What Newsom wants from Biden + Finally tally on Becerra v. Trump + Vaccines for farmworkers [Sacramento Bee – third item]
Half a dozen California lawmakers have signed on to a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, urging him to authorize a pilot project to vaccinate farmworkers as soon as possible. Sens. Anna Caballero, Melissa Hurtado, Ben Hueso and Assemblymen Robert Rivas, Jim Frazier, Eduardo Garcia added their signatures to the letter to the Democratic governor. … The letter argues that California’s pharmacies are the ideal vehicle for getting the COVID-19 vaccine into as many arms as possible. In addition, the lawmakers say that churches and community centers could be converted into mobile vaccine clinics in those rural areas.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article248605850.html
Farmworkers trying to get COVID-19 vaccine face challenges [KYMA TV, Yuma]
In California, farmworkers are having a hard time getting the COVID-19 vaccine, even though they qualify to get it under tier 1B. “Many of these workers already qualify for the vaccine simply because they are an aging population but they have other issues such as transportation,” said Luis Olmedo, Executive Director of Comité Cívico del Valle, Inc. … The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) says the Agriculture industry should allow them to get vaccinated during work hours
https://kyma.com/news/2021/01/19/farmworkers-trying-to-get-covid-19-vaccine-face-challenges/
Warming winter, high winds and low rainfall concern state scientists for drought [Chico Enterprise-Record]
High temperatures and wind speeds combined with low precipitation make for concern for the rainy season, as much of California remains well below needed snowpack levels for a second consecutive year. … While the entire state is below normal ranges for rainfall, half of January and February still remain possible for precipitation to help improve water levels. However, California Department of Water Resources’s information officer Chris Orrock said, ”We are very dry. We’re looking at about being in the bottom 10 driest periods on record for the state.”
https://www.chicoer.com/2021/01/20/warming-winter-concerns-state-scientists-for-drought/
Monarch butterfly population moves closer to extinction [Associated Press]
The number of western monarch butterflies wintering along the California coast has plummeted precipitously to a record low, putting the orange-and-black insects closer to extinction, researchers announced Tuesday. An annual winter count by the Xerces Society recorded fewer than 2,000 butterflies, a massive decline from the tens of thousands tallied in recent years and the millions that clustered in trees from Northern California’s Marin County to San Diego County in the south in the 1980s. … Scientists say the butterflies are at critically low levels in western states because of destruction to their milkweed habitat along their migratory route as housing expands into their territory and use of pesticides and herbicides increases.
https://apnews.com/article/monarch-butterfly-moves-close-extinction-d74874fe777b57edce510b0e716b6f34
Wild horses, part of romantic West, are causing havoc in Northeast California [KQED, San Francisco]
In the northeast corner of California, feral horses roam in an area of the Modoc National Forest known as Devil’s Garden. The high desert plateau in the northeastern corner of the state is filled with juniper trees, sage brush, and not quite enough grass for all the grazing animals that live there. A fight over how to manage the horses shifted recently when Congress funded a plan to reduce herds on federal lands.
50 Bay Area restaurants, wineries sue Gavin Newsom over outdoor dining ban [San Francisco Chronicle]
In their latest fight against the ban on outdoor dining, more than 50 restaurants, wineries and related businesses in Napa and Sonoma counties filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday. They argue the state’s restrictions on outdoor dining — while allowing other businesses like indoor retail and outdoor gyms to continue operating — violate the California Constitution’s equal protection clause and due process. … Collectively suing in a group called the Wine Country Coalition for Safe Reopening, the businesses started organizing in December, shortly before Newsom announced the latest stay-at-home order.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/50-Bay-Area-restaurants-wineries-sue-Gavin-15881810.php
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