Go organic

Some say local (produce) is the new organic. But Friday’s fine against Alexander Ag Flying Service Inc.—the Walnut Grove pesticide company whose pilot “accidentally” sprayed 48 farm workers with harmful Di-syston last September—is a reminder of Certified Organic’s merits. The pilot was supposed to spray an asparagus field on Grand Island, but wind conditions shifted the pesticide to an adjacent field full of farm workers, all of whom came to the Methodist Hospital of Sacramento for treatment. The price of endangering human lives with a harmful toxin? A whopping $9,000 fine paid to the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioners Office, with an extra $1,000 coming from pest control adviser Mark Fenocchio. It’s uncertain whether Alexander Ag will contest the fine.