Hacienda companies including AT&T, California Indemnity, Cummings McMullan, Hexcel, Pacific Bell, Unisource, and Zenith Insurance were in attendance at Faz America for the kickoff of the Spare the Air campaign for 1998. The program, which offers free promotional materials to employers and prizes to employees, promotes clean air by encouraging the use of environmentally friendly alternatives in commuting, home maintenance, and other activities.

Summer can be particularly rough on air quality. The increased levels of heat and sunlight combine with volatile organic compounds from petroleum products and nitrogen oxides from burning fuel to form ground-level ozone. Unlike stratospheric ozone, which serves to protect the planet, ground-level ozone is a pollutant and health hazard.

Participants in the Spare the Air program are notified a day in advance when levels of ozone are projected to meet unhealthful levels. New this year is an option for individuals to be notified by e-mail.

The use of pump sprays instead of aerosols, electric lawn mowers instead of gas, avoiding the use of charcoal lighter fluid, and using alternative commutes can all help Spare the Air.

To enroll or for more information, contact the Bay Area Air Quality Management District at (415) 771-6000 or access their web site.

Also in this issue...

• Shaklee to Break Ground on Campus May 28
• Alliance Semiconductor Opens New Design Annex
• Business Bits
• Executive Profile—Kevin Keller, ESQ Business Services
• Jamba Juice to Open in Hacienda in Mid-June
• City Transportation Survey to be Used for Planning I-680 Express Bus, More
• Everybody's Discovering Gold at the Alameda County Fair
• Support the Arts with Classical Philharmonic's Beer, Wine and Pops
• Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Coming to Hacienda
• Summer's Coming—Time to Spare the Air
• Wheels of Thunder Bike Races come to Park June 6
• Hacienda Index