Staying afoot of all the hub bub in a given week can be tough. a lot of news worthy info can slip by without a concerted effort to pay attention. Since this often happens to me, I thought I’d make a brief & selective, not altogether thorough, list of some of the many “news worthy” things going on in the San Francisco Bay Area this week.

After the jump you can catch up on SF Crime Cameras and lazy law enforcement lameness, progress of a potential plastic bag ban snaking through political circles, where Google is building their next data center, solar powered homosexual hangouts, status of a proposed Phthalates in toys ban, etc

The SF Police commision finally approved the installation of 25 more street cameras on Wednesday, despite the objections of supervisor Chris Daly and various privacy rights advocates who opposed them. They are joining 33 cameras already in place in publically accessible high crime areas throughout the city, the new batch will include surveillance of the popular drug addict hang and transit hub known as the 16th & Mission BART Plaza.

In other news regarding law enforcement, a survey released last week on open public access to records failed almost every police & sheriffs department of the 63 in the greater Bay Area, as well as 34 total counties throughout California. Basic data requests such as arrest info & police misconduct reports were denied almost universally across the board to reporters posing as ordinary citizens, some of whom mentioned intimidation and threats made to them for asking.

Benicia, Oakland, San Francisco and Contra Costa County all have better-government ordinances that require greater transparency than the state Public Records Act. Police in the three cities all scored 32 or lower.

- MediaNews study

San Mateo and Berkeley cops refused to even take a request, while Santa Clara & Fremont police just ignored the requests even though a response is required by law within 10 days. In El Cerrito a clerk named Loralee Palfini laughed at and assured an anonymous requester they would be tracked down to find their identity.

SF City officials are p.o’d at the California Grocer’s Association who have not yet turned over promised data regarding the reduction in the amount of plastic bags circulated in their SF member stores last year. The powerful industry lobbying association that represents Safeway et al has seemingly bypassed a proposed SF ordinance by getting a reprieve from a rival bill that passed the California Legislature.

The Chronicle ran David Lazarus’ three part series looking at the $11 billion + bottled water industry, including it’s production, marketing, safety, and a profile of the Nestle company’s massive McCloud facility in the shadows of Mount Shasta.

Bay area based web behemoth Google Inc. plans to spend $600 million to build a data center in North Carolina, according to a joint statement released by the company on Friday with NC officials.

The LGBT Community Center on Market St @ Octavia is debuting it’s new solar power system this month

SF’s ordinance banning the sale, distribution, and manufacture of baby-related items containing any level of the chemical bisphenol A and certain levels of phthalates has been challenged in state court. San Francisco’s law is modeled after a EU law that limits bisphenol A and phthalates in children’s products.

In another lawsuit, Falun Gong members claim they are victims of religious discrimination in being prevented from marching in the annual Chinese New Year Parade.

75% of the Golden State’s citrus production was lost in recent freezes, at an estimated cost of $1 billion to farmers.

On February 4th, one of the world’s largest luxury liners, The Queen Mary II will sail under the Golden Gate & dock overnight at Pier 27. The 1,132 ft long ship has 5 swimming pools, 6 onboard restaurants and even it’s own planetarium.