The Social Action Committee has issued an action alert in connection with the California Food and Justice Coalition. Urgent email is needed regarding SB 391, the Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act. Please read on...
Summary
In the next two weeks Governor Schwarzenegger will meet with staff members and Terry Tamminen, the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA), on all current environmental bills being considered for the Governor's signature. Let's make sure that SB391 (Florez), the Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, is at the top of his list of priority bills when he speaks will the Governor.
Background
In the past four years, numerous incidents have occurred where pesticide applications have drifted outside the area of application. These drift incidents have exposed well over a thousand people to pesticides that have resulted in short- and long-term illnesses, and hundreds of thousands of people in California live in areas where they are at risk of health effects from pesticide drift.
The Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act (SB 391-Florez) intends to ensure that the victims of pesticide drift incidents are properly responded to and treated with respect. Many victims have been hosed down naked in front of others with a fire hose or left with hundreds of dollars worth of medical expenses that are never reimbursed or simply not responded to. SB 391 intends to prevent the ill treatment of these victims and ensure immediate and proper response to each incident.
The Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act would establish a reimbursement process to pay for the medical bills of victims of pesticide incidents and Hazardous Materials Response Plans in each county to ensure proper response to pesticide drift incidents.
To read a copy of the bill, see http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0351-0400/sb_391_bill_20040828_enrolled.html
Action
Please email Secretary Tamminen in support of SB 391. Contact information and a sample message
can be found below.
Sample Message
Email: cepacomm@calepa.ca.gov
Subject: SUPPORT SB 391
Sample Message:
Dear Secretary Tamminen:
I want to express my support for SB 391 (Florez), the Pesticide Drift Response Act. I strongly support this bill as a necessary first step in controlling pesticide drift.
SB 391 would provide for improved response to these incidents and enhanced treatment of victims of exposure in order to minimize the health impacts from exposure. In addition to reducing the economic burden placed on pesticide drift victims, SB 391 will provide for improved emergency response to pesticide drift incidents.
Your strong support of SB 391 is very important. Thank you for doing what you can to see that the
Governor signs this bill.
Sincerely,
For more information:
Contact Andrea Wilson at 415.981.3939 extension 5 or andrea@igc.org
The California Food and Justice Coalition is a statewide membership coalition committed to the basic human right to healthy food while advancing social, agricultural and environmental justice. They are partners of the national Community Food Security Coalition, and collaborate with community-based efforts in California working to create a socially just, ecologically and economically sustainable food supply. They envision a California food system in which all activities, from farm to table, are equitable, healthful, sustainable, and community-driven.
California Food and Justice Coalition c/o CFSC
P.O. Box 209, Venice, CA 90294
Phone: 310.822.5410; Fax: 310.822.1440
Web: http://www.foodsecurity.org/california
email: Heather@foodsecurity.org
Our friends at the Common Ground Garden Program have sent us the following invitation to an event this weekend:
In appreciation of our Learning Garden volunteers and to welcome new folks to our gardening family, join us for Pesto Day!When: Saturday, September 25 from 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Where: The Learning Garden, Venice High School, 13000 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles
Cost: General admission is $5 at the gatePick basil and make fresh garden pesto with The Learning Garden community! Enjoy a light harvest supper out on our patio together with refreshments and music. Supper will include pasta with our famous Pesto Madness Pesto, spicy or sweet Italian sausage, Italian bread, and lemonade or ice tea.
For your purchasing pleasure we'll have our Exquisite Basil Pesto, Culinary and Medicinal Herb Plants, Select Own-Root Roses (propagated by students), Garden Cards, and unexpected surprises as we think of them.
Thanks!
David King, Garden Master
The Learning Garden  Â
www.thelearninggarden.org
Phone: 310.722.3656A garden, where one may enter in and forget the whole world, cannot be made in a week, nor a month, nor a year; it must be planned for, waited for, and loved into being. (Chinese proverb)
The Culinary Historians of Southern California, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles convivium of Slow Food will be hosting an evening with Anne Willan and Mark Cherniavsky.
In “A Feast of Words," avid cookbook collectors Anne Willan and Mark Cherniavsky will bring history to life with slides and a discussion of five centuries of cookbooks from Italy, France, and England. They will consider celebrity cooks of the past, as well as dishes, the people who ate them, and how national cultures are reflected in the cookbooks themselves.
When: Thursday, October 14, 2004 from 6:15pm - 8:30pm
Where: The Mark Taper Auditorium of the Los Angeles Central Library (630 West Fifth Street, Los Angeles 90071)
Cost: $15 for CHSC, IACP, and Slow Food members; $20 for nonmembers, payable at the door. Please bring your IACP or Slow Food membership card. Cash and checks only, no credit cards.
In addition to the program (with slides), Anne Willan will sign copies of her new book, The Good Cook, and there will be a wine reception with hors d’oeuvres provided by Angeli Caffe, Cafe Pinot, Campanile, Ciudad, and Water Grill (at time of this posting).
RSVP by October 12 by calling Denise Resetar at 818.223.0483 or by e-mail to oct14event@stellarevents.com. Please leave your name, telephone number, number of people in your party, and organization affiliation.
A portion of this evening's revenue will be donated to Endangered Treasures, a cookbook preservation fund of the International Association of Culinary Professionals Foundation in the name of Julia Child for books to be restored at the Central Los Angeles Public Library.
Parking at the Central Library is $1.00 at 524 S. Flower St., with validation at the event. Without validation, and after 9:00 pm, parking is $7.00. For more library information, call 213.228.7201.
Want to learn how to make pizza dough by hand? How about baking pizza in a wood-fired brick oven the true Napoletana style?
Our friends in the Ventura convivium have invited us to join them for an afternoon with Mike "The Bejker" Zakowski. Mike will demonstrate how to mix organic dough by hand and shape it, and then he'll bake it in his very own handcrafted backyard brick oven. Dough will be ready to bake when everyone arrives, so bring your appetite! As a bonus, everyone will take some homemade dough home, too, for experimenting with later.
When: Sunday, September 19, 2004 from 1:00pm-4:00pm
Where: 32 West Ramona Street, Ventura 93001 (mapquest location)
Cost: $15 for Slow Food members; $20 for non-members, payable at the door. Cost includes sparking water and iced tea.
RSVP: by September 17 by calling Mary Blehm at 805.415.7253 or by email to maryblehm@hotmail.com.
What to bring besides your appetite? BYOB if you prefer beer or wine (and beer and wine donations/sponsorship would be much appreciated). Also, any toppings and/or herbs you have an abundance of from your garden would be welcome.
Thanks to Heartland Mills for donating organic flour for the event.
Join Los Angeles bicyclists and foodies on a 2 1/2 hour, two-wheel tour of Los Angeles' exotic ice creams and newly hip neighborhoods!
When: Sunday, September 12, 2004, beginning at 10:00am
Where: Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe, 2124 West 7th Street (one block from the MacArthur Park Metro Station)
Cost: $15.00 per person (includes five samples, route map, and bike support)
Starting at Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe, "Bicycle Sundae" explores our city, and samples LA's finest and unique ice creams, ranging from Persian to Japanese and from Oaxacan to Italian.
Participating shops include Mama's at MacArthur Park, Mashti Malone's new shop in Glendale, SWORK Coffee Bar in Eagle Rock, Mikawaya Bakery in Little Tokyo, and more. We'll work off each and every calorie on this nearly 20-mile ride that, in addition to the sites we'll see between MacArthur Park and Glendale, includes portions of beautiful Elysian park along the tranquil LA River Bicycle Path.
Participants can register on the day of the event, from 9:00-10:00am, onsite at Mama's. The tour leaves at 10 am. Secure parking is available behind Mama's. Ride level is easy to moderate, with rest and ice creams breaks.
Bring your taste buds along with lots of water and a helmet!
The September 12 Bicycle Sundae is one of a series of bicycle rides by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition that promotes the pleasures of bicycle riding in Los Angeles. The Bicycle Kitchen, a cooperative, promotes bike culture, self help bike repair, and bike power.
For more information and to reserve a spot, contact the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition at 213.629.2142 or email Lmvela@earthlink.net.