California’s biggest heat wave of the year heightens drought and fire fears [Los Angeles Times]
With a worsening drought gripping the West and wildfire season looming, California is bracing for the most severe heat wave of the year — one that promises to tax the state’s power supplies while also offering a grim preview of challenging months to come. … And though dwindling water supplies can affect people at a local level, the results can resonate nationwide, particularly because California produces much of the country’s agriculture. Already, many farmers in the Central Valley have declared the outlook for the year to be grim because of the drought, with some openly questioning their future in the state.
Drought making local farmers worried about upcoming months [KHSL TV, Chico]
Local walnut grower Steve Lambert has been a rancher since he was 22 years old. To him, he has never seen a drought this bad. But he’s not worried about water levels right now. “We are worried about what we are going to be doing in the fall,” Lambert said. “We’ve got water now, but we know that in the next month or two, water is going to drop down and we are going to be tighter. We are seeing a lot more usage on our trees because it’s been so hot early on.” And many farmers are already sizing down their orchards and livestock. Lambert is one of them.
California governor pledges consistent workplace mask rules [Associated Press]
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he’s confident the state’s workplace regulators will soon fall in line with California’s plan to drop virtually all masking and social distancing requirements next week for people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus. … California Farm Bureau director of employment policy Bryan Little and Helen Cleary, director of the Phylmar Regulatory Roundtable, a coalition of large businesses with major California operations, both said the draft rules still leave confusing gaps in how employers are supposed to comply. “I think there is some stuff in here to like,” Little said. But given the ongoing questions, “I’m not prepared to jump up and down for joy over this.”
Tomato grower to add housing for 600 seasonal workers [San Diego Union-Tribune]
A family that has farmed commercially in northeast Oceanside since the late 1930s plans to build housing for up to 600 seasonal workers in time to plant next year’s crops. West Coast Tomato Growers, Inc., owned and operated by the Singh family, cultivates 750 acres of which 381 acres are under a long-term lease with landowner Global Ag Properties II USA, according to an application letter submitted to the city. … San Diego County Farm Bureau Executive Director Hannah Gbeh said Friday that migrant workers are widely used in the area’s agricultural industry and that several of the region’s largest growers provide shelter for their laborers.
Universal basic income for Fresno-area farmworkers? Some local leaders are pushing for it [Fresno Bee]
A Fresno-area politician wants California to prioritize struggling San Joaquin Valley farmworkers in a proposed pilot program that would put cash in the hands of some the state’s impoverished residents. State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) issued a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week urging the state to prioritize California’s “displaced, underemployed, or unemployed farmworkers” for the Universal Basic Income pilot program. … Hurtado’s letter, which was also signed by six colleagues in state legislature, also urges the governor to provide Supplemental Guaranteed Income for California’s farmworkers that face reduced hours, unemployment, and displacement due to the worsening drought.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/water-and-drought/article252063038.html
Editorial: An anti-development water rule – Biden’s EPA is back with a rule that won’t help build infrastructure [Wall Street Journal]
…The EPA this week announced plans to revise the Trump Wotus rule “to better protect our nation’s vital water resources that support public health, environmental protection, agricultural activity, and economic growth.” Translation: The EPA is preparing a private land grab that will limit farming, fracking, home building and economic activity. … President Biden wants Congress to shovel out hundreds of billions of dollars for infrastructure, which the EPA then will tie up in a permitting morass—unless, of course, the projects advance climate or social-justice goals. Republicans shouldn’t agree to any infrastructure deal that doesn’t include permitting and regulatory efficiencies.
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