Valley Republicans Valadao, Denham vote against immigration bill [Fresno Bee]
Valley
Republican Reps. David Valadao of Hanford and Jeff Denham of Turlock voted
against a House bill Wednesday that would provide nearly $40 billion to finance
the Homeland Security Department through the rest of the budget year. The bill
includes provisions rolling back President Barack Obama’s actions on
immigration. The bill passed 236-191. Valadao and Denham were the only
California Republicans (and only 10 total in the House) to vote no. Voting yes
were House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Devin Nunes of
Tulare. All of California’s Democrats, including Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno,
voted no….“Putting Americans at risk, because of partisan politics, is just
plain irresponsible.” The House also agreed to eliminate Obama’s 2012 policy,
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which granted work permits and stays of
deportation to more than 600,000 immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally
as children.
California
adopts new pesticide regulations [Ventura County Star]
The
state announced new rules Wednesday meant to protect the health of people
exposed to a pesticide called chloropicrin, which is widely used by Ventura
County strawberry growers. County growers used nearly 2.8 million pounds of
chloropicrin in 2012, more than in any other county in the state….Strawberry
grower Will Terry, chief operating officer of Terry Farms in Santa Paula, said
he hadn’t yet seen the new rules but suspects higher costs will result. “I
would assume the prices would go up,” he said. “I don’t know of any situation
where when rules get tighter the cost goes down.”…Environmentalists, however,
don’t think the regulations go far enough….California farmers will now be
forced to abide by the nation’s strictest rules, which surpass standards
required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Delta
fish species plunge amid drought [Sacramento Bee]
California’s
ongoing drought marked a setback for five important fish species in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 2014, including the Delta smelt, a signature
native fish that has often altered the course of state water policy. The smelt
recorded an all-time low population number in an annual fall survey of fish
species. Others in steep decline include longfin smelt, American shad,
threadfin shad and striped bass. The results are not unexpected because all the
species are known to decline in drought years. That’s
Fish
rescue underway at Knaggs Ranch [Davis Enterprise]
Out of
3-foot-deep water, employees of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
winch up a 15-foot-wide cylinder of fencing and plastic weave they placed between
two sections of fence on Monday….In a loose wetsuit, Brian Raleigh, a
scientific aide for the department, opens the gate and climbs in with a net
hanging off a long pole….Everyone’s hoping he finds an endangered winter-run
salmon….“We want to catch a lot of ‘winter run’ so we can show that it’s on
fire,” said John Brennan, a rice farmer who helps manage the Knaggs Ranch, LLC,
which owns property along the southern edge of the ridge cut. That fire? He
wants to demonstrate to regulatory agencies how dangerous the canals are to
endangered fish. A month ago, 60 fall-run salmon were found dead in the Colusa
Basin irrigation system, north of here, where the basin drains into the Yolo
Bypass. In response, the department installed the trap, called a fyke, before
early-December storms.
Obama
measures on Cuba trade, travel poke new holes in embargo [Reuters]
The
United States rolled out a sweeping set of measures on Thursday to
significantly ease sanctions on Cuba, opening up the country to expanded U.S.
travel, trade and financial activities….But the package of rules issued by the
Treasury and Commerce Departments, which come into effect on Friday, will allow
U.S. exports of telecommunications, agricultural and construction equipment,
permit expanded travel by Americans to the island and open banking relations.
It was the first tangible U.S. step to implement the economic changes Obama
pledged on Dec. 17 when he and Cuban President Raul Castro announced plans to
restore diplomatic relations between the old Cold War foes….In addition, there
will be a change in the definition of “cash in advance” payment required by
Cuban buyers, which could help a variety of business interests, most notably
U.S. agriculture, in gaining greater access to Cuban markets.
UC
Davis launches food institute [Sacramento Bee]
The
fate of the world’s food supply, the relationship of food to health, and the
role of venture capital in farming were among a slate of issues tackled by
noted national scientists and others during the official launch of the
Innovation Institute for Food and Health at UC Davis on Wednesday….The
institute is destined to operate under the umbrella of UC Davis’ planned World
Food Center, which the university has said it wants to establish in Sacramento,
possibly in the downtown railyard….For UC Davis, the institute is being seen as
a Silicon Valley-like center where startups and innovative research will be
created within the food realm.
Ag
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