Anti-drought bill the
talk of the California delegation [Sacramento Bee]
Beneath
a placid surface, California lawmakers are furiously churning to keep an
anti-drought bill afloat. They’re counting votes, making tradeoffs and
tinkering with language….For an hour Wednesday morning, half-a-dozen House
Democrats convened privately with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to discuss
her anti-drought legislation….Feinstein’s immediate balancing act now is to
modify her 28-page bill enough to secure the five Republican Senate votes
probably needed to reach the 60-vote threshold for ending a filibuster, all
while not alienating Democrats. Once through the Senate, the legislation will
be hammered into its final form in a House and Senate conference committee,
though a lot of the deal-making could be done before.
Something fishy about
high level of Stanislaus River [Modesto Bee]
We
are in a drought, and a bad one at that. Three years and counting.…So some
callers, emailers and readers want to know why the Stanislaus River is booming
bank to bank west of Goodwin Dam, which is east of Knights Ferry. According to
the federal Bureau of Reclamation, Goodwin – via Tulloch and New Melones
reservoirs – is releasing 2,050 cubic feet of water per second.…Why now, at a
time when the reservoirs upstream need to capture the minimal runoff from
another well-below-average snowpack?...The short answer – and many folks will
not like it – is fish, and particularly steelhead trout supposedly headed
downstream….Such increased fish flows go virtually unnoticed during normal
rainfall years and even during the first couple of years of this particular
drought. But now, with the increased demand for water by agriculture and
southern water interests, it’s an issue.
Bill to create North
County water district moves forward [San Luis Obispo Tribune]
A
bill in the California Legislature that would help form a Paso Robles
groundwater management district passed an initial hurdle Wednesday when it was approved
by the Assembly Local Government Committee.…The hearing Wednesday afternoon in
Sacramento featured the participation of 20 San Luis Obispo County residents
who were equally divided for and against the passage of the bill. Those
speaking in favor of the bill said it would allow residents of the troubled
Paso Robles groundwater basin to take charge of dealing with dropping aquifers
and wells going dry, and they noted the state will likely step in if local
residents do not deal with the crisis….Opponents of the bill asked the
committee that it be amended so that its formation is based on a popular vote
of residents in the district rather than a vote by people who own land in the
district, particularly those who own large amounts of land.
High-speed rail
agency OKs Fresno-Bakersfield route [Fresno Bee]
The
California High-Speed Rail Authority approved its Fresno-Bakersfield section
Wednesday -- the second piece of what is planned as the backbone of a statewide
passenger train network. The agency's board, meeting in Fresno, took two
separate votes related to the 114-mile route. Board members certified the final
20,000-page version of its environmental-impact report,…A short time later, the
board approved the rail project itself and the route from downtown Fresno to
the northern outskirts of Bakersfield.…Over the objections of residents and
farmers in Kings County, the route diverges from the BNSF corridor with a
bypass east of Hanford that sweeps diagonally across farms and dairies. It also
has bypasses that skirt the towns of Corcoran and Allensworth….Kings County's
Board of Supervisors and two of its residents are already suing the rail
authority over its statewide plan. Authority leaders acknowledged that
Wednesday's votes are likely to generate more lawsuits over whether the EIR
complies with the California Environmental Quality Act.
UC extension marks
century of service to farmers, homemakers, youths [Modesto Bee]
A
photo from the early days shows a farm adviser in a suit, tie and fedora as he
visits a swine farm in San Joaquin County. A pair of rubber boots completes the
ensemble. The attire has shifted toward blue jeans and ball caps at the
University of California Cooperative Extension, founded 100 years ago Thursday.
But the core mission – providing advice to farmers, homemakers and youths –
remains the same. …“The research they do is just invaluable to us,” said Ron
Peterson, president of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, which will celebrate
its centennial May 15. Amanda Carvajal, executive director of the 97-year-old
Merced County Farm Bureau, said much the same: “They are in tune with the
farmers. They are a trusted and reliable source, and they bring a lot of money
with the projects they do.” Farm bureaus started as a means for getting out the
word about the new extension, but now they are separate entities. San Joaquin
County’s bureau reached 100 years on April 8.
Butte supervisors
face dilemma of homes in ag land and farms in residential zones [Chico
Enterprise-Record]
When
homes and farming are both allowed in the same land use zone how do you deal
with the predictable conflicts? That's a question the Butte County supervisors
are wrestling over, and Tuesday they were asked to give the county staff
thoughts on how to handle it. The supervisors were told thousands of acres in
various locations around the county are designated for "very low density
residential" zoning.
Ag
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