Agriculture:
Agriculture Community and Public Invited to Share in a California Agricultural Vision -- The California State Board of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) today launched a series of listening sessions that will provide a forum for the agriculture industry and public to provide input into California’s strategic agricultural vision planning. Imperial Valley News 5/15/08
Study: U.S. Honey Bee Deaths Increased over Last Year -- survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the United States' commercially managed hives lost since last year. Last year's survey commissioned by the Apiary Inspectors of America found losses of about 32 percent. MN Weekly 5/15/08
Forests and Parks:
Advocates 'ecstatic' that Benicia's state parks will stay open -- Originally on the chopping block with 46 other state parks, the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park and the State Recreation Area were slated for possible closure as part of $14.5 billion in budget cuts proposed in January. Schwarzenegger's $144.3 billion state budget revision removed the parks from earlier proposed cuts. CC Times 5/14/08
*Reversal on parks cuts -- The governor's budget would reverse a proposal made in January to dismiss employees and close 48 parks and beaches, including nine in the Bay Area. The plan now is to cut $1.5 million out of the parks budget and make that up by raising entrance fees a maximum of $2. Revenue also could be raised through cabin rentals and fees at new campgrounds. SF Chronicle 5/15/08
*Court blocks Bush's plan for logging in Sierra -- A federal appeals court blocked the Bush administration's plans Wednesday for logging three tracts in the northern Sierra and said the government has failed to justify a critical element in its plan for the forests: selling trees to lumber companies to pay for removing brush that increases the threat of fire. SF Chronicle 5/15/08
Farm Bill:
Produce farmers cheer farm bill -- Money for traditional commodity subsidies, food stamps and other programs in the $290 billion bill still dwarfs spending on specialty crops _ fruits, vegetables, nuts and nursery products, which together account for about half the country's crop value. Nonetheless fruit and vegetable producers and their allies said they had made an important advance. The bill would spend more than $1 billion directly on specialty crops through grants and other programs, while hundreds of millions more would go for related programs, such as a $1 billion fresh fruit and vegetable snack program for schools. AP 5/14/08
House passes farm bill by large margin -- The House on Wednesday emphatically approved a massive five-year farm bill by a veto-proof margin. Brushing off President Bush's opposition, many Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in approving the farm bill 318-106. This is well over the two-thirds vote needed to override Bush's promised veto. The Senate is expected to approve the legislation by a similarly commanding margin as early as this morning. McClatchy Newspapers 5/15/08
*House passes farm bill by veto-proof margin -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi marshaled a 318-vote, veto-proof majority to pass a $290 billion farm bill that will lock in the nation's food policy for five years while granting $3 billion in first-ever money to support California fruits and vegetables. The bill, expected to pass the Senate today, also by a veto-proof margin, includes as much as $40 billion in subsidies to commodity farmers who already enjoy record prices. SF Chronicle 5/15/08
*Defying President Bush, Senate Passes Farm Bill -- The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a five-year, $307 billion farm bill, sending it to President Bush for what is expected to be his futile veto. NY Times 5/15/08
*How California benefits in farm bill -- The bill includes $466 million over 10 years for block grants to help states research and promote specialty crops, which include fruits, vegetables, nuts, dried fruits and flowers. California will end up with more funding than other states. California's rice, wheat, cotton and corn growers harvested some $435 million in commodity payments in 2006, according to data collected by the Environmental Working Group. By and large, the new farm bill retains these existing commodity programs. The Agriculture Department's existing Environmental Quality Incentive Program will include $150 million to assist farmers in regions with serious air pollution. Sacramento Bee 5/15/08
Water:
EBMUD adopts water-rationing rules -- Faced with mandatory rationing by the East Bay Municipal Utility District, thousands of customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties Wednesday began contemplating a long, hot summer of restricted water use. The utility is asking residents to cut back 19 percent or possibly face fines, surcharges and water service shut-offs. SF Chronicle 5/15/08
L.A. prepares massive water-conservation plan -- With vital and often-distant water sources shrinking, Los Angeles officials today will revive a controversial proposal to recycle wastewater as part of a plan to curb usage and move the city toward greater water independence.
State to restock poisoned Lake Davis with trout -- Thousands of Eagle Lake trout are in line for new homes Friday in Lake Davis when the California Department of Fish and Game begins to make good on its promise to plant 11 tons of trout in the Plumas County reservoir. Sacramento Bee 5/15/08
Health:
Democrats want chemical in plastic investigated -- Members of a Senate consumer affairs subcommittee faulted federal agencies for reacting too slowly to concerns that children are exposed to bisphenol A, or BPA, through leaching from such items as water bottles, baby bottles and the linings of food and baby formula cans. LA Times 5/15/08
Taking a chance on Calif. Lottery -- Gov. Schwarzenegger on Wednesday proposed to close the state's $15.2 billion budget gap by borrowing against the state lottery and making major cuts to health and social service programs. The cuts to health and social programs could cause some Valley residents to lose state-backed medical coverage, officials said. Fresno Bee 5/14/08
*BUDGET CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA -HEALTH CARE -- The budget would cut $1.04 billion from health and human services that were proposed in January's budget for a total reduction of $3.4 billion. Under a $1.1 billion cut to Medi-Cal - which serves 6.6 million people in the state - tens of thousands of poor residents would receive fewer medical services. Nearly 40,000 poor working parents, who now receive comprehensive Medi-Cal coverage, would have their benefits reduced if they earn more than about $12,000 a year for a family of three. SF Chronicle 5/15/08
Budget cuts programs for the ailing poor -- The state would keep the $109 million cost-of-living adjustment for federal supplemental security recipients instead of passing the money on to California's 1.3 million poor people who are blind, disabled or elderly. Wages for in-home support service workers who care for 400,000 homebound Californians would be cut, while a cash-assistance program for legal immigrants would be eliminated. Funds to administer county food stamp programs would be trimmed by 10 percent. SF Chronicle 5/15/08
CalPERS: No increase in health premiums -- A key CalPERS committee on Wednesday recommended that the massive pension and health fund not raise the cost of PPO premiums for state workers in 2009. In one case, they even proposed decreasing them by 3 percent. Sacramento Bee 5/15/08
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