LB revisits 710 pollution problem Expansion • In an open meeting Thursday, a proposal was presented to the residents of West Long Beach to put in a new rail terminal to help ease truck traffic on the 710 freeway. Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) said this new system would improve air quality by using alternative fuel-burning locomotives. Residents fear it would bring more trucks through the neighborhood along with more pollutants. Many residents say they suffer from asthma, which they believe to be caused by emissions from trucks on the 710. Seventh district Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranaga holds up an inhaler and said each one of her family members has to use one. Residents spoke of alternatives, but mainly made it clear the BNSF railroad was not welcomed in their neighborhood. Tracey Roman / Online Forty-Niner

News

• Political science professor remembered as passionate, cheerlful, a navigator
  Students and faculty from the political science department gathered Thursday afternoon in the Japanese Garden to honor the memory of political science professor Edwin Roberts, who died Aug. 2 of a heart attack.
  
• CSULB professor receives foreign honor
  Clorinda Donato, a professor in the Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literatures (RGRLL) department, was appointed “chevalier” in the Order of the Palmes Academiques (Academic Palms) Sept. 28 by the French Ministry of National Education.
  
• Final president candidates to be announced
  As Cal State Long Beach makes plans for the departure of President Robert C. Maxson, the search is on for who will take his place.
• CBA in Princeton Review
  The College of Business Administration (CBA) at Cal State Long Beach was named one of the best business schools, according to the Princeton Review.
  
• ASI survey to work out recreation center details, award
  As recreational centers become a growing trend on college campuses, Cal State Long Beach is making steps to follow the lead.
  
  
  

Opinion

• Our View: Harriet Miers brings back spoil system
  The Gilded Age was an era plagued with corruption. Politicians used the “spoils system” in order to get their friends and family members high-ranking positions in government.
  
• Linguiphile ramblings encourage studying
  It took me longer than most of the other first graders to master reading, and consequently I sat at the dreaded slow readers table. I was determined, even at a young age, to master the written English language.
  
• Television a tool to breed ignorant pacifism
  Since the day I learned to walk, television was an essential part of my daily life. I can recall innumerable moments spent dazed in front of whatever programming the networks put in front of me.
  
  
• Be critical with Iraq news
  When the Washington Post quoted U.S. Gen. George Casey Jr. as saying “the Iraqis are at 98 percent registered” to participate in the upcoming constitutional referendum, it was clear he viewed this as positive. However, as is often the case in Iraq, the truth is much more complicated.
  
  
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Diversions

• Despite enthusiasm, Jacobsen’s “Footprints” falls short
  David W. Jacobsen seems like the kind of artist who would be popular on the coffeehouse circuit: he plays acoustic guitar competently and energetically, and he performs folk ditties that are pleasant enough for customers to enjoy while they sit and drink their overpriced espressos.