i am with the planning staff, and i am joined by chris kern, also from planning staff. i am also joined by a representatives from paul mitchell, the environmental consultants for the project. some folks are trickling in right now. the item before you today is the public hearing on the draft eir for case 2010.0493e, the james r. herman cruise terminal and northeast wharf plaza. staff came before you on july 7, 2011. the historic preservation commission had a hearing on august 3. there was no public testimony at that hearing, and they continued their discussion until august 17, next week. today's action is a public hearing on the adequacy and accuracy of the affirmation contained in the draft eir, and we ask that comments be focused on this. the draft eir the significant and unavoidable impact related to noise and air quality. the draft eir found significant impacts that could be mitigated on cultural resources, noise and vibrations, when and shadow, biological resources, technology and water quality and hazardous materials. there will be no decision today to approve or d

chris. >>> closer to home a wildfire is threatening 650 homes in kern county.fire started sunday after a small plane crashed into the remote area. the fire is 40% contained. the winds are blowing the fire towards already burned land. crews are using planes and helicopters to try to fight those flames. >>> 8:16. eight republican presidential candidates are expected to debate in southern california tonight at the reagan presidential library. as alison burns reports, it would be the first presidential debate for texas governor rick perry. alison? >> reporter: that's right, tori. all eyes will be on the new gop front-runner. texas governor rick perry has surged ahead of the pack. just behind him former massachusetts governor, mitt romney and minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann are looking to gain some momentum in the first of three debates over the next three weeks. bachman is making headlines this week saying she wants to get rid of a big federal agency. >> the department of education because the constitution does not specifically enumerate nor does it give t

kern certain at this point. things could all change. back to you. >> thank you, chris. >>> 7:32. back here at home, today the argument over same-sex marriage here in california heads back to a san francisco courtroom. allie rasmus is there now and has more on what's happening in the state supreme court around the plans for a protest outside. allie? >> reporter: well, that hearing starts at 10:00 this morning. but at 8:00, opponents of proposition 8 plan to gather out here on the courthouse steps. you can see some of those on po -- opponents have already arrived. they are starting to set up and they have their signs out here. now, at issue in today's hearing is whether supporters of proposition 8 have the right to defend that proposition in court. last summer, u.s. district judge von walker struck proposition 8 down as unconstitutional. cameras were not allowed in the courtroom during that trial but these are sketches from those proceedings. normally when the constitution ailty of the state law is called into question, it's up to the state attorney general to defend the law. but i