$35B
overhaul of water system on tap [San Diego Union-Tribune]
The
combined price tag for a grand redesign of California’s plumbing network now
surpasses a staggering $35 billion, although there are signals that the final
bill will eventually shrink….Final decisions are months, if not years away. But
the various players — from local agencies to federal regulators — are locked in
intense talks on three related fronts: • Scaling back a long-stalled $11
billion water bond, which could deliver $227 million to the San Diego County
region. Earmarks for certain projects across the state are likely to be erased
as Brown and lawmakers look to trim billions to make it more palatable to
voters. Reservoir funding is a prime big-ticket target at $3 billion. •
Permitting Gov. Jerry Brown’s $14 billion “twin tunnels” project under the
delta or an alternative to bring Northern California water south, including to
San Diego County that counts on the current system to fill about a third of its
annual needs. • Securing approval of a related 50-year, $10.5 billion plan to
restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, from the fishery to flood protection.
While moving forward on separate paths, the various programs are linked
politically as well as financially.
Delta
tunnel project to radically change Sacramento County landscape [Sacramento Bee]
When
Daniel Wilson learned earlier this year that the state of California wants to
bulldoze his family's pear orchard to build a giant Sacramento River water
diversion, he and his brother were making a major new investment in the
crop….Wilson and his neighbors are in the cross hairs of the Bay Delta Conservation
Plan, Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to solve decades of California water
conflict. The plan calls for two giant water diversion tunnels served by three
intakes and a vast web of additional infrastructure….But the megaproject is
giving rise to life-altering questions for people who live in the Delta, a
mosaic of 70 islands and 1,000 miles of waterways that is the largest estuary
on the West Coast of the Americas. Nowhere are the effects more significant
than in this 10-mile corridor of farmland between Freeport and Walnut Grove in
Sacramento County. All three intakes are proposed here, along with most of the
additional above-ground infrastructure.
Commentary: Ruling likely to
impact farmers [Ventura County Star]
Tuesday,
a respected judge in Santa Barbara will make a complex legal decision that
could determine the future of agriculture and the unique quality of life and
benefits it provides all of us in Ventura County….The city’s chief complaint is
that it does not believe that UWCD’s implementation of the Water Code mandate
to charge a 3:1 ratio (up to 5:1) on its pump-charge rates for municipal (city)
use compared to agricultural irrigation use (i.e. crops, livestock, etc.) is
valid under the California State Constitution….In the event the courts
eventually agree with the city’s arguments the cost of water will more than
double for agricultural needs — likely increasing the cost of food or forcing
some farmers to go out of business….The final legal decision could likely play
a huge part in the future of agriculture in Ventura County.
House
GOP Bill: 500,000 farmworker visas [Wall Street Journal]
A
GOP-backed immigration bill in the House would offer 500,000 farmworker visas –
far more than a Senate plan – and cut benefits for laborers. The bill House
Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte (R., Va.) is pursuing to overhaul
immigration laws. He also released legislation to make E-verify, the system
that checks workers’ legal status, mandatory for employers. Mr. Goodlatte’s
plan would replace the existing agricultural visa program with a new program
designed to allow workers to stay in the U.S. for up to 18 months. That would
allow them to work for dairy farms and food processors, two industries that
have pushed for a more flexible program to allow year-round labor. It makes
500,000 visas available each year, dwarfing a Senate proposal to allow 112,000
visas a year in the early stages of the program.
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Judge
hits Fresno-based raisin marketing group [Fresno Bee]
The
future of the California Raisin Marketing Board may be in jeopardy after a
Sacramento County Superior Court judge ruled that the organization was not
created legally. Judge Raymond Cadei's decision was hailed by lawyers
representing a group of dissident growers and packers who have been trying to
dismantle the board for several years.…The Fresno-based board is responsible
for promoting California raisins through advertising and marketing campaigns.
But some farmers have complained about paying for marketing that they don't
agree with.…This is the second attack the raisin industry has faced in recent
weeks. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case involving a maverick Fresno
County raisin grower who is fighting the federal rules for regulating the flow
of raisins into the market.
Op-Ed: California cows may
be happy; producers are not [Stockton Record]
California
is esteemed for many things, but few are as iconic as our "Happy
Cows." Few are as treasured as the "grown and produced in
California" labels that proudly represent the family farms that helped
shape our state's cultural and economic foundations. Unfortunately, a tangle of
antiquated price-setting methods is putting dairy farms small and large in
peril. The rules governing the cost paid to farmers for milk allow cheese
companies to pay dramatically less for milk in California than in other states
and threaten the existence of hundreds of California's local, family-run
dairies.…California is the only state that does not calculate whey, a residual
protein from the manufacture of cheese, when regulating the price of milk. This
leaves California milk producers at a serious disadvantage. Now is the time to
begin to bring our system into the 21st century.
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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