US Forest Service Stops Prescribed Burns In California

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, October 25, 2024…

• The U.S. Forest Service this week directed its employees in California to stop prescribed burning “for the foreseeable future,” a directive that officials said is meant to preserve staff and equipment to fight wildfires if needed.
• Californians will vote on ten statewide ballot propositions this fall. Among them is Proposition 3, which would enshrine the right to same-sex marriage in the California constitution.
• Voter support appears to be waning for a ballot measure that would increase the state’s minimum wage. 
• The McDonald’s Corporation says a Salinas-based company, Taylor Farms, is the source of onions linked to an E. Coli food poisoning outbreak at its restaurants.

Forest Service Halts Prescribed Burns In California. Is It Worth The Risk?

This week, the U.S. Forest Service directed its employees in California to stop prescribed burning “for the foreseeable future,” a directive that officials said is meant to preserve staff and equipment to fight wildfires if needed.

The pause comes amid the crucial fall window for planned, controlled burns, which remove fuel and can protect homes from future wildfires — raising concerns that the move will increase long-term fire risks.

“There are two times in the year when it’s safe to do prescribed fire: in the fall right before the rains come, and in the spring when things are dry enough to burn but not dry enough to burn it in a dangerous way,” said Michael Wara, energy and climate expert at Stanford University. He worries half of the prescribed fire season on federal lands will be sacrificed because of this decision. “There is a risk aversion here that’s really damaging. The reality is, if there are mistakes on prescribed fires, people are likely to face consequences, even when those mistakes turn out to be positive,” Wara said.

Californians To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Proposition

Among the statewide measures on the November ballot is Proposition 3. It would enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into the California constitution, repealing Proposition 8 — a measure approved by voters in 2008 that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. In practice, the ballot measure would not change who can marry.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Evan Low, both Democrats in the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, introduced the constitutional amendment as a preemptive protection after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections in 2022. Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, said that the court should also reconsider the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, but other conservatives on the bench disagreed.

California Minimum Wage Voter Support Falters As Inflation Worries Linger

As many voters remain anxious about inflation, support for a California ballot measure that would gradually raise the minimum wage statewide appears to be waning, according to new survey data. The statewide poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found only about 44% of likely voters backed Proposition 32, compared to 50% in September.

Supporters say the measure, which would require employers to pay a minimum of $18 an hour by 2026, could help an estimated 2 million working Californians better afford basic necessities. The lowest-paid jobs in the state include farmworkers, home health care aides and cashiers.

But arguments by business trade groups that employers would be forced to absorb a more expensive payroll by raising prices and cutting jobs — and exacerbate the state’s cost of living — seem to be sticking in the current election climate.

Salinas Produce Company Linked To Deadly E. Coli Outbreak, Says McDonald’s

A California-based produce company was the source of fresh onions linked to a deadly E. coli food poisoning outbreak at McDonald’s, officials with the restaurant chain said Thursday. Meanwhile, other fast-food restaurants — including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King — pulled onions from some menus.

McDonald’s officials said that Taylor Farms of Salinas, California, sent onions to one distribution facility, which led the fast-food chain to remove Quarter Pounder hamburgers from restaurants in several states. McDonald’s didn’t say which facility it was.

An outbreak tied to the burgers has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states, including a person who died, federal health officials have said. Investigators said they were focused on slivered onions as a potential source of the infections.