East Bay voters face a double-edged ballot on Nov 4. At the same time they pay more at the pump and the grocery store, cash-strapped local public agencies are asking for money, too. Of the 58 local ballot measures on Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano County ballots, a third propose new or extended taxes totalling more than $750 million. Nearly half the measures raise funds for schools either through bonds repaid with property taxes or parcel taxes. The largest is a $500 million parks bond for the East Bay Regional Park District. A handful of cities seek cash to pay for new police officers, street repairs and library services. [continues 693 words]
RICHMOND-GLENN Sugihara is closing the greenhouse doors on his family's 87-year-old cut-rose business. His is the latest Bay Area nursery to fall victim to the influx of cheap South American roses, an industry nurtured by the U.S. government to help Colombia grow flowers instead of producing cocaine and heroin. Sugihara's rose bushes will be torn out and the greenhouses -- some built by Sugihara's grandfather in 1913 -- will be leased to Color Spot, the nation's largest bedding plant grower. [continues 717 words]
Federal Aid To Colombian Farmers Wilts Cut Flower Industry Here RICHMOND, Calif. _ Glenn Sugihara is closing the greenhouse doors on his family's 87-year-old cut-rose business. His is the latest East Bay nursery to fall victim to the influx of cheap South American roses, an industry nurtured by the U.S. government to help Colombia grow flowers instead of producing cocaine and heroin. Sugihara's rose bushes will be torn out and the greenhouses -- some built by Sugihara's grandfather in 1913 -- will be leased to Color Spot, the nation's largest bedding plant grower. [continues 388 words]
