In California, a judge has given the green light to a controversial pesticide spraying in Santa Cruz County. On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick rejected the county’s restraining order because he said it could not prove the spraying would harm the public. The chemical, Checkmate LBAM-F, will be used to halt the light brown apple moth. Checkmate’s manufacturer, Oregon-based Suterra, has refused to release the ingredients of the pesticide and petitioned the courts to keep them secret. One hundred residents on the Monterey Peninsula reported respiratory illness after a similar chemical was sprayed there in September.