The climbing global price of rice and other staples shows no sign of leveling off, given caps placed on exports and various supply-side squeezes. As a result, food experts predict hunger and poverty in poor nations along with a restricted supply of grains coupled with rising prices in this country. The shortage reflects restrictions on exports by major rice producers, notably India, Vietnam and Egypt, followed on Wednesday by Brazil, causing imbalance in world markets. By comparison, there is an abundance of medium- and short-grain rice planted in California, the nation's second-largest rice-producing state after Arkansas. California growers will harvest approximately 4 billion pounds this year, with 40 percent of the crop to be exported, the majority to Japan. SF Chronicle 4/25/08
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California may enact a fishing ban in a network of protected marine areas that cover 80 square miles of coastal waters stretching from Half Moon Bay to Mendocino, following a recommendation this week from a state task force. The governor's Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force released its plan Wednesday, urging the creation of 24 protected areas where fishing and seafood harvesting would be restricted or banned in state waters within three miles of shore. The aim is to protect diminishing populations of rock fish, sea lions, abalone, birds, and other aquatic life. Inside Bay Area 4/25/08
About 80 square miles from Santa Cruz to Mendocino County could fall under the most severe restrictions, including many areas on the North Coast that are beloved by abalone divers, fishermen, kayakers and others. Passed in 1999, the legislation envisions a network of protected marine areas from Mexico to Oregon. Press Democrat 4/25/08
The compromise plan calls for a network of new state marine preserves, parks and conservation areas that form the core of an ambitious plan ordered by state lawmakers in a bid to reverse plunging fish populations. Fishing would be banned in marine preserves, and restricted to varying degrees in conservation areas. SJ Mercury 4/24/08
Hoping to engineer their way out of a salmon crisis, wildlife agencies are manipulating the natural rhythms of the species to an unprecedented degree in hopes of producing more fish. California has long trucked most of its young hatchery salmon around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to avoid losing them to pumps, poisons and predators. This year, under pressure from fishing groups, it will truck nearly all of them – nearly 17 million salmon smolts. The state-bred salmon are being tracked to see if they are pushing out wild salmon. Sacramento Bee 4/25/08
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The best hope for cold-water chinook salmon to survive global warming may be near sweltering Fresno -- in the San Joaquin River, where salmon have been extinct for 60 years. That's the latest twist in the long-running debate over restoring the San Joaquin, a project that will begin in less than 18 months. Farmers, forced by legal settlement to give up irrigation water for the project, are skeptical about the claim. They see global warming as a reason to reconsider the half-billion-dollar restoration. Warmer conditions will kill the restored fish runs, they say. Fresno Bee 4/27/08
Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc. said an early Easter, cost cutting and strong performance from its Lifestyles stores helped the company post solid financial results for its first quarter and beat analysts' expectations. Many retailers have reported that the recent economic concerns have compelled consumers to spend less, but Safeway still managed to grow sales. Inside Bay Area 4/24/08
Soaring food prices and a slumping economy are gobbling up Sonoma County restaurants' profits, forcing them to find creative ways to cut costs and draw in diners. Not only is the number of diners down, but when people do treat themselves to a night out, they're spending less. They're ordering less-expensive entrees, drinking less alcohol and skipping dessert. Press Democrat 4/28/08
The debate over the legality of raw milk moves to a San Benito County courtroom today, where a judge could decide whether the state can enforce new regulations that raw milk enthusiasts -- including a producer in Kerman -- say are unwarranted. The outcome could have nationwide implications. The sale of raw milk is legal in 28 states. But supporters fear new limits -- like those proposed in California -- will reduce its availability. Fresno Bee 4/24/08
Water authority leaders are praising San Jose residents for cutting back water use in recent years, but they warn that half the city's water supply hinges on fixing levees at the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The San Jose City Council recently met with the Santa Clara Valley Water District board to discuss water supply and delivery challenges. San Jose receives roughly half its water from the delta, and Mayor Chuck Reed said that city officials should prepare to support a potential state bond measure on the November ballot aimed at fortifying the delta. SJ Mercury 4/27/08
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his opposition to Proposition 98 on Friday, saying the June 3 ballot measure threatened to undermine public works projects by restricting the government's ability to exercise eminent domain. An analysis of the measure by the Institute for Justice, a Libertarian group from Arlington, Va., however concluded that "traditional uses of eminent domain for public use will not be affected. Roads and bridges will be built. Water projects such as drainage ditches, sewers, reservoirs, dams, drinking water and irrigation have long been accepted as public uses, and that will not change under Prop. 98." The state Transportation Commission has opposed the measure, saying it would ultimately delay projects, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has also voiced opposition. LA Times 4/26/08
Schwarzenegger said he was opposing Proposition 98 in part because it might block the building of water projects crucial to farmers and residential users. Sacramento Bee 4/26/08
Water and flood-control projects across California could be jeopardized if voters approve a ballot measure to greatly restrict the ability of local governments to take private property, warns a state Department of Water Resources legal analysis. Proposition 98 “could seriously hamstring or thwart future water projects,” state attorney Dave Anderson wrote in a confidential memo to superiors. San Diego Union Tribune 4/25/08
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Most Americans want the convenience of e-mail for non-urgent medical issues, but fewer than a third of U.S. doctors use e-mail to communicate with patients, according to recent physician surveys. Some doctors worry it will increase their workload, and most physicians don't get reimbursed for it by insurance companies. Others fear hackers could compromise patient privacy — even though doctors who do e-mail generally do it through password-protected Web sites. AP 4/23/08
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