Ag Today Thursday, August 30, 2012

Gov. Jerry Brown signs Alejo's fertilizer bill [Salinas Californian]

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill to finance study of more efficient uses of farm fertilizer distribution. AB2174 by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, frees up funds from the state Department of Food and Agriculture Fertilizer Research and Education Program to inform farmers about ways to use less fertilizer, which can be harmful to groundwater. Alejo said farms face increasing regulation by local water-quality boards, and the bill offers a win-win situation by reducing farmers’ costs and environmental impacts.

http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308300019

Feinstein analyzes 'unusual' economy in Modesto speech [Modesto Bee]

Economic issues dominated the speech Sen. Dianne Feinstein gave Wednesday to a lunchtime audience in downtown Modesto. The San Francisco Democrat called the lingering U.S. recession "unusual," saying, "Productivity has gone up but unemployment hasn't gone down." Nowhere is that more evident than the greater Modesto area, where hundreds of businesses have closed or downsized in the past five years and the unemployment rate has not dipped below 15 percent….Feinstein also was mindful of being surrounded by farmers, addressing an issue top of mind in this area: water. California doesn't have nearly enough storage for its water, she said. "We are on our way to a warmer state, a drier state and a more fire-prone state," she said, adding that with global climate change, California's snowpack is in very real danger over the next 100 years. "We need to be able to store water from the wet years for the dry years."

http://www.modbee.com/2012/08/29/2349316/feinstein-addresses-unusual-economy.html

US seeks to block challenge by animal rights group [Associated Press]

The federal government asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a group of animal rights activists who say a rarely used 2006 law has a chilling effect on lawful protest activities. Five activists represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights sued the U.S. government last year, asking that the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act be struck down as unconstitutional. A Justice Department attorney on Wednesday argued that the law is not aimed at constitutionally protected activities such as leafleting, writing letters to newspaper editors or peaceful protests. "It is not aimed at speech. Rather, it is aimed at violent, destructive conduct," said Deanna Durrett, an attorney in the Justice Department's civil division.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-seeks-block-challenge-animal-rights-group

California law encourages lessons on guest worker program [Reuters]

California's governor has signed a law encouraging schools to teach the history of a guest worker program that brought in Mexican farm laborers as the national immigration debate heats up. The bill, signed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown Tuesday, urges social studies teachers to include material on the "Bracero" program that brought in close to 5 million people over roughly two decades, forming the first big batch of modern Mexican immigrants, supporters said. Many of those immigrants came to California….The law, which focuses on the curriculum for grades 7-12, does not require teachers to include the Bracero program in their lessons, but encourages them to do so.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/us-usa-california-immigration-idUSBRE87S1GI20120829

California high speed rail comment period extended [Modesto Bee]

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is extending by 30 days the deadline for the public to review and comment on a draft environmental report for the Fresno-to-Bakersfield section of the proposed train line. The extension pushes the comment deadline from Sept. 20 to Oct. 19. The draft environmental impact report includes thousands of pages of technical details on how building and operating the high-speed train system would affect residents, neighborhoods, cities, businesses, farms and wildlife habitat in the Southern San Joaquin Valley.

http://www.modbee.com/2012/08/29/2350000/rail-comment-period-extended.html#storylink=misearch

California sends flood risk notices to thousands [Associated Press]

California water officials have mailed notifications to 275,000 California property owners whose parcels are protected by a levee, warning they may be at risk of flooding and should prepare. The Department of Water Resources sent the notices this week to residential, commercial and other property owners in 17 counties, who live behind the 1,600 miles of state-federal levees in the Central Valley….The notices suggest property owners should have an emergency action plan and consider flood insurance - in case a flood bigger than what the levee is designed for comes along.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/29/4769834/california-sends-flood-risk-notices.html#storylink=misearch

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