FRESNO, CA- Mayor Jerry Dyer, along with City Manager Georgeanne White, announced the City of Fresno’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget at a City Hall news conference Thursday. The $1,850,771,100 budget prioritized community safety, economic development, public work improvements, housing, Beautify Fresno, and investment in our youth. The Mayor’s proposed budget flows from his core…… MORE
White House Vows More Federal Aid To Reduce Homelessness In 5 Cities And California
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Five major U.S. cities and the state of California will receive federal help to get unsheltered residents into permanent housing under a new plan launched Thursday as part of the Biden administration’s larger goal to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025. The All Inside initiative will partner the U.S. Interagency Council on…… MORE
California Lawmakers Block Bill Allowing People To Sue Oil Companies Over Health Problems
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers blocked two big environmental bills Thursday: One that would have ramped up the state’s emissions targets, and another that would have made oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells. They are among the hundreds of bills that did not survive the…… MORE
Meat Exports Show Mixed Results
A USDA report says a comparison between first-quarter 2023 exports of seven animal products with the exports from the same time last year shows some improvement. Four of the categories were year-over-year higher and three were lower so far during this year. In the first quarter of 2023, lamb and mutton exports were up 31%,…… MORE
House Ag Spending Bill Revealed
The House Agriculture Appropriations bill provides $26.3 billion for total funding. But that’s $532 million below the 2023 funding level. The bill provides $17.1 billion to the Department of Agriculture, which is $11.7 billion below the budget request. Conservative leaders in the House say the bill reins in wasteful spending by redirecting billions in American…… MORE
Prince Harry & Meghan Made Getaway in NYC Taxi After Being Trailed By Paparazzi
NEW YORK (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were trailed in their car by photographers as they left a New York City charity event Tuesday night, briefly taking refuge at a police station before being whisked away in a yellow taxicab. The pursuit and media frenzy evoked memories of the 1997 car chase through…… MORE
ChatGPT’s Chief Testifies Before Congress, Calls For New Agency To Regulate Artificial Intelligence
(AP) — The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT told Congress on Tuesday that government intervention “will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful” AI systems. “As this technology advances, we understand that people are anxious about how it could change the way we live. We are too,” OpenAI CEO…… MORE
Farmer Use of Automation Survey
Growers now spend an average of $500,000 a year on automation in response to the persistent ag labor shortage. Western Growers discovered the data in its Specialty Crop Automation Report. The report, which tracks and measures industry progress in harvest automation across the fresh produce industry, is part of the Western Growers Global Harvest Automation…… MORE
Oakland Students To Return To Class After District, Striking Teachers Reach Deal
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Students in the Oakland Unified School District will return to full classroom instruction Tuesday after the district and striking teachers announced a tentative deal that includes a reparations task force for Black students and more say from parents and teachers in school decisions. Monday’s announcement ends a strike that had kept…… MORE
Prop 12 Animal Housing Rules Restarting
The California Department of Food and Agriculture issued this response following The US Supreme Court upholding California’s Proposition 12, an animal confinement initiative approved by voters in 2018. “CDFA is grateful that the United States Supreme Court has firmly upheld the people’s will in its decision in the National Pork Producers case. Throughout the country,…… MORE
