Judge
backs Calif. high-speed rail over farmers [Associated Press]
A
judge denied a request Friday from Central Valley farmers who sought to halt
work on California's ambitious high-speed rail project, allowing work on the
$68 billion project to continue at an aggressive pace. Sacramento County
Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley denied a request for a preliminary
injunction, saying that the agency overseeing the project "acted
reasonably and in good faith" in trying to comply with California
environmental law. Groups representing Central Valley farmers had hoped to stop
the California High-Speed Rail Authority from all planning and engineering work
because of their claims that the authority did not thoroughly weigh the
potential environmental harms of the project. Frawley did not rule on the
merits of their case, which is expected to be heard this spring, but said he
was persuaded that the state generally sought to comply with California's
rigorous environmental laws, and that the potential harm to the state was much
greater than the potential harm to farmers along the route.
Federal
Wildlife Services competes with private animal control businesses [Sacramento
Bee]
As
founder of one of the nation's largest urban wildlife damage control companies,
Kevin Clark is no stranger to competition. But one competitor costs him more
business than any other: the federal government. "Government is not
supposed to compete, head to head, with the private sector when the private
sector is already fulfilling the need," said Clark, chief executive
officer of Critter Control, a franchise with branches in California.
"Nuisance wildlife control operators are more than capable of handling
these problems." His concern is directed at an agency called Wildlife
Services, which is already under scrutiny for its lethal control of predators
and other animals in the rural West. A Sacramento Bee investigative series
earlier this year found the agency targets wildlife in ways that have killed
thousands of non-target animals, including family pets, and can trigger
unintended, negative ecological consequences. Now the agency's killing of other
species in more populated settings is drawing fire from entrepreneurs who say
it siphons jobs away from private companies, lacks transparency and overlooks
nonlethal alternatives.
EPA
denies request to waive ethanol mandate for gas [Wall Street Journal]
The
Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it is moving forward with a mandate
for corn ethanol in gasoline, denying requests to waive the requirement
following a drought that pushed up corn prices. The EPA said Friday it hadn't
found any evidence that its renewable fuel standard was causing economic harm.
The agency said suspending the standard would reduce corn prices by only
1%.…Cattle ranchers and dairy farmers, which use corn to feed cattle, have said
for months that the ethanol mandate was driving up demand for dwindling
supplies of corn….The livestock industry says ethanol producers exacerbate
problems caused by the drought by consuming 40% of the nation's corn crop. The
ethanol industry says that number is actually less than 26% after accounting for
high-protein ethanol byproducts used for animal feed. It says that ethanol
companies are already producing less this year and that ethanol has a
relatively small impact on corn prices.
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Chino
slaughterhouse to pay $300,000 in settlement [Los Angeles Times]
The
owners of a Chino slaughterhouse that was at the center of the largest beef
recall in U.S. history four years ago have agreed to pay more than $300,000 to
settle a lawsuit that alleged fraud against the U.S. government. Donald
Hallmark Sr. and Donald Hallmark Jr. were two of nine defendants in a federal
False Claims Act suit brought by the Humane Society of the United States. As
part of the settlement, the Hallmarks also agreed to a nominal $497-million
judgment against the now-defunct Hallmark Meat Packing Co., which will not be
collected because the company is bankrupt….The Humane Society sued the plant
and its owners under a federal law that allows private citizens with knowledge
of fraud against the U.S. government to file suit to recover penalties. The
group alleged that the Hallmarks defrauded the government through
misrepresentation on their federal school lunch program contracts. The U.S.
Department of Justice intervened in the suit, alleging that the company falsely
represented itself as adhering to federal regulations on humane treatment of
animals, and had improperly slaughtered "downer" cows for meat
"at least three times every 30 days."
UC
Merced eyes saving land [Merced Sun-Star]
The
University of California at Merced and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute are
developing a conservation and research plan for thousands of acres of
grasslands. The area is home to springtime vernal pools that teem with plant
and animal life just north of the campus.…Ultimately, about 6,400 acres could
be protected into perpetuity as part of the UC Natural Reserve System, a
network of 38 protected sites, including more than 750,000 acres….Former
National Parks Service leader Steve Shackelton began work at the university
this fall as co-director of the vernal pools natural reserve.…"We have
hope for an interpretive center," he said. "It would be really great
if we could use this opportunity to help students from Modesto to Fresno be
able to study water, have an appreciation for agriculture." At the same
time, the project must be sensitive to the local plant and animal species, such
as kit foxes, burrowing owls and fairy shrimp, Shackelton said.
Tulare
County Farm Bureau to award garden grants to 22 schools [Visalia Times-Delta]
The
Tulare County Farm Bureau will award $8,000 to 22 schools to start or maintain
gardens. “Garden Grants” have been awarded since 2002 with money from the
bureau’s Education and Scholarships Trust, said Carrie Crane, the
organization’s education project coordinator.
Ten
schools will each receive $500 to start gardens, while 12 will receive $250
“renewals” to maintain existing gardens. Crane said all of the renewal grant
recipients will use the money for the upkeep of gardens they started with
previous Farm Bureau grants.…Besides the money, the Farm Bureau will provide
training in gardening and plant giveaways for the teachers, who will direct
students on planting and maintaining the gardens. The bureau also will provide
visits to the schools by its “Beyond the Farm” trailer to educate students
about plants and gardening, along with a curriculum for teaching gardening
topics that teachers may choose to use.
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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