California
Republicans achieve pared-down goals in Tuesday’s election [Sacramento Bee]
Despite
faltering in every contest for statewide office, California Republicans appear
to have attained their objectives in the general election Tuesday, depriving
Democrats of supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature and chipping
away at their numbers in the U.S. House of Representatives. For the first time
since 1994, Republicans unseated Democratic incumbents in the
statehouse….Supermajorities secured by Democrats two years ago – for the first
time in more than a century – empowered them to raise taxes, place
constitutional amendments on the ballot and alter campaign finance laws without
getting support from Republicans. While they scarcely used those abilities in
the 2013-14 session, Republicans can again begin exercising leverage during
policy debates.
Editorial: ‘Red tide’ midterm
results could be a lift for the Valley [Fresno Bee]
The
“red tide” that swept much of the nation in Tuesday’s elections and enabled the
Republicans to add control of the U.S. Senate to their dominance of the House
of Representatives could prove to be beneficial to the San Joaquin Valley. That
is because two issues on which President Barack Obama and GOP lawmakers
conceivably could strike a deal — immigration reform and free trade — are vital
to a Valley economy that is recovering from the Great Recession and battling
California’s merciless drought. In addition, GOP members of the Valley’s
Congressional delegation have been front and center in pushing immigration
reform and free trade….Immigration reform. Free-trade agreements. New and
rebuilt infrastructure. The Valley would love to have all of these things. In
that the Republicans, the Democrats and Obama all need to enhance their
tarnished brands, Tuesday’s midterm results could be, finally, a step in the
right direction.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/11/05/4220250/editorial-red-tide-midterm-results.html?sp=/99/274/1345/
Who
owns California's water? [KCRA TV]
Is
there enough water? Well, not if everyone with rights to the water wants it….KCRA
3 found that more people have the rights to California’s water than there is
water to supply them….California has a complex and confusing set of water
regulations….Water -- especially today in a period of sustained drought -- may
be just as valuable as gold. The number of people vying to get that water is
high. Even in good times, far more people own the rights to the water than
there is water to give them….KCRA pulled the numbers county by county and found
more people (more than 1,400) have water rights in San Joaquin County than in
any other county in the state.
Opinion: Groundwater levels
dropping, but sky isn’t falling [Modesto Bee]
During
this third year of drought in California, there understandably has been much
concern expressed by the media and others over the volume of groundwater
pumping and its effect on our aquifers….The takeaway? The sky is not falling,
but concern over groundwater use and replenishment is valid….I believe we have
the resources to address and correct the drops in groundwater levels. The only
gorilla in the way of that success will be our own state government, which
wants to take 40 percent of all water in our region and send it to the ocean
for fish. In the state’s mind, a healthy fishery is more important than a
healthy economy. State water officials intend to start that effort in February.
This issue has enormous economic implications for our region and will have a
devastating effect on both our surface and groundwater supplies. We urge
everyone – farmers, public officials, business leaders and city residents – to
unite against this folly.
Farmers
tackle tough issues at agribusiness management conference [Fresno Bee]
Immigration
reform, drought and food safety were among the heavy duty issues discussed at
Wednesday’s 33rd annual Agribusiness Management Conference in Fresno. The
one-day conference, organized by Fresno State’s Center for Agricultural
Business, is designed to give farmers, industry leaders and related companies a
focused look at some of the most critical issues facing agriculture….For San
Joaquin Valley farmers, a shrinking pool of workers has become one of their
biggest challenges in recent years and efforts to seek a legislative remedy
have been mired in politics. Attorney Lynnette Jacquez, a principal with CJ
Lake, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, said that because efforts to move an
immigration reform bill in Congress have stalled, the White House is expected to
take administrative action later this year. Among the more significant actions
the president could take is to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals, a policy granting children of undocumented immigrants a temporary
reprieve from deportation. But Jacquez says there is very little in the
proposed action that deals specifically with agriculture workers.
More
discussion planned on Point Reyes National Seashore ranch plan [Marin
Independent Journal]
The
future of ranches in the Point Reyes National Seashore will be the focus of
meetings later this month. This week the National Park Service announced two
sessions to look at ranching practices and tule elk on pasturelands. The
meetings are part of a larger look at ranchlands dubbed the "Ranch
Comprehensive Management Plan/Environmental Assessment." Longer leases for
ranchers is the cornerstone of the plan. Stacy Carlsen, agricultural
commissioner for Marin, said the process has been a good one for ranchers so
far. "It's opened a discussion with the ranchers," he said. "We
want to hone in on the fabric on which ranchers rely on and how improvements
can be made. Ranchers have submitted comments and they have done a good job of
communicating their needs."
Ag
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