Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have made California's hourly agricultural employees the only farmworkers in the nation to receive overtime pay after 40 hours a week or eight hours a day. In vetoing the measure, Schwarzenegger cited the fragile economy and said that extending overtime protections could put farms out of business, or result in lower paychecks for agricultural workers because farmers would hire more people and cut hours to avoid paying overtime. The bill's author, Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter (Kern County), blasted the veto. In a statement released by his office, Florez said the Republican governor sided "with a labor practice derived from the segregationist South," and that the veto means it is "acceptable to treat one class of people differently from all others."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/07/29/MNPJ1ELBTP.DTL
No plea deal in farm worker death [Stockton Record]
Prosecutors said Wednesday they will not consider a plea deal in the case against the owner and two supervisors of dismantled Merced Farm Labor, the company that employed a 17-year-old pregnant farm worker who died of heat stroke in 2008. Deputy District Attorney Lester Fleming said he is following through with two felony charges, including involuntary manslaughter, and three misdemeanors for labor violations, including failing to provide access to shade and sufficient access to drinking water….A hearing is scheduled today in Stockton, where Superior Court Judge Michael Garrigan is expected to rule on whether to proceed with a trial….On Wednesday, about 10 demonstrators gathered outside the Stockton courthouse to show their support for tougher punishment of farm labor contractors who violate heat-illness prevention regulations.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100729/A_NEWS/7290317
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Florez, Valley air district leader debate ag burning [Fresno Bee]
State Sen. Dean Florez held what could be his last legislative hearing Wednesday doing what he has done for most of his Capitol tenure -- grilling Valley air regulators over their pollution-fighting policies. Florez, D-Shafter, who terms out after this year, spent more than two hours arguing with the head of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District over how the district is enforcing a ban on farm burning. The burn ban, contained in a law Florez wrote in 2003, started taking effect in 2005 and is aimed at cleaning up the Valley's notoriously bad air. The law was scheduled to ban all burning this year. But the district delayed the final phase for some crops, saying alternatives to burning are too costly, such as sending waste to biomass plants.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/07/28/2022300/florez-valley-air-district-head.html
Delayed, but not defused [Santa Clarita Signal]
Santa Clarita Valley sewer ratepayers will wind up spending more in the long run, despite a decision Tuesday night to delay rate-hike discussion until spring. Meanwhile, Ventura County farmers — noting SCV residents’ resistance to pay more money to reduce crop-damaging chloride levels in the Santa Clara River — are weighing their options, including possible litigation. Ventura farmers bore the brunt of criticism during Tuesday’s meeting of the Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District board, which postponed rate-increase talk until spring.
http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/31589/
Blue Diamond Growers names new chief executive [Sacramento Bee]
Blue Diamond Growers named a new president and chief executive Wednesday, hiring a brand-oriented food executive from Minnesota to lead the century-old Sacramento agriculture cooperative. Mark Jansen, a top official with frozen-food company Schwan Food, will take over in October as head of Blue Diamond, the leading almond processor in California. He will replace Douglas D. Youngdahl, who has run Blue Diamond since 2001 and announced earlier this year he is retiring. By hiring Jansen, the grower-owned cooperative signaled its intent to expand its branded consumer business. Most of Blue Diamond's revenue comes from industrial, bulk sales of almonds to food manufacturers.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/29/2921840/blue-diamond-growers-names-new.html
Killing of pregnant cow protested at California State Fair [Sacramento Bee]
It is one of the State Fair's long-standing traditions: allowing the public to watch live births of cows, pigs and other farm animals to help celebrate California's rich agricultural history. But one day after a pregnant cow headed for the "birthing barn" escaped her handlers and was shot to death by police, the practice was a controversial topic among fairgoers. As visitors filed into the fairgrounds Wednesday, a small group of animal advocates held a protest along Exposition Boulevard, calling the public births stressful and cruel for animals. It is an argument they have made for years, but on Wednesday it seemed to resonate.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/29/2922057/questions-raised-over-animal-births.html
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