Forest:
Along charred road, 'Everything is gone' -- Wind-whipped and brush-fueled, a fierce wildfire devoured a 3,400-acre swath of the Santa Cruz Mountains on Thursday, destroying at least a dozen buildings and forcing more than a thousand residents to flee as an army of firefighters tried to cut off the blaze before it spreads today toward more populated areas. SJ Mercury 5/23/08
Preparation paying off for Cal Fire -- Officials at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection suspected it could be an ugly fire season. They brought seasonal firefighters onboard in early May, three weeks earlier than usual, and opened their air bases a full month early, a decision that paid off. SJ Mercury 5/23/08
Sen. Feinstein seeks faster response for West Coast wildfires -- U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) wants the Department of Defense to station two C-130H military aircraft at Point Mugu in Ventura County in preparation for the upcoming fire season. The federal government was to have provided California with more sophisticated MAFFS II units for the Air National Guard's newer C-130J planes. But, for technical reasons, that delivery will not be ready for the 2008 fire season. LA Times 5/22/08
Immigration:
LA welcomes 18,000 new citizens, a city record -- Record crowds of immigrants—more than 18,000 in all—took citizenship oaths here Thursday, a showing credited to rising fees, a heated debate over illegal immigration and one of the brand-new Americans raising their hands. The government administered 468,878 oaths of citizenship in the U.S. from Oct. 1 through April 30, up 35 percent from 348,591 during the same period a year earlier, said Chris Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. SJ Mercury 5/23/08
Food:
Food makers trimming junk from ads -- Motivated by the triple threat of bad publicity, tougher regulation and costly lawsuits, some of the country's biggest food companies have curtailed child-targeted advertising of certain high-calorie products. Inside Bay Area 5/23/08
Labor:
Just one word for older job-seekers: retail – Statistics from the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, show for the first time that those 65 or older and still working in America are statistically most likely to do retail, farming or janitorial work, in that order. Nearly 350,000 men and women 65 or older earn paychecks in the nation's stores, according to a report scheduled for release in June. There has been little solid information about where people beyond the average retirement age of 63 work in greatest numbers, a critical issue especially now as benefits shrink and recession looms. LA Times 5/23/08
Salmon:
U.S., Canada reach salmon agreement -- The U.S. and Canada have reached a new 10-year agreement aimed at preventing overfishing of salmon off the western coast of Canada and southeast Alaska. Under the proposed change to the existing Pacific Salmon Treaty, the U.S. would give Canada $30 million for its effort to reduce commercial salmon fishing; Alaska would receive about $7 million. Washington would receive about $7 million to improve chinook habitat. LA Times 5/23/08
Agriculture:
2008 U-pick season opens with a 'Bing" -- Come Saturday, thousands of Bay Area residents will descend upon Pomeroy Farms and dozens of other Brentwood-area orchards and fruit stands for the official opening of the 2008 U-pick season. As local farmers see it, 2008 is shaping up to be a banner harvest for cherries and other tree crops, thanks to a cool but mild winter and relatively little late rain. Cherry season starts first, with peaches, plums, apricots and other fruits and vegetables following quickly behind. According to the county's 2007 Annual Crop Report, 555 tons of cherries were picked in Contra Costa County last year. That number was up from 513 tons in 2006, despite the actual harvested acreage dropping from 364 acres to 297 acres year over year, according to the report. SJ Mercury 5/23/08
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