Cal Poly holds off on plan to reduce dairy herd

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• Latest illnesses point to raw milk's popularity

  Latest illnesses point to raw milk's popularity

  An outbreak of bacterial infections on the East Coast illustrates the popularity of raw, unpasteurized milk despite strong warnings from public health officials about the potential danger.

• Viewpoint: Time to shutter Diablo

  Viewpoint: Time to shutter Diablo

  Edward L. Quinn, past president of the American Nuclear Society, ignores the grim reality of what happened at Fukushima in March in his Viewpoint of Nov. 11. The catastrophic release of radiation into the air, sea and soil from three nuclear meltdowns continues to this day. The Japanese Atomic Energy Commission said on Nov. 2 that it will take more than 30 years to dismantle the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

  The magnitude of the catastrophe at Fukushima is recognized by Gregory B. Jaczko, Nuclear Regulatory Committee chairman. On Nov. 10, he stated, “... there are a number of nuclear power plants that have experienced significant safety challenges. Right now, there are two plants that are shut down due to safety concerns, three plants that are showing declining performance, and there are 19 plants that have been singled out for special inspections — more than at any point in memory.”

  These are the words of the NRC chairman, not those of anti-nuclear activists.

• KSBY's Richard Gearhart to be associate journalism professor at Cal Poly

  KSBY's Richard Gearhart to be associate journalism professor at Cal Poly

  KSBY morning news anchor Richard Gearhart has been hired at Cal Poly’s journalism department as an associate professor beginning in September, according to university officials.

  Gearhart will coordinate and teach in the department’s broadcast concentration. His work will include overseeing Cal Poly’s TV station, CPTV, and KCPR radio.

  A Cal Poly alumnus, Gearhart’s tenure at KSBY, which began in 1990, has included work as a producer, reporter, assignment editor and anchor. He will remain at the station as the anchor of Daybreak, a morning newscast.

• Grant funds study of weight gain by obese women during pregnancy

  Grant funds study of weight gain by obese women during pregnancy

  The National Institutes of Health have awarded Cal Poly kinesiology professor Suzanne Phelan a $3.4 million grant to determine if replacing two meals a day with a liquid shake can prevent obese women from gaining a dangerous amount of weight during pregnancy.

  Phelan, of Cal Poly’s STRIDE center (Science through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise), is working with a team of investigators at Cal Poly and Brown Medical School. Test subjects will include 215 obese pregnant women in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties as well as 215 in Rhode Island.

  More than 33 percent of U.S. women are obese, defined as having a body mass index of more than 30. More than 60 percent of those women gain more weight than recommended during pregnancy, which has been found to increase the risk of several complications during pregnancy and long-term weight gain and obesity, according to a recent news release.

• Capps asks local ranchers, growers for input on farm bill at Jan. 30 event

  Capps asks local ranchers, growers for input on farm bill at Jan. 30 event

  Central Coast ranchers and growers have been invited to Cal Poly on Jan. 30 to tell U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, what their priorities are in the upcoming federal farm bill, which Congress expects to consider this year.

  The bill will set farm and food policy for the country, and will have a significant impact on the local agriculture industry, Capps wrote in a news release.

  Capps also will speak with representatives from the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau and County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.