LOS ANGELES — City Councilman Bill Rosendahl drove into a corner gas station with a big grin on his face. He stepped out of a sports utility vehicle, pumped fuel into the tank and declared it “the most joyous moment I’ve had since being elected to office.”

That’s because Rosendahl was marking the opening of California’s first retail hydrogen station on Thursday, and the Chevrolet Equinox he was riding in emits nothing but water vapor.

“This is the car of the future,” he said. “Let’s get rid of gasoline.”

While there are few hydrogen powered fuel-cell vehicles on the road now, supporters hope the station will show the public that hydrogen can become a mainstream, eco-friendly alternative to petroleum. State officials see it as part of the “Hydrogen Highway,” a developing network of fueling stations to promote commercialization of hydrogen-powered cars.

Tobacco attorney sentenced in bribery case

JACKSON, Miss. — Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, a prominent attorney who took on tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies, was scheduled to be sentenced today for his role in a high-profile judicial bribery case.

Scruggs, 62, earned hundreds of millions of dollars and became one of the wealthiest tort attorneys in the country during a legal career that took him to the top of his profession. But in March, Scruggs and former law partner Sidney Back-strom pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a state court judge.

Scruggs initially denied doing anything wrong, then pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a deal that will likely keep his son from being imprisoned. The deal came with a recommended five-year sentence.

Scruggs’ attorneys submitted a motion Wednesday asking for a sentence of 30 to 37 months, which falls on the low end of federal sentencing guidelines.