President Obama plans Feb. 14 visit to Fresno to discuss drought [Fresno Bee]
The
White House announced Friday that President Barack Obama will come to Fresno on
Feb. 14 to discuss the drought and federal efforts to deal with it. A White
House official said further details about the president's trip to the central
San Joaquin Valley will be made public in the coming days….House Speaker John
Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, visited a dusty field in Bakersfield on Jan.
22 to see the impact of the drought firsthand. Following that meeting, he and
Valley Republican congressmen -- Valadao, Devin Nunes of Tulare and Kevin
McCarthy of Bakersfield -- called on fellow lawmakers to support emergency
legislation to help the farm-dependent Valley deal with the drought. The
emergency legislation passed by the House is now in the Senate, and Nunes is
hopeful that the Senate will either take up the House bill or that Feinstein
will offer her own legislation.
Will SoCal water
rescue the north? [San Diego Union-Tribune]
The
Metropolitan Water District finds itself in the politically awkward position of
being flush with reserves while the rest of California faces economy-crippling
water shortages. The looming choice posed to the Los Angeles-based wholesaler
is this: Gamble the drought will break and agree to share its vast backup
supply or play it safe, guard those stockpiles and risk public and political
backlash….There also could be longer term consequences for Metropolitan. The
agency supports Brown’s polarizing $25 billion “twin tunnel” project to deliver
Northern California water south and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The governor and state lawmakers are also reworking an $11 billion water bond
for the November ballot. If Metropolitan is seen as hoarding that could further
intensify the perennial north-south water feuds.
Stanislaus farmers
sued over environmental concerns about groundwater wells [Modesto Bee]
Environmental
advocates filed a lawsuit Thursday against more than a dozen Stanislaus County
farmers seeking to shut off the water to about 60 recently approved wells for
agricultural irrigation. The legal action seeks an environmental review of the
impact those groundwater wells will have on Stanislaus’ aquifers. Attorneys
contend county officials violated state law by authorizing the drilling of
those wells without first determining whether they might harm the environment
by depleting the water basin. The same environmental groups, Protecting Our
Water and Environmental Resources and the California Sportsfishing Protection
Alliance, filed a similar legal action last week. That lawsuit was against
Stanislaus County’s Department of Environmental Resources, and it aims to get
the agency to require environmental reviews before issuing any future
well-drilling permits.
California: GOP
incumbents may be harmed by party abandoning immigration deal in D.C. [San Jose
Mercury News]
With
GOP congressional leaders now saying immigration reform isn't likely to happen
this year, some California Republicans may be feeling they've been thrown under
the bus. The electoral math seems to spell another year of inertia on the
incendiary issue even though polls show that most Americans -- particularly
Latinos -- believe it needs action. With Democrats needing 17 more seats to
take control of the House, Republican leaders seem willing to risk losing a few
swing districts over immigration -- better that, they believe, than fuel tea
party primary challengers who could lose a larger number of otherwise safe GOP
seats in November. That could be unwelcome news for incumbents like Jeff
Denham, R-Modesto, and David Valadao, R-Hanford, who represent heavily Latino
districts that political experts consider "in play." "This is
potentially big trouble for those guys because their party will be held
accountable," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the House Judiciary immigration
subcommittee's top Democrat. "Their party is in charge. Their party sets
the agenda."
Education leaders
fear the disappearance of ag grant [Stockton Record]
In
the middle of one of the richest agricultural regions in the state, there's
fear that agricultural education is taking a big hit in Gov. Jerry Brown's
proposed state budget. Agriculture education leaders in San Joaquin County and
throughout California are voicing concern the elimination of an annual $4
million Ag Incentive Grant, saying without that money, some districts might
drastically cut their programs. California Agriculture Teachers Association
Executive Director Jim Aschwanden said the grant money - some San Joaquin
County Schools receive as much as $25,000 per year - is being folded into the
governors's Local Control Funding Formula instead of being offered as a
categorical grant.
Central Valley's
lucrative almond pollination attracts nation's honeybees [Bakersfield
Californian]
Bret
Adee and his 138 tractor-trailer loads of honeybees do a lot of traveling over
the course of a year, from the alfalfa fields of his South Dakota hometown to
the apple orchards of Washington to the wildflower-speckled forests of Mississippi
-- some 6,000 miles roundtrip. While the itinerary can change from year to year
depending on weather and economics, there's one destination he would never
think of passing up: the almond bloom expected to start this week in Kern
County and the rest of the Central Valley….But all is not well in the almond
pollination, and it hasn't been for several years. Diverse threats are
weakening honeybee populations, from viruses and mites to pesticide
sensitivities and lack of forage. The almond industry is keenly aware that its
prosperity depends on thriving bee colonies, and has sponsored various research
projects aimed an improving honeybee health.
Ag
Today is distributed by the CFBF Communications/News Division to county Farm
Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for information purposes; stories may
not be republished without permission. Some story links may require site
registration. To be removed from this mailing list, reply to this
message and please provide your name and e-mail address. For more
information about Ag Today, contact 916-561-5550 or news@cfbf.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment