Study of Salinas Valley farmworkers finds 13% positive for COVID-19 over 5 months [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
A first-of-its-kind study of more than 1,000 California farmworkers is providing insight into why these low-wage laborers have proven especially vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic, and what steps should be taken immediately to protect their health as COVID-19 cases surge. The report included COVID-19 testing of 1,091 agricultural workers in the Salinas Valley. According to results from 1,071 of those workers,13% tested positive for COVID-19 between July and November. In comparison, about 3% of Californians have tested positive during the pandemic. It also included a survey, which finds that 57% of those who reported experiencing COVID-19 symptoms continued working during the pandemic. Of those, nearly three-quarters said they did so because they felt well enough to work; others cited concerns about losing pay or their jobs, or instructions from their employers to work.
Study of 1,091 Salinas Valley farmworkers finds 13% positive for COVID-19 (desertsun.com)
DWR releases initial State Water Project allocation [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]
The California Department of Water Resources announced its initial State Water Project allocation will be 10 percent of requested supplies, citing a dry start to the 2021 water year….“While we still have several months ahead of us, dry conditions persist,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth in a press release….Most of the state’s major reservoirs are lower than the historical average to date compared to a year ago. DWR’s eight precipitation stations throughout the north state also recorded a record-low zero percent of average rainfall in October and 53 percent in November.
COVID-19 pandemic tests resilience of Kern ranchers [Bakersfield Californian]
Kern County cattle ranchers have seen their fair share of challenges — drought, floods, catastrophic forest and rangeland fires, depressed markets, increased taxes and regulations and market uncertainty. But Glennville rancher Sheila Bowen concedes that COVID-19 has tested them. “There is a misconception that cattle ranchers were profiting from high beef demand and higher beef prices,” said Bowen, who serves as an alternate member on the California Cattle Council, a newly created organization that conducts cattle production and beef nutrition research, and develops consumer and educational programs.
COVID-19 pandemic tests resilience of Kern ranchers | Business | bakersfield.com
Opinion: California must bypass water politics and work toward solutions for our thirsty state [Sacramento Bee]
…In California, water is political, but it’s time that we work together to remove the politics from the delivery of clean and reliable water for working Californians. We all know that California is getting warmer and drier. The fires across California this fall are painful evidence. As California works to decrease its carbon footprint by increasing its portfolio of renewable energy production and storage, increasing access to mass transit and making our society progressively more sustainable, we are nonetheless facing increasingly warm temperatures that compromise the snowpack we have traditionally relied on as our natural water storage system, creating a looming, indisputable water crisis.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article247513980.html
“Critical fire weather conditions” possible this weekend in Bay Area [Bay Area News Group]
…On Wednesday, the National Weather Service said computer models are showing the potential for gusty offshore winds starting Sunday and extending into Monday across the Bay Area hills, an event the agency’s forecast discussion said “would likely result in critical fire weather conditions.” Forecasters said a trough of low pressure developing in the Great Basin area of Nevada could generate strong winds blowing dry, warm air from the land toward the ocean. Such conditions are known as Diablo winds in Northern California and Santa Ana winds in Southern California, and significantly raise the risk of wildfires. “We’re still in such a rainfall deficit,” said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “We’re well below last year. It’s something we’re keeping an eye on in the next few weeks.”…But the dangerous conditions have already arrived in Southern California.
“Critical fire weather conditions” possible in Bay Area by Sunday (mercurynews.com)
Fresno County econ forecast: Brick-and-mortar transitioning, but here to stay [Fresno Business Journal]
Fresno County businesses, farmers and retailers have weathered a tornado of unpredictable events in 2020….Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of Fresno County Farm Bureau, says that Covid will continue to play a role in the 2021 agriculture forecast. “Overall, the commodities definitely are lower than what we’ve seen in the past decade, and a lot of that is attributed to the softer foreign markets for some of the products that are more heavily demanded worldwide,” Jacobsen said. This will play a role in foreign trade in the Covid era looking into 2021. “Central Valley agriculture is very dependent upon foreign trade, and so our hope is that the worldwide economy still demands California produce,” Jacobsen said. Jacobsen hopes the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and U.S.-China Phase 1 trade deal will pay dividends in 2021.
Fresno County Econ Forecast: Brick-and-mortar transitioning, but here to stay – The Business Journal
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