[captioning made possible by california farm bureau federation] >> so we all know that california is king when it comes to growing citrus. and when it comes to growing lemons, no one is bigger than this ventura county farm. and with over 7,000 acres of lush lemon trees, limoneira isn't just the biggest lemon grower in california, but in all of north america. based in santa paula, the farm is a testament to what hard work and determination can do. founding fathers nathan blanchard and wallace hardison first bought the land way back in 1893 and named the ranch limoneira, which means "lemon lands" in portuguese. >> and at the time, they wanted to bring about the first full-scale commercial operation citrus ranch in the u.s. and from there, we added, throughout the years, over the last 115-16 years, 3 other families have come into the fold, and that's where we've grown today to be our 7,000 acres that we are in california. >> once called the home of the lemon, it actually took 15 years before those first farmers even turned a profit at the limoneira farm. but they persevered, and as they

this is lettuce grown in california, blue cheese produced in point reyes california, and local california walnuts, and there you have it, our butter lettuce salad. point reyes blue cheese, sliced apples, and candied california walnuts. >> that salad looked great, and if you liked the recipe, you can visit our web site at californiacountry.org, and stay tuned for more "california country" coming up next. >> at his placer county ranch, john schwartzler remembers every one of his 19 cream draft horses by name and can tell each of these magnificent animals apart. >> this is bucky. he's the youngster. >> the cream draft horses seem almost regal. although they were historically used for farming and hauling freight, john believes they can be traced back to the royal hanoverian horses used by the britisroyal family. but there's no fancy castle or palace for these horses. home is 60 acres of open pasture at greenwood ranch just a few miles away from auburn. royal blood or not, 22-year-old ben made sure we knew that he was a media star, and he kept interrupting our interview to make sure we gohis g

university of california and the california state university taken together. now, that is outrageous. >> reporter: at least 24 other states have cut higher education funds this year, but none as deeply as california. >> we've had to raise tuition twice this year, and we've had to reduce our operating budget rather significantly. >> reporter: at u.c. riverside, a brand-new, state-of-the-art medical school sits empty. there's no money to run it. >> i'm now sitting here having hired the faculty to be able to open the school and i don't have any students for them. >> reporter: med-school dean richard olds says california's public university system was emulated around the world. >> to see the finest public education system probably in the world disinvested in is really a huge tragedy. >> reporter: but california, like most states in this recession, is hemorrhaging red ink. legislators had to cut more than $26 billion to balance the budget. education, one of the largest budget items, took one of the biggest hits. eric pedroza says he'll take out loans or try to earn

the people of california are ready to end the death penalty. a couple of weeks ago we were able to do a poll on the question of the governor converting all of these 713 death sentences to life without possibility of parole, and a change would save the city california $1 billion in five years. 63% of the voters support this idea across the entire state. every region of the state had a majority of support. a majority of republicans and democratic voters support this idea. 63%, ready for the governor to take everyone off of death row. this is an important change from where we used to be on this issue, because for a very long time, politicians have been afraid to talk about reasons for ending the death penalty and this has been seen -- been seen as an issue that would run political careers, as the former district attorney has shown, the death penalty is no longer of liability and the voters are ready for candidates who will say that we need smart criminal- justice policy, to keep the community safe and that will hold the offenders accountable, and

[captionibg made possible by california farm bureau federation] >> coming up on "california country," see how one farmer is breaking bread with his customers, literally. then we offer an ode to olives thanks to this historic company. and see how salads are getting a makeofer thanks to these long-time farmers. plus see how your flowers get from the field to the florist. it's all ahead, and it starts now. nestled into the hills of the quiet little town of ojai is where you'll find the rio gozo farm. "rio," which means river in spanish, and "gozo," which means joy, is run by former chef and now full-time farmer john fonteyn. and if you watch him work long enough, you'll realize just how much gozo is actually flowing around these parts. >> good morning. >> you, too. how are you all? i mean, my first love qith food wap really preparing food and cooking it. i just kind of felt like since food was a relationship i'm gonna have my whole life, and one i check in with 3 times a day, that it'd be good to really kind of explore it deeper. >> and john gets to explore his love f@r food every day, n

what's in it for california? you know, so they have a big workforce near cupertino and they manufacture overseas. are they creating enough jobs to help california or just par for the course? >> it's really hard to say. they do have -- they are creating jobs. they are growing. they are actually building a new headquarters in cupertino which cupertino, of course, will get tax revenue and whatnot from that. so there's value there. they are bursting at the seams and growing their workforce that way. but it's not dramatic growth either, right? most of it is really, you know -- it's taxes that come from selling ipads and iphones which a lot of us are buying them but it's not enough to bolster the entire economy. so it's hard to say. >> belva: at one time there was the illusion that apple's fate and steve jobs' fate were just one thing. we've gotten used to the fact he has health problems, yet the company seems to just be booming. >> it's kind of -- there are different perspectives. the perspectives tend to follow how t

together, we can end the death penalty in california. penalty in california. [applause]

together, we can end the death penalty in california. [applause] >> thank you for having me here today. i would like to close by saying i have had the opportunity to view this issue from every point of view, having been the warden at san quentin state prison. i am absolutely impassioned about the fact that it is time to end the death penalty in this state. life without possibility of parole is the real sentence. hold people accountable and gives them the opportunity to change within the prison system, and they can give back by working within the prison system, giving restitution to family members and working on behalf of the state of california on a variety of projects that go on inside prisons. i also want to echo what the process said -- please join, please help -- i also want to echo what natasha said. talk to 10 of your friends, send e-mails, send letters. thank you. [applause] >> 1985, when i was sentenced to death for a crime i did not commit, i thought right away that this would be rectified. i was convicted of two different crime

for "california country", i'm tracy sellers. so now thawe've learned about a couple of varieties of potatoes, the next question is what do we do with them? here's the chef with a couple of ideas for you. >> hi. i'm richard sluzarz, chef here at the grand hyatt san francisco. and one of the-- what we're gonna talk about today,r what we're gonna prepare today is mashed potatoes. and why--why we're gonna do mashed potatoes, it's something that is a very simple thing, but i know there's some times some people have some issues with mashed potatoes and, you know,why did mine tu out lumpy?" "why did they turn o--maybe not so, uh creamy?" and so en youake mashed potatoes--and we start re with russet potatoes. so we peel our russet tatoes, d then we dice them, and then we put them in a pot. and we start with cold water. and you always--when you're making mashed potatoes, you should always start with cold water. put a little salt in theater. and en we put it on the stove where we bring it up to a boil ok? and the important thing is again

in california, half of the people who commit murder are not caught. we need to catch the people committing murder. this is what she means when punishment must be firm, if people get away with murder, they learn that they can and the community learns that they can. this is really the fundamental problem. we can do much better job if we were actually to replace the death penalty to life without parole and invest the money saved in solving homicides. every victim's family should have some justice. >> i wanted to ask you to perhaps tell the audience about the controversy related to the death qualified jury. many people did not realize that when we select a jury for the death penalty case, this is comprised of different members of the city. >> people look to california as we continue to send a lot of people to death row every year, with the highest number of new death sentences. people look at the state and they see how many people in california are moving away from the death penalty, who favor replacing the death penalty and how can you have so many peopl

. >>> a scathing reaction to the new california unemployment numbers. today said instead of piling on more job crushing bills democrats should vacate sacramento and give business owners a chance to turn things around. california did add 4500 jobs last month but the state's unemployment rate calculated separately rose to 12% frup last month but down from june. and marin, san francisco and san mateo counties have lowest rates in the state. but the rest of the bay area hovering around 11% to 12%. abc 7's laura anthony joins us with more tonight. laura? >> hi cheryl triple a is just one example of a local company with layoffs in recent months 139 employees bay area wide. 90% of them here at corporate head quarters in walnut creek here in contra costa county the unemployment rate is 11%. below state level but higher than other counties. the east bay works office in concord providing job counseling and work shops had seen a steady increase in clients looking to use their services. they include professionals mid level managers construction and government worke

con alto desempleo en los estados con nayor primnero nevada , después california y rode island . >> por el departamento de trabajo la tasa en los hispanos bajo pero en california es peor en los latinos que el índice dice que esta desempleado . >> el funcionario del departamento de trabajo dice que la capacitacion , son cruciales para encontrar empleos . >> su educación no solo en sector sino en más áreas, . >> además por el departamento de trabajo la economía debe generar miles de empleos . >> más adelante . >> se da un paso para extender el servicio al sur de la bahía . >> diego luna pide al presidente barack obama que ponga fin a un flagelo que deja muertos en mx > méxico . >> (♪ ♪) . > > . >> gracias buenas tardes . >> tardes estupendas agradables, pero el calor en la costa esta agradable esta es el imagen de nublados . >> le digo por que si tiene la oportunidad de cielos despejado , en otros lugares, pues las condiciones son agradables puede ver a perseiyas, esa de meteoros, de 60 a 70 meteoros a las 2 la mañana vaya y vera, también la luna se presenta y opaca per

cu ---tan slo en california son alrededor de 200 mil empleadas domesticas... y son consideradas como una fuerza de trabajo importante pero que no tienen derechos laborales. ---hoy, un grupo de ellas, sali a las calles de san francisco, para cambiar esa realidad. ---mayra tostado nos tiene los detalles. take pkg take pkg ---por muchos aÑos, las empleadas domsticas de california aseguran que han trabajado sin descanso y sin derechos.. sot enma delgado - empleada doméstica "estamos siendo explotadas, muchas veces trabajamos mucho más de las ocho horas sin pago a horas extras." ---es por eso que hoy, decenas de trabajadoras salieron a las calles de san francisco para intentar limpiar las injusticias del trabajo que desempeÑan.. sot "necesitamos por lo menos que si vamos a un trabajo y a última hora nos cancelan, que por lo menos nos paguen la mitad del sueldo y que también nos den derecho a horas extras." ---de acuerdo a defensores de derechos humanos, el abuso que sufren estas mujeres va mas alla del bolsillo... sot mara distancia - empleada doméstica "pro

actually put this on the ballot and into the death penalty in california. this goes down to where we started this conversation, whether this attorney would pursue the death penalty. the d.a. should not be asked to change between life -- choose between life and death. we are the voters to have to take responsibility and take this power away from them. >> are you aware of any other city other than san francisco, where an elected district attorney has announced that they will have a policy of not using the death penalty in a state where this is the law? >> i am not aware of any district attorney who has this explicit policy but we have had conversations with many different attorneys with problems with the death penalty, and we have seen in changing what they do, scaling back dramatically the number of death penalty prosecutions in california county and in other states. and they have quietly abandoned the death penalty even though they have not explicitly said that this is what they are doing. >> do you feel that -- the district attorney that we have, gason, --

we have no money to spare in the state of california. we can move it around, but from where to where? >> there has been a fight between california and nevada over development and planning and today, the governors of bonl states signed a pledge to develop an updated plan. differences remain but they're working on it. >> in this case you need a strong leader, i think we can get something done. >> coming up at 6:00 we'll hear from locals here about how they feel about kicking in $300 million over 10 years and we'll hear what senator feinstein thinks will be the trouble spots in the negotiations with nevada. >> mark, what is the sticking points between two states here? >> well, right now, you break it down to developers and there is nor development on the nevada side. and probably more environmental concerns on california side. and since this agency is divided they have to have a majority, meaning california people either have to vote for tahoe, -- nevada development or nevada developers, oh, if you see what i mean, they're going to not get

with harry's visit, british tabloid are urging california blobbeds to be on a -- california blondes to be on alert. harry hunters. friday's favorite  (speaking in international language) and he said unto them go ye into all of the world and preach the gospel preach the gospel  ♪very creature in the world. (applause) >>> today, michael finney is taking questions to answer them. and find out what a mom experienced raising kids in kenya to raise the children dealing with hunger and disease. that and more on abc7 news at 4:00 and 5:00. now we end the week with friday's perfect pet. mike has a new friend. >> a couple of new friends. mandy from the san francisco spca. nice to see you. tell us who you brought. >> this is the fabulous mr. pudge. >> hi. >> hi! >> scared. >> he thinks he is getting a treat. >> is that what it is? >> yeah. >> tell us about him. 11 years old. >> he is. >> pudge is perfect. the know him is love him. he loves to go to the office and for car rides. he like long walks but will forgive you if you're not a marathon runner. easy-going guy. loves people

and helping california with tax compliance. it creates a disadvantage for those willing to locate here, play by the rules and comply with the state tax laws. >> reporter: so far amazon has spent $3 million fighting the new law and is now gathering its own signatures to overturn the law. >> there have to be some businesses that support amazon's fight, for sure? >> reporter: there are definitely some businesses. part of their fight included cutting ties with some california companies so some of those small businesses are losing money. and they are of course against the law. there are also some lawmakers who point out the tax was designed to be self-supported by the consumer and then collected by the state. so they say listen, they don't think amazon should be actually collecting the taxes for the state of california. >> but we have also talked in the past about people just don't do that. they don't self-report. >> reporter: have you ever self- reported? >> never. >> reporter: when you make online purchases? >>> no. >> reporter: t