- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
With the beginning of the summer fire season looming, media are taking note of UC wildfire management expertise.
The High County News published an article last week about preparations in California for "the next burn." Writer Peter Friederici based his story on a new CalFire map that places Portola Valley in a "very high" fire hazard zone. Residents are concerned the designation will cause insurance companies to cancel their coverage or raise rates and that it could also devalue their property.
The concerns seemed to garner little sympathy from Peter Moraga, speaking...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A group of Latino high school students, working with Kathleen Nolan of UC Cooperative Extension in Monterey County, have created a new fotonovela to teach their peers about the hazards of lead poisoning. "Fotonovela" is comic-book-like literature popular in Mexico. In this instance, it is an educational pamphlet that features photos of the students with thought and speech bubbles telling a story.
According to a news article in the Salinas Californian yesterday, the students' fotonovela tells the story of six students who call themselves "lead detectives" to investigate what's wrong with the young neice of...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Kind-hearted Californians resoundingly supported Proposition 2 last November, which, among other things, requires farmers to provide the state's egg-laying hens with room to spread their wings. One of the concerns discussed before its passage - that unaffected producers from other states and Mexico will flood the California market with their cheaper eggs - would be mitigated by passage of Assembly Bill 1437, according to a Sacramento Bee story, which also appeared in the Merced Sun-Star.
The proposed law, which passed in the Assembly by a 65-12 vote, was...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Stories about blueberries are still trickling in. Today, the Visalia Time-Delta reported on the fact that 35 percent of California blueberries are produced in the newspaper's Tulare County circulation area.
For the story, reporter Hillary Meeks spoke to Steve "Doc" Blizzard, a local blueberry farm manager. He said the company started growing blueberries with encouragement from Manuel Jimenez, the UC Small Farm Program farm advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Tulare County.
Jimenez recently arranged for several Central Valley growers interested in the crop to take a tour of the Lagomarsino blueberry farm,...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Raising backyard chickens for food and fun was the highlight of a Contra Costa Times story published over the weekend that was based on a Point Reyes Station 4-H workshop held last week.
UC Cooperative Extension Marin County director Ellen Rilla told reporter Rob Rogers that the growing interest in chickens seems to be tied to enthusiasm for the "slow food" movement, which embraces traditional methods of producing food.
"I think a lot of people have become interested in local food production," Rilla was quoted. "People like to know where their food is coming from."
The chickens were said...