Wednesday morning headlines

New day for ports: The plan for cleaner trucks at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach goes into effect. As of today, all trucks built before 1989 are barred from entering waterfront terminals. The ban is expected to slash diesel pollution by 30 percent and remove up to 1,500 rigs from service (that’s 10 percent of the total harbor fleet). From the Press-Telegram:

The truck ban grows progressively stronger through 2012, when only rigs meeting federal 2007 emission standards will be allowed. The regulation is expected to cut diesel pollution from trucks by 80 percent within five years. Port authorities are helping drivers and companies transition by offering deep subsidies and financial incentives covering as much as 80 percent of the purchase cost.

Sluggish ratings: Maybe it's the increased use of DVRs. Maybe it's just lack of interest. For whatever reasons, the major networks showed a 4.3 percent decline in viewership for the first week of the fall season. NBC had the biggest drop, with 16.3 percent fewer viewers than last year. This, of course, was to be the turnaround season after last year's writers strike. From the WSJ:

Even the most popular broadcast network shows were vulnerable. The premier of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" drew 18.5 million viewers, down 11.7% from its season opener last year, according to Nielsen. CBS's "Survivor" fell 10% from last year, and NBC's "Heroes" was down 28%. So far, most of this season's most hotly anticipated new shows have drawn disappointing initial ratings as well. NBC's "Knight Rider" remake drew only 7.4 million viewers to its debut last week. Fox's "Fringe," an hourlong drama from "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams, premiered to 9.1 million viewers last month. The show rose to 13.3 million in its second week, then fell back to 9.4 million in week three.

SAG strike vote: The guild's negotiating committee is expected to approve a measure asking for the rank and file's approval for a work stoppage - and the measure probably will pass, the THR says. It turns out that SAG's hard-liners still control nine of the 13 votes on the committee, even though they recently lost their majority status on the national board to a bunch of moderates. The move comes after the studios turned down a request by the SAG leadership to reopen contract talks.

Several more steps would have to happen before a work stoppage would take effect, but one national board member said the fact that guild leaders would consider a strike while the national economy is foundering shows the desperate shape they are in after months of negotiations, which have yet to produce a deal. "The only people that seem to be oblivious to the condition of the United States of America right now and the financial situation that we're in are Doug Allen, Alan Rosenberg, and MembershipFirst," said the source. "The idea that we would be going on strike now is absurd in Fellini proportions."

Hollywood studios sue: They're asking a federal court in L.A. to bar RealNetworks from distributing software that they say lets consumers copy movies illegally. RealNetworks asked a court to declare that its software program, which went on sale Tuesday, was legal. The CEO of RealNetworks, Rob Glaser, has a history of going after the big boys in copyright issues. From the LAT:

The software, sold for $29.99, lets consumers copy a DVD movie onto their computer's hard drive much as they have ripped music off CDs for more than a decade. RealNetworks says the copies are encrypted so files can't be "shared." The studios' suit seeks a temporary restraining order to block distribution of RealDVD. Studio attorneys argue that the software illegally bypasses the copy protection built into DVDs to protect movies against theft, in violation of federal copyright laws.

Posting calories: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that requires restaurant chains (20 or more stores) to indicate how many calories are in that that Triple Mac Bacon Cheesburger Whopper - with fries. Too much information if you ask me. (AP)

Fresh & Easy numbers: The British-based offshoot of grocery giant Tesco lost $108 million for the first half of the year, but the chain is expected to break even next year. Well, maybe. But both Vons and Walmart are coming out with their own versions of F&E's small one-stop shopping format. (OC Register)

Netflix adds movies: And TV shows and concerts. The movie services has cut a deal with Starz Entertainment, part of the John Malone empire, that would bolster its online library. Netflix online still lags behind the 100,000 DVDs available through its traditional rental business, but it's been working to narrow that gap. (WSJ)

New interest in MGM?: India's Reliance ADA Group, which just invested in the post-Paramount DreamWorks, is apparently looking at a potential buyout or equity investment in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, according to the NY Post. The discussions are considered exploratory (translation: Don't hold your breath). The Post also reports that former studio chief Terry Semel and "three or four others" have expressed interest in MGM.