Water:
*Ammonia from Sacramento waste could hurt Delta ecosystem -- The likely fish killer is ammonia, a common byproduct of human urine and feces. Sacramento's regional sewage treatment plant is the largest single source of ammonia in the Delta, discharging treated wastewater from nearly 1.4 million people into the Sacramento River near Freeport -- without removing ammonia. Two recent studies by Richard Dugdale, an oceanographer at San Francisco State University, show that ammonia disrupts the food chain in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Sacramento Bee 6/1/08
*Lawmakers advance oil spill legislation -- The Assembly approved a wide-ranging bill addressing oil spill response, AB2547, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The bill, co-authored by most of the Bay Area's Assembly delegation, is aimed at improving response and cleanup through investments in better technology, mutual aid agreements between responding organizations, tighter standards for response personnel and mandatory containment response for accidents in foggy conditions. SJ Mercury 5/30/08
‘SalmonAid' promotes rescue of fishery -- Hundreds of people converged on Jack London Square on Saturday to hear live rock bands and rally for a good cause — saving California's dwindling wild salmon population. The free SalmonAid festival, which will continue today, was organized to raise awareness about the fish's upstream battle against climate change, dams and damaged river habitats. Organizers say the problem is not overfishing. Water is increasingly being pumped from Northern California's Klamath and Sacramento rivers to irrigate farms, draining them of the clean, cool flowing water the fish need to spawn. CC Times 6/1/08
Fishers struggle with salmon shutdown -- Already, some coastal retailers are shifting to tourism, trading rods and reels for T-shirts and floppy hats amid the first yearlong closure of commercial and recreational salmon fishing off California and Oregon. The number of commercial salmon fishing permits statewide has dropped in 30 years from several thousand to 1,400, of which fishers said only about 500 are active. Their numbers will likely slide further with the bleak picture, fishers said. SJ Mercury 6/1/08
Wells running dry in Visalia -- A combination of mediocre rainfall and high demand are causing wells to dry up throughout the Central Valley. Ever-expanding housing developments, farm irrigation and the construction of major retail outlets in the Packwood Creek area have created a "perfect storm" of water demand in south Visalia, officials say. Visalia Times Delta 6/1/08
Agriculture:
Stung by losses, nation’s beekeepers try to rebuild -- If colony collapse disorder continues, beekeepers may not be able to meet demand. That’s why some breeders have switched their emphasis to breeding queen bees. Beekeepers surveyed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service last winter reported a total loss of about 36.1 percent of their bee colonies, a jump of 13.5 percent from a year ago. Boston Herald 5/30/08
Proposed legislation would overturn state's new raw milk regulations -- The battle over raw milk will move from the courtroom back to the Legislature this week. A Central Valley lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would overturn new state health regulations that a Kerman dairy has been fighting for months. The proposal by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, comes just a week after a Superior Court judge upheld the new standard, designed to promote cleanliness at the state's two raw milk dairies. Sacramento Bee 6/2/08
Food:
Safeway promotes healthy living to reduce costs -- What might be a little different at the Pleasanton headquarters of Safeway are the fliers advertising nutrition and exercise speakers presenting lectures in the company's auditorium that week. Like most companies in America, Safeway has watched health care costs soar unpredictably in the last decade, but took significant steps three years ago to reduce costs by changing its employee insurance plans and promoting health and wellness. Safeway reduced its health care costs from 2005 to 2006 by about 13 percent and kept them flat the following two years. Inside Bay Area 5/30/08
With souring economy, food bank, churches see increase in food requests -- By mixing a lot of ingredients, the Food Bank of Contra Costa-Solano expects to keep its cupboards full at a time of rising food costs and increased demand for services. Some Vallejo churches — often on the front lines of helping those in need — say they have seen a spike in requests for food since gas prices jumped a few months ago. CC Times 6/1/08
*A farmers market that fits in -- East Palo Alto is getting its first certified farmers market. Unlike typical markets, some of the food will be grown by residents themselves. The farmers market is just one way the organizers hope to change diets and health in East Palo Alto, where 28 percent of school children are overweight. SJ Mercury 6/1/08
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