Regional Report
1 Nov, 2007 By: Jamie Gooch Livescapes
Southwest
> WILDFIRES
Support for Businesses
SACRAMENTO, CA — Governor Schwarzenegger has signed an executive order to assist southern California wildfire victims and has directed the Employment Development Department to extend payroll tax deadlines by up to 60 days for small businesses hit hardest by the wildfires.
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The executive order assists wildfire victims by suspending the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance, waiving fees, assisting in the replacement of certain vital documents and expediting the cleanup and debris removal process. The Governor also requests the Franchise Tax Board and the Board of Equalization to use their administrative powers where appropriate to assist fire victims with filing extensions or relief from penalties and assessments in the order.
> DROUGHT
Landscape Water Restrictions
California's severe water shortage has forced water districts to impose significant, mandatory cutbacks on landscape irrigation of 20 percent minimum, restricting watering times, and enforcing bans on runoff and over-spray. Consumers who don't comply face stiff fines and/or service disconnection in Long Beach (with Los Angeles preparing its own emergency measures as of October) and in the northern California town of Windsor. All of the state's 450-plus water districts are reviewing options for facing the water shortage, which is projected to impact supply into the foreseeable future.
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The impact on consumer and commercial watering practices is immediate, and the effect on landscape contractors is already being felt. Contractors who have not adjusted their practices in impacted regions are losing business to those who have. "It's no longer business as usual," says California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) President Peter Estournes. "If we don't change the way we've done things in the past, we'll lose out to contractors who are providing better and more efficient irrigation techniques. It's simple economics."
> PEOPLE
Horticulturist Grows a Billboard Salad
URBANA, IL — Greg Pierceall, a University of Illinois horticulturist, has spelled the words "Fresh Salads" on a billboard advertisement using real, growing lettuce. The goal was to stress the fresh salads in McDonald's menu.
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Pierceall has more than 30 years of experience in environmental education and landscape design. He is advisor of a horticulture degree-completion program for Chicago-area students.
The plants for the billboard were grown by a local grower, the Good Earth Greenhouses and Garden Center in Forest Park and growing facilities in Lockport, IL.
Midwest
> PEOPLE
Chicago Botanic Garden Names Curator of Woody Plants
GLENCOE, IL — Andrew Bell, Ph.D. joined the Chicago Botanic Garden as the new curator of woody plants. In this position, Bell is responsible for managing the 200,000 woody plants at the Garden. The collection includes trees, shrubs, woody vines and groundcovers for landscapes in the Chicago area, and is considered one of the best-maintained and most beautifully displayed in the world.
 Dr. Andrew Bell |
Bell will be involved with the $1 million redevelopment of the Dwarf Conifer Garden, which is expected to be completed by spring, 2009.
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