Newsom signs bill to provide $131.3 million in emergency relief, including safe water [Fresno Bee]
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed his first bill, which will provide $131.3 million in immediate relief from the state’s general fund for emergencies such as a lack of clean drinking water, while surrounded by children at a Parlier elementary school – all of whom must drink from water bottles due to unsafe drinking fountains….Newsom also met with local mayors and agricultural leaders later Wednesday afternoon to discuss water, high-speed rail and other issues before returning to Sacramento. He then traveled to Fresno State for a forum with various agricultural leaders. Newsom said part of this meeting would be to discuss agriculture’s role in fixing the drinking water, which is sometimes contaminated by pesticides or other ag waste.
New Salinas Valley water fee would fund groundwater management agency [Monterey County Herald]
Salinas Valley farmers would cover the bulk of administrative costs for a state-mandated groundwater sustainability agency charged with balancing use and recharge in the agriculture-rich region under a proposal to be considered Thursday. Farmers would pay about 90 percent of the Salinas Valley Basin groundwater sustainability agency’s proposed $1.2 million annual budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year or about $1.08 million through a $4.79 per acre annual “regulatory” fee under the proposal, while public water system customers would contribute about $120,000 per year through a $2.26 annual fee.
Roots of E. coli outbreak involving romaine lettuce are still not fully known [Gannett News Service]
U.S. food regulators say they weren’t entirely able to identify a contamination source for a food poisoning outbreak that prompted them to warn people to avoid romaine lettuce this fall and raised concerns for a time about Ventura County crops. The Food and Drug Administration says it wasn’t able to determine how a reservoir on a Santa Barbara County farm became contaminated with E. coli. It also says the reservoir doesn’t explain how lettuce from other farms may have been contaminated….Federal investigators said a number of California farms may have produced contaminated romaine.
How California wildfires impact state’s watershed [KRON-TV, San Francisco]
…State officials say the scope of the devastation of recent wildfires stretches beyond homes and businesses, and that future fires like them could threaten watersheds with erosion and debris flows. CAL FIRE Director Thom Porter testified in front of lawmakers at a hearing on the topic Wednesday….The state’s top fire official also says forest management and watersheds are linked and that there are several forest grooming projects underway.
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/how-california-wildfires-impact-state-s-watershed/1780591216
Tuolumne County Farm Bureau sues Sonora Union High School District to nullify Wildcat Ranch sale [Sonora Union Democrat]
The Tuolumne County Farm Bureau has filed a lawsuit against the Sonora Union High School District to nullify the sale of 112 acres of the Wildcat Ranch to a Sonora nonprofit, The Park Foundation….The bureau alleges that the district violated the Brown Act, a California law that guarantees public participation in local government meetings by exceeding the scope of discussion allowed in closed session meetings regarding the property sale and allowing members of The Park Foundation to sit in on a closed session that the public was barred from attending. Aviles further alleged that the board inaccurately declared the 137-acre ranch as surplus property and failed to comply with a public records request related to correspondence between district trustees and foundation representatives.
Foster Farms names new CEO. He has worked at the Livingston-based company since 1996 [Modesto Bee]
Foster Farms announced a new chief executive officer Wednesday: Dan Huber, who has been with the Livingston-based poultry company since 1996….Huber’s appointment comes amid speculation, based on a CNBC report, that family-owned Foster Farms was in talks about a possible sale to meat industry giant Tyson Foods. Both companies declined to comment at length to The Modesto Bee on the report, which was based on unnamed sources. The company last week announced an expansion of the already massive Livingston plant, but details were not available.
https://www.modbee.com/news/business/agriculture/article226230230.html
