Alameda County residents will soon be voting by mail on a request to increase the amount they shell out to battle mosquitoes. A March ballot measure will ask voters to raise an Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District special tax, which currently costs homeowners $1.74 per year, to a maximum of $5 per year. The Hayward-based agency and its 13 employees seek and eliminate mosquitoes from breeding sites. They test and monitor for diseases carried by mosquitoes, including West Nile virus. CC Times 2/29/08
A coalition of business and farming groups said Thursday it is dropping plans to put a water bond initiative before voters on the November ballot. The group said it instead will work with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein to negotiate a compromise that can be passed this year by the state Legislature. CC Times 2/29/08
The Humane Society of the United States says caged chickens suffer – and it's gathering signatures to put a measure on the November 2008 ballot that would make California the first state to ban barns outfitted like this one. The proposal, which would take effect in 2015, rides an international wave of opposition to farm-animal confinement. The European Union is already in the process of phasing cages out altogether by 2012, and in the past two years dozens of food-industry trendsetters, from Ben & Jerry's to Burger King, have pledged to buy some or even all of their eggs from hens raised cage-free. Sacramento Bee 2/29/08
The agriculture secretary on Thursday resisted calls from Democratic senators for a complete ban on so-called downer cattle -- those unable to walk -- from entering the food supply. In the wake of the largest beef recall in U.S. history, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced new steps to ensure the safety of the country's meat supply, including more random inspections of slaughterhouses and immediate audits of the 23 plants that supply meat for federal programs, primarily school lunches. CC Times 2/29/08
Tourists sipping their way up the 30-mile valley from the city of Napa to Calistoga may never see this other Napa Valley. But the celebrated Wine Country is proof that there are few places in the nation left unsmacked by the housing crisis. Beautiful Napa is experiencing foreclosures, plunging housing prices, unheard of drops in home sales and the nervous sense of foreboding that has spread across the country. CC Times 2/29/08
Despite stalled negotiations with Democrats on a comprehensive water plan, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger intends to move forward on studies of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, including a controversial canal, as well as call for a 20 percent per capita reduction in statewide water use, according to a letter he sent Thursday to Senate Democrats. Sacramento Bee 2/29/08
San Francisco diners are renowned for their discerning culinary tastes. Now people in the city could get to know their food even better. A Board of Supervisors committee has forwarded to the full board an ordinance that would require chain restaurants to post nutritional information in their menus and on menu boards. The board is expected to pass the proposal. SF Chronicle 2/29/08
Officials warned Thursday that a total closure of commercial and recreational salmon fishing may be needed this year to protect dwindling Sacramento River fall-run chinook populations. In a preseason report, the Pacific Fishery Management Council offered data showing the 2007 Sacramento fall run reached its lowest level in 37 years of recordkeeping. The report largely confirms data leaked to the media last month. Sacramento Bee 2/29/08
Recent storms have boosted southern Sierra Nevada snowpacks, raising hopes for many farmers who saw their water deliveries slashed last year. Fresno Bee 2/29/08
California sued the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday over plans that would open more than 500,000 acres to roads and oil drilling in the state's largest national forests. The four Southern California forests -- Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland -- comprise more than 3.5 million acres that stretch from Big Sur to the Mexican border. LA Times 2/29/08
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