Oilfield wastewater slowly gains value in agriculture [Bakersfield Californian]
Conceptually it makes a lot of sense to farmers and oil producers alike: Use the latest filtration technology to turn one of Kern’s most troublesome waste streams — oilfield produced water — into a safe irrigation source….But as badly as local growers need new water supplies, produced water still isn’t cutting it financially for most local ag, the president of the Kern County Farm Bureau said by email. “Margins are tight within the agricultural industry, and oil produced water hasn’t yet been economic,” President John Moore III wrote. “That’s going to drive the market,” said the director of water resources at the California Farm Bureau Federation, Danny Merkley, referring to the stigma.
New California law will beef up insurance coverage for wildfire and other major disasters [San Francisco Chronicle]
…Most insurers will pay for up to two weeks of additional living expenses, such as food and lodging, when policyholders are forced by a civil authority to evacuate their homes because of a covered peril, such as a fire. The California Department of Insurance is unaware of any companies, other than State Farm, that say they won’t pay these expenses unless there was damage within 1 mile or some other distance from the home, said Michael Soller, a spokesperson for the California Department of Insurance. Some insurers require damage to a “neighboring premises,” but this term is “fairly broadly construed and we are not aware of any denials of claims” because of it, Soller said.
Many California farmworkers fear a winter of hunger and homelessness amid the pandemic [Los Angeles Times]
In a year without pandemic, fire and extreme heat, Jose Luis Hernandez by now would have saved enough money picking summer fruit from California fields to make it through the slow winter months ahead. This year, he is in debt to a friend and does not know how he will provide food and shelter for his wife and three sons as the final grapes are taken from the vines….Hernandez, said other agricultural laborers and advocates, is one face in an imminent crisis confronting the state’s farmworkers here illegally. Though they have been declared essential for the state’s multibillion-dollar agriculture industry, they often don’t qualify for safety nets such as unemployment, eviction moratoriums or stimulus aid that have become lifelines for many as they weather a crushing year of disasters.
Commentary: Friant-Kern Canal fix approved over concerns the plan isn’t fully baked [Bakersfield Californian]
The Friant Water Authority on Thursday approved the final environmental review for a massive project to fix a 33-mile segment of the Friant-Kern Canal despite continued questions about funding and other concerns expressed by some Friant contractors. One water manager compared the plan to several bungled construction projects, including a patient tower at the former Tulare Regional Medical Center that was labeled the “tower of shame” in a 2016 Tulare County Grand Jury report for more than 700 change orders that created $17 million in additional costs. “Delano-Earlimart (Irrigation District) is a downstream contractor. As such, we are highly impacted and want to see (the Friant-Kern Canal) project completed,” said Eric R. Quinley, general manager of Delano-Earlimart. “But we want to make sure it’s constructed right.”
First ‘murder hornet’ nest was just eradicated in Washington state. Could they fly to California next? [San Francisco Chronicle]
Californians may have been looking north a bit nervously this weekend after news that Washington state officials had zeroed in on a nest of “murder hornets.” The scary-sounding insect created a buzz in early May with its first U.S. sighting, in northwest Washington state, while most of the country was sheltering in place from the coronavirus….“It’s unfortunate but not entirely surprising that they found a nest,” said Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis….So, how worried should Californians be that murder hornets could make their way here?…“It is exceedingly unlikely that these hornets can establish in California,” Kimsey said. “If you look at where they’re found in their native range in southern Asia, this region has summer rain. I think California is too dry, except perhaps along the far northern coast.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/First-murder-hornet-nest-was-just-15674224.php
Opinion: SLO Farm Bureau asks locals to vote no on Prop. 15 [Paso Robles Daily News]
The San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau has released a video asking locals to vote no on Prop. 15, a newly proposed property tax. The video includes local farmers, ranchers, the SLO County Assessor, and business leaders who explain Prop. 15’s impacts to San Luis Obispo County. “Help stop the biggest tax hike in California’s history, vote no on Prop 15!,” the farm bureau says. “San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau assembled a coalition of local leaders this week to spread the word about the negative effects Proposition 15 will have on our agriculture and business community.”
https://pasoroblesdailynews.com/opinion-slo-farm-bureau-ask-locals-to-vote-no-on-prop-15/116135/
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