Friday, January 31, 2014

Ag Today Wednesday, January 22, 2014


GOP drought bill: Boost Delta pumping, stop San Joaquin River restoration [Fresno Bee]
Three San Joaquin Valley Republican congressmen will join House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday in Bakersfield, where they will announce emergency drought legislation intended to bring more water to the region. If approved, the bill would allow the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumps to operate as long as water is available, said Rep. Devin Nunes, a Tulare Republican who will be in Bakersfield on Wednesday. It would also stop the San Joaquin River restoration, said Nunes, who has been a critic of the restoration in the past. The restoration's goal is to reconnect the river with the Pacific Ocean and reintroduce salmon runs.

Editorial: Drought should motivate water storage study [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
…It's a good time to start driving the point home with legislators and administrators that proposals such as Dan Logue's need to get considered and need to start gaining traction. Our local assemblyman has introduced a bill in the Legislature to place a $5.8 billion bond issue on the fall ballot that would pay for construction of a couple dams, one of them in Colusa County. Frankly, we don't know at this point if Logue's proposal is the best option. But some version of a serious Northern California water storage-building proposal should be crafted that will help both our communities and our agriculture weather future droughts….Hopefully, it this drought will motivate folks in our statehouse to take Logue's and other water storage proposals seriously and start doing something.

Jerry Brown assumes political ownership of drought [Sacramento Bee]
America’s political executives – presidents, governors and big city mayors – are often judged by how they respond to unanticipated crises. Thus, then-President George W. Bush’s popularity soared after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the nation, then plummeted four years later after an erratic response to deadly Hurricane Katrina. Closer to home, Gray Davis was recalled from the governorship in 2003, less than a year after winning a second term, due to his mishandling of budget and energy crises.

Residents have say on Delta plan [Stockton Record]
At times, there were more government employees and consultants in the room than there were members of the public. Still, more than 100 citizens turned out in Stockton on Tuesday evening to ask questions - or, as some might put it, demand answers - of the experts who are writing Gov. Jerry Brown's controversial, $24.7 billion twin tunnels plan.…The tunnels are not popular here, and many people appeared to leave Tuesday's meeting at the University Plaza Waterfront Hotel with the same feelings they had when they arrived….Some, however, might have been swayed by what they heard on Tuesday….Tuesday night's attendance of 113 was slimmer than the turnout seen at other various Delta gatherings during the past few years. However, it easily exceeded the small crowds that turned out for identical meetings held last week in Fresno and Bakersfield.

2 Friends reach across the aisle on immigration [New York Times]
…Esther Olavarria, a Democrat, left Cuba as a child, worked as Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s top immigration lawyer and now holds a post in the White House. Rebecca Tallent, a Republican, left suburban Arizona and became Senator John McCain’s chief of staff, briefly advised Sarah Palin in 2008 and is now a top policy aide to Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio. But if there is any way to unlock the immigration stalemate in Washington, colleagues say these two might find it….Ms. Tallent, 34, is a key player in writing what Mr. Boehner and other House Republicans call guiding principles for an immigration overhaul. The goals, which are expected to be outlined in detail in the next week, are likely to include bolstered border security and enforcement inside the country, fast-track legalization for agricultural laborers, more visas for high-tech workers, and an opportunity for young immigrants who came to the country illegally as children to become American citizens. At the White House, Ms. Olavarria, 56, is charged with finding a compromise that Democrats and activists can live with.

Drakes Bay Oyster Co. files court action to remain open while preparing for Supreme Court [Marin Independent Journal]
The Drakes Bay Oyster Co. has filed a legal motion to allow it to continue to operate while it prepares a case to bring to the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to re-hear the Drakes Bay case in which owner Kevin Lunny sought an injunction to keep his operation open. Lunny would have been forced to begin dismantling his operation beginning Tuesday, but the new court motion filed Monday will buy him more time while a case to the high court is developed.

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