Adam Gray’s dismissal from the state’s Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee has given him near-martyr status, at least locally. Gray tried to argue against reducing water allotments in the San Joaquin Valley. When he was removed from the Committee after a small initial success, the dismissal brought about what’s become a default water rant throughout the San Joaquin Valley. The theme? Blame the state. Subtext? Blame the “enviros.” “Yes,” say […]
Water: The Numbers Game
Probably the most common controversy involving numbers and water is about how much water is used by agriculture. There are two camps. One says agriculture uses 80% of the water in California; the other says it uses around 40%. Both figures are usually tossed around absent qualifiers or context. Here’s a quick and easy explanation of the figures from The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC): “More than half of […]
Watch a Film, Learn Your Birds
People have been recording bird species in Stanislaus and Merced Counties for over a hundred years. Both counties now have bird lists of over three-hundred species. And despite the seeming improbability, almost anyone can learn a hundred local birds—it just takes a jolt of awareness and a willingness to open your eyes to the hidden world around you. Getting started is always a major hindrance to acquiring such knowledge, but […]
Regulate Land, Water, and Crops
When the Lost Angeles Times’ George Skelton proposed government regulation of crops last month, his column sparked a puzzling response from Modesto Bee editors. In, “Our View: Farmers don’t need help deciding what to plant,” the Bee slammed Skelton, saying, “It [Skelton’s column] could only have been written by someone with virtually no knowledge of actual farming.” Skelton may not be an expert on farming, but that’s irrelevant to his […]
Asphalt Empire Rises
The two best economic indicators last week weren’t in the business section of your daily newspaper. Instead, they came in the form of a political announcement and a little-noticed vote by one of the most obscure committees in county government. The political announcement was Dave Lopez’s formal declaration he would run for Mayor of Modesto against incumbent Garrad Marsh. Citing his opposition to Marsh’s proposal for an increase in the […]
John Gunderson’s Chainsaw Politics
In 2011, when John Gunderson ran for City Council, he had no name recognition, no apparent platform, and no history of public involvement. In interviews, he appeared bewildered by even the simplest questions. To make the race even more of a conundrum, his opponent, Phil Moyer, seemed even less ready for office. Gunderson won the election in a yawner and took office in time for one the biggest uproars in […]
“Diversify,” says Water Attorney
The ongoing plaint throughout the room before, during, and after Thursday’s Ag Scholarship Luncheon in Oakdale was about, “sending our water down the river for fish.” Though she’s a partner in the highly-regarded law firm of Paris and O’Laughlin, attorney Valerie Kincaid didn’t offer much in the way of hope for a quick legal fix. Kincaid was the featured speaker for an audience of well over one-hundred concerned citizens, many […]
Fish vs People? Nonsense!
With rivers running dry, reservoir levels dropping, and no rain in sight, it was probably inevitable that local politicians and their allies try to sell the tattered old false dilemma of, “Fish vs People.” Back in the 1980s and 90s it was “Owls vs People.” That was when the Endangered Species Act was invoked to save old forest habitat for Spotted Owls. Foresters and others whose jobs depended on logging […]
OID Water Scheme Hits CEQA Hurdle: Part II
The Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) Board of Directors got a dose of cold water Tuesday and didn’t like it. Before a standing room only crowd that spilled into a packed hallway, board members learned that their much-heralded fallowing program had virtually no chance of succeeding this year without a thorough Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The On Farm Conservation Program devised by OID management was to begin within weeks and had […]
Can CEQA Save Tulloch Lake?
In 2011, we posted a review of some of the most successful applications of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in the northern San Joaquin Valley. These cases show that CEQA can be an effective planning tool in our region. Unfortunately, because CEQA almost always involves an understanding of environmental law, attorneys’ fees have too often put CEQA review out of the reach of the public citizens it was intended […]