Newsom promises new wildfire prevention efforts during coronavirus crisis [Los Angeles Times]
Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has not blunted efforts to prepare for what is expected to be an active wildfire season, emphasizing the state’s effort to reduce or prevent power shutoffs by utilities when fires are a major threat. Newsom said the California Public Utilities Commission is creating a 106-person wildfire safety division to monitor the state’s investor-owned utilities to ensure they abide by requirements to modernize their electrical systems and transmission lines to reduce the risk of igniting a wildfire. The governor also noted that new wildfire prevention efforts would be accounted for in his revised state spending plan to be presented Thursday.
Farm bureaus, community organizers react to workers’ compensation order [Santa Maria Sun]
After reports circulated that Gov. Gavin Newsom was considering an executive order that would allow employees who contract COVID-19 to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, the governor officially signed the order on May 6. … Teri Bontrager, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, told the Sun that while local farming employers “want to make sure that their workforce is healthy,” from her perspective, the governor’s order is not the best way to achieve that end. “We think that the governor’s action was ill-advised and will result in employers being asked to bear additional costs for illnesses that may not be work-related, which isn’t what worker’s compensation is supposed to be about,” she said.
Hanford meat processor has nearly 200 workers infected with coronavirus [Fresno Bee]
Nearly 200 workers at the Central Valley Meat Co. have tested positive for COVID-19, a Kings County health official said Wednesday. The Hanford-based meat packer had just 32 cases on April 22 but the total surged to 182 on Wednesday. More cases are expected. … The high rate of infection at the Hanford meat packing plant is not uncommon during this COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has spread rapidly through dozens of meat plants across the United States, causing at least 40 plants to close because there aren’t enough workers. Central Valley Meat Co. continues to operate.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article242714526.html
Amid meat shortages, local membership-based beef delivery services thrive [New Times SLO]
… The Prime Act, which was introduced to the House of Representatives in May 2017, would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to loosen regulations, allowing meat such as beef, pork, or lamb from custom kill plants (not state or federally inspected) to be sold to consumers, restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores. San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brent Burchett said the existing meat inspection program is important to keep the country’s food supply safe. But he believes a balance can be found that continues some level of meat-processing inspection while freeing up local processors to better meet customer demand.
Scott Dam slated for removal in plan by Sonoma County and partners to control hydropower project [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
A nearly century-old dam on the Eel River that impounds Lake Pillsbury is slated for removal under a $500 million proposal helmed by Sonoma County and four other regional partners seeking to take over from PG&E a remote but pivotal hydropower project in Mendocino County. … Janet Pauli, chairperson of the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, a coalition member, said the steep capital costs would have to be covered by outside sources, while operating costs could impact consumers’ water rates. Pauli, a Potter Valley farmer, said Wednesday’s filing preserved a local role in determining the project’s future.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10960029-181/sonoma-county-backs-plan-to
Ranchers find allies in conservationists [Point Reyes Light]
The National Park Service next month will make a final recommendation regarding the future of ranching in the Point Reyes National Seashore. … Representatives from the Marin Conservation League, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, the Marin Resource Conservation District and the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin were among those who wrote in favor of the continuation of ranching, a legacy that dates back to the mid-1800s. The groups supported a proposal that the park service highlighted as its preferred alternative, which allows ranchers 20-year leases.
https://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/ranchers-find-allies-conservationists
Opinion: Ag must become sustainable to avoid a second Dust Bowl [Hanford Sentinel]
… A sustainable agriculture doesn’t overplant irrigated crops or over use water to the detriment of the environment or to the detriment of other communities that rely on our finite water supplies. Sadly Central Valley ag is not sustainable. … With coronavirus-caused unemployment through the roof, now would be the perfect time for Valley farmers to survey their fields and retire those with soils that are too porous or too impermeable to economically irrigate or too salt-laden for safe farming.
