Senators
offer a bipartisan blueprint for immigration [New York Times]
A
bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a set of principles for a sweeping
overhaul of the immigration system, including a pathway to American citizenship
for 11 million illegal immigrants that would hinge on progress in securing the
borders and ensuring that foreigners leave the country when their visas
expire.…Their blueprint, set to be unveiled on Monday, will allow them to stake
out their position one day before President Obama outlines his immigration
proposals in a speech on Tuesday in Las Vegas, in the opening moves of what
lawmakers expect will be a protracted and contentious debate in Congress this
year….Under the senators’ plan, most illegal immigrants would be able to apply
to become permanent residents — a crucial first step toward citizenship — but
only after certain border enforcement measures had been accomplished….Immigrant
farmworkers would also be given a separate and faster path to citizenship,
according to the principles.
EcoFarm
Conference: California ag official says state lacks political influence
[Monterey County Herald]
A
top official in the state Department of Food and Agriculture, speaking at the
EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove on Friday, said California was at a
disadvantage in Congress and growers need to stop arguing with each other.
Undersecretary Sandy Schubert spoke to a crowd of about 100 people at Asilomar
Conference Grounds as part of a panel to discuss using government allies to
help growers. "I can tell you, California ag does not stand together,"
she said. " ...When you're sitting there and you're a senator or a
representative and you've got 20 (agriculture) groups coming in and beating up
on each other and arguing about everything, it makes you less
effective."…Many in the audience expressed frustration that the most
recent federal Farm Bill has not passed.…If it had passed, much of the funding
set aside for organic and specialty crops would have greatly benefited
California more than other states. Schubert said the state has limited influence
in getting laws passed, despite producing half of the country's produce,
because other states are jealous.
California
still hasn't bought land for bullet train route [Los Angeles Times]
Construction
of California's high-speed rail network is supposed to start in just six
months, but the state hasn't acquired a single acre along the route and faces
what officials are calling a challenging schedule to assemble hundreds of parcels
needed in the Central Valley. The complexity of getting federal, state and
local regulatory approvals for the massive $68-billion project has already
pushed back the start of construction to July from late last year. Even with
that additional time, however, the state is facing a risk of not having the
property to start major construction work near Fresno as now planned. It hopes
to begin making purchase offers for land in the next several weeks. But that's
only the first step in a convoluted legal process that will give farmers,
businesses and homeowners leverage to delay the project by weeks, if not
months, and drive up sales prices, legal experts say.
Jerry
Brown's water plan faces mixed reviews [Sacramento Bee]
Nearly
lost in the flurry of praise for Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State address
on Thursday were a handful of tersely worded statements from lawmakers
objecting to his plan to build two water-diverting tunnels through the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The controversy is decades old. Yet the pointed
nature of the criticism – and the eagerness of even Democratic lawmakers to
challenge Brown on a day in which tradition suggests restraint – laid bare how
significant a test of Brown's political abilities the $14 billion project may
be….Brown may not be asking the Legislature for its approval. The water project
he proposes would be financed by water users and permitted administratively by
the state and federal governments, and there is no technical requirement that
Brown obtain the Legislature's blessing.
Valley
air district $500 million fund targets diesel pollution [Fresno Bee]
As
the economy shrunk government budgets over the past five years, a special air
district fund quietly has grown tenfold -- beyond $100 million annually. But
it's no slush fund, and it isn't the target of activist lawsuits. This obscure
pot of money is a key to curbing diesel pollution, the biggest California
air-quality problem of this era. It's the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District's incentive fund, bankrolled by government agencies,
businesses and your vehicle registration fees.
Drakes
Bay attorneys argue for injunction to keep oyster operation open [Marin
Independent Journal]
A
federal judge heard two hours of arguments Friday afternoon on whether a
preliminary injunction should be granted to temporarily halt the closure of
Drakes Bay Oyster Co. U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers appeared
to lean toward the government's arguments to shut down the operation, but did
not issue a ruling. That will come sometime in the coming weeks. A crowd filled
the courtroom — which held 75 people — and several people hoping to attend the
hearing had to remain outside. Drakes Bay owner Kevin Lunny — working with a
legal team and with Cause of Action, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit
organization — has already filed a separate lawsuit challenging the merits of
the decision to let his lease lapse, a ruling made by Secretary of the Interior
Ken Salazar in November.
Ag
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