safety News

Houston City Council Pulls Plug on Proposed Robot Brothel

A Canadian company’s plan to open a so-called robot brothel in Houston has been short circuited by city leaders. Houston’s City Council on this week updated one local ordinance to specifically ban individuals from having sex with an “anthropomorphic device,” …

Review of Arizona Gas Pipelines Pursued by Corporation Commission

A member of the Arizona Corporation Commission is calling for the state’s natural gas operators to review the safety of their pipelines. Commissioner Andy Tobin said this week that he called an emergency meeting with Southwest Gas and Kinder Morgan. …

Cracks Close San Francisco Building, Snarl Traffic for Salesforce Event

San Francisco’s financial district, usually jammed with traffic during Salesforce.com Inc.’s annual Dreamforce conference, has been thrown into chaos after a new transportation terminal, named for the software company, was closed through next week. Authorities found cracks in two steel …

California Wildfire Continues to Grow Near Yosemite

California firefighters worked in worsening heat Monday to contain a forest fire outside Yosemite National Park. The Ferguson Fire had scorched nearly 53 square miles of timber and brush in the Sierra Nevada west of Yosemite and was just 13 …

California Oil Firms Had Nearly 400 Violations

An environmental group says oil and gas companies drilling off Southern California violated state regulations nearly 400 times in the past three years. Records obtained by The Associated Press that were released Wednesday by the Center for Biological Diversity show …

Utah Ax-Throwing Venue Approved to Serve Beer?

Despite safety concerns, a recreational ax-throwing venue in Salt Lake City, Utah has been approved for a license to serve beer. The state liquor commission approved Social Axe Throwing’s request for a recreational beer license. The business asserted that it’s …

Asbestos Concerns Halt Restoration of Century-Old Washington Hotel

Restoration work on a century-old former hotel in eastern Washington has been halted after air quality inspectors say they found signs of asbestos. The Spokesman-Review reported that the state Department of Labor and Industries stopped work on the Otis Hotel …

5 Injured in Southern California Balcony Collapse

Four adults and a girl were injured after a second-story balcony collapsed at an apartment near downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Fire Department says the South Park balcony collapsed, injuring three women, a man and a girl. The fire …

California Dam Crisis Driving National Examination

One year after the worst structural failures at a major U.S. dam in a generation, federal regulators who oversee California’s half-century-old, towering Oroville Dam say they are looking hard at how they overlooked its built-in weaknesses for decades. The Federal …

More Cameras on California Mountain Peaks to Boost Fire Protection

San Diego County, Calif. authorities say new high-definition cameras will be installed on mountain peaks to bolster fire protection, and an existing computer network that links fire stations throughout the region will be upgraded. The Union-Tribune reports officials want to …