- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Redding Record-Searchlight ran an obituary today for retired UC Cooperative Extension county director Gary Rush. Rush was also a community development advisor emeritus. According to the story, Rush, 73, suffered an accident some weeks ago and succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Rush retired from his post in the UCCE Shasta-Trinity office in 1993, after 30 years of service to the Northern California community.
"Gary was educated and wise in life as well as books. He was insightful, intelligent, ambitious, patriotic and just one heck of a good guy," the obituary said.
Friends and...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
University of California Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist Lawrence Schwankl joined with irrigation scientists from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Fresno State University in writing a rebuttal to a September 2008 report by the Pacific Institute titled "More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California—A Special Focus on the Delta."
The university scientists' commentary was published in part yesterday in AgAlert and the full, 13-page PDF version is available from the
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
University of California Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists are go-to people for the press when they are looking for expertise on a wide variety of topics. Here are a couple subjects UC academics tackled in recent days:
Suburban coyotes culled - Los Angeles Times
Times reporter Joe Monzingo wrote a feature story on suburban coyote trapper Jimmie Rizzo. According to the article, coyotes are becoming an increasing problem in some Southern California neighborhoods, putting small dogs, cats and even young children at risk. The article cited a 2004 UC Davis finding that the first...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The San Jose Mercury-News ran a story this week about Santa Clara County UC Cooperative Extension's new Master Gardener coordinator, Carole Frost. Frost earned a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Pennsylvania State University in 1987 and worked as a horticulture educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension program, never intending to leave her hometown of Hershey, Penn.
However, her husband took a job with the Air National Guard at Moffet Field, and the family moved west. The UC job, she told reporter Holly Hayes, "was like a dream come true."
"I will again have the best of both worlds — working with plant...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California's citrus farmers are asking homeowners to inspect their backyard citrus trees for symptoms of citrus greening, according to a Los Angeles Times article published today. The disease hasn't been reported in the state, but officials fear an illegally imported tree somewhere in the Southland might be a time bomb waiting for an Asian citrus psyllid to begin the disease's spread.
Asian citrus psyllid moved into the state from Mexico last summer. In other parts of the world, the pest has devastated the citrus industry by spreading citrus greening disease.
"The disease could be a catastrophe for California's...