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SACRAMENTO – Late last week, Senate Bill 1270 (Pavley) failed to pass out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee at the Committee’s Suspense File hearing.
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) was opposed to SB 1270, as the legislation sought changes to surface mining permitting and regulation, would have undermined local land use planning authority, and could have proven detrimental to the financial health of local governments that operated their own mines for public works projects.
The Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (SMARA) currently requires a local lead agency (county or city) to review and approve a reclamation plan and financial assurances before an entity can begin surface mining operations.
SB 1270 represented a threat of a major shift in land use responsibility from experienced lead agencies to a state agency, an action unnecessary, costly, and duplicative of current law.
The existing system of mining inspections and regulations under SMARA makes sense, as California’s counties have a long history of effectively governing themselves, and administering state laws and local ordinances in a manner that is effective and appropriate to that jurisdiction.
“We commend the committee for recognizing the importance of local land use planning authority in mining regulations, and identifying the unnecessary local and state costs intrinsic to SB 1270,” said Nate Beason, RCRC chair and Nevada County supervisor. “This legislation was unnecessary under current law, which correctly places local government in the lead agency role, leaving the state with the authority to remove a jurisdiction from this role if they are not meeting specific requirements. If anything needs changing, it is simply that of better implementation of the current law, not changes to SMARA itself.”
Even if the current implementation of SMARA is somewhat flawed, as proponents of the legislation claim, the current system already allows for the ability of the state to claim authority in jurisdictions that are not following the provisions required by SMARA, making SB 1270 a duplicative, unnecessary, and costly measure to implement at both the state and local levels.
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California consumers, environmental and food safety groups celebrated on Friday as the Senate Appropriations Committee passed SB 1381 (Evans) with a 5-2 vote.
The bill now goes to the floor for a full Senate vote by May 30.
“California is on its way to joining several states and 64 countries by labeling GMOs in our foods,” said Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa). “Overwhelmingly in California and the nation, consumers simply want to know what is in the foods they eat and feed their families. This bill responds to those concerns.”
Senate Bill 1381 would require GMOs to be labeled in all foods produced for human consumption.
The bill has faced strong and well-funded opposition from large biotech corporations and industrial food manufacturers like Monsanto and Hershey’s.
The issue has garnered massive attention and support in the last few years with 93% of Americans polling in support for labeling protections in 2013.
Last week, Russia banned the import of GMO products likely harming US farmers seeking to sell their crops on the international market.
"We congratulate Senator Evans for championing consumers' right to know if their food is genetically modified,” said Elisa Odabashian, West Coast Director of Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. “We urge the Senate to pass this measure so that Californians can make more informed choices about the food they purchase for their families."
The news from California is the latest development in a string of successes that show momentum is building across the country for the right to know about GMOs.
On May 9, Vermont became the first state in the nation to label GMOs. On Thursday, in the US Senate, a bipartisan amendment to label GMO salmon passed the Appropriations Committee and will be voted on by the full US Senate. And Oregon just announced efforts to collect signatures for a November ballot initiative to label GMOs.
“This bill is a straight-forward, common-sense approach to empowering consumers,” continued Evans. “If the product contains GMOs, label it. We shouldn’t be hiding ingredients. Moreover, consumer choice is the cornerstone to our free-market society.”
Evans is the chair of the Senate Banking & Finance Committee and represents the Second Senatorial District, including all or portions of the counties of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Marin (caretaker), Napa, Solano and Sonoma.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Mendo Lake Credit Union’s Lakeport branch is marking its 10th year in business.
To celebrate the anniversary, branch Manager Kim Bradley and staff treated members of the credit union to a barbecue Friday, May 2, and served treats in the branch office on the anniversary date, April 28.
“It’s been a quick 10 years” since the branch opened its doors in 2004, said Bradley, who has been manager for the last year.
Bradley has worked at the Lakeport branch of the Mendo Lake Credit Union for seven and a half years and served as assistant branch manager to Manager Cindy Poindexter, taking her post when Poindexter retired.
Although she did not start with the branch when it opened, Bradley recalls that in 2006 the Lakeport office employed four full-time and one half-time staff.
Bradley said she is proud to work with eight employees who go out of their way to provide excellent service to the more than 6,000 credit union members of the Lakeport branch.
As of April 30, the Mendo Lake Credit Union had a total of 25,348 members.
Located in the 11th Street Plaza, where it has been since the branch opened, the MLCU Lakeport branch hosted a celebratory barbecue Friday.
The branch sent out 250 “thank you” letters and barbecue invites to members who opened accounts in 2004 and have been members of the branch since it opened, said Bradley. The branch manager and staff handed out more than 80 hot dogs Friday.
Among the services provided by the credit union staff are savings and checking accounts, business accounts, loans and auto financing.
The branch has a close relationship with local auto dealerships, including Guy Strohmeier’s Auto Center and Kathy Fowler Chevrolet, said Bradley.
As with all of the MLCU branches, the Lakeport office is involved in several community functions.
“We support the Lake County Wine Alliance, Lake County Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity, and Kelseyville Pear Festival, just to name a few. In addition, we present MoneyWise, a special program of financial tips for school children,” said Bradley.
The Lakeport branch of MLCU averages $576,000 in auto loans each month as well as another $365,000 in other customer loans.
Mendo Lake Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative and has been serving members’ financial needs since 1959.
MLCU branches are located in Lakeport, Clearlake, Fort Bragg and Ukiah.
For more information, contact Jamey Gill, director of marketing and community outreach, at
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Enterprise Tire Factory is celebrating and thanking its vustomers with a Customer Appreciation Day on Thursday, May 29.
The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the store, located at 15195 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.
Enterprise Tire Factory will host an appearance by the Tire Factory sponsored Captain USA monster truck during their Customer Appreciation Day. The monster truck will be racing at Ukiah Speedway on May 30 and 31.
Customers and community members can stop by Enterprise Tire Factory for a free hot dog, receive an autographed monster truck poster, and enter to win tickets to the monster truck race at Ukiah Speedway.
“We are excited to have the Captain USA monster truck at our store and we look forward to thanking our customers for their wonderful support,” said Enterprise Tire Factory owner Denise Loustalot.
For more information, contact Loustalot at 707-994-8801.