Farm Bill:
*Reaching Well Beyond the Farm -- While most of the complaints are directed at Congress for squandering an opportunity to revamp farm subsidies when crops are at record-high prices, the sweeping 673-page bill touches on so many other issues of enormous importance to lawmakers and their constituents, rural and urban alike, that many say it is no longer accurate to call it the “farm bill.” NY Times 5/20/08
Health:
*State budget to chop dental benefits for poor -- To the dismay of many patients and health care advocates, the governor's budget seeks to eliminate most dental benefits for nearly 3 million poor, disabled and elderly people in California who rely on state-paid dental insurance. A new report released Monday, which analyzed the impact of eliminating most Medi-Cal dental benefits for adults concludes that the budget proposal would cost the state $115 million in matching federal funds and cause far more expensive medical treatment. SF Chronicle 5/20/08
State urges people to start gathering, storing medical records on the Web -- Based on a survey of California's major health insurers, the California Department of Insurance is encouraging Golden State consumers to use Web-based personal health records, or PHRs for short. PHRs typically include information on prescriptions, hospitalizations, doctor visits, lab tests, outpatient procedures and family medical history. Sacramento Bee 5/20/08
Google offers online medical records service -- Google Inc. made available to the public a free service that allows customers to manage their medical records online and get health information, the Mountain View Internet company said Monday. Google Health (www.google.com/health) allows users to create an electronic health profile that stores their medical information and get relevant health information. The service also gives people the option of sharing their records with doctors and other providers. SF Chronicle 5/20/08
Bio-fuels:
*Pacific Ethanol's booming sales delight Wall Street -- Pacific Ethanol Inc. hasn't had much to cheer about lately, but the Sacramento company's better-than-expected first-quarter results absolutely dazzled Wall Street on Monday. Fueled by a big run-up in sales volume, the company earned 6 cents a share on continuing operations. Yet the quarterly results still showed signs of problems; the company showed a bottom-line loss of $35.2 million during the quarter, or 90 cents a share. That compared with last year's profit of $3 million, or 5 cents. Sacramento Bee 5/20/08
Fuel crops 'pose invasion risk' -- Nations should avoid planting biofuel crops that have a high risk of becoming invasive species, a report warns. A study by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) said only a few countries have systems in place to assess the risk or contain an outbreak. BBC 5/20/08
Agriculture:
Future of farming: Local, organic, home delivered -- Barsotti, 27, runs Capay Fruits and Vegetables, fast becoming a miniconglomerate in the world of natural foods. In addition to traditional wholesale relationships and a retail store in the San Francisco Ferry Building, the farm delivers boxes of fresh produce door-to-door to homes and office from Sacramento to San Francisco and San Jose. Sacramento Bee 5/20/08
New bill could ease farm stand restrictions -- If passed into law, the measure would let farmers not only sell their produce but dried fruit, processed nuts, jams and jellies. It also allows the sale of bottled water and soft drinks. Central Valley Business Times 5/19/08
*USDA Seeks Rule to Ban Slaughter of All Non-Ambulatory Animals -- Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced Tuesday morning that USDA is in the process of drafting an "expedited final rule" that would ban the slaughter of any non-ambulatory animal. The rule won't be published for some months, USDA officials said. It would remove a loophole in existing regulations that allows USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service veterinarians to re-inspect, and allow slaughter, of otherwise healthy animals that go down after the initial ante-mortem inspection at slaughter plants. Farm Futures 5/20/08
Forests and parks:
$1.2 billion needed for park repairs -- California's 278-park system has made the 2008 list of America's most endangered historic places - thanks to years of under-funding that have left the facilities in shabby and desperate conditions, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Daily News 5/20/08
Food and wine:
California Green and Organic Purchasing Strong Despite Rising Prices -- A recent market research survey showed that Californians are placing a priority on buying green and 2 in 3 or more are using a variety of money saving strategies to offset higher food and energy prices, including coupons, stocking up on sales and cooking meals at home to stretch their grocery dollars. Even with the faltering economy and rising food and energy prices, about 9 in 10 (87%) consumers reported buying the same (48%) or more (39%) green environmentally friendly products vs. 6 months ago. PR News Wire 5/20/08
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