Trump’s plan to cut aid to Central America could push more migrants to come to US [USA TODAY]
The Trump administration has said Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras will receive aid in the future only if they take “concrete actions” to reduce immigration. But experts say freezing international aid may increase the number of immigrants heading to the United States. President Donald Trump’s threats over foreign aid for Central America made headlines in October 2018, as a migrant caravan approached the U.S.-Mexico border and his Republican Party was facing dire predictions in the midterm elections. The threats were repeated when a second caravan arrived in early 2019. id to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – referred to as the “Northern Triangle” – is aimed at bringing people out of poverty, increasing job opportunities, reducing corruption in police forces, increasing government transparency and strengthening judicial systems. Researchers and politicians say these programs are long-term investments that can deter migration.But cutting aid may do the opposite by compounding desperate conditions that drive immigrants to the United States’ southern border.
Trump’s EPA threatens California with highway funding cuts over ‘worst air quality’ [Sacramento Bee]
The Trump administration is ratcheting up its threats against California with a letter warning the state faces sanctions – including cuts in federal highway funding – over its “failure” to submit complete reports on its implementation of the Clean Air Act. In the letter to the California Air Resources Board, Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote that the state had the “worst air quality in the United States” and had “failed to carry out its most basic tasks” under the federal law. That law requires states to submit implementation plans to the EPA outlining their efforts to cut emissions of six types of pollutants. When President Donald Trump entered office, the administration faced a backlog of over 700 reports, and roughly 140 of those that remain are from California, Wheeler said in an interview….The administration will give California until October 10 to rescind their “incomplete” plans and resubmit new reports addressing 82 municipalities facing noncompliance.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article235397887.html
Cattle & dairy farmers are becoming environmentally friendly [North Hampton, Mass. Daily Hampshire Gazette]
Methane, a greenhouse gas, gets turned into electricity at Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley. Enough electricity is generated from cow manure and food waste to power over 1,000 homes. The gas traps heat in the atmosphere and cows produce methane through belches, farts and their manure – enough to account for nine percent of all methane emissions in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency….In 2013, Barstow’s began using an anaerobic digester, which processes manure and food waste into electricity and creates a nutrient-rich fertilizer for the farm. The digester generates 800 kilowatts per hour by processing all of the farm’s nearly 6,000 gallons of manure, plus 7,000 gallons of food waste from nearby businesses….Food waste from local companies such as Coca Cola and Whole Foods and manure from the farm’s 550 cows go into the digester’s tanks, one of which is 17 feet underground and insulated by the ground.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article235402962.html
Newsom, Trump escalate climate feud + Rethinking judicial workloads [Sacramento Bee]
‘A DAMN SHAME’ That’s what Gov. Gavin Newsom called President Donald Trump’s stance on climate change. “I don’t know what the hell happened to this country that we have the president that we do today on this issue,” Newsom said at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York on Monday. “It’s a damn shame, it really is. I’m not a little embarrassed about it. I’m absolutely humiliated by what’s going on.” Throughout his speech, Newsom compared the Golden State’s progressive energy policies to Trump’s continued efforts to rollback environmental regulations….The state launched its 60th lawsuit against the White House last week after the president yanked California’s ability to set its own air pollution rules.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article235391252.html
Major power shut-offs are new reality as California enters peak wildfire season [Los Angeles Times]
Russ Brown and other emergency officials in Yuba County have been trying to get the word out. Charge your medical equipment and phone batteries now. Make sure you have enough nonperishable food to last a few days. Because when the hot winds start blowing, the power to your house may be shut off. The state is entering the height of fire season, with a dangerous mix of strong winds and temperatures approaching triple digits forecast across its valleys and foothills. For the first time this year, several Northern and Southern California communities simultaneously are facing preemptive blackouts to reduce the fire risks. This is adding a new element of uncertainty and controversy in scores of communities….Pacific Gas & Electric has vowed to power down to avoid a repeat of last year’s Camp fire, in which thousands of homes were burned and 86 people were killed. Investigators identified downed PG&E equipment as the likely cause of the deadliest blaze in California history.
More workers to qualify for overtime pay [Wall Street Journal]
The Trump administration boosted the number of workers eligible for overtime, extending pay requirements for about 1.3 million people. The rule, set to go into effect Jan. 1, would increase a key salary threshold below which workers generally qualify for time-and-a-half pay for logging more than 40 hours a week. That threshold would increase to $35,568 from $23,660—a figure that hasn’t changed since 2004. A more-sweeping version of the rule by the Obama administration in 2016 was blocked by a court after states and businesses challenged it. Tuesday’s change comes as several states weigh overtime measures of their own, outpacing federal requirements. Some high-cost areas already have standards that exceed Tuesday’s new federal threshold. In California, for instance, workers at large employers earning less than $49,920 are paid overtime now; in 2023, workers earning less than $62,400 will be eligible.
