The Orange County Register sold to – 2100 Trust LLC – a Massachusetts-based venture

The owner of The Orange County Register announced today that the paper has been bought by 2100 Trust LLC, a privately-held company led by a Massachusetts investor who previously planned to buy The Boston Globe. *** Today’s announcement is the latest in a major sea change in U.S. newspaper ownership as the industry struggles to …

The return of the newspaper barons – very rich (and political) owners

Folks with several hundred million dollars and outspoken opinions have been buying up newspapers. The Omaha Herald, San Diego Union Tribune, Portland Press Herald, and Philadelphia Inquirer. At the end of last year, Warren E. Buffett bought The Omaha World-Herald through his company, Berkshire Hathaway. This would be the same Mr. Buffett who told his …

Trying to foster a recovery in Basking Sharks – the 40-foot docile giants

An electronic ID tag from a rare shark spotted off the (San Diego) county coast in June has popped to the surface near Hawaii, providing local marine researchers with an unprecedented look into the long-distance movements of the second-largest known fish. “I would characterize it as an avalanche of data,” said Van Sommeran said Monday. …

San Onofre Nuclear Plant shut down after leaking 82 gallons/day of radioactive steam

The NRC’s preliminary event report says plant operators estimated the steam leak at 82 gallons per day. That may sound like a lot but regulators consider it small compared to ruptures in steam tubes at other plants between 1975 and 2000 that vented as much as 630 gallons of radioactive steam per minute. via OC …