Plan
eyes fast green cards for farmworkers [Wall Street Journal]
Farmworkers
in the U.S. illegally could earn a green card in as few as three years – much
sooner than other unauthorized immigrants – under a bipartisan Senate
immigration plan. The proposal would allow agricultural workers to gain
permanent legal status, otherwise known as a green card, in three to 10 years,
depending on how long they commit to working in the farm industry, according to
a person familiar with the negotiations. The Senate plan allows most
other immigrants in the U.S. illegally to qualify for permanent legal status
after a decade….The expedited options are supposed to provide incentives for
agricultural workers to stay in the industry, which would help stabilize the
workforce for employers. While three years to a green card is a far shorter
time frame than what would be available for other unauthorized immigrants, it’s
also a tough bar to meet, according to people in the agricultural industry. It
would likely mean that workers have to skip from farm to farm and crop to crop
to ensure they clock 150 days each year.
Federal
government recommends removing dams from Klamath River in southern Oregon and
Northern California: Hoopa Tribe says it will sue over proposed flows this year
[Eureka Times-Standard]
The
federal government on Thursday recommended that all four aging hydroelectric
dams be removed from the Klamath River in southern Oregon and Northern
California to help struggling wild salmon runs, and that nearly $1 billion
should be spent on environmental restoration. However, whether that will happen
remains in doubt. Legislation authorizing the secretary of Interior to approve
dam removal and appropriating $800 million for restoration work have not gained
any traction in Congress. Meanwhile, conservation groups announced their
intention to challenge the Bureau of Reclamation's plan to release water from
the Klamath dams, which they say is insufficient to support coho salmon runs.
Democrats
urge Brown to consider alternative to water project [Los Angeles Times]
A
group of nearly two dozen Democrats is challenging Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal
to build a massive water project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. On
Thursday, 22 lawmakers from districts throughout the state released a letter
urging the Brown administration to consider an alternative to the most
ambitious water supply project proposed in California in decades….In their
letter, lawmakers advocated an alternative plan that calls for a smaller, less
expensive water facility -- one tunnel -- and half the amount of habitat
restoration. Under the plan, the cost savings would help pay for other actions,
including reinforcing delta levees and increasing water recycling and conservation.
Heavy
rains too little, too late for area growers [Woodland Daily Democrat]
Downpours
Easter Sunday, Thursday and those forecast for the weekend are bitter sweet for
area growers. One the one hand, any rain is welcome after the dry months of
January and February. On the other, the rain is slowing down some farmers'
planting schedules. Any way you look at it, the intermittent storms are not
enough to change the growing season from an allocated year, where farmers are
dolled out water, to a non-allocated year, when the supply is plentiful….(The
rain) has obviously slowed (planting) down, but prior to the Easter rain I
think people were in pretty good shape. I think people were where they were
supposed to be or a little bit ahead," said Chuck Dudley, Yolo County Farm
Bureau past president.
Light
showers won't dispel concerns about rainfall totals in Sonoma County [Santa
Rosa Press Democrat]
Sonoma
County's record winter dry spell was briefly broken with light rain showers
Wednesday, but ranchers and farmers remain concerned. The severe lack of
rainfall in the past three months puts agriculture in a very precarious
position, said Lex McCorvey, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm
Bureau. "Even if we get substantial rainfall over the next six weeks,
there's still going to be very limited forage and range grasses growing to feed
animals in the fall," McCorvey said. "Ranchers will again be forced
to purchase additional hay to feed their animals."
Fresno
rail meeting gives Valley opponents a platform [Fresno Bee]
More
than 200 people crammed their way into Fresno City Hall on Thursday, making the
most of their chance to tell the California High-Speed Rail Authority how they
feel about plans for a statewide high-speed train system and proposed routes
through the San Joaquin Valley. Board members heard from planners about four
options being considered for a Y-shaped junction in the Chowchilla area, where
high-speed rails from the Bay Area would merge with the main north-south line through
the Valley. Another report included a preliminary recommendation for a route
between Fresno and Bakersfield with bypasses around the communities of Hanford,
Corcoran, Allensworth, Wasco and Shafter before entering Bakersfield from the
west. Comments from the public took up almost three hours of the five-hour
meeting Thursday. Critics of the $68 billion statewide rail project far
outnumbered supporters. Some, like Charlene Hook of Corcoran, carried signs
decrying route options that would slice through their homes.
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.
Some story links may require site registration. To be removed
from this mailing list, reply to this message and please provide your
name and e-mail address.
No comments:
Post a Comment