Newsom offers $22.1 million to fight fruit fly problem in Redlands, statewide
Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed legislation signaling his intention to provide $22.1 million in the California budget to fight fruit fly infestations wreaking havoc on Inland Empire citrus groves. Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Colton, who earlier this year authored a bill to require the state Department of Food and Agriculture to detect and eradicate invasive species, applauded Newsom for “understanding the emergency we are experiencing locally to our agricultural economy,” according to a news release. Casey Creamer, president of California Citrus Mutual, in the release said the funding is essential in addressing the “unprecedented fruit fly infestations that threaten our communities, homeowners, and agricultural livelihoods.” The problematic fruit flies prompted regulators in recent months to enact quarantines on 554 square miles in San Bernardino and Riverside counties alone. RELATED: What you need to know about the oriental fruit fly quarantine In September, the state enacted a quarantine in Redlands and neighboring communities to try to control the spread of the Oriental fruit fly. A few months later, the state removed citrus from a couple thousand properties in Redlands that were all within a half-mile of where
