Who killed the wolf? The mysterious death of OR-59 [Bay Area News Group]
More than a year after a young wolf was shot and killed on a cold winter day in a wild and windswept corner of California, its death remains unsolved….Frustrated by vigilante justice, federal authorities and wolf advocates have raised the reward for any tips leading to an arrest in the December 2018 killing of an endangered species that is both revered and reviled….Its death signifies the deep and growing conflict between wildlife advocates and the state’s ranchers, disheartened by legal and livestock losses….Meanwhile, ranchers who live in wolf territory say their way of life has changed forever.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/01/14/the-mysterious-death-of-or-59/
Growers still unclear on how much groundwater they can use [Porterville Recorder]
The first question asked at the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency Board meeting on Friday represented the frustration of growers who are still facing the unknown. “It’s 2020,” the grower said, who went on to ask the board, referring to growers, “what can they pump?” The ETGSA board is still working through the process on how much water growers can pump out of the ground….But while the process to determine how much groundwater individual growers can use continues, growers at the meeting stressed they need to know as soon as possible how much they can pump.
America drank less wine for first time in 25 years [Wall Street Journal]
…Americans bought less wine last year, the first such drop in a quarter of a century, as millennials opt for alternatives like hard seltzers, cocktails and nonalcoholic beer. The volume of wine purchased in the U.S. declined 0.9% in 2019, the first time it has fallen since 1994, according to industry tracker IWSR. The trend was ascribed to a generational shift as the number of millennials surpasses baby boomers, who drove strong demand for wine in America.
Phase 1 commodity targets likely more than China can chew: analysts [Reuters]
Commodity traders and analysts are struggling to map out how China will reach the eye-popping amounts it is committing to buy from the United States under Phase 1 of their trade deal….The pledge to boost U.S. farm imports by over $30 billion over two years is “shocking” since that increment is more than the value of farm products it has purchased from the U.S. in a single year, said a China-based grains trader….Traders also questioned what products China could buy from the United States since African swine fever has dented demand for soybeans for animal feed and quotas to protect domestic farmers limit grain imports.
Opinion: Trump likes farmers better than some other welfare recipients [New York Times]
…Trump sensed the deep anxiety of some white Americans — their inextricable fear of racial and economic decline — and promised a government for them and against others….There is, however, at least one place where Trump’s welfare chauvinism has taken hold — his multibillion-dollar payments to farmers harmed by the president’s trade war with China. In the context of his larger attack on the social safety net, those payments, a direct subsidy to a narrow group of favored Americans, are the closest thing to the kind of help Trump promised during the campaign….The payments will strengthen Trump’s political position — generous compensation to a vocal constituency will buy votes and keep negative stories about his tariffs out of view — as well as signal his commitment to one group of Americans over another.
Editorial: Getting closer to ‘shovel ready’ [Wall Street Journal]
…Today even modest public works, including roads, bridges and airport runways, can spend years in limbo, no thanks to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.…NEPA hasn’t been overhauled in 40 years, which is why the Trump Administration deserves applause for moving last week to modernize it….Environmental assessments and impact statements are often monstrously detailed, since agencies and sponsors are trying to make them litigation proof.
