The Hood River Valley is awash with blooming fruit trees, and to celebrate the role that agriculture plays in the region, Genevieve Scholl-Erdmann, marketing director for the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce, said visitors can expect the 53rd annual Hood River Valley Blossom Festival to be spectacular. The event takes place April 21-22.

"[The festival] celebrates the agricultural way of life," she told The Produce News, adding that approximately 18,000 people attended last year's event.

State legislatures in California and Florida are considering sweeping new laws for produce in the wake of recent outbreaks, but tomato and leafy green growers are asking for different fixes.

While the produce industry responded to the E. coli outbreaks linked to leafy greens produced in the Salinas Valley with a marketing agreement, California Sen. Dean Florez (D) is pushing for state-enforced food-safety measures through legislation.

In a move designed to infuse capital into the company, Ready Pac Foods Inc. in Irwindale, CA, has partnered with Bayside Capital, a private equity firm.

Ready Pac Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Craig Delaney would not reveal the size of the deal but said that the investment Bayside has made in the privately held produce company will "position us to continue to grow our business" and take it to the next level.

Western Growers Association, based in Irvine, CA, will open a Washington, DC, office April 30 that will be staffed by Executive Vice President Matt McInerney on a temporary basis while a full-time federal government affairs staff is being hired.

Barry Hirsch, one of the owners of Kleiman & Hochberg Inc., a wholesale produce distributor at the Hunts Point Terminal Market in the Bronx, NY, died Tuesday evening, April 10, after suffering a massive heart attack.

Mr. Hirsch, 50, had been at a local gym and was returning to his home in Old Tappan, NJ, when he felt the onset of chest pains, according to family members. He was taken to nearby Englewood (NJ) Hospital, where he died.

On April 11, representatives from leading produce trade associations and the California Department of Food & Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura announced plans to create a Center for Produce Safety at the University of California-Davis.

The center will be housed at UC Davis' Western Institute for Food Safety & Security, which has a mission is to conduct research that enhances the safety and security of the nation's food supply.