Valley leaders gather to oppose Social Security letters targeting undocumented workers [Fresno Bee]
Several central San Joaquin Valley leaders gathered Tuesday to proclaim their opposition to the reinstatement of the United States Social Security Administration’s “no-match” letters program, which the elected officials say targets the area’s many undocumented workers and will have a devastating effect on the local agricultural economy. Fresno congressmen Jim Costa and TJ Cox, both Democrats, joined with state Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, and a handful of Valley city council members, representatives for both California senators, the Fresno County Farm Bureau, the Nisei Farmers League and WBC super lightweight world champion Jose Ramirez for a news conference in downtown Fresno. The cohort reported that tens of thousands of undocumented workers and dozens of local businesses, primarily in the agricultural sector, have already been affected by the letters.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/politics-government/article229343934.html
Santa Maria City Council supports creation of H-2A housing ordinance in split-vote decision [Santa Maria Times]
The Santa Maria City Council voted Tuesday in favor of the creation of an ordinance that would require discretionary permits for housing more than six H-2A workers in a single-family home but leave medium- and high-density housing zones with no local restrictions. The decision, which came after more than two hours of public comment and discussion, was the culmination of more than a year of debate on how the city should govern the housing of H-2A workers….In addition to requiring a permitting process for R-1, or low-density housing, the council also asked city staff to look into the possibility of adding a tenant displacement provision that would require a landowner to compensate any tenants that would be displaced from a conversion to H-2A housing.
States say half of wetlands would lose protection under EPA proposal [Reuters]
Fourteen states, including New York and California, and the District of Columbia said the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to replace an Obama-era water regulation would end federal protection for half of wetlands and 15 percent of streams across the country. The attorneys general issued a joint statement on Monday critical of the EPA’s proposal to narrow the scope of protections in the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule that President Barack Obama’s administration expanded in 2015 to cover a wide range of water bodies….A group of 17 states, led by West Virginia, sent a separate letter to the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers supporting the EPA’s plan to update the Waters of the United States rule, saying it would provide relief to landowners and farmers.
Trump signs Colorado River drought plan [Associated Press]
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a plan to cut back on the use of water from the Colorado River, which serves 40 million people in the U.S. West. The Colorado River drought contingency plan aims to keep two key reservoirs, Lakes Powell and Mead, from falling so low they cannot deliver water or produce hydropower. It was negotiated among the seven states that draw water from the river….The Metropolitan Water District, which supplies drinking water to millions in Southern California, agreed to shoulder California’s share of cutbacks if they’re needed.
https://apnews.com/34c4ce93ba114120b1dad8ac4d28ec0d
Study: As the valley’s air pollution has declined, so has its infamous tule fog [Bakersfield Californian]
Scientists at UC Berkeley have found a strong correlation between the trend in fog frequency and the trend in air emissions. As air pollution in the valley worsened during the mid-20th century, the number of fog days increased,…But fog can also be beneficial to the agricultural industry. Several crops, including almonds, pistachios and cherries, require a minimum number of “chilling hours” during the trees’ wintertime dormancy period to produce at their maximum potential. Some local growers have reported problems related to lack of chilling hours.
Opinion: A silly lawsuit over school lunches [Wall Street Journal]
The lawsuit—filed by California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Vermont and the District of Columbia—claims the USDA relaxed sodium and whole-grain requirements without offering the public a chance to comment “and in contravention of nutritional requirements for school meals established by Congress.”…If states don’t agree with the federal government on nutritional standards for school lunch and breakfast programs, they ought to spearhead changes of their own in the direction they’d prefer. Instead, these seven attorneys general have opted for political theater. If they were truly concerned about healthier school lunches, they would urge their colleagues in state government to come up with their own solutions rather than simply blaming the federal government.
