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Large specialty crop farmers are reassessing their spring planting plans because of rising fuel prices. Many farmers are considering planting more subsidized crops such as corn and cotton as market prices for fruits and vegetables lack stability during times like these. Also, yields for specialty crops are more difficult to predict than commodities. By making the switch, farmers might also save on fuel costs related to irrigation. Most farmers rely on diesel-powered groundwater pumps. Rising fue

As California enters its second week of full enrollment in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's Secure Communities program, a California-based immigrant rights group claims that it's creating an unsuitable environment for the state's illegal immigrant population. "While publicly insisting that S-Comm targets the 'worst of the worst,' ICE's own data shows that a majority of those identified and ultimately deported are, in fact, low-level offenders or individuals without any criminal

All police departments in the state with the highest population of illegal immigrants are now equipped to work with federal immigration authorities to determine the legal status of all suspects arrested under a federal program originally implemented in May 2009.  Reported last week by several local outlets, all of California is now officially under the Secure Communities federal immigration enforcement program.  This will allow local law enforcement to verify the immigration status of everyone a

According to a recent Modesto Bee editorial, the costs associated with housing imprisoned illegal immigrants who commit offenses in California are on track to becoming an unfunded liability for the state's taxpayers, due in part to the federal government fleeing from their responsibility to share in those very costs. "The cost to imprison illegal immigrants convicted of crimes should be a shared responsibility. Since 1995, Congress has forced the federal government to pay a per-diem cost based

As those immersed in the immigration debate configure their tactical strategy to reform a currently unsatisfactory system, both major political ideologies face the prospect of losing credibility in winning over critically-thinking voters. Over the holiday weekend, the NBC Los Angeles news affiliate reported that an immigrant rights group orchestrated an effort to disrupt a Los Angeles Police Department DUI checkpoint, asserting that the operation acts in part to unfairly impound the vehicles of

Michael Bennett, Florida Senate President Pro Tempore, expressed no confidence in the federal government's current ability to fix a broken immigration system, according to a recent News-Press of Fort Myers editorial. Fixing America's impaired immigration system is not a simple matter, he said, instead offering that it's possible to equip states like his own with the means to enforce immigration laws while not interfering with federal law. "The U.S. immigration system is broken and we cannot loo

On  Saturday, hundreds of Independents from across the country gathered in  New York City for the CUIP’s National Conference of Independents  entitled, “Can Independents Reform America?” The  conference was organized by the Committee for a Unified Independent  Party, which is perhaps better known by its online portal at IndependentVoting.org.   Founded in 1994 by independent community organizers and third party  activists, the organization now has local affiliates and chapters in  over thirty s

Recently speaking before a key Hispanic audience through the Spanish television network Univision, The Hill newspaper blog reports that First Lady Michelle Obama placed blame for her husband's inability to pass immigration reform on the Republican Party, saying that legislation like the DREAM Act has been a top item on her husband's agenda.  She is calling on the Hispanic community to hold Republicans accountable for their current immigration stance. "So I urge the Latino community, he needs he

What's that you say?  You didn't even know open carry was legal in California? Why yes it is. The gun must be in clear view at all times and be unloaded. You may also legally carry ammo on a clip next to the holstered gun.  You don't need a license. In a move either brave or foolhardy, State Assembly member Anthony Portantino has introduced a bill, AB 144, which would ban open carry in California. It's a given he will be hearing from lots of concerned folks about this, most especially from pro-

In a speech on Tuesday night at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, immigration hawk Joe Arpaio of Arizona said that California's lax immigration policies are to blame for the state's lingering high concentration of illegal immigrants. "Unfortunately, everybody we arrest is headed for California," he said according to a report from Arizona radio station KTAR. "I wonder why they're headed for California. Because nobody enforces the law around here." Taking a jab at California's 12.3% unemployment