Community My Mother’s ON THE MARKET sports digest Mink nears Guide to local real estate ...................................Inside ..........Page A-6 ............Page A-3 INSIDE Mendocino County’s World briefly The Ukiah local newspaper .......Page A-2 Tomorrow: Plenty of sunshine 7 58551 69301 0 FRIDAY Jan. 19, 2007 50 cents tax included DAILY JOURNAL ukiahdailyjournal.com 48 pages, Volume 148 Number 285 email: [email protected] UKIAH CITY COUNCIL LOCAL AG OUTLOOK City to Rose pruning Olive crop continue hard hit search When it’s been cold, think yearly pruning By LAURA by freeze for water MCCUTCHEON The Daily Journal By BEN BROWN Council authorizes It’s been cold ... stoke The Daily Journal request for bids for up the fire and ... prune Mendocino County’s burgeoning olive your roses. industry will be the hardest hit by last test well drilling “The best time to weekend’s cold snap, said Mendocino By KATIE MINTZ prune them is after it’s County Agricultural Commissioner Dave The Daily Journal been cold awhile Bengston. The Ukiah City Council because all of the fluid - “It’s been a long time since we had unanimously voted Wednes- - the sap -- goes down temperatures this low,” Bengston said. day to move forward with a into the roots, like a Unlike grapes and pears, which are search for more water, autho- tree,” Barry Vogel said dormant this time of rizing a request for bids to be Thursday as he pruned year, olive trees are The thinner drafted for test well drilling one last rose bush in his evergreen and more and directing staff to explore 31-year-old garden of likely to be hurt by low branches of three other potential water 72, located outside of temperatures. Bengston sources. his law office on the cor- said the thinner branch- olive trees, what According to city staff, ner of North Oak and es of olive trees, what are referred to Ukiah’s available water sup- Smith streets. “So the are referred to as “small ply may be insufficient to best time to prune them wood,” can be hurt or as ‘small wood,’ meet future peak demands in is around Martin Luther killed when tempera- summer and during drought King weekend, which is tures fall below 20 can be hurt or years due to pumping con- when I normally do it,” degrees. killed when straints at the city’s four said Vogel, who has had Starting Jan. 11, a groundwater wells in service an interest in roses since cold front from Canada temperatures and the surface-water collec- he was a child. and Alaska caused tem- tor at the Russian River. “When I was a child peratures in Mendocino fall below 20 Hydrogeologist Martin there were always roses County to drop well degrees. Steinpress of environmental around the house where below freezing at night, consulting firm Brown and I grew up, and my father often dropping as low as the teens. Caldwell, hired in May by the tended to them. I liked “Large wood” or thicker branches council to identify the most hanging out with him may also have been damaged because feasible city sites to locate a and I asked about roses they can be hurt when temperatures drop well, suggested test wells be and politics,” said the below 15 degrees. drilled at Oak Manor Park attorney who planted his Bengston said the last time and Riverside Park. favorite variety -- “Flora Mendocino County experienced a freeze The two sites, selected Bunda” -- outside his this cold was 1990 when there was little from nine city-owned proper- office window facing in the way of an olive crop in the county. ties closely studied by the Smith Street. It is In addition, Bengston said many olive firm, best met the criteria for cream-colored with red growers did not have frost protection for test drilling, which includes edging and has a won- their trees and rely on drip irrigation, potential water quantity, derful fragrance, he which does little to protect them from the water quality, environmental said. cold. impacts, engineering feasibil- “The two on either “They couldn’t do anything to protect ity and cost, Steinpress said. themselves if they wanted to,” Bengston According to Steinpress, if See ROSES, Page A-12 said. these sites are selected for test The freeze is not likely to have killed drilling and prove to be viable trees outright, but Bengston said similar Isaac Eckel/The Daily Journal freezes in other areas have affected the sources of water, production Barry Vogel, a local attor- wells could be completed as size of the olive crop, and it can take up ney who has been grow- to five years for an olive tree to return to early as summer 2008. ing roses outside his “(With) my experience full production. office on Oak Street “It didn’t kill the trees, but it affects over these last six years with since 1976, prunes one this water system, and the their output,” he said. of his 72 rose bushes on Bengston said the full effects of the water supply and water Thursday. “The best time demand, I have to tell you, freeze on the olive crop will not be to prune them is into the known until after the harvest in quite frankly, that I think you cold weather,” says need to proceed as quickly as November. He said he plans to take a sur- Vogel, who finished vey of olive growers in the county next possible with the new water pruning his roses this sources,” City Water Utilities year to determine the full effect of the week. At right, Vogel freeze on the crop. Project Engineer Ann Burck takes great care in the told the council. In the meantime, Bengston said olive placement and angles of growers should avoid pruning back According to Burck, the his cuts as he prunes the city is only able to operate branches that appear dead. last rose bush at his law “You don’t know where they’re going two of its four wells during office. high winter flow on the to come back,” he said. Russian River, and those two Another industry that may have sus- wells are in need of repair. tained damage during the cold snap is the “My concern is the very nurseries. The bulk of these, roughly 70 limited pumping capacity that ‘It’s really hard to kill a rose by pruning them too much. I prune them between mid-calf and knee height.’ percent, are along the coast, which does we have and the ever-increas- not usually experience sub-freezing tem- ing demand that we have, plus BARRY VOGEL peratures. the fact that these are old Greenhouses may have been able to See CITY, Page A-10 See OLIVES, Page A-10 Health care, aging, working families top Berg’s agenda By KATIE MINTZ encompassing Mendocino, Del of the Assembly Fabian Núnez, Mendocino County, Berg said of non-complying parents with- The Daily Journal Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, one major health-related concern out health care coverage. Only two weeks into the new Trinity counties as well as parts Senate President Pro Tem Don is the ability to recruit and retain “There are some cuts in there legislative session, 1st District of Sonoma County -- since 2002. Perata, Sen. Sheila Kuehl and primary and secondary care- that would be of major concern, representative Assemblywoman “I’ve got just a huge plateful Assemblymembers Hector De givers. and as chair of the Assembly Patty Berg, D-Eureka, said aside from covering six counties La Torre, Noreen Evans and Ed “I plan to spotlight this issue Budget Subcommittee for Wednesday she is busy putting and 26 cities,” Berg said of the Hernandez, have plans in the as we debate healthcare in the Health and Human Services, I together her legislative platform. new session. works for health care coverage. coming months,” Berg said. want to ensure that this budget is “My priorities are going to be As chairwoman of the “Health care will be the No. 1 Already, Berg said she has balanced in a fair manner and in the area of health care, of Assembly Budget Subcommittee issue, whether it’s to provide some problems with the gover- does not hurt our seniors and the aging, of working families, and that oversees all spending on coverage to the 6.5 million peo- nor’s proposed budget released most vulnerable in our popula- then I will have some specific health and human services, Berg ple, 800,000 of which are chil- Jan. 10, including a cut to tion,” Berg said, noting that the district issues,” Berg said. said health care will be the dren, who don’t have it or to first CalWorks -- a welfare program Legislature as a whole, as well She has represented the 1st biggest topic of conversation focus on covering all children,” that gives cash aid and services as the Democratic caucus, has a Berg Assembly District -- geographi- this session. Berg said. to eligible needy California fam- cally the largest in the state and According to Berg, Speaker In rural counties, including ilies -- that would leave children See BERG, Page A-10 A-2 – FRIDAY, JAN. 19, 2007 DAILY DIGEST Editor: Jody Martinez, 468-3517 The Ukiah Daily Journal [email protected] olution on Iraq that has attracted the support of at the first to go. POLICE REPORTS least two Republicans threatens to expose fissures A poll broadcast Wednesday evening on Channel The following were The world briefly within the GOP over the unpopular war.