Sandy soil, rotted roots and burrowing animals were what caused a percolation pond's wall to give out in Livingston, releasing about 3 million gallons of treated sewage into the Merced River, according to a report by Condor Earth Technologies.

The report, attached for your own reading enjoyment, was given to me by City Manager Richard Warne a couple days back. It shows there wasn't any negligence on the city's part, though concedes that most of the evidence of what caused the collapse crumbled and washed away. It suggests the city regularly inspect for signs of erosion.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced judicial appointments today, though none of the 30 are for Merced County Superior Court.

The local system still has one opening, which was set to be filled this month, court CEO Kathie Goetsch told me. She's heard that a few candidates are going through the state's vetting process. She doesn't know who, and it's unclear when a decision will be made.

Michael Pollan gives away the point of his latest book, "In Defense of Food," on page one.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants," he writes.

Sadly, that doesn't reflect most American diets, which is eat (processed) food. A lot. Mainly meat.

Don't get me wrong. I like a tri-tip as much as the next guy. The problem, though, is that some form of animal constitutes the main dish in far too many meals. Pollan says that people should think of meat as a side dish.

After three days at McClatchy's Washington bureau and another nine visiting family and friends in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Corpus Christi, I finally pointed the Elvismobile toward the 99 from L.A. yesterday morning.

An hour into the trip, my contacts were bugging me so I stopped at a rest area, took 'em out and replaced 'em with my glasses.

Within minutes my right eye had swelled shut, and the pain felt as if somebody were dragging sand grains across it. I literally held the eye open for the next four hours till I finally got home after nearly two months away.

I had the pleasure of meeting Louis Palmer on Friday -- a Swiss man who is five months away from being the first person to circle the world in a solar-powered, zero-carbon emission car.

For those that have not yet read the whole story about his stop in Merced, click here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/353793.html

The thing that amazed me the most about Palmer (besides the fact that he speaks six languages) is the fact that he envisioned building his solar-powered car at age 14. At an age when most kids are caught up in trying to be cool among their peers (myself included), this guy was trying to figure out how to build the vehicle of the future.

At this week’s Merced Union High School District board meeting, a presentation was given on the district’s BTSA induction program.

BTSA, or beginning teacher support and assessment, is a state-funded instructor induction program co-sponsored by the California Department of Education and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. It is designed to support the professional development of beginning teachers. Along the way, the program also helps those teachers meet the requirements to finalize their teaching credentials.