Around the state

SACRAMENTO — A quirk in state law means some state firefighters could retire with a monthly pension that is greater than the salary they received while employed.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has had 79 retirements since fatter pension benefits took effect in January, including 10 to 20 of the department’s 235 supervisors, spokesman Michael Jarvis said.

Officials could not say how many of the retirements resulted in extraordinary pensions.

NASA appoints retired Air Force brigadier general to Ames

MOUNTAIN VIEW — NASA on Friday appointed retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Simon Worden to head the Ames Research Center, which has played an increasingly visible role in President Bush’s plan to return astronauts to the moon.

Worden replaces Scott Hubbard, who resigned earlier this year to take a position at the SETI Institute, a nonprofit that studies the possibility of life beyond Earth. Hubbard, who investigated the space shuttle Columbia accident, led Ames since 2002.

During his Air Force service, Worden commanded the 50th Space Wing, which is responsible for more than 60 Pentagon satellites.

The shakeup comes at a time when Ames is taking a more active role to fulfill Bush’s space exploration vision for a manned mission to the moon by 2018.

Pepsi settles lawsuit in California over lead in bottle labels

SACRAMENTO — PepsiCo Inc. on Friday agreed to end its practice of using labels containing lead-based ink on soft drink bottles sold in Mexico.

The bottles had begun turning up in California and violated the state’s strict toxic substances law.

PepsiCo, based in Purchase, NY., also will eliminate 95 percent of lead-painted bottles in Mexico within seven years and phase them out entirely in 10 years.

The settlement was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. It requires the company to pay a $1 million civil penalty and another $4.25 million if it doesn’t meet the seven-year phase-out target.

The settlement was reached with state Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, whose offices found that labels printed in Mexico can contain up to 45 percent lead.

The lead can rub off and be ingested, their studies found.

It can lead to birth defects, learning disabilities and cancer, and requires a warning label under California’s Proposition 65.<