Trump says he will sign phase-one trade deal with China on Jan. 15 [Wall Street Journal]
President Trump said he would sign the phase-one trade deal with China on Jan. 15 and will later travel to Beijing for talks on a broader pact. The president, in a Tuesday morning tweet, said he would be joined at the White House signing by “high level” Chinese officials, but he did not specify who would attend. Mr. Trump also pledged to travel to Beijing to begin negotiations on the second phase of the trade deal “at a later date.” China and the U.S. agreed to a limited trade deal earlier this month after months of tense negotiations. As part of the agreement, China said it would purchase more American agricultural products. The U.S., in return, said it would hold off on a new round of tariffs and agreed to reduce some existing levies. Some critics said the deal didn’t make the kind of long-term economic changes that U.S. officials have said are needed to level the playing field for businesses. But the agreement marked a detente in the mounting trade war between the two countries, as well as a political victory for Mr. Trump ahead of 2020 election. As part of the deal, the U.S. canceled plans to impose fresh tariffs on $156 billion in annual imports of Chinese-made goods—including smartphones, toys and consumer electronics—that were set to go into effect on Dec. 15. The U.S. will also slash the tariff rate in half on roughly $120 billion of goods affected on Sept. 1, from 15% to 7.5%.
As CA minimum wage increases, agricultural growers absorb costs [KBAK-TV]
California’s minimum wage will increase by one dollar on January 1, 2020, paying $13 an hour for larger businesses, and $12 an hour for businesses employing fewer than 25 employees. As wages rise, agricultural growers anticipate cutting back on overtime hours for their workers….”Every hour, I save a dollar per person,” Steve Murray, co-founder of Murray Family Farms, said. He already pays a competitive rate above $12 an hour. “It’s the same increases we had last year, and we just absorb it. The thing is, the margin just is not there,” Murray said. “The margin the growers make just isn’t there. By 2022, California’s minimum wage will cap off at $15 an hour, while overtime pay for farm workers will kick in after 40 hours, instead of 60, where it was two years ago. “The wage increase hit employers very hard,” Murray said, noting that in the next three years, workers will see their pay increase by 25 percent, but their hours will be cut by 30 percent. Many, he expects, will take on a second part-time job to make ends meet.
https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/as-ca-minimum-wage-increases-agricultural-growers-absorb-costs
California wanted to protect Uber drivers. Now it may hurt freelancers. [New York Times]
A state law meant to protect workers at companies like Uber and Lyft takes effect on Wednesday. Some say it will limit their prospects….Gloria Rivera likes the freedom of freelance. She moved to San Diego from Peru in 2005 and has a bustling career as an interpreter and translator for doctors, courts and conferences. Now, as a new California law governing freelancers is set to take effect on Wednesday, her clients are wary. They are asking for more paperwork. Some services are hitting pause on hiring Californians at all….The new law, Assembly Bill 5, will radically reshape freelance work in California. Prompted in part by frustration with the treatment of workers by companies like the ride-hailing behemoths Uber and Lyft, the bill was created to extend workplace legal protections to roughly one million people in the state. On Monday, Uber and Postmates filed a lawsuit in federal court in California seeking to block the law from being enforced against them. But the suit is unlikely to stop the law from going into effect in other professions. Those other industries include a wide variety of freelance workers, such as writers, translators, strippers and clergy. Many said they were now discovering that the law could make earning a living much more difficult.
PG&E adds more wildfire cameras in Mendocino County [Ukiah Daily Journal]
As part of its Community Wildfire Safety Program (CWSP), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) reported this month that it has now installed more than 30 weather stations in Mendocino County that track conditions such as wind, temperature and humidity. PG&E describes the stations as being on its equipment in these “approximate areas”: Bald Mountain in Hopland, Oak Knoll Road in Ukiah, Sherwood Road and Reynolds Highway in Willits, Orr Springs Road in Ukiah, Blackhawk Drive in Willits, Pieta in Hopland, Blackhawk West in Willits, Cloverdale Peak in Cloverdale, Black Bart Trail in Calpella, Laughlin Mountain in Redwood Valley, Green Road Alternate in Philo, Mountain View Road in Boonville and Manchester, Highway 128 near Hendy Grove, Poonkinney Road in Covelo, Underwood Lane in Leggett, Greenwood Road West in Elk, Mathison Peak in Melbourne, Ten Mile Cutoff Road in Gallaway, Signal Peak in Potter Valley, as well as other areas in Potter Valley, Laytonville, Calpella, Willits and Covelo.
https://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/2019/12/27/pge-adds-more-wildfire-cameras-in-mendocino-county/
At least 20 llamas missing from exotic animal farm. California cops suspect activists [Fresno Bee]
Twenty to 30 llamas are on the lam after someone broke into a Southern California exotic animal farm early Monday to haul them away, KESQ reports. The intruders, whom Riverside County authorities say may have been animal rights activists, also cut a gate lock to let other animals at the 14-acre farm at Orange Avenue and Murrieta Road in Perris escape, the Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside reported. “We received a call about 6:30 a.m. regarding numerous llamas and emus walking on Orange,” said Deputy Robyn Flores, according to KCBS. After rounding up the animals, farm owners and authorities realized 20 to 30 llamas remain missing and may have been hauled away, KESQ reported. The farm has been the target of accusations on social media of abuse and neglect of llamas, emus, ostriches, water buffalo, and other livestock and birds, according to KCBS. But Riverside County Animal Control officials say they investigated the farm after the complaints on Facebook and Instagram, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/article238854723.html
2019 ends with reflections on water [Klamath Falls Herald and News]
As the New Year nears, officials this month reflected on water so far in 2019 and the impact it has had to date in the Klamath Project. Jeff Nettleton, manager for the Klamath Basin Area Office for the Bureau of Reclamation, called 2019 a “cool” and “wet” year; an average year for water allocation with less demand from agriculture, and more water for the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in an interview with H&N in mid-December. Working with on-Project water users, Reclamation sent the refuge about 30,000 acre feet of water this fall, which Nettleton said made a huge impact….Klamath Tribes Chairman Don Gentry believes the higher lake levels can be attributed to better water quality.
