unofficial results from the county Bureau of elections show those in favor of the tax increase outnumbered opponents of the measure Fay a Mere 204 votes but election workers still had to count another 541 provisional ballots if s going to depend on How those provisional go said Lynn Ellins supervisor of the county elections Bureau Ellins said the provisional bal lots would be counted thursday when the election results Are canvassed at Issue was a Gross receipts tax of on Quarter of 1 percent for the million project planned by Virgin galactic British entre Norm det Tiaffay new Mexico gov Bill Richardson Speaks in support of a proposed on Quarter of 1 percent sales tax to be used to help pay for spaceport America in Las graces no voters got their say on tuesday but results have not been released pending the count of provisional ballots Prener Richard Branson and the state of new Mexico have already signed an agreement setting lease terms if Dona Ana county voters approve the tax about million in Bonds would be generated for the state to build spaceport America if they reject it the project could falter supporters envision roads Launchpad and giant runways with customers pouring in to experience six minutes of weightlessness and a View of Earth they had seen before Only in photos the spaceport would be built with a combination of Federal state and local Money but most from the state the planned Complex would cover 27 Square Miles near White Sands missile Range where the us launched its first rocket after world warn the agreement Between bran son and the state int legally bind ing but state economic develop ment Secretary Rick Homans said he expects a lease to be signed within three months Eagle Chicks Hatch in wild on Catalina Island the associated press Avalon Bald eagles have hatched in the wild on Santa Catalina Island in califor Nia for the first time since Chemi Cal contamination there wiped out the Majestic Birds decades ago conservation officials said biologists spotted the first eaglet saturday and the second one sunday according to Catalina is land conservancy officials the eggs had been Laid in a cuff Side nest on the 76 Square mile is land located off los Angeles county we were shouting and excited and Happy when we got the news said Ann m Muscat presi Dent and ceo of the Catalina is land conservancy the Chicks belong to an 8yearold female and a 21yearold male introduced under a program aimed at Restor ing the islands Bald Eagle Popula Tion for nearly two decades biologists have worked to get the adult eagles on Catalina to reproduce without human assistance after contamination from chemical dumping caused their eggs to weaken and dehydrate the chemicals Dot and pcs Deci mated the Bald Eagle population and damaged coastal fisheries and seabird populations the last time a Bald Eagle egg hatched in the wild there was in the 1940s Muscat said More than 30 years after the dumping stopped 20 Bald eagles Are regularly spotted on Santa Catalina including five nesting pairs in the past their eggs had been so fragile they had to be removed immediately by humans and incubated in Captivity the Chicks were then returned to the nests by helicopter about 10 Days after hatching along with a Shell from a Goose egg to trick the parents after watching the contamination Levels drop in recent years conservation officials decided to try leaving eggs in their nests this year we May have More Good news next week Muscat said another nest also contains eggs that Are expected to Hatch Calif deft of food agriculture officials Are scrambling to contain the invasion of the Light Brown Apple Moth a voracious australian pest spotted in the san Francisco Bay area in february researchers tinker with tooth that Doles drugs by Roger Cheng Dow Jones news wires new York instead of settling for the bling of Gold a More practical person seeking a false tooth might eventually be Able to get one that can deliver drugs researchers in Europe and is Rael funded by the european Union Are working on a tiny drug dispensing system called in Tell drug that goes into a persons the ultimate goal of getting the parts Small enough to fit into a replacement tooth placed in the Back like a molar the device can release a specific amount off Medicine at certain intervals ensuring that the patient gets the proper dosage at the right Timet patients on average follow instructions on taking drugs Only half the time even for people who need them to survive said or Andy Wolff an israeli dentist who initially came up with the concept patients often forget or find it too inconvenient to take Medicine especially in the mid dle of the night he believes the device will rectify the problem by automating the process Wolffs company Sal Well Ltd and German microelectronics Institute hug Mitt Are two of 15 organizations involved with the development of the device by placing the device in the Mouth the drug can be delivered directly into the bloodstream through the lining of the Cheek and around the Mouth a surface that is porous enough to absorb the Medicine saliva meanwhile mixes with the drug and carries it to the lining More consistently than just swallowing a Pill every few hours Why in the Mouth if s very accessible its very permeable not like your skin Wolff said