COVID-19 vaccine: Advocates push for high priority for CA farmworkers [KGO TV, San Francisco]
Vaccinations are underway for health care workers, and so are lobbying efforts to give a higher priority to workers in certain jobs. One such group is California’s 800,000 farmworkers. … Rivas and other state lawmakers have made an appeal to Governor Newsom. National groups have written to President Trump and to President-elect Biden over concerns of a disruption in the food supply chain. … “Getting that food to the grocery stores and having a good, safe and healthy supply chain for transportation… those folks are important,” said Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy at the United Fresh Produce Assn. in Washington, D.C.
https://abc7news.com/coronavirus-california-vaccine-farmworkers-distribution/8780567/
California governor extends small business tax deadlines [Associated Press]
… Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Monday giving small businesses until the end of July to file their first-quarter tax returns. … The tax extension was one piece of Newsom’s pandemic-related order. He also extended occupancy laws for farmworkers and their families in housing centers and dropped a requirement about how far away from the job workers must live to access that housing. Previously, workers had to live outside a 50-mile radius from the housing center for three of the past six months and could only live in the housing for 275 days out of the year.
Farmworkers need stockpile of N-95s for wildfire season, California lawmakers say [Capital Public Radio, Sacramento]
… California requires agricultural employers to supply masks to outdoor workers when the air quality is poor enough. But this year, that was a tough rule to follow. The pandemic increased demand on medical-grade face masks, or N95s, and administrative delays at government agencies created a backlog on supply for farmworkers. … Hollister-based Democratic Assemblymember Robert Rivas recently proposed legislation to create a stockpile of N95 masks to help protect farmworkers from smoky conditions. The measure also calls for government “strike teams” to help farmers deliver the face coverings to workers.
Assemblyman Adam Gray says he’s lost another committee assignment over water battles [Modesto Bee]
Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, said he was removed from the chairmanship of the Governmental Organization Committee over the No. 1 issue in his district — water. … Gray was the only Democrat on the committee who voted against a budget trailer bill earlier this year that included language affecting the relicensing of the Don Pedro dam. … According to Gray and his staff, the state water regulators are trying to delay the FERC relicensing process so they can make demands for higher river flows for environmental purposes.
https://www.modbee.com/news/business/agriculture/article247835490.html
Farmers glad for recent rain, hopeful for more [KGPE TV, Fresno]
Central Valley farmers are glad for the recent wet weekend. “This is definitely needed now as we move into the later part of December,” said Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen. That’s because although showers Friday, Saturday, and Sunday pushed Fresno’s rain-year total to 1.07 inches, the average total by this date is still more than twice that. Daniel Hartwig works for Woolf Farming on the Central Valley’s west side where rain amounts were some of the lightest this weekend. The rain is welcome. The worry is there’s not enough.
https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/farmers-glad-for-recent-rain-hopeful-for-more-2/
Napa County receives top honors from California Farm Bureau [Napa Valley Register]
Napa County Farm Bureau has been named the county of the year for 2020 by the California Farm Bureau … This year marks the first time Napa County has won the award since 2009, according to CEO Ryan Klobas, who said the title is in part a testament to the work the bureau has done to support its membership and their employees through the pandemic. … Among other things, the Farm Bureau has created testing infrastructure for its members and their employees, who through the bureau can take a coronavirus test “same day” and have results within two days.
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