Bipartisan
agreement on need for more farm workers [Associated Press]
Republicans
and Democrats said Tuesday that farmers should be allowed to hire foreign
workers more easily as Congress reworks U.S. immigration laws. But there was
some disagreement on how it should happen. Lawmakers and witnesses at a House
Judiciary subcommittee hearing said the visa program that lets farmers hire
foreign agricultural workers is so unwieldy it accounts for only a very small
percentage of the hundreds of thousands of farm workers hired in the U.S. Half
or more of agriculture workers are here illegally, experts agree….Lawmakers of
both parties said the system is broken and needed to be fixed but disagreements
emerged over how to improve it. Goodlatte said there should be a new program to
replace the existing one and ensure a "stable, legal agricultural
workforce." But several Democrats said any changes should be made in the
context of comprehensive changes to the nation's immigration laws that would
provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country,
including eventual citizenship for farmworkers.
Editorial: A clear case for
overhauling immigration [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
…Congress
needs to seize the moment and act….It isn't any revelation that Congress has a
hard time settling on a lunch menu, much less on the content of major
legislation. On this issue, however, a combination of public support and
political cover (how often are the chamber and organized labor on the same
side?) might be enough to get a bill passed….Congress seemed to be making
progress on this issue with a bipartisan group of eight senators crafting
legislation. But progress gave way to squabbling when a White House plan was
leaked 10 days ago. If you look at the details, there is little difference
between the two proposals. A little bit of posturing is to be expected, but it
would be a terrible miscalculation if Congress gets trapped in another partisan
battle and misses this opportunity to overhaul the immigration system.
California
starts year with record dry conditions [Sacramento Bee]
California
is poised to shatter an all-time weather record by notching the driest
January-February period in recorded history across the northern Sierra
Nevada.…If February concludes without additional storms – and none are expected
– the northern Sierra will have seen 2.2 inches of precipitation in January and
February, the least since record-keeping began in the region in 1921…."We
entered into this water year in really good shape; in fact, we were almost in
flood-control conditions back in December," said Dan Nelson, executive
director of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, which delivers
water to a vast area of the San Joaquin Valley. "So to be in this
situation now is pretty frustrating." Nelson noted that farmers are
beginning to make planting decisions for the year ahead. Many have scaled back
their plans as a result of the poor water supply conditions. To a certain
extent, this is a response to reduced water diversions in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta that have been imposed over the past two months to protect the
Delta smelt, a threatened fish.
Delta
tunnel foes tracking $11 billion water bond [Stockton Record]
An
$11 billion water bond passed by lawmakers more than three years ago - but not
yet brought to the public for approval - could be a major priority in 2013, and
Delta interests will be watching closely. After all, while the bond would pay
for projects up and down California, Delta advocates fear it could facilitate
construction of Gov. Jerry Brown's twin tunnels. The bond wouldn't pay for the
tunnels themselves but contains billions to restore habitat in the Delta -
complimenting the pipes plan. Public discussion of reworking the bond began
Tuesday in a joint hearing of the Senate Natural Resources and Governance and
Finance committees.
Editorial: Battle heats up
over proposed Delta tunnels [Fresno Bee]
As
California basks under sunny skies and its farmers hope for rain, the battle
has begun over Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed $14 billion twin-tunnels plan to
divert water around the environmentally deteriorating Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta….We long have supported a solution -- either around or under the Delta --
that helps the environment and delivers water to farmers and 25 million
residents. What we would like is a frank and fair public discussion about the
project's merits and costs versus potential alternatives. We also are curious
about the science underpinning the belief that this plan would help restore the
Delta to health.…To do nothing invites disaster. But to do the wrong thing
accelerates disaster and leaves taxpayers all the poorer.
Citrus
growers may face penalties for refusing to spray for psyllid [Ventura County
Star]
Property
owners and growers of commercial citrus must chemically treat orchards near
findings of a deadly insect or face pesticide application bills, penalty fees,
a possible lien on their property and even the potential loss of that property.
Those are the tactics that Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales
said he will use to pressure several commercial growers who are not complying
with the state’s recommended but not mandatory plan to control Ventura County’s
infestation of the Asian citrus psyllid. At a public meeting Tuesday in
Ventura, Gonzales told an audience of about 190 he will use his legal authority
under the state’s food and agriculture code if talking to the parties proves
ineffective and he disagrees with their reasons for not spraying….John Krist,
CEO of the county’s farm bureau, said Gonzales’ meeting was “a hopeful sign”
that the commissioner was moving closer to requiring the noncompliant growers
to spray their orchards.
Ag
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