Westlands won’t push Shasta expansion
From Sacramento Bee
The nation’s largest water agency signed an agreement that legally bars it from participating in a controversial plan to raise Shasta Dam, a move applauded by environmental groups that fiercely opposed the proposal out of fears enlarging the state’s biggest reservoir would swamp a stretch of a protected Northern California river and flood sites sacred to a Native American tribe.
Late Thursday, Westlands Water District signed a legal settlement with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra that prohibits the water district from working in a formal way on planning to raise Shasta Dam near Redding.
Westlands’ participation is considered crucial to the project’s coming to fruition.
Bankruptcy for Dean Foods
Bloomberg reports that top U.S. milk processor Dean Foods Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today and is in advanced talks with Dairy Farmers of America Inc. regarding a potential sale.
Dallas-based Dean listed assets and liabilities of as much as $10 billion each in court papers, and said in a statement it has commitments for $850 million in bankruptcy financing from existing lenders led by Rabobank.
“We continue to be impacted by a challenging operating environment marked by continuing declines in consumer milk consumption,” Chief Executive Officer Eric Beringause said.
Dean Foods had plant in Tulare but sold it to Saputo.
Amazon opening new grocery stores in California
news reports
An Amazon-branded grocery store will launch in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills in 2020, tech news source CNET reports. Amazon said the store would be different from Whole Foods and would not compete against Whole Foods, although it did not clarify what the store’s name or price range would be or what food products it would carry.
“No, this store will not compete with Whole Foods Market,” a company spokesperson told CBS News in an email. “When it comes to grocery shopping, we know customers love choice and this new store offers another grocery option that’s distinct from Whole Foods Market, which continues to grow and remain the leader in quality natural and organic food,” the person said.