Three reasons
immigration reform could pass in 2014 [Wall Street Journal]
For
the most part, Congress is the place where ideas go to die this year. But
here’s one that ain’t dead yet: immigration reform. Are the chances good that
something will happen in this midterm election year on the quest to overhaul
the nation’s immigration system? No. But they aren’t zero, and conversations
with officials from both the executive and legislative branches in recent days
suggest the chances may have ticked up a bit. We should know for sure in the
next month or so….Look for business leaders to begin reaching out to House
members in coming weeks to try to make the most of this one last chance for
action in 2014.
Rising use of
'perma-temp' workers is stirring up a legislative fight [Los Angeles Times]
Employers
across California increasingly are cutting labor costs by using long-term
temporary workers — and not employees — to pick crops, sew garments, clean
hotel rooms, flip burgers and toil in a range of low-wage industries. This
trend toward "perma-temps" has alarmed workers, labor unions and
their allies who are concerned about the growth of so-called staffing agencies
that do the hiring of these temporary workers and handle the wages. The use of
these workers and their treatment are the focus of a major battle in Sacramento
this year between organized labor and business groups….The sector grew 41% from
2008 to 2012. Critics call the accelerating shift a modern-day "sweat
shop" system that creates "disposable" workers. They support
legislation to crack down on abuse by staffing companies. But staffing-supply
companies object to the criticism, and the American Staffing Assn. says the
firms follow California and federal labor laws. State and local chambers of
commerce, dozens of industry trade groups and big agriculture are lined up
solidly against the bill
Following citrus
farmer Geoffrey Galloway [Visalia Times-Delta]
The
citrus from last year’s freeze is still on the ground and next year’s fruit is
already dropping right alongside it. It’s a scene being played out across the
San Joaquin Valley. It’s the scene at Geoffrey Galloway’s 10-acre citrus ranch
in Terra Bella.…Galloway, a 38-year-old third-generation farmer, is one of
those currently receiving zero allocation of irrigation water from the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation….Galloway, who works full-time as a citrus grower service
representative, is also a board member with the Terra Bella Irrigation
District. Terra Bella has more than 7,000 acres of citrus. Locals say it’s
blessed with great citrus-growing land and climate, but cursed with little to
no groundwater. Galloway does not have a well and is 100 percent reliant on the
Friant-Kern canal water.
Rice planting moving
along, with some changes due to tight water supply [Chico Enterprise-Record]
After
delays due to weather and uncertainties about water supply, rice planting is
well underway….Farm Adviser Cass Mutters, UC Cooperative Extension, said
planting is taking place more quickly than he would have expected….The majority
of the rice land in the Butte County is within one of four water districts that
receive water from the Feather River. Up until a few weeks ago, the amount of
water was expected to be cut by half. As it turned out, rains in March
delivered just enough water to Lake Oroville for full water contracts to be
honored….Along the Sacramento River, many rice growers will have their water
cut by 25 percent.…A month ago it looked like 200,000 acres statewide would go without
being planted, of a total of about 550,000 acres of rice land. However, now it
looks like only about 100,000 acres will not be planted, Greer said.
Editorial: Water work [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
Drought
throughout the Colorado River basin is shrinking Lake Mead and threatening the
long-term water supply of the Las Vegas Valley and other users. The solution to
future shortages is simple: the creation of a free market where users buy
shares and the natural forces of supply and demand are guaranteed to put the
resource to its most productive use. (Hint: It’s not agriculture.)…About 75
percent of the river’s water irrigates desert crops, produce that never would
have been grown if the water weren’t free, produce that easily could be
acquired via trade with other countries. Inevitably, there will come a tipping
point where the water used by southwest farmers to irrigate their crops will be
more valuable than the crops and the land the plants grow on. We might be there
today. When that happens, funds that pay farmers to not farm will be money
well-spent — just like the efficiency fund being created today.
High-speed rail plan
attracts foes, supporters at Fresno hearing [Fresno Bee]
Members
of the California High-Speed Rail Authority were alternately scolded and
encouraged -- and even threatened with arrest -- for more than three hours
Tuesday in a hearing on plans for the Fresno-Bakersfield section of its
proposed bullet-train network. Tuesday was the first part of a two-day meeting
for the rail board to consider certifying environmental reports and adopting a
route for the 114-mile segment through the southern San Joaquin Valley. A
certification vote and route approval are expected Wednesday, after the
authority board hears its staff respond to comments presented Tuesday.…A key
complaint of many was the short time that the public had to sift through the
20,000-page environmental impact report before the hearing. The report --
intended to detail the anticipated effects on homes, businesses, farms,
communities and wildlife habitat from building and operating the high-speed
train line in the Valley -- was published less than three weeks ago.
Airoso named Tulare
County Farm Bureau president [Fresno Business Journal]
Outgoing
Tulare County Farm Bureau President Steve Godlin will pass the gavel to local
dairy farmer Joey Airoso at the Farm Bureau annual meeting this week. It will
be a first in the organization’s long history for a dairyman to hold the top
office….Airoso is a Tulare County native. His family has been dairy farming in
the county for more than 100 years.
Ag
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