Will State Budget Cuts Affect Master Gardener Program?

In Georgia, the Master Gardener program is administered by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Georgia in Athens. UGA is part of the University System of Georgia, which is governed by a Board of Regents.

All of the State of Georgia's government faces draconian budget cuts for the next fiscal year. That includes the University System and it trickles down all the way to the Master Gardener program.

It may not do any good to try and lobby the Board of Regents for the MG program, but it certainly would not hurt to give it a shot. So, if you are so inclined, here is the address:

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
270 Washington Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

A Pesticide Lobbyist in the U.S. Administration?

That does not sound quite right, does it?

President Obama has nominated Islam ("Isi") Siddiqui, a top official from CropLife -- the pesticide industry's powerful trade group -- as America's chief agricultural negotiator for international trade. If confirmed by the Senate, Siddiqui, who has spent the past several years of his career fighting various restrictions and bans on environmentally hazardous pesticides, is expected to bring that aggressive stance on broadening pesticide use to the White House and influence trade negotiations with Europe and the developing world.

From the looks of it, I don't like it. Do you?