For any other public entity, the loss suffered on November 27 by Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) in Fresno’s Fifth Appellate District Court would amount to a wake-up call, but given the resistance to facts of three of its board members, General Manager and water attorney, it’s unlikely any of them will come away with a […]
Environment
Is Modesto Vulnerable to Destruction by Fire?
Just outside the northern edge of the Central Valley, the Town of Paradise has been destroyed by fire. The destruction should be called a holocaust as over 6500 structures were damaged, including the town’s central core. In light of last year’s Santa Rosa holocaust and this year’s Redding and Paradise disasters, how vulnerable is Modesto […]
Contamination of Valley Groundwater a Hidden Threat
The City of Modesto has a large plume of toxic chemicals below ground. As time goes by, the plume is spreading via groundwater migration. Multiple sources of contamination are making wells around the community unusable. Though serious, groundwater depletion is only one of our problems. Every year, more wells are taken out of service. In […]
Caltrans Touts Plan for Second Phase of Freeway Project
Caltrans has rolled out a plan to extend the 132 Freeway project from Dakota to Gates Roads with an advertisement in the Modesto Bee. Caltrans will hold an event before the November election to get public comments on the new phase. In order for the new phase to proceed, voters must reject Proposition 6 in November. […]
Notions of Surplus Water a Costly Mirage
According to UC Davis, 99,000 residents of the San Joaquin Valley have unsafe drinking water. Even more alarming, a recent study by the University of Michigan “predicts that ‘the percentage of U.S. households who will find water bills unaffordable could triple from 11.9% to 35.6%” over the next five years.’” Many people who lack safe […]
Denham and Zinke: Crimes against Nature
There was a time when Ryan Zinke’s claim to be a Teddy Roosevelt Republican would have elicited laughter heard from Don Pedro Dam to Mount Rushmore. Teddy Roosevelt was one of the first and strongest ever defenders of public lands and wildlife; Donald Trump’s Secretary of the Interior might go down in history as the […]
Oakdale Water Sale Illegal, says Attorney
“It will probably be some shady deal again.” Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) water attorney Tim O’Laughlin is fond of reminding people he’s one of the best water attorneys in the west. During a recent OID Board meeting, he told Director Linda Santos that he’s also an expert on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). It […]
More Court Time for the Water District?
Tuesday morning, by a 3-2 vote, the Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors (OID) approved a proposal to sell $10 million of surplus water outside the district. As usual, the two directors against the proposal were Gail Altieri and Linda Santos, who have the singular distinction of having been sued by their own board, not […]
Did Trinitas Leave OID Holding the Bag (Again)?
When the big-time investors from the Bay Area showed up in Oakdale saying they were ready to become farmers, the city swooned. Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) was entranced by their offer to build infrastructure for water deliveries and offered them bargain-basement water rates and a sweet annexation deal, even while it had previously denied many […]
Valley Water: The Big Lie
Of all the mythologies that dominate San Joaquin Valley politics, the mythology of water may be the most powerful and enduring. The basis of the myth consists of a simple fiction that states, unequivocally, that all valley water is, “our water.” Grammarians, of whom there are fewer and fewer, might ask who is meant by […]