Residents are reminded to check the daily burn status before lighting their fireplace, woodstoves or outdoor chiminea starting Saturday.

From November through February, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District prohibits indoor and outdoor residential burning when air quality is poor.

The rule applies to the valley portion of Kern County and the Frazier Park area. Homes with no natural gas service or where wood-burning is the sole source of heat are exempt.

The daily burn status can be found by calling 1-800 SMOG INFO, visiting www.valleyair.org/aqinfo/WoodBurnPage.htm, or by subscribing to the Daily Air Quality Forecast e-mail at www.valleyair.org/lists/list.htm.

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Considering the various economic crises we now face -- state budget issues, global credit crunch, recession, etc. -- how will you vote on Proposition 1A, the high-speed rail bond on Nov. 4?

I asked this question a couple months ago and think about 8 of the 10 respondents said yes. But a lot has changed on the economic front since then, as noted above.

Opponents say this is even more reason not to approved the bond measure. Will the government and private investors really fork over the $20 billion that's being counted  on to fund the rest of the project?  

But supporters say we shouldn't be scared off by these questions. For one thing, we're not asking for all the money now. Chances are, we won't the bulk of it for three to 10 years from now. And a lot could change in the economy during that time. They also say that if we don't get started on high-speed rail, it will only become more expensive to build in the future.

So what do you think? Yea or Nay?