Editorial: COVID is ravaging California’s essential workers. Stop stalling and protect them [Los Angeles Times]
One of California’s worst failures in the pandemic has been the woeful effort to protect the essential workers who are bearing the brunt of COVID-19. The state cannot slow the spread of the coronavirus and return to some sense of normalcy without keeping workers safe. Yet too often essential workers have been treated as an afterthought. Or expendable. That has to change. … State safety agencies and county health departments have to be much more aggressive in targeting at-risk workplaces for education, inspection and enforcement.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-07-31/essential-worker-protections
Opinion: Covid-19 shines a light on the challenges farmworkers face [Monterey County Weekly]
… As we’ve seen in stark relief, the virus has taken a disproportionate toll on Monterey County’s farmworker community. … In my reporting, I’ve observed an industry generally eager to innovate and find ways to protect workers in the fields while keeping them at work. … Assemblymember Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, has authored a whole suite of farmworker protection bills, including housing. … Opponents include the California Farm Bureau Federation and Western Growers Association—the same groups that have been working hard to keep their workers healthy.
Imperial County was a warning for California. Will its shutdown be a model? [San Francisco Chronicle]
… Longtime residents and state officials say the situation in Imperial County shed light on how the coronavirus has disproportionately harmed two vulnerable groups all over California: agricultural workers and the Latino community. Lessons learned from the state’s aggressive intervention in Imperial helped officials prepare to fight a surge hitting rural counties in the Central Valley. … Health officials and community activists say Imperial County is a microcosm of how the virus’ uneven toll has been exacerbated by racial and economic disparities that exist in many parts of California.
Modesto-area companies got millions in taxpayer coronavirus aid. Who got the most? [Modesto Bee]
As hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars meant to help small businesses stem losses from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic stream into the Central Valley, dozens of well-known agricultural companies, manufacturers and medical providers are among those receiving the most money locally. … About 31% of the largest recipients were agriculture or agricultural-related businesses, followed by 20% in construction, 18% in manufacturing, 11% in medical and the rest a mix of retail, transportation, food services and professional services industries.
https://www.modbee.com/news/business/article244411442.html
Editorial: Gavin Newsom’s plan for California water is a good one. Stay the course [Los Angeles Times]
… There are no moonshots and few surprises, and that’s fine; it will be challenging enough to ensure that all Californians are hooked up to safe and reliable water supplies to meet their needs for the coming decade and beyond. … For agriculture, there is a focus on addressing overtapped groundwater supplies and following through on a 2014 law that ever-so-slowly begins to limit depletion of underground aquifers. … California agriculture will continue to produce a good portion of the nation’s food and fiber, but growers will have to do it with less (or less predictable) water. And they will need state help to ramp up, or at least coordinate, new technologies to monitor atmospheric and soil conditions and use available water accordingly, with less waste and runoff.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-07-31/newsom-water-portfolio
PG&E taking steps to reduce power shutoff impact [Chico Enterprise-Record]
As if hot temperatures, coronavirus, unemployment and life in general wasn’t enough to cause anxiety, add the possibility of power outages. As summer unfurls in the north state, the combination of weather and increased risk of wildfires brings back PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs. While it’s impossible to predict how many the north state will see this year, PG&E said it’s taken several steps it believes will reduce the impact.
https://www.chicoer.com/2020/07/30/pge-taking-steps-to-reduce-power-shutoff-impact/
Mendocino County Farm Bureau working for local farmers [Ukiah Daily Journal]
The Farm Bureau has a long history in Mendocino County dating back to 1917 when the Board of Supervisors designated Ukiah as its headquarters, creating the opportunity for the county to receive an expert advisor—paid by Congressional appropriations—who would bring university knowledge and research from the land grant college, U.C. Berkeley. Today, Farm Bureau members—farmers, ranchers, foresters, fishermen, dairy farmers, beekeepers and others—number close to 1000 and its executive director, Devon Jones, has been at the helm since 2009 when former, long-time administrator Carre Brown stepped down to join the Board of Supervisors.
https://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/2020/07/31/mendocino-county-farm-bureau/
