FARM GROUPS PRESS GOVERNOR FOR RELIEF, CITING NEW FEES, RULES

In an appeal for relief to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, several of the state's major agriculture organizations are lamenting higher fees and new environmental regulations, which they say threaten the viability of their industry. The groups seek the governor's "immediate attention" on a series of recently unveiled environmental initiatives, including new air pollution regulations, wastewater discharge rules and toxic chemical controls, to avert a "serious crisis" that they say could lead to increased urbanization of farmland. But one environmentalist dismissed the...