Monsanto seeks halt to state’s ban on herbicide
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A major agribusiness company asked an Arkansas judge Friday to halt the state’s plan to ban an herbicide that’s drawn complaints from farmers across several states who say the weed killer has drifted onto their fields and caused widespread damage.
Monsanto asked a Pulaski County judge to strike down the rule approved by the state Plant Board this month that would prohibit the use of dicamba from April 16 through Oct. 31. The ban is expected to go before a legislative panel next month, but the Missouribased company said action is needed now because farmers are already buying their products for next year’s season.
The state Department of Agriculture declined to comment on the suit.
Puerto Rico’s power company leader resigns
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The director of Puerto Rico’s power company resigned on Friday amid ongoing blackouts and scrutiny of a contract awarded to a small Montana-based company to help rebuild the electric grid destroyed by Hurricane Maria.
Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority said Ricardo Ramos presented his letter of resignation to the company’s board effective immediately.
Ramos said in a brief video posted on Twitter Friday evening that it was a very personal decision and that it had nothing to do with any issues covered by the media.
“The focus has to remain on restoring the electrical system,” he said as he thanked his power company crews and those that had arrived from New York and Florida.
Gov. Ricardo Rossello said Friday that Ramos is a professional who worked hard to bring power back to Puerto Rico, but that “there were a series of distractions, and a decision was taken to go in another direction.”
Earlier this week, Ramos testified before a U.S. Senate committee about a $300 million contract awarded to Whitefish Energy Holdings that has since been canceled. The contract is undergoing a local and federal audit.
Replacement for Takata inflators slow, report says
DETROIT — A new report issued Friday says auto companies have replaced only 57 percent of potentially deadly Takata air bag inflators, even though recalls have been underway for more than 15 months.
The report by John Buretta, an independent monitor appointed to keep tabs on the recalls, also says that auto companies are only about halfway toward a Dec. 31 goal of 100 percent replacement of older and more dangerous inflators.
Cardtronics names new chief financial officer
ATM owner and operator Cardtronics announced Friday that Gary W. Ferrera will become the company’s chief financial officer, replacing Edward H. West as he’s promoted to the company’s top position.
In August, Houstonbasd Cardtronics announced West as the company’s chief executive once current CEO Steve Rathgaber retires at the end of 2017.
Ferrera was previously CFO at DigitalGlobe.
VA might merge health system with Pentagon’s
WASHINGTON — As part of its effort to expand private health care, the Department of Veterans Affairs is exploring the possibility of merging its health system with the Pentagon’s, a cost-saving measure that veterans groups say could threaten the viability of VA hospitals and clinics.
VA spokesman Curt Cashour called the plan a potential “game-changer” that would “provide better care for veterans at a lower cost to taxpayers,” but he provided no specific details.
A spokesman for the Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee said the proposal — developed without input from Congress — would amount to a merger of the VA’s Choice and the military’s TRICARE private health care programs.
News of the plan stirred alarm from veterans groups, who said they had not been consulted, and sharp criticism from Democrats who pledged to oppose any VA privatization effort that forces veterans “to pay out of pocket for the benefits they have earned with their heroism.”
“Today, we see evidence that the Trump administration is quietly planning to dismantle veterans’ health care,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “House Democrats will fight tooth and nail against any efforts to diminish or destroy VA’s irreplaceable role as the chief coordinator, advocate and manager of care for veterans.”