Drought causing concern for Central Valley growers, higher prices for consumers
Price inflations will likely be on the rise.
Kern County is still in Exceptional Drought status according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. But with the county being one of the top vegetable-producing regions in the nation the drought is causing concern for local growers.
By: Brianna Willis, 23ABC , Anthony Wright, 23ABC
Posted at 8:43 PM, Jul 18, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-18 23:43:36-04
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) â Looking at the latest drought map, much of the state is bright red, which means extreme drought. If you take a look at Kern County, the area is almost entirely dark red. That color represents an exceptional drought which covers roughly 84 percent of the county. There is a small section of Eastern Kern that remains in the extreme drought.
Drought causing concern for Central Valley growers, higher prices for consumers
Price inflations will likely be on the rise.
Kern County is still in Exceptional Drought status according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. But with the county being one of the top vegetable-producing regions in the nation the drought is causing concern for local growers.
By: Brianna Willis, 23ABC , Anthony Wright, 23ABC
Posted at 7:08 PM, Jul 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-15 22:08:57-04
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) â Much of the state is in that bright red color which means extreme drought. If you take a look at Kern County, the area is almost entirely dark red. That color represents an exceptional drought which covers roughly 84 percent of the county. There is a small section of Eastern Kern that remains in the extreme drought.
Ridgecrest library hopes to debut Makerspace in mid-June
Ridgecrest Daily Independent
If you are interested in 3D printing, video productions, producing a podcast or even learning to sew and you live in the Ridgecrest area you are in luck.
The Kern County Library Ridgecrest Branch is about to get a lot more creative. Thanks to an East Kern economic development grant, the local library will soon host its very own Makerspace. The space will eventually feature 3D printers, laser cutters, soldering irons, sewing machines and much more. All equipment will be free to use. Materials will also be free, although people can also bring in their own.
CALIFORNIA CITY â The California City planning commission voted unanimously to advance a proposed ordinance to city council that would in many ways help solve a lack of available energy down the road.
The ordinance, according to City Planner Shawn Monk, would allow solar power generation projects to be built on areas zoned agriculture/residential with only a conditional use permit.Â
âThis is to completely improve and simplify the process,â Monk said. âOne of our biggest needs out here â and potential industries â is solar and power generation.â
Currently, solar projects can only be built in areas zoned for industrial, which is limited in the city. Solar projects also potentially compete with cannabis industry, which is only allowed in light and medium-industrial zones.
When it comes to pandemic damage, Ridgecrest has fared better than many places, according to Mark Schniepp.
Ridgecrest lost far fewer jobs and rebounded more quickly than the rest of Kern County and California and can likely look forward to a good future along with the rest of the Indian Wells Valley assuming recovery from the pandemic continues, he said.
Schniepp, who is Director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara, was the keynote speaker at the virtual Indian Wells Valley Economic Outlook Conference Feb. 25.
Employment in Ridgecrest only went down around 4% at the worst last April, as compared to nearly 16% for both the state and Kern County at the same time. Job loss was at its greatest shortly after the first statewide shelter-in-place order went into effect last March.