Plan
to release water from Trinity Dam angers farmers [San Francisco Chronicle]
The
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, fearing a giant fish die-off if something is not
done to improve river flows, approved the release of water from Trinity Dam
into the Klamath River Wednesday to the dismay of farmers, who have threatened
to sue. The bureau's decision will allow 62,000 acre-feet of cold Trinity River
water to be released into the Klamath between Aug. 15 and Sept. 21 to help
spawning chinook salmon. An acre-foot is enough to cover an acre of land in a
foot of water - about 326,000 gallons. Officials with the San Luis &
Delta-Mendota Water Authority, representing agricultural interests in the
Central Valley who rely on the Trinity water, said the decision has forced them
to consider filing a lawsuit to stop the release.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Plan-to-release-water-from-Trinity-Dam-angers-4716013.php
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Modesto
council to put growth to a vote [Modesto Bee]
The
Modesto City Council voted Wednesday to put a proposal on the June ballot that
would make it difficult for housing developments to be built on prime
agricultural land. The council voted 6-1 to place a residential urban limit
developed by farmland advocate and former Councilman Denny Jackman before
voters next year. The proposed boundary runs as far north as Kiernan Avenue and
west along Highway 99. It would require housing developers who want to build
outside the boundary to seek voter approval for their projects. Jackman's
proposal allows for housing developments to be built on Modesto's east side,
where the farmland is of poorer quality….After the meeting, Jackman said his
residential urban limit will be a boon for food and agricultural producers as they
expand operations and ship more goods out of the county. Agriculture is a
nearly $3.3 billion industry in Stanislaus County, making it the county's top
industry.
California
milk price dispute shows some accord [Modesto Bee]
The
state's dairy farmers and processors have moved a little closer to a compromise
on milk prices, while still nipping at each other over the issue. Their
tentative deal will be presented at a Sept. 12 hearing before Karen Ross, food
and agriculture secretary for Gov. Jerry Brown. The compromise calls for a
temporary increase in the minimum amount that processors must pay for milk
that's made into cheese, and a separate increase reflecting the value of whey,
a cheese byproduct sold to other food companies. The increases would be added
to the monthly minimums that long have been set by the California Department of
Food and Agriculture. Dairy farmers say milk prices need to rise if they are to
cover their feed and other costs and recover from a profit squeeze that started
in 2008.
Global
warming already having dramatic impacts in California, new report says [San
Jose Mercury News]
Rising
ocean waters. Bigger and more frequent forest fires. More brutally hot summer
days. These aren't the usual predictions about global warming based on computer
forecasts. They're changes already happening in California, according to a
detailed new report issued Thursday by the California Environmental Protection
Agency. Climate change is "an immediate and growing threat" affecting
the state's water supplies, farm industry, forests, wildlife and public health,
the report says. The 258-page document was written by 51 scientists from the
University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, among other agencies and institutions.
"Climate change is not just some abstract scientific debate," said
California EPA Secretary Matt Rodriquez. "It's real, and it's already
here."
Some
Democrats waver on immigration [Wall Street Journal]
Every
Democrat voted for the Senate's immigration bill when it passed the chamber in
June. That unanimous party support isn't likely to be replicated if the House
votes on its own immigration effort this fall. In the GOP-controlled House,
some Democrats, largely from conservative-leaning districts, are set to bolster
the ranks of Republican lawmakers skeptical of the Senate's ideas on
immigration. As a small faction within the minority party, they won't likely
sway key votes, but amid signs that momentum behind the effort might be
flagging, their concerns could put the finish line further out of reach. Like
many of their GOP counterparts, hesitant House Democrats worry about how to
handle the 11 million illegal immigrants already living in the U.S….Some House
Democrats fret that any new immigration laws could repeat what they consider
the mistakes of a 1986 law that legalized many illegal immigrants and included
measures to stop illegal crossings….The exact number of resistant or
fence-sitting House Democrats on immigration is hard to determine. Like many
Republicans, some centrist Democrats are reluctant to stake out a firm position
before the House strategy is set. House leaders have yet to unveil a bill
tackling the issue of legalization, though senior GOP lawmakers are expected to
introduce legislation this fall that could include granting citizenship to at
least a portion of the population.
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Editorial: Bill distracts from
larger task of clean water [Sacramento Bee]
For
more than a decade, poor residents of small rural communities in the Central
Valley have been drinking water contaminated with arsenic, nitrates and other
pollutants. Polluted water continued to flow through people's taps even as the
state held onto close to a half billion dollars in federal Safe Drinking Water
Act funds that could have been used to provide safe potable water to destitute
residents. The California Department of Public Health has recently proposed and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed off on a plan to speed delivery
of federal water funds to communities that need it. But not everyone is
convinced that the plan will solve the problem.
Ag
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