Poll: 88 percent of Californians say there is 'a serious water shortage' in the state [San Jose Mercury News]
Nearly
nine out of 10 Californians say the state is suffering from a “serious water
shortage,” according to a new poll that confirms widespread concern over the
lack of rain, diminished Sierra snowpack and low reservoir levels after three
years of drought. But deep, decades-old divisions remain across the state on
how to solve the dilemma, the statewide Field Poll of 1,000 registered voters
found — with the biggest differences being between the Bay Area and the Central
Valley. While Central Valley residents strongly support building new dams and
waiving environmental rules to pump more water, Bay Area residents were the
biggest backers of retaining environmental protections and least supportive of
new dams.
Environmentalists
slam Dianne Feinstein’s drought bill [San Francisco Chronicle]
Sen.
Dianne Feinstein’s revised drought bill is coming under increasing attack from
the left even as the California Democrat tries to woo Republicans to speed the
bill’s passage through the Senate without committee consideration. More than a
dozen environmental groups, including Sierra Club California, Audubon
California, Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense
Council, issued a letter late Monday demanding changes to the revised bill,
S.2198. Feinstein has been pressuring state and federal water agencies to
provide maximum pumping of the season’s March rains to provide relief to San
Joaquin Valley farms, despite the dire straits of migrating salmon. Feinstein
dropped $300 million in spending on drought relief projects to lure Senate GOP
votes.
Turlock-area
groundwater the focus of forum [Modesto Bee]
An
overflow crowd Tuesday night heard experts talk about the need to protect
groundwater in the Turlock area – and about a resident’s experience when her
own well failed. Drought and environmental restrictions on river supplies have
increased demand on groundwater, speakers said at a forum sponsored by the
Turlock Chamber of Commerce and California State University,
Stanislaus.…Horacio Ferriz, a geology professor at the university and an expert
in groundwater flow, said reports of a widespread crisis are overblown. The
aquifers refill with irrigation water that TID brings in from the Tuolumne
River, he said….A new advisory committee to the Stanislaus County Board of
Supervisors is looking at possible ways to prevent groundwater overdraft. Its
chairman is Wayne Zipser, executive manager of the Stanislaus County Farm
Bureau. He said Tuesday that the effort could take a cue from a farmer coalition
that has reduced pesticides and other water pollutants as an alternative to
direct, and more expensive, regulation by the state water board.
Opinion: It’s time for a breakthrough on groundwater management
[Sacramento Bee]
…The
best opportunity to achieve sustainable management continues to be at the local
level. Groundwater basins around the state are too diverse and local conditions
too varied to make a “one-size-fits-all” state policy workable.…But while
groundwater management is best left in local hands, it’s time to raise the bar.
We need to recognize there are problems out there, and provide the tools and
authorities that can help local and regional entities meet the challenge. It’s
also time to acknowledge that state intervention may be warranted in cases
where a local agency is unable to protect and manage the basin, or fails to
adopt a plan or meet performance measures.
Drakes Bay oyster
case: Marin judge faults state commission, calls for environmental review
[Marin Independent Journal]
A
preliminary ruling by a Marin Superior Court judge Tuesday found the state's
Coastal Commission "abused its discretion" when it issued
cease-and-desist orders against the Drakes Bay Oyster Co. that would require
dismantling of the operation. Judge Roy Chernus, who ruled the commission retains
jurisdiction over the aquaculture site, noted his findings are conditional upon
the larger question being debated in federal courts over whether the operation
will remain open.…In his preliminary ruling issued Tuesday afternoon, Chernus
agreed, writing the "Coastal Commission abused its discretion in excluding
this evidence." Hundreds of pages of evidence, declarations and exhibits
had been presented by Drakes Bay owner Kevin Lunny and experts.…"Judge
Chernus' tentative ruling, if it stands, is a major victory for Drakes Bay
Oyster Co.," said Peter Prows, an attorney representing the oyster
company, in a statement.
Rising food prices
pinching consumers [USA Today]
Two
months of sharp increases in food prices show grocers are starting to pass
along their higher wholesale costs to consumers. Retail food prices rose 0.4% in
March, the same as in February and the largest amount since September 2011. By
comparison, the prices of all consumer goods rose 0.2% in March and 0.1% the
month before, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics….Overall consumer prices
rose 0.2% in March, a bit more rapidly than in recent months, and annual
inflation was 1.5%, up from 1.1% in February.…But the higher food bills are
squeezing households still struggling with meager wage gains and could crimp
spending just as the recovery is expected to accelerate.
Ag
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