VISALIA TIMES-DELTA April 6, 2007
Families feel the freeze squeeze PORTERVILLE — Elva Beltran was obviously happy on March 22 when she displayed a copy of a check for $15,000 she had received that morning from United Way. She knew it would allow her to help several families in the next few days. "But the need is so great, this money isn't going to last long," she said as the look on her face changed. Three months after a week of sub-freezing temperatures devastated a good part of the Tulare County citrus crop, some of the people who would normally pick and pack the fruit and tend the trees say they are a month away from losing their homes. County officials agree. Tulare County Supervisor Allen Ishida, a citrus farmer, knows the damage the freeze has caused. Tulare County's agriculture industry took a $418 million hit, and many farmworkers are losing their jobs. The California Employment Development Department says more than a third of the workers statewide who have applied for unemployment because of the freeze are from Tulare County. Ishida said it will get much worse. "It's going to be critical to secure relief in the next 30 days," Ishida said. "It's critical because after that, the packing industry will have almost shut down." Beltran, who is in charge of Love Inc. in Porterville, a charitable organization, said January's freeze has already drained her organization's treasury. "Normally we help a family pay its electric and gas bill once a year, but due to the freeze, now it's happening more often," Beltran said. "The problem is that people wait until the last minute once their services have been disconnected, which then requires more money." There has been progress made by local officials and state lawmakers who have sought money for those affected by the freeze. A bipartisan effort made by San Joaquin Valley lawmakers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office, and U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein prompted President Bush in March to sign an emergency disaster declaration, approving millions of dollars in federal funds for 12 California counties devastated by January's freeze. But the president's disaster declaration was delayed, and the money that was promised has still not arrived. This has a lot of people, including Beltran, worried. That's because Love Inc., which has been in the area for 30 years, receives its money primarily from local churches. Currently it's part of a network of Tulare County organizations trying to help the victims of the freeze, despite its small staff and limited budget. "More donations are needed," Beltran insisted. And she added that this time, in comparison to the 1998 freeze, the eviction notices for renters and foreclosure notices for homeowners who are behind in their payments are arriving sooner. That's why Mirna and Jorge Vasquez are concerned. They bought their home in Porterville in 1994, and their mortgage is $898 a month. But because of the freeze, she is working only a few hours a week at a local packing shed. He will be able to collect unemployment in the next few days since he was let go from the company where he worked as a truck driver. "In 1998, we got behind on our house payments almost two months, but the help from FEMA arrived on time," said Mirna Vasquez, a 36-year-old mother of three who was born in Guanajuato, Mexico. "Now, on the other hand, we've gotten behind more than two months and even though the bank has said it will wait, we don't know how long it will be." Neither do lawmakers. The emergency declaration that President Bush signed opened the door for Congress to begin drafting a supplemental bill that would provide more relief. Last week, an emergency supplemental spending bill that includes $4.2 billion in nationwide farm relief passed in the Senate and House. For the San Joaquin Valley, the bill would not only provide $100 million in relief for citrus growers, related businesses and individuals, it would provide relief for dairies affected by last summer's heat wave. The bill is tied to legislation focused on military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It increases funding for the war and proposes timetables for U.S. military withdrawal in Iraq. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill over the timetable language, which requires that all troops be withdrawn by March 2008. Lawmakers share different views on what President Bush will do, or on how long it will take to secure more money. They all agree that relief is on the way but concede that it could be months away. In a conference call Thursday, Boxer wouldn't acknowledge the possibility of a veto by President Bush. "We have our package, now we have to convince the president that we're in need," Boxer said. "We are saying, 'Please sign the bill and rethink your strategy.' " Boxer's message did not mirror that of fellow U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who was instrumental in the passage of the supplemental spending bill. In a visit to Exeter on Monday, Feinstein told reporters that the bill will likely be vetoed by the president because of the timetable language. Andrew House, press secretary for Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, said Feinstein's prediction is more logical. "We are hoping that it gets vetoed," House said. "As long as it sets an artificial timetable, Nunes is against it." House said Nunes isn't against providing emergency aid for freeze relief. In fact, Nunes was one of the lawmakers instrumental in having the emergency declaration passed, working with Democrats Boxer and Feinstein. Boxer said House and Senate Democrats will have to piece together a compromise bill after the House returns from a two-week recess on April 16. But even if the bill passes, Feinstein has indicated that aid to farmers and farmworkers could take five to six months to get here. "It's going to take time," Feinstein said. "It's not going to happen fast, and I am not going to pretend it is going to be any other way." While the supplemental bill is being worked out on Capitol Hill, the labor outlook for the region doesn't look promising, especially for farmworkers such as Mirna and Jorge Vasquez. "When grape season starts in May, there will be a lot of people available," Mirna Vasquez said, but the pay and the hours will be less. "Right now they're clearing all of the oranges from the trees and they barely pay $1 per tree — more or less, in other words, a picker doesn't even make minimum wage." What she notices is that no one seems surprised or is calling attention to the situation. "The minimum wage salary law is not being followed," she said. "This year, it's going to be very difficult for us," Vasquez said. "I think that 60 percent of us will be unemployed." She feels comfortable explaining her thoughts, and in a firm tone she says that while farmers are receiving official assistance and they're collecting from insurance companies, the workers are barely receiving crumbs, especially those who are undocumented. "They don't ask them for documents to harvest the crops, so why do they ask for them in order to receive assistance?" The eviction notices are just starting to arrive. According to Love Inc., about 60 eviction notices were received by people who use the organization. "In 1998 some people lost their homes," Beltran said in a somber tone. Mirna and Jorge Vasquez already know that's why they can't help feeling pessimistic. But they're not giving up. "I don't like to ask Social Services for help, but if it's necessary, I'll do it," she said, with a sparkle in her eyes.
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