Agriculture Daily News June 5

Water:

 

*Schwarzenegger proclaims that California is in a drought -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought Wednesday, warning that California's water supply is falling dangerously low because of below-average rainfall and court-ordered water restrictions aimed at protecting fish. The declaration is seen as a largely symbolic move intended to jump-start conservation efforts and push the governor's own ambitious plan to beef up the state's water infrastructure and does not include mandated rationing. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times Kelly Zito, Matthew Yi in the San Francisco Chronicle Matt Weiser and Carrie Peyton Dahlberg in the Sacramento Bee Mike Zapler in the San Jose Mercury Michael Gardner and Mike Lee in the San Diego Union-Trib JENNIFER STEINHAUER in the New York Times Mike Taugher in the Oakland Tribune Kerry Cavanaugh in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 6/5/08

 

Immigration:

 

*Most immigrants lived in California illegally, study says -- More than half of new California immigrants who are permanent legal residents lived in the state illegally before getting green cards, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. The study suggests that the conventional notion of a legal immigrant as a brand-new arrival who has waited in a home country to get a green card is not the norm. Contra Costa Times 6/5/08

 

Disabled immigrants stand to lose big time – This year about 10,000 legal resident immigrants in California may see their monthly disability checks disappear under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to cut social service programs deeply to help deal with the state's $17.2 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The state's assistance program, established in 1998 to assist immigrants who don't qualify for federal grants because they are not citizens, provides about $860 a month for individuals and $1,504 for couples. SF Chronicle 6/5/08

 

State to revoke license of farm labor contractor -- The company that hired a 17-year-old farmworker who died after working in the fields east of Stockton is being stripped of its farm labor contracting license. On Wednesday, California Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet began the 30- to 90-day process of revoking the license of Maria De Los Angeles Colunga, who operates Merced Farm Labor out of Atwater. Sacramento Bee 6/5/08

 

Health:

 

Soda consumption fuels obesity -- Health advocates hope 400,000 Bay Area residents will commit to enjoying this summer sipping fewer sodas, or none at all. On Wednesday, public health leaders from six Bay Area counties gathered in Oakland to launch the area's first "Soda Free Summer" campaign. Alameda County ran a successful "Soda Free Summer" pilot project last year, in which 42 percent of the participants polled reported reducing their soda consumption during the summer campaign, with half of those giving it up altogether. Inside Bay Area 6/5/08

 

Food:

 

U.S. food policy under fire at summit -- Delegates clashed during the second day of a three-day the U.N. emergency summit on food over how much blame can be assigned to biofuels for the meteoric rise in food prices.  Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer, leading the U.S. delegation, emerged from a series of side meetings and acknowledged that a struggle was underway to reach compromise language on the biofuels issue. Drafts of a final summit declaration, circulating late Wednesday, reflected watered-down recommendations of "further studies" on biofuels, hardly viewed as a decisive position. LA Times 6/5/08

 

*Expect higher food costs with drought -- The drought -- marked Wednesday with an official declaration by Gov. Schwarzenegger -- is expected to deliver a tremendous blow to the San Joaquin Valley's multibillion-dollar agriculture industry. Shock waves also could spread throughout the local economy, experts say. Food prices will climb. More farmland will be fallowed. Farm jobs will be trimmed. Fresno Bee 6/5/08

 

Bio-fuel:

 

Jatropha plant's oil studied as jet fuel -- Oil from poisonous seeds of the jatropha tree, which grows in warm climates around the world, is being considered as a bio-fuel source. For the last year, scientists here have been perfecting a process for turning the oil into jet fuel. On Wednesday, Air New Zealand announced plans to use the new fuel for 10% of its needs by 2013. LA Times 6/5/08