The AP writes that plans to blanket urban areas with pesticides have been canceled due to advances in technology. A.G. Kawamura, state secretary of food and agriculture, claimed the shift to other plans was a natural progression, but the abruptness of the change seems linked to public protest:

Two counties and a Carmel-based environmental group sued the state, saying Kawamura broke state law by authorizing the aerial campaign without the benefit of environmental review.

Judges in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties this year halted the program until the state studied the spray’s effect on people and the environment.

In April, state environmental health experts said the illnesses reported after the first round of spraying couldn’t conclusively be linked to efforts to eradicate the dime-size Australian pest.

The race is on to control the moths without damaging the humans. Reminds me of all the usual debates about implementing security in ways that will not impact or impose restrictions on business. Strange that it took public protests and lawsuits to make this a meaningful issue for Kawamura.