Food:
*Sacramento area restaurants struggle as gas, food costs rise -- Sacramento's eating and drinking establishments are entering a shake-out phase. Summer, already a traditionally slow season for restaurants, will severely test who can stand up to higher costs for everything from eggs to employees as sales wobble. The sluggish economy has already forced some out of business. Sacramento Bee 6/27/08
Not Just Another Jelly Bean -- An anomaly in the stagnant $29.1 billion candy industry, the company, based in Fairfield, Calif., continues to grow and increase market share, with sales up 25 percent since 2006. Jelly Belly's success, industry experts say, is because of wider availability and global expansion. And, according to candy connoisseurs, it just makes a better bean. NY Times 6/26/08
Health:
Two more birds in county had West Nile -- The dead birds, a house finch and a crow, were found in the Pocket area and in Oak Park, officials of the Elk Grove-based Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District announced Thursday.This year, five infected birds have been found in the two counties, a district news release says. In response to the new cases, the district elevated its mosquito trapping and treatment efforts in the areas where the infected birds were found. Sacramento Bee 6/27/08
Parks and forests:
*Overwhelmed firefighters ask governor, lawmakers for help -- A firefighters' blue-ribbon task force created by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004 — and revived last year after devastating blazes — pleaded with the governor and lawmakers Thursday to "get real" about the growing wildfire threat facing California. The task force, which includes top fire officials in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, issued a statement calling for funds to finance more firefighters, year-round staffing in rural areas, and additional engines and aircraft in future years. SJ Mercury 6/27/08
Mendocino state of emergency called; face masks, air purifiers fly off shelves -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Thursday in fire-stricken Mendocino County, underscoring the peril facing thousands of rural residents and property owners. The proclamation put Mendocino County in line for more firefighters, equipment and financial aid, state officials said. Press Democrat 6/27/08
Water:
Fluidigm CEO's testing devices help the salmon he once fished -- Worthington's 9-year-old company has come up with a 1 1/4-inch-square silicone - not silicon - device that contains hundreds of thousands of rubber channels, valves and reaction chambers.Think of it as an integrated circuit for fluids. Instead of moving electric currents along intricate paths, it moves liquid, precisely mixing tiny biological samples with chemical agents that yield results for gene analysis, disease detection and other biological tests. The technology's promise is to replace biolabs full of test tubes, pipettes, machines and robots with a desktop device that will conduct tests faster and more cheaply than current systems. SJ Mercury 2/27/08
Schwarzenegger criticizes McCain's offshore drilling proposal -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a veiled swipe at Republican presidential hopeful John McCain on Thursday when he said at a climate conference here that anyone suggesting offshore oil drilling could bring down gas prices was "blowing smoke. The remark was also a dig at his host, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who riled environmentalists, tourism promoters and the state's political leaders on both sides of the aisle last week when he voiced support for McCain's proposal to lift bans on exploring for oil off the coasts of California, Florida and the Eastern Seaboard. LA Times 6/27/08
Agriculture:
Un-busy bees a disaster for almost everyone -- The folks at Haagen-Dazs are worried enough that they and others have mounted a campaign to halt the shocking decline of honeybees and other pollinators of strawberry plants, almond trees and the rest of the roughly 90 percent of terrestrial plant life that needs pollination. Officials of the Oakland company told Congress on Thursday that more than 40 percent of its product's flavors, derived from fruits and nuts, depend on honeybees. Federal research dollars are beginning to flow and will jump dramatically with the newly passed farm bill, but scientists remain baffled about the cause of pollinator decline. SF Chronicle 6/27/08
Ag secretary, lawmakers discuss farmers' flood aid -- The U.S. agriculture secretary says he is concerned that legal hurdles prevented much immediate federal help for Midwestern farmers faced with serious setbacks because of flooding. The Agriculture Department is also looking into whether it can be flexible with planting deadlines in the crop insurance law. They now act as disincentives for planting or replanting crops later in planting season. AP 6/27/08
Drought hits ranchers hard -- bout 615,000 acres of rangeland could be in jeopardy. Total losses could reach $3.2 million, said Marilyn Kinoshita, a deputy agricultural commissioner for Tulare County. Visalia Times Delta 6/27/08
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