Photo by Peter Grigsby, Office of Governor Schwarzenegger.
After meeting with Sen. Carole Migden and other elected officials and activists concerned about the health implications of plans for aerial spraying designed to eradicate the crop-threatening light brown apple moth, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today delayed the spraying pending additional testing.
“I am very gratified that the Governor listened to my concerns about the safety and efficacy of aerial spraying and agreed to postpone the spray until additional tests are completed,” Migden said in a prepared statement.
After a series of toxicology tests on the spray, which includes a moth pheromone designed to disrupt mating patterns, the spraying has been delayed until at least Aug. 17. Despite the delay, the governor still seems to indicate that the spraying is inevitable, saying in a prepared statement, “I am confident that the additional tests will reassure Californians that we are taking the safest, most progressive approach to ridding our state of this very real threat to our agriculture, environment and economy.”
Others in the Migden delegate included Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento — and the likely next Senate president), Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold, the Sierra Club’s Bill Magavern and Paul Schramski, State Director of Pesticide Watch.
But it is Migden that could enjoy the biggest political bump from the delay of the controversial spraying until after her June primary challenge from Mark Leno, hoping that her campaign finance and other problems might be overshadowed by the reminder that she still has the juice to get into the Governor’s Office and deliver the goods.