In the News
— Mexico's top trade negotiator backed down from a self-created diplomatic crisis after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer clarified that certain language in the USMCA bill does not mean the U.S. will send labor inspectors to Mexico.— The Ways and Means Committee will consider the revised USMCA today, keeping the House on track to pass the deal later this week.
This past week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, the first significant legislative effort to reform the agricultural labor supply important to Salinas Valley growers and harvesters.
WATSONVILLE—After years of waiting, advocating, fighting and fretting, people who live near the Pajaro River – and in the community around it – can breathe a sigh of relief.
That's after a feasibility report released Thursday by the Army Corps of Engineers, and a separate one confirming it by Corps Director of Civil Works James Dalton, has helped move forward long-awaited repairs and upgrades of the Pajaro River Levee.
The Trump administration is to opening up 1.2 million acres for oil and gas drilling across California from the Central Valley to the coast, targeting eight counties — Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obisbo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura.
Calif. —
The Pajaro River is known for its catastrophic flooding that's damaged hundreds of homes and businesses over the years. Friday, Congressman Jimmy Panetta announced the Pajaro River Flood Risk Reduction Project will receive the funds needed to move the project forward.
"This project, what they've heard, was stalled in the past," began Panetta. "No, we're going forward and we're going to continue to go forward."
Democrat Jimmy Panetta and other lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would provide a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants who work in the American agriculture or farm industries.
The bill, called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, would allow the Department of Homeland Security to offer certain illegal immigrants — and their spouses and children — the opportunity to get "certified agricultural worker" status as long as they've worked for at least two years, even part time, in the industry.
WATSONVILLE, CA — The Pajaro River Flood Risk Reduction Project may soon move out of the planning phase and into the design phase. Congressman Jimmy Panetta, elected officials' staff and officials from local, state and federal agencies will attend next week at a public meeting to discuss the project.
The Levee Project aims to increase flood protection by rebuilding levees, or adding setback levees or floodwalls to ensure that floodwaters can be contained in the Pajaro River channel, according to a City of Santa Cruz press release.
On Wednesday, the House passed a bipartisan bill that would grant legal status to thousands of undocumented farmworkers.
The House passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday night that could give legal status and a path to citizenship to hundreds of thousands of unauthorized immigrants working in agriculture.
The legislation, the product of months of discussions, represents a rare moment of bipartisan agreement on one of the most contentious topics of the Trump administration, ultimately passing by a vote of 260-165 and attracting 23 Republicans.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) has been working on legislation for the past nine months that could have a major impact on one of the Central Coast's most important industries - agriculture.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.