Brown:
California needs long-term vision on water [Associated Press]
Addressing
California's longstanding water problems will take tens of billions of dollars
more and a large dose of political compromise, but the epic drought may provide
new motivation, Gov. Jerry Brown told a Stanford University water conference on
Monday….Still, the Democratic governor said he intends to serve as leader on
the issue if he is re-elected in November, telling the crowd that the state's
drought, now entering its fourth year, is too complex for a less experienced
governor to tackle….Monday's event also gave Brown an opportunity to promote a
November ballot initiative, Proposition 1, which would authorize $7.5 billion
for water infrastructure projects and conservation. But he said that will not
be nearly enough to address the long-term water challenges, which will require
"tens of billions of dollars invested over the next 10 to 20 years."
Amid
California's drought, a bruising battle for cheap water [Los Angeles Times]
In
a state where three-quarters of the water use is by agriculture, powerful farm
districts such as Westlands play an outsized role in the rough-and-tumble world
of water politics. Westlands and its wealthy farmers are exercising their
considerable clout to maintain a flow of cheap water from the north despite a
harsh truth. In all of California, there may be no worse place to practice the
kind of industrial-scale irrigated agriculture that Westlands is famous for
than the badly drained, salt-laden lands that make up roughly half the
district. Westlands has persevered for decades by battling other farmers for
supplies, repeatedly suing the U.S. government and spending millions of dollars
trying to roll back environmental restrictions on water deliveries — all while
planting lucrative nut crops that can't survive a season without water.
Paid
sick leave law a concern for farm labor employers [Imperial Valley Press]
Farm
workers that are employed by multiple employers over the course of a year could
benefit considerably from a recently signed state law mandating paid sick leave
for employees. The law, Assembly Bill 1522, allows employees to accrue an
hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The law also allows an employer
to limit an employee’s use of paid sick days to 24 hours, or three days, in
each year of employment, according to the bill’s language….The law is also
expected to further increase the cost of farm labor, said Mary Castillo, a
supervisor with R.S. Harvesting, an El Centro-based farm labor contractor….The
end result is that growers turn more and more to mechanization or decide to
move their operations out of state, Castillo said.
4-U.S.
risks trade sanctions in WTO meat label dispute [Reuters]
The
United States faces potential trade sanctions from Canada and Mexico after the
World Trade Organization ruled on Monday it had failed to bring its meat
labeling regulations fully in line with international fair trading rules. The
WTO said the United States had not done enough to change its labeling rules,
requiring retailers such as grocery stores to list the country of origin on
meat, after it lost an earlier WTO challenge….Canada and Mexico called on the
United States to repeal the rules and said they were prepared to retaliate if
needed against U.S. exports….U.S. pork producers urged Congress and the
administration to fix the rules and avoid "financially devastating"
retaliation, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of
Manufacturers, farmer cooperatives and corn refiners said the offending
sections should be immediately rescinded. Beef producers said the whole policy
should be scrapped.
Ban
on GMO plants advances at L.A. City Hall [Los Angeles Times]
Citing
environmental and health concerns, a panel of Los Angeles lawmakers Monday
threw their support behind a citywide ban on growing genetically modified
crops. The ban would be "largely symbolic," said Councilman Mitch
O'Farrell, who co-authored the proposal, because there's limited agriculture in
the city. But it would send a "clear signal that in Los Angeles we want to
return to GMO-free food," he said in an interview….The full council will
consider the matter Tuesday….O'Farrell said the ban is important because urban
farming is becoming more popular in the region. Two L.A. councilmen introduced
a motion this month that calls for landowners to receive tax breaks for turning
empty lots into urban farms.
Opinion: There's a better
way to do immigration reform [Los Angeles Times]
Immigration
is the definitive wedge issue in American politics, but it doesn't have to
be….Congress should forget comprehensive reform and try for pragmatic and
incremental change instead….The Hoover Institution has been surveying
immigration experts — a 40-member working group of scholars from across the
political spectrum — to test that hypothesis…. We also asked the scholars to
judge nine components for a better temporary work visa system. One idea known
as “portability” had overwhelming support, with 97% in favor. So if Congress
could do just one thing related to immigration, this is it: Allow visa
portability, so that guest workers can change employers and thus avoid
exploitation.
Ag
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