For more than ten years, the Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) has relied on water sales to balance its books. Over the decade prior to 2014, OID water sales brought in well over thirty million dollars. The bonanza enabled the district to sell water to its customers for well under the cost of delivery. When OID annexed Trinitas Partners into the district in 2013, the terms of the contract were ballyhooed […]
Search Results for: OID
Irrigation District Monetizes Public Water
By a 3 to 2 margin, the Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) Board of Directors voted in the third week of March to sell surplus public water outside the boundaries of the district. At the time, nearby urban residents were still under a state order to reduce water use by 36 percent below 2013 usage. Ironically, OID can sell water to outsiders while local residents are still subject to draconian rationing. Supposedly, […]
Who Favors Rousting Modesto's Homeless?
Whether by coincidence or design, the Modesto Police Department (MPD) waited until after the February 2 election to roust illegal “campers,” otherwise known as people without homes, from Beard Brook Park last Thursday. The sweep, the second within a few months, forced people to take down tents, gather what belongings they could carry, and leave the park, at least temporarily. Even during the sweep, city workers were making mock bets […]
Valley Water: 2015
The biggest local water story in 2015 was the ongoing attempt by the Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) to sell water outside the region. The saga began almost exactly a year ago when Oakdale farmer Louis Brichetto quashed an OID water sale by pointing out the district had failed to follow proper protocols for the California Environmental Quality Act prior to the sale. From that point forward, OID found itself embroiled […]
California Separatist Movement Growing
For many years, talk has periodically surfaced about splitting California at the Tehachapi Mountains into the states of Northern and a Southern California. The proposal never gained momentum. Now, a new proposal to split California along political lines rather than geographic ones is gaining traction. The new state would be called “Jefferson.” It would be comprised mainly of counties dominated by the Republican Party and libertarians; Democrats would be left […]
Faces of the Homeless: Matt
Several weeks ago, when Matt Payne showed up at Beard Brook Park with a black eye and a face full of cuts and bruises, word got around that he’d been beaten by the police. Even though few knew why, everyone knew he’d been in jail and only recently gotten out. Matt had been known to use methamphetamine, and most people probably assumed he’d been busted for something associated with drugs. […]
Did Road Diet Kill Measure G?
Seen by some as a waste of taxpayer money, the College Avenue “Road Diet” may have been the nail in the coffin of Measure G. The new traffic design reduced the number of thru traffic lanes on College Avenue from two to one. In order to sell the sales tax increase, proponents needed to convince voters that the money was needed and would be put to good use. The road […]
Secret Government Hurts the Public Interest
Insiders are speculating that the Oakdale Irrigation District’s (OID) secret water sale may have been the final straw for district voters, who just ousted longtime incumbent OID Directors Frank Clark and Al Bairos. Below, Bruce Frohman provides a history of secrecy in local government and argues it almost always hurts the public interest. A basic truth about government is that secret decisions often have undesirable outcomes. In local government, very […]
Was There a Secret Water Sale?
Gail Altieri and Linda Santos have been saying for months that the Oakdale Irrigation District (OID) hides its business from members of the district. Now we’re hearing rumors that despite saying all year long it is short water, OID has sold water outside the area. Altieri and Santos are running against incumbents Al Bairos and Frank Clark for positions on the OID Board of Directors. Earlier this year, OID had […]
Are the Homeless Modesto’s Illegal Aliens?
This summer, at the height of the homeless “invasion,” the first impression was of a modern-day diaspora. It was only natural to wonder where all these people came from. A popular explanation says they’d been sent here by Bay Area city officials, who gladly paid for their bus tickets and promised them better services in Modesto. Those who work closely with homeless people say that’s not the case. Instead, as […]