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Map of the United States with California highlighted	The Bear Flag of the Republic of California
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The Earl Warren Building and Courthouse in San Francisco, which is the home of the Supreme Court of California	The State Capitol in Sacramento, which is the home of the California State Legislature

California cycling tour to skip San Francisco next year

The Amgen Tour of California is cycling past San Francisco next year.

The two-year-old professional cycling competition included San Francisco as the site of its prologue in both 2006 and 2007.

The 700-mile, eight-day stage race will hold its prologue in Palo Alto when it kicks off next year on Feb. 17. Other new cities hosting a section of the race in 2008 include Modesto and Pasadena, race organizers said.

Those cities will join Sacramento, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, Seaside and Solvang as sites for sections of the race.

The Amgen Tour of California drew more than 1.6 million spectators in 2007, race organizers said.

The race is produced by AEG, a subsidiary of sports and entertainment firm the Anschutz Co. of Los Angeles.

In addition to Amgen Inc., major sponsors of the race include Union Bank, Powerbar, Adobe Systems Inc. and Healthnet.

Published July 26, 2007 by San Francisco Business Times

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon visits California

SAN FRANCISCO - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the United States to take the lead in combating global warming during a visit to California to learn about the state's campaign to curb its greenhouse gas emissions.

"The whole planet Earth is at a crucial juncture," Ban said Thursday at an event organized by the World Affairs Council of Northern California. "Time is of essence. The cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of action."

Ban, who served as South Korea's foreign minister before he became U.N. chief in January, arrived in San Francisco on Thursday for a two-day visit of the Bay Area.

At the World Affairs Council event, he said he has made climate change a top priority of his tenure as secretary-general and has invited world leaders, including President Bush, to attend a high-level U.N. conference to discuss the issue in September.

The U.N. "should be at the forefront of generating strong political will" needed to confront global warming, but the United States — a major emitter of greenhouse gasses and a leader in technological innovation — is in the best position to bring change, he said.

"If you take leadership, I think we can save this planet earth from plunging into a very difficult situation," Ban told an audience of 1,300.

California has become a world leader in confronting climate change with its efforts to promote renewable energy, boost energy efficiency and develop cleaner technologies. Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that made California the first state to impose a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

Ban was scheduled to meet with Schwarzenegger on Friday and tour a Silicon Valley company that develops technology to help businesses conserve energy.