CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Food Program Rolls to Be Cut by 170,000

The state is hoping to stave off a projected $14-million deficit in a special nutrition program by cutting as many as 170,000 poor women and children from its rolls, officials reported. Local administrators of the program will be advised of the plan by letter within the next few days, state health officials said. The program provides store vouchers to almost 500,000 women and children who are in danger of not getting adequate nutrition. Their eligibility is certified for six months at a time, and the first to be affected by the cuts would be those whose six-month certification lapses next week. Stephen Kessler, the state’s acting division chief for family health, blamed the planned cuts on rising food costs and increasing county caseloads.