Brown
signs law limiting detention of immigrants [Associated Press]
A
package of immigration-related bills earned Gov. Jerry Brown's signature
Saturday, including a bill that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from
detaining people for deportation if they are arrested for a minor crime and
otherwise eligible to be released from custody. AB4 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano,
D-San Francisco, creates a statewide standard for how local agencies comply
with the federal Secure Communities program, which requires law enforcement
officers to check the immigration status of people who are arrested and to hold
for 48 hours anyone whom federal authorities wish to detain. The law Brown
signed allows state and local police and sheriff's departments to detain
immigrants only if they have been arrested for or convicted of certain serious
or violent felonies. People could also be held if they were convicted of a
misdemeanor crime that carries a felony equivalent, or if they are registered
as sex offenders.
Government
shutdown stops timber sales in forests [Associated Press]
The
U.S. Forest Service confirmed Friday it is shutting down logging operations on
national forests across the country due to the partial shutdown of the federal
government. The agency plans to notify 450 timber purchasers across the country
early next week that timber sales and stewardship contracts will be suspended,
Forest Service spokesman Leo Kay said in an email. "We regret the
continued impact on the American public; however we must cease activities that
require Forest Service oversight and management during the funding lapse,' he
said.
Shutdown
spawns vacuum in farm market information [Associated Press]
When
Tim Peterson finished planting his 900 acres of winter wheat last week, the
usually market-savvy Kansas farmer unexpectedly found himself struggling to
make critical marketing decisions without being able to access to vital
agricultural reports, casualties of the federal government shutdown. "We
have no clue what is going on in the market," said Peterson, who farms
near Monument in northwest Kansas. He typically protects his investment in seed
and fertilizer by "locking in" the price his wheat crop will fetch
next July with a futures contract that shields farmers from market fluctuations
by guaranteeing a price while the crop is in the ground. Farmers and livestock
producers use the reports put out by the National Agriculture Statistics
Service to make decisions — such as how to price crops, which commodities to
grow and when to sell them — as well as track cattle auction prices. Not only
has the NASS stopped putting out new reports about demand and supply, exports
and prices, but all websites with past information have been taken down.
Days
may be numbered for farmland rush [Bakersfield Californian]
Concerns
are rising in Kern County's agricultural community that a looming interest rate
hike could halt California's farming boom. The overriding worry is that the
Federal Reserve's plans to wean the economy off low interest rates will drive
up borrowing costs and, as a result, strengthen the U.S. dollar. If that
happens, and many economists expect it will, it would make California ag
exports more expensive overseas….At this point, more people are still looking
to buy farmland than there are plots for sale, and it's this imbalance that has
kept prices strong, said farm and ranch broker Robb Stewart, an accredited farm
manager with Pearson Realty in Bakersfield. He and Kern County Farm Bureau
Executive Director Benjamin McFarland said there is a growing recognition among
local farmers that things could soon shift in favor of buyers with money to
spend.
Commentary: The Economic case
for a Bay Delta Conservation Plan without the twin tunnels [Sacramento Bee]
The
$25 billion Bay Delta Conservation Plan is on the brink of failure. Its
proponents have been unable to show that the plan meets environmental
requirements, and they have failed to develop a viable financial plan for its
massive water-conveyance tunnels. The BDCP can be saved, but only if the state
drops its tunnel vision and seriously considers no-tunnel options. The plan
contains 21 parts, including the water-conveyance tunnels, 19 habitat and
conservation elements, and long-term operating guidelines for water exports.
Even without the tunnels, it would be a plan of historic significance. More
important, the cost would decrease by $20 billion, while the vast majority of
its benefits would be preserved.
Commentary: Turlock Irrigation
District, cities need to follow through on old water promise [Modesto Bee]
The
water wars are increasing in fury. Out-of-district interests are increasing
their pressure to take more water from the Tuolumne River to send to the Delta,
to make available to out-of-district agricultural and urban interests and to
restore fish flows. It is a very good thing that the Modesto Irrigation
District and the city of Modesto agreed years ago to provide clean Tuolumne
River water to the residents of Modesto at the same low raw water cost provided
to MID irrigators. Urban use is recognized as the highest beneficial use of
water and trumps demands to allocate it elsewhere, particularly in times of
shortage. At the same time that Modesto and MID worked out their arrangements
for the water, the Turlock Irrigation District and the cities of Turlock, Ceres
and Hughson announced that surface water from Tuolumne would be made available
to their residents. All parties celebrated the accord.
Ag
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