Editorial: Endorsement: Proposition 1 is a crucial investment in California’s future [Modesto Bee]
Opponents
of Proposition 1 – the state’s first comprehensive water infrastructure bond
proposal in a generation – are trying to convince voters that fears over money
should outweigh their long-term best interests. They loudly point out the state
will be on the hook for $360 million a year for 40 years if the $7.5 billion
water bond passes. But what happens if Proposition 1 fails? What will that cost
Californians?...Bluntly, without this bond, significant investments in making
our water supply more reliable, our drinking water cleaner and our rivers safer
won’t be made. So, yes, fiscal conservatives are justified in gasping over an
annual bill of $360 million. But they’re foolish to think it will be cheaper to
go without it.
Brown
collecting millions to promote 2 pet projects on November ballot [Los Angeles
Times]
Gov.
Brown is collecting millions from special interests to help him promote water
measure and rainy-day fund….The money, much of it from labor and agricultural
interests, will help pay for television advertisements expected to start later
this week featuring Brown touting both measures….Agricultural groups whose
parched members are tearing out crops and thinning herds because of the
drought, as well as individual farming and dairy operations, have contributed
more than $1 million to the effort. "Proposition 1 is the first opportunity
we've had in four decades to do something meaningful for our water
infrastructure, and we need to seize that opportunity," said Rich Matteis,
administrator of the California Farm Bureau Federation, which gave $250,000.
Western Growers, another farm group, also contributed $250,000 and is
soliciting pledges from its members to match that amount.
People
paying more to get wells dug quickly [Visalia Times Delta]
…Desperation
for well drilling is so bad that some drilling companies are charging more than
the going rate, generally about $65-$75 a foot for a residential well, Harris
said. Those rates are fueled by persistent rumors that local well drillers are
so backed up because of the drought that they have waiting lists of up to two
years. Calls to some well drillers in the South Valley bear out those
rumors….Calls to some well drillers in the South Valley bear out those
rumors….But if people who need new wells call around, they can find drillers
with waiting times of only a few months, Harris said….Harris is concerned
potential local customers think there's up to a two-year waiting time for a
project and are calling contractors from northern and southern California.
More
time to drill: Stanislaus well moratorium vote delayed [Modesto Bee]
Stanislaus
County’s Water Advisory Committee will postpone this week’s vote on whether to
recommend a moratorium on well drilling. The 21-member group, which has been
considering groundwater issues for eight months, was scheduled to vote on a
proposed moratorium Wednesday. But Chairman Wayne Zipser sent an email to
committee members Thursday evening asking them to push back the discussion
until Oct. 29. “I am requesting additional time to complete the additional work
and analysis of the impacts of such an action so that we committee members are
fully prepared to make a well-informed decision,” wrote Zipser, who also
manages the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. Community members started advocating
for a ban on drilling of new agricultural irrigation wells last year after
numerous domestic wells began going dry. There are fears that increased pumping
by farmers – coupled with the drought – is causing groundwater levels to
decline.
Could
those empty Valley reservoirs fill up in one winter? [Fresno Bee]
Long-range
forecasters are predicting a dry October, November and December. But longtime
California water experts say they're always hopeful that droughts could turn
around quickly, and they cite 1977 as a prime example. "It's feast or
famine in this state,"said Kings River Water Association watermaster Steve
Haugen. "I'm not predicting anything, but sometimes a wet year just
happens, especially here in the southern Sierra."…So if winter did turn wet,
how much would be enough? How much would refill California's depleted
reservoirs? And could a drought-busting winter suddenly turn into a flooding
nightmare? Haugen and the state Department of Water Resources say 150% of
average runoff from snowmelt and rain would probably fill the state's big
reservoirs without a lot of flooding. But 200% -- which has happened before --
and you're looking at a damaging mess, depending on the timing and location of
the rain and snow, hydrologists say.
Opinion: Gov. Brown says no
to labor [Sacramento Bee]
Occasionally,
a bill sitting on the governor’s desk offers a window into the inner workings
of California politics….The bill in question: Senate Bill 25. Vetoed late last
weekend by Gov. Jerry Brown, it would have placed California farmworkers under
the state’s mandatory mediation and conciliation law. The significance: the
veto denied the state’s Agriculture Labor Relations Board the power to dictate
wages and other contract terms for farmworkers – whether they or their
employers like it or not….Meanwhile, let’s celebrate a prominent Democrat
saying no to a union power play. Common-sense governing? Si se puede.
Ag
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