The USDA projects that the price of beef and veal will rise 5.5 to 6.5 percent this year and that poultry prices will increase 3 to 4 percent. Dairy products will likewise see a 3 to 4 percent jump, with egg prices rising 5 to 6 percent. Fresh fruit and vegetable prices are expected to
A small water agency that pumps water from Clear Lake expects to declare a water shortage emergency as early as this week, not because it's running out of water but because thick algae growth is putting a strain on its purification system. “The lake is worse than normal. Our treatment plant is having difficulty treating”
It's not everyone's idea of great swag, but Tri-Valley homeowners are lining up for a new drought freebie -- recycled sewer water. Toting empty milk jugs, tubs, buckets, even water tanks, residents have been lining up to fill 'em up since mid-June at what sewer district officials say is the only plant giving away free
The 115-year-old Kern River oil field unfolds into the horizon, thousands of bobbing pumpjacks seemingly occupying every corner of a desert landscape here in California’s Central Valley. A contributor to the state’s original oil boom, it is still going strong as the nation’s fifth-largest oil field, yielding 70,000 barrels a day. But the Kern River
Irrigation districts pledged to keep up their fight against a state proposal to boost flows in the lower Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers. They said the proposal, aimed at improving conditions for salmon and other fish, would hit hard at the region’s agriculture and lead to an increase in well pumping. “That’s water that’s lost,”
All other Western states make such records – known as well completion reports, or well logs, for short – open to the public, California does not. Here, access to the documents is restricted. While some government agencies and researchers can view them, many scientists and the public at large cannot, a barrier many say reins
Overwatering your lawn? Get out your checkbook. For the first time since the drought of the 1970s, state officials are looking to drive water conservation through mandatory restrictions - with fines of up to $500 for violators. A proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board, to be considered Tuesday in Sacramento, would bar residents
Congress leaves town today for its 4th of July recess without any agreement on California drought legislation. But that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a water fight behind the scenes. House members from the Central Valley met with both California senators to discuss merging two separate drought bills -- one passed in the House and
An overwhelming majority of Santa Cruz's residential water customers have kept their consumption within mandated rationing limits and the city is on target to keep overall production below its drought-driven conservation goal, officials said this week. The Water Department reported half of the 22,000 residential customers have been billed for the May to June service
Following the meandering Tuolumne River shows the answer is complicated. When there is not enough water to supply everyone's needs, a generations-old pecking order of claims determines who gets the most. But this year, almost everyone will get less than they want. http://www.insidebayarea.com/california/ci_26009276/california-drought-snowmelt-path-shows-impact-sierras-pacific?source=rss