The Coast Guard is warning vacationers renting houseboats this summer to beware of carbon monoxide fumes. A 7-year-old girl drowned last month when she was overcome by the odorless gas while swimming near boats along the Lake Powell shore. Twenty-one others on houseboats for a family gathering at Lake Powell were treated for carbon-monoxide poisoning; they survived. The poisonous gas came from exhaust from generators that were used to run air conditioners, said Marianne Karraker, a spokeswoman for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the Utah-Arizona border. “It's hot out there, but I would tell people to turn off those generators and open all the windows,” Karraker said. “It's playing with fire to have the generators running like that.” A Coast Guard advisory on boating safety warns that boat operators should turn off “gasoline-powered generators with transom exhaust ports when the swim platform on the stern is in use,” because of the potential for carbon monoxide to build up. “The common practice of keeping generators running to power air conditioning and entertainment centers while moored or anchored has exacerbated the problem,” the Coast Guard alert said. Details: www.uscgboating.org.
Capitola Art & Wine Fest
The 25th annual Capitola Art & Wine Festival is set for Sept. 8-9 at Capitola Village by the Sea. More than 185 artists and 16 Santa Cruz wineries are expected to participate. There will be live music on two stages. Local restaurateurs and caterers will show off their best dishes. Admission is free; wine tasting costs $5 (for the glass), plus $2-$4 for a two-ounce taste. Founded in 1869, Capitola is one of California's oldest seaside resort towns. It sits on Monterey Bay, six miles south of Santa Cruz. Details: www.capitolachamber.com, (800) 833-3494.
Plagiarism museum
Did you know that 10 percent of the world's products are fakes and cheap imitations – going way beyond the purses, jeans and watches you see on the street? A museum devoted entirely to the subject of plagiarism has opened in Solingen, Germany, near Cologne. Founded by a design professor, Rido Busse, the Plagiarius Museum seeks to highlight what it says is an annual loss of at least $275 billion caused by those who profit from others' work. Unlike the Musee de Contrefacon in Paris, which showcases copies of products from big companies, this museum focuses on fakes stolen from small designers. Adult admission costs $2.75. Details: www.plagiarius.com.
Compiled by Alison DaRosa from news services and other sources.
