Allies
of immigration bill aim for added support [New York Times]
After
its solid bipartisan approval in committee, broad legislation to overhaul the
nation’s immigration laws was headed Wednesday to the Senate floor, where
supporters of the plan were already mobilizing to bring more Republicans on
board by focusing on strengthening border security provisions in the bill. The
push to expand Republican support poses new challenges for the bipartisan group
of eight senators who drafted the original bill, as it puts pressure on Latino
and other major immigration advocacy groups to make concessions on border
security. Democrats and pro-immigration organizations fear that further
changing the delicate border compromise could indefinitely delay legal status
for 11 million immigrants already in the country — one of the key components of
the bill….In the Republican-controlled House, Republican leaders were leaving
several options open. A bipartisan group is also working in the House and has
said it will introduce a bill by early June. But on Wednesday Representative
Robert W. Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, held a hearing to examine the Senate bill, which he opened with a
blunt rejection of its security provisions. Mr. Goodlatte echoed the call from
Mr. Rubio for big changes in the border plans.
Scientists
visit Fresno to discuss San Joaquin Valley water woes [Fresno Bee]
At
a rare Fresno meeting of the 125-year-old Geological Society of America, Sanger
hydrologist David Cehrs linked city growth to an expanding water crisis in the
San Joaquin Valley. "There will be no winners, only losers. Nobody is
going to like it," Cehrs told fellow scientists, students and academics in
downtown Fresno on Wednesday….Geology professor C. John Suen of Fresno State
said the Sierra snowpack -- the frozen storage for more than half of the area's
water -- will decrease by 70% to 90% by the end of the century as the climate
warms. The Valley will have to adjust to more rainfall and earlier
snowmelt.…From his investigation of water use here, Cehrs has concluded that as
the population expands and replaces farming, the underground water table will
drop farther. The sinking underground water table will force some tough
decisions about how land is used in the Valley. "You can grow people, or
you can grow crops," Cehrs said. "But you can't grow both."
WAPA
will pay for removing trees [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
A
federal agency wants farmers to clear orchard trees lying beneath its power
lines, and it's willing to pay them to do so. The Western Area Power
Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, is pursuing a plan
calling for the clearing of orchard trees within its easement. Farmers can
receive compensation for trees chopped down voluntarily if they participate in
a buyout program. Depending on how much life is left in the trees, farmers can
receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation in some instances,
said lands team lead Steve Webber.
Valley
leaders brainstorm ways to bring in tourists [Modesto Bee]
…The
five counties from San Joaquin to Fresno accounted for only 3 percent of the
state's $102 billion in tourist spending in 2011, according to Dean Runyan
Associates Inc., a consulting firm. But possibilities abound, speakers said:
Some 10 million people live within 100 miles of the region, and many of them
want to see its farms, rivers, reservoirs and other attractions. Penny Leff,
agritourism coordinator at the University of California at Davis, said this
kind of enterprise is fairly new but promising. Visitors could spend an hour or
two at a corn maze or pumpkin patch, or they could stay overnight at a farm or
ranch.…She urged county planning departments to not impede such efforts with
excessive rules or permit fees. She said farmers need to let their insurance
companies know that visitors are coming — and not let them drive tractors or
climb ladders.
'Foodies'
spark reawakening of Grange in California [Sacramento Bee]
From
exclusive Marin to tony Malibu, young food activists are sparking the
renaissance of an old fraternal order – the California Grange. The state Grange
still abides by its symbolic Civil War-era ceremonies, but in its modern-day
role, it's become home to food literacy activists, food insecurity worriers and
food sovereignty supporters. Not to mention the slow food devotees who, in
turn, support the small organic farmers and local produce purveyors….On the
national stage, however, Grange membership is still dropping. Unlike its
California chapter, the National Grange lobbies for big agriculture; it
supports the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops. The positions
espoused by the state Grange have put it at odds with the national
organization. The National Grange revoked the California State Grange's charter
in April and filed suit in Sacramento Superior Court to try to force the state
Grange to cease operation. The case is pending.
Editorial: County board's non
intervention on logging rules recognizes best forest practices [Santa Cruz
Sentinel]
The
decision by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to not take a stand on
how the state wants to regulate timber harvests for smaller property owners
marked a shift in how the county board has in recent years swung its ax. The
bill, pending in the state Legislature, would give a break to small landowners
who practice sustainable harvesting on parcels up to 15,000 acres -- an expansion
of the acreage for nonindustrial timber harvesting from 2,500….Thinning trees
is part of responsible forest management. Yes, timber companies make money on
harvesting trees on private properties, but so what? Local companies such as
Big Creek have a long record of responsible harvesting and conservation. In
addition, the state Department of Forestry is charged with regulating logging
-- an agency that has professional foresters on staff to review logging plans.
Most of the parcels in Santa Cruz County zoned for timber production are small
-- but the cost of producing a harvest plan has been prohibitively large. This
bill rightfully will change that.
Ag
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