Editorial: Gov. Brown has
chance to save the State Fair [Sacramento Bee]
Cal
Expo's outgoing chief is correct: It's largely up to Gov. Jerry Brown to
reinvigorate the State Fair. But the challenge is greater than a lack of money.
It's also about a lack of vision and imagination.
The
leadership of Cal Expo badly needs an infusion of both. By putting the right
people in place, the governor has a rare opportunity to secure the fair for
generations to come….It's a legacy worth preserving and deserving of the
governor's attention.
California
agency says farmworker suit 'risks draining resources'[Los Angeles Times]
California's
Department of Industrial Relations says a lawsuit filed last week on behalf of
farmworkers and the United Farm Workers union "risks draining resources
away from...critical enforcement actions."
The
lawsuit alleges California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health has
failed in its duty to enforce regulations protecting outdoor workers. The suit
comes seven years after California became the first state to adopt rules
requiring water, shade and rest for such workers. The plaintiffs in the case
say Cal/OSHA failed in several of its obligations, including not conducting
onsite inspections after complaints and failing to investigate heat-related
injuries and fatalities….In a statement, a spokesman for the state department
said "protecting farmworkers from heat illness is one of Cal/OSHA's major
priorities."
Judge
rules in favor of providing extra water habitat for Santa Ana sucker [Inland
Valley Daily Bulletin]
A
federal judge Monday upheld the federal Fish and Wildlife Service's
controversial decision to set aside stretches of the Santa Ana River and other
Southern California waterways as critical habitat for the Santa Ana sucker
fish. A coalition of twelve Inland Empire water agencies have, for more than
two years, opposed the habitat designation on the grounds that the move could
jeopardize residents' access to drinking water…."We are not happy with
this ruling," said Douglas Headrick, general manager of San Bernardino
Valley Municipal Water District. The science being studied should be completed
within a year, hopefully showing the courts that the decision to put water
supply to the side is unnecessary said Headrick….U.S. District Court judge
James V. Selna on Monday, however, ruled against the water agencies.
Headrick
said the decision to appeal the ruling is being discussed but has not been made
yet.
Salmon
won't be getting help from Delta gates [Sacramento Bee]
Water
diversion gates in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta near Walnut Grove will not
be closed this month to assist migrating salmon, as they were last year….In
recent years, concern has emerged that salmon migrating upstream to spawn in
the Mokelumne River are disoriented by flows diverted through the gates and
often end up spawning in the wrong stream. So the gates were closed last year
for 10 days in October, which may have contributed to a rebound in salmon
production at the Mokelumne River Hatchery, operated by the state Department of
Fish and Game. This year the gates will not be closed, said Sue Fry, manager of
Reclamation's Bay-Delta Office. Doing so would cause salinity intruding from
San Francisco Bay to increase significantly, likely violating a state water
quality standard, she said.
Report
Supports Organic Produce, but Not Milk [Wall Street Journal]
When
it comes to feeding your children organic food, pediatricians have new advice
for parents. Organic produce and meat might be worth the hefty price tag, but
you can probably skip the organic milk.
The
advice is part of a new clinical report released by the American Academy of
Pediatrics and published online in the journal Pediatrics on Monday….It comes
on the heels of a much-discussed study published in the Annals of Internal
Medicine in September that concluded organic food isn't significantly more nutritious
than conventionally grown food. The pediatricians, who analyzed existing
scientific evidence, also said there doesn't seem to be much difference in the
vitamin and mineral content between organic and conventional foods….Still,
children may benefit from organic produce because it isn't grown with synthetic
pesticides.
New
master's program concentrates on animal law [Associated Press]
…Bolanos
will be among the first class of six students to get such a degree from Lewis
& Clarke Law School's Center for Animal Law Studies. Enrollment in the
yearlong program is expected to grow to 15 or 20 students in three to five
years, said attorney Pamela D. Frasch, assistant dean and executive director of
the law center….When Frasch started teaching in 1998, only a handful of law
schools offered animal-related classes. "Today, 140 law schools out of 200
ABA-accredited law schools offer at least one animal law course," she
said….The degree also comes at a time when more people are becoming aware of
the treatment of animals, both as pets and food, said Bernstein, who is a
visiting advocate with the new program. They want to know how food animals are
treated and how circus and rodeo and entertainment animals are cared for, she
said. Frasch agreed, saying she expected the treatment of farm animals to be
the center of coming legal challenges in the U.S.
Ag
Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for
information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com.
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