‘Terrible, terrible, terrible’ spring delays arrival of local strawberries, other crops | Local News - The News Tribune

The first day of summer and no strawberries?

Blame it on Northwest Washington’s unusually cold, wet spring. The clammy weather not only delayed the local strawberry harvest but also slowed nearly every other food crop in the South Sound, from commercial farms to backyard fruit trees and vegetable gardens.
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The Pichas, third-generation farmers in the Puyallup Valley, said they’ve never before seen the first day of summer – officially today – pass without starting their commercial strawberry harvest.

Bligh seeks to build on exemptions for coal-seam sector | The Australian

QUEENSLAND is attempting to quarantine its boom coal-seam gas industry from the Gillard government's carbon tax after successfully gaining an exemption from the mineral resources rent tax.