The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank’s (IBank) board of directors on Oct. 25 approved a new Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee Fund Program and an expanded microloan program to assist businesses affected by the wildfires in Sonoma County and other state declared disaster areas at Tuesday’s meeting in Sacramento.
Just days after the wildfires devastated areas of Sonoma County, the Sonoma County Economic Development Board (EDB) reached out to the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to seek out financial assistance for county businesses impacted by the fires, according to Al Lerma, EDB director of business development and innovation.
A new option has entered the discussion of Delta water supplies: one cross-Delta tunnel instead of two.
Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is an environmental pathogen that can contaminate foods and cause a mild, non-invasive illness (listerial gastroenteritis) or a severe, invasive illness (listeriosis). Although the number of outbreaks and illnesses from this pathogen are not high compared with other pathogenic organisms, such as Salmonella, listeriosis is considered to be a significant foodborne pathogen since the illness outcome is severe and the fatality rate is high.
You have undoubtedly heard of the controversy concerning the regulatory redefinition of the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It relates to the extent of the jurisdiction of federal versus state regulations relating to the Clean Water Act (CWA) implementation. It is an extremely complex and convoluted legal and policy issue. The resolution might have an impact on wastewater discharges from some of your facilities, so it might be worth at least keeping track of the legal and regulatory issues, especially if the outcome might affect your business. Certainly, hundreds of state, federal and industry lawyers, judges and their staffs have been engaged in the action. It will probably be decided ultimately by the U.S. Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON -- Late on Wednesday afternoon, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R.4092, the Agricultural Guestworker Act (AG Act) on a close 17-16 vote. The Committee’s action is just the first step in what will be a long and important legislative process. Federal legislation is needed to fully address the labor crisis afflicting agriculture and horticulture in America. Chairman Bob Goodlatte and the Committee have tackled this challenge by drafting a bill that revamps the H-2A guest worker program, which he considers dysfunctional and difficult for the business owners who rely on it.