Commentary: AB 8 shows Sacramento can get it right [Modesto Bee]
While
the state Legislature often ranks low in terms of public opinion, there are times
when the stars align and lawmakers come together in a way citizens expect. The
passage of Assembly Bill 8 is such a moment. In a rare show of bipartisan
support, Democrats and Republicans united to hammer out a compromise that
ensures substantial incentives for businesses to continue the investments
needed to meet stringent air quality regulations and improve California’s
environment….Together, these legislators demonstrated that it is possible to
find solutions that work for both the economy and environment. The passage of
this bill will not only benefit California businesses, but also farmers,
truckers and the environment.
Editorial: Fire fee should be
overhauled [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
Assemblyman
Katcho Achadjian hasn’t given up the fight against the controversial fire
prevention fee. In a large-scale mass mailing that reached local households
over the weekend, he’s calling for repeal of what he considers a “likely
illegal” tax. We support Achadjian’s efforts to keep this topic in the public
eye….As a practical matter, we also believe that a complete repeal of the fee
will get little traction in a state Legislature controlled by Democrats;
indeed, previous attempts to repeal the law have failed. We share Achadjian’s
concern, though, that fire prevention fees are accruing at an astonishingly
rapid rate: a $90 million surplus is expected by the end of the year.…We also
don’t like the fact that all fees go into one statewide pool — we would prefer
to see the revenue generated in our region stay in our region.
Editorial: It's time to
restrict farm antibiotic use [San Francisco Chronicle]
…Many experts and
scientists have been warning for years now that the common factory farm
practice of giving healthy animals weak doses of antibiotics would lead to a
rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and infections. That day is here….So far,
legislators who have introduced bills in Congress to restrict antibiotic usage
in healthy animals have met with serious industry opposition - and no luck.
That means we're dependent on the Food and Drug Administration, which has so
far rolled out only a wan "voluntary" program for producers to reduce
their use of antibiotics. The program needs to be made mandatory as soon as
possible.
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Perez
seeks legal opinion on Salton Sea restoration [Imperial Valley Press]
The
office of Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez has requested a written legal opinion
from the California Office of Legislative Counsel on the extent of the state’s
liability for Salton Sea restoration under the terms of the Quantification
Settlement Agreement. “There is considerable disagreement regarding the extent
to which the state is financially liable for the cost of restoring the Salton
Sea … At the state level there is strong opposition to the notion the state is
responsible for the cost of restoring the Salton Sea. At the non-state level
the opposite opinion holds, with almost universal support for the position that
the state made itself liable for both the cost of environmental mitigation and
the restoration of the Salton Sea,” states the letter. Under the terms of the
QSA, the state is contractually obligated to mitigate the impacts of the water
transfer on the Salton Sea beyond $133 million.
Drone
makers seek input from growers on using their technology [Ventura County Star]
Local
unmanned-systems makers see agriculture as a prime market for their technology,
but first they have to figure out what growers need, how to get it into their
hands and how to do it cheaply. With defense budgets shrinking, the industry is
shifting its focus from the military market to commercial uses, and one of
those is agriculture….Only a few of the event’s more than 60 attendees were
growers, however….John Krist, CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County and
Ventura, and Oxnard strawberry grower Edgar Terry represented the local
agriculture community. Krist, a panelist, told the audience the average farm in
Ventura County is 106 acres and that because most are mixed in with residential
communities, they need precision spraying of pesticides by helicopters.
Pesticide spraying is a predicted use of unmanned systems.
Sonoma
County's grape harvest wraps up [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
The
grape harvest for 2013 is pretty much over in Sonoma County, but for winemakers
like Santa Rosa's Carol Shelton and her husband Mitch Mackenzie, the work is
only about halfway finished.…Shelton, in her 35th year in the business and 14th
harvest making wine under her own Carol Shelton Wines label, said she has been
wrapped up in harvest madness since mid-August, when the first whites came in.
She expects to get the last of her zinfandels in this weekend or by the start
of next week, but that leaves at least two more months of intense work….The
North Coast harvest got off to an unusually early start this year on Aug. 1,
when the first grapes came in from Napa for sparkling wine. Eleven weeks later,
the harvest in Sonoma County is as much as 95 percent done, roughly three weeks
before the usual ending date, said Karissa Kruse, executive director of Sonoma
County Winegrowers. It's too early to get an exact figure for the harvest, she
said, but it was clearly an above-average year and may equal last year's strong
267,000 tons.
Ag
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