In This Section:
No Stickers For Palm Beach
Florida Updates Restaurant Inspection Web Site
California To Make Buildings Greener
Oakland Says Pick It Up Or Pay
This issue's Economic Report Sponsor: FER
E&S Market Forecast Meetings | Industry ReportSponsor: Server Products
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No Stickers For Palm Beach
Pot stickers, maybe. But no menu stickers. Officials in Palm Beach County have put plans on the back burner that would have required restaurants to put a notice on their menus stating inspection records are available upon request.
Another plan, to reward restaurants with exemplary food safety and inspection records with a "Gold Seal" award, likewise has been sunk.
The state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation nixed both plans in a letter that said the county didn't have the authority to institute its own food safety regs. State senator David Aronberg met with the DBPR to argue that the county merely wanted to notify people of state law, but was told that restaurants could post restaurant inspections next
to their business licenses instead.
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Florida Updates Restaurant Inspection Web Site
While Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation was making it harder for Palm Beach County to notify consumers about health inspection records, ironically, the state agency was making it easier for consumers all across the state to actually find inspection reports.
A few weeks ago, the DBPR unveiled its upgraded Web site, www.myfloridalicense.com. The site allows consumers to look up a restaurant anywhere in the state and find its most recent inspection record. DBPR inspectors now use handheld PDAs to record inspection results. Results are uploaded daily, so records on the Web site are the most current available.
Before November 2004, the state provided no on-line inspection results. With the latest upgrade, consumers simply have to enter a restaurant name and the town in which it's located. In case of multiple units, the site provides individual addresses of each store and the most recent inspection scores.
California To Make Buildings Greener
Public buildings in California will have to get a bunch more energy efficient by 2015 under an initiative signed in February by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Called the "Green Building Initiative," the plan calls for state buildings to purchase 10% less electricity from the grid by 2010, and 20% less by 2015. It also encourages the private sector to meet the same challenge.
The executive order puts in place both an action plan and a team that comprises heads of several state agencies as well as a commissioner from the California Public Utilities Commission. The team will encourage state institutions to collaborate with agencies such as CPUC, the California Energy Commission and EPA's Energy Star program to promote benchmarking and energy efficient design and construction.
Information about the initiative and progress toward its goals is available on a new Web site. Check out "Green California" at www.green.ca.gov.
Section sponsored by HOSFAIR GUANGZHOU & HOSFAIR XI'AN 2006
Oakland Says Pick It Up Or Pay
You trash it up, you clean it up—or pay to clean it up. The Oakland, Calif., city council has passed a new anti-litter ordinance that will require city restaurants to pay a fee to keep litter off the streets.
The annual fee, which will be based on revenue, will range from about $230 to as much as $3,800. Some three-quarters of affected businesses will pay close to the minimum fee, according to Jane Brunner, the council member who proposed the ordinance. Restaurants aren't the only businesses footing the litter cleanup, though. The ordinance includes gas stations, c-stores and liquor stores. Grocery stores with more than $1 million in sales are not included.
If you're in one of the city's "business improvement districts," you may be eligible for a fee reduction or exemption if you volunteer to clean up the neighborhood. City police will run "litter stings" and write tickets to make sure you comply.
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