Drought intensifies push for better California groundwater management [Capital Public Radio, Sacramento]
Californians
are becoming more reliant on underground water during the drought. But
policymakers and environmental groups agree better management of the resource
is needed….Local agencies, not the state, manage groundwater in California. But
the extent of their monitoring and authority varies widely.….California
Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross says a number of
agencies are working on a long-term sustainability plan….She says California’s
landscapes are so diverse, groundwater is best managed by local agencies. But
in its plan, the state would be a backstop when, for example, there is no local
political will.…California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger says if
policymakers aren’t careful when creating new groundwater rules, the state’s
farmers could suffer something similar to the mortgage crisis.…Wenger says the
best way to manage groundwater is to increase surface water supplies.
Stanislaus County
supervisors accept groundwater recommendations, action plan [Modesto Bee]
Stanislaus
County leaders on Tuesday approved a five-year groundwater action plan that was
developed by a committee dominated by agriculture interests. The board, on a
5-0 vote, accepted the 17 recommendations of the Water Advisory Committee, none
of which placed limits on new well permits or groundwater pumping for sprawling
orchards on the eastern side of the county….Wayne Zipser, Stanislaus Farm
Bureau director and the committee’s chairman, said he expects the panel will
continue meeting, with the county’s well permit process given the priority for
the coming months. The committee could look at additional requirements such as
flow meters on new wells.
House votes against
California high speed rail [Sacramento Bee]
Congressional
Republicans this week are trying to drive another spike, or two, into the heart
of California’s high-speed rail program. Daring a presidential veto, GOP
lawmakers are deploying a Fiscal 2015 transportation funding bill to
effectively block the federal Surface Transportation Board from issuing new
permits for the California project. Hammering home the point, House Republicans
on Tuesday approved an amendment by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., that blocks any
money from the $52 billion bill from going to California high-speed rail.
Cantor’s loss a bad
omen for moderates [New York Times]
The
House Republican leadership, so solid in its opposition to President Obama, was
torn apart Tuesday by the defeat of its most influential conservative voice,
Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader. His demise will
reverberate all the way to the speaker’s chair, pull the top echelons of the
House even further to the right and most likely doom any ambitious legislation,
possibly through the next presidential election. Conservatives who have helped
fuel some of the most contentious showdowns over the last three years on issues
such as immigration and raising the federal debt ceiling are likely to be
emboldened by Mr. Cantor’s shocking loss as they seek to replace him with
someone even more closely aligned with their views….At the least, Mr. Obama’s
push for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws now seems
even more elusive. Mr. Cantor’s opponent, Mr. Brat, had virtually no money to
conduct a true campaign, but he focused on immigration.
FDA decision puts
cheese making in peril [San Francisco Chronicle]
Gabe
Luddy, a fourth-generation cheese maker at Vella Cheese Co. in Sonoma, makes
his dry Jack the same way his grandfather and great-grandfather did: He rolls
and presses curds into large wheels of cheese, then brines the wheels before
sliding them onto wooden racks. There they age, from seven months to several
years. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration statement that became public last
week puts Vella's 83-year-old practice in peril. In what the agency called a
clarification, the FDA declared that wooden racks similar to the one Vella uses
"cannot be adequately cleaned and sanitized."…In California, the
state Department of Food and Agriculture, which has had primary responsibility
for inspecting cheese-making facilities, has long permitted cheese makers to
use wood. The FDA's clarification calls that into question, and the agency has
new authority to make its position stick. The Food Safety Modernization Act of
2011 gave the FDA additional powers to issue new food-safety regulations and
demand recalls of contaminated foods.
Put pesticides in
perspective [Monterey County Herald]
…Truckloads
of studies over the past decades show without a doubt the health benefits of
eating fresh produce. And these studies have largely been conducted using those
that have been grown conventionally.…Even the EWG, which publishes the
"Dirty Dozen" list, confirms that "the health benefits of a diet
rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh risks of pesticide
exposure."…Should we eat more vegetables and fruit? Yes. Can we safely
choose produce that has been grown organically or conventionally? Yes. I
applaud all our American farmers who groan under the weight of intense food
safety regulations to assure we have the safest food in the entire world.
Ag
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