Los Angeles Times

John Wooden High School, a so-called continuation school in the Los Angeles school system, is small, operating without a pool or a gym but it has a farm. And most days, Alex Snyder, 17, "eats lunch with a pot-bellied pig named Peanut," says the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles County Fair Assn formed in 1940 "to promote the region's then-booming agriculture industry," says the Los Angeles Times. "But over the years, it morphed into something resembling a conglomerate with little connection to farming or livestock. And its managers have become richly compensated even as the association loses money."

The Palo Verde Irrigation District, headquartered in Blythe, "has become an increasingly important factor in California's struggle to overcome a four-year drought," says the Los Angeles Times.

Small-scale urban farmers in drought-stricken California are finding creative ways to keep plants alive without wasting water, reports the Los Angeles Times.

On a largely party-line vote of 245-176, the U.S. House passed a Republican-backed bill “that is unlikely to break the long-standing partisan stalemate over how to fix the drought” in California, said the Los Angeles Times. “Even if the bill makes it through the Senate, where it would need …

Ahead of a House vote scheduled for today, the White House threatened to veto a water bill backed by California Republicans, saying it overrides state water law and the Endangered Species Act, "thereby resulting in conditions that could be detrimental to the Delta fish and other species."

After waiting fruitlessly for Congress to act, "California lawmakers are considering a measure to allow work permits for farmworkers living in the country illegally," reports the Los Angeles Times.

Rice is a staple of half the world's population and also a potent emitter of greenhouse gases. But the Los Angeles Times reports that scientists say genetic engineering may help solve the grain's methane problem.

Long-running drought has "shrunk the kernels and disrupted the proteins of winter wheat crops" in the Pacific Northwest, which grows one-fifth of the U.S. crop, says the Seattle Times.

The State Water Resources Board proposed a $1.5 million fine against the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District in northern California for "unauthorized diversion and use of water," the first such action against a senior rights holder, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the raisin-marketing program unconstitutionally blocked a California grower from selling his crops, and said he should be compensated for the governmental seizure of his property.

"For many Californians, the state’s long drought has meant small inconveniences such as shorter showers and restrictions on watering lawns.

Organic grower David Masumoto, who farms near Fresno, tells the Los Angeles Times, "We've been experimenting with this petite peach method this year, where we're cutting back water use 30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent on some select areas of the orchard to see how it responds."

Gov. Jerry Brown and California legislative leaders proposed a $1 billion drought-relief package as the state enters its fourth year of drought. The pair of bills includes $128 million to alleviate the impact of drought...

The governor of Washington state declared a drought emergency in three regions of the state, including key agricultural areas, due to record-low snowpack levels, said Reuters.

Foodmakers are in "a lobbying frenzy" over the administration's proposal to have the Nutrition Facts label on food packages include how much sugar was added during processing, reports the Los Angeles Times.

California is the No. 1 dairy state, but the popularity of Greek-style yogurt has turned New York into the top state for yogurt production, with more than 40 producers including Chobani, says the Los Angeles Times.

California is the world's largest grower of almonds, with trees on 860,000 acres, a crop that be imperiled especially in the drought now entering its fourth year, says the New York Times.