Sheriff Moves to Provide Benefits for Jobless Laborers

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks on Thursday issued an emergency proclamation that could make housing and extended unemployment benefits available for local farm workers left jobless by a December freeze.

The proclamation, which must be approved by both Gov. Gray Davis and President Clinton, came a day after a county supervisor publicly urged the county’s emergency services officials to help.

“This was at the request of [Supervisor] John Flynn who wanted to make sure we were doing everything possible,” said Laura Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Office of Emergency Services.

Brooks is director of that county office, and Flynn’s district includes about half the county’s estimated 20,000 farm workers.

From Dec. 20-31, freezing temperatures throughout the county caused $74.3 million in damage to lemons, oranges and avocados. Damage to crops in other nearby counties was even greater, officials have said.

Most of the losses in Ventura County occurred at small farms. Last month, 18 counties, including Ventura County, were declared federal disaster areas, a designation allowing farmers who suffered large losses to apply for low-interest loans. County agriculture officials did not expect more than a dozen farmers to apply.

That designation was also a first step toward allowing counties to apply for state and federal aid for farm workers. So far, aid for such workers has been approved in six counties.

Some counties haven’t applied because it can take weeks or months to determine the full impact on farm workers, a spokesman for Davis said earlier this week.

Hernandez said that was the case in Ventura County, where it has been difficult to determine how many workers were affected. Local agencies have estimated between 5,000 and 10,000, but that number has not been verified.

It could be at least two weeks before state and federal officials make their decision, Hernandez said.