87% of additional California deaths in 2020 pandemic were workers, UC Merced report shows [Fresno Bee]
… Deaths among Californians between ages 18 and 65 increased by 25% during the first ten months of the pandemic, with the state’s workers making up 12,500 of 14,370 additional deaths compared to the previous year — or 87% of additional deaths in 2020, according to an analysis of state public health data by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center. … Agricultural workers had the second-highest increase in deaths between 2019 and 2020 — 565 more deaths or a 47% increase. Food processing workers experienced an increase of 217 deaths — or 43% — compared with the previous year, while restaurant and food services workers experienced 1,060 excess deaths or an increase of 42%.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article251017024.html
Federal dollars available for farmers, ranchers facing drought in California [KCRA TV, Sacramento]
… The U.S. Department of Agriculture declared a drought disaster in 50 California counties last month. Grants are now available to help with costs associated with the dry conditions. … “We’ve having more and more droughts than I ever remember,” said Nicole Montna Van Vleck, of Montna Farms in Yuba City. Montna Van Vleck walked between two rice fields on Wednesday. One was newly planted and covered in water. The other was bone-dry. “This field, as you can tell, has nothing in it,” Montna Van Vleck said. “It’s going to be fallow this year because of the drought. We’re unable to plant it.”
https://www.kcra.com/article/federal-dollars-available-farmers-ranchers-facing-drought/36282531
Drought-depleted rivers force salmon hatcheries to truck fish to the Pacific [San Francisco Chronicle]
Millions of young salmon raised at fish hatcheries in the Central Valley will be trucked to San Francisco Bay and other coastal sites for release, because the rivers they’d normally travel to get to the ocean are drying up, state and federal officials said Wednesday. The ambitious trucking program, a response to the state’s escalating drought, is intended to maximize survival of the hatchery fish that prop up California’s fall-run of chinook — the mainstay of the state’s commercial and recreational salmon industries.
Opinion: Newsom promises while the delta dies [Los Angeles Times]
… Not only have no voluntary agreements emerged, but conditions in the delta have grown so dire that in March the National Marine Fisheries Service estimated that high water temperatures could kill 90% of endangered winter-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River this year. … Yet Newsom is showing more concern for a relatively small group of prosperous Central Valley farmers than he is for the tottering delta’s human and animal constituents. … Newsom’s aides told the Sacramento Bee in February that compromise was still in the offing, but given the drought and the recall effort targeting the governor, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll risk provoking farmers and municipal users this year by limiting their water allocations.
Editorial: Water testing must be part of Point Reyes plan [Marin Independent Journal]
… Regular and thorough testing, as well as remedial and preventive anti-pollution measures, should be built into the park service’s new seashore master plan and the longer leases it proposed. … That plan’s provision for 20-year leases for the 24 ranches in the park should provide those operations with the wherewithal needed to make such improvements. … The testing conducted by environmental groups that want to see an end to the leases is enough to prompt a thorough analysis and, if necessary, corrective measures. That’s not the end game sought by critics of those ranches, but reducing possible pollution in the park should be a goal shared by all, regardless of political intent.
https://www.marinij.com/2021/04/28/editorial-water-testing-must-be-part-of-point-reyes-plan/
Rep. Harder introduces bill to put locally-sourced food in schools [KTXL TV, Sacramento]
From fresh cheese and dairy to fresh produce and more, Representative Josh Harder, D-Modesto, wants to take farm-to-school meals to the next level. … His newly introduced bill, the Kids Eat Local Act, aims to cut back the red tape currently hindering schools from buying locally-sourced food for student meals. … Harder says he’s hopeful for the bill to pass since it doesn’t require any additional federal funding and only makes it easier for school districts to buy local if they choose to.
Rachel Magos named Imperial County Farm Bureau executive director [Imperial Valley Press]
Rachel Magos is the new executive director of Imperial County Farm Bureau, the organization announced Wednesday. ICFB’s executive assistant since April 2014, the Imperial Valley native replaces Brea Mohamed, who announced her resignation in March. The appointment will begin immediately. In her prior role, Magos managed the coalition for the Imperial Valley’s irrigation lands program (TMDL Program), planned all ICFB events and assisted with all aspects of Farm Bureau’s day-to-day operations.
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