Delta overseer resigns

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- One of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's picks to oversee the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pulled of the confirmation process after environmental groups raised concerns over a possible conflict of interest.

Richard Roos-Collins of Berkeley said he was resigning from his appointment to the Delta Stewardship Council. The Senate Rules Committee had not yet approved his appointment.

The seven-member council was created by the Legislature last year to change how California uses and transports water and restore the fragile delta ecosystem.

Some environmentalists questioned his ability to review the plan objectively when it came before the council.

Pesticide violation settled

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Central Valley-based water treatment contractor has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit by state pesticide regulators accusing it of improperly selling chlorine gas for use as an agricultural pesticide.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge approved the settlement this month between the state Department of Pesticide Regulation and Coalinga-based California Water Services.

DPR spokeswoman Lea Brooks says the company sold chlorine gas to a farm for use as a pesticide without a license, among other violations.

She says the company has paid $20,000 toward the settlement.

UC Davis Weed day July 15

UC Davis will conduct Weed Day 2010 on July 15. Weed Day is an annual event that provides an opportunity for pest control advisors, farm advisors, chemical company cooperators, college faculty and students, and regulatory officials to learn about current weed science research at UC Davis, according to a news release.

The event, at the Buehler Alumni Center, begins with a morning bus tour to the campus research fields to view demonstrations and current research studies in terrestrial and aquatic weed control. Lunch and afternoon presentations will be indoors.

To register, go to http://wric.ucdavis.edu/education/weedday10.html .

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