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Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County

Jim DeMartini: The Supervisor on Water, Land Use, and More

October 22, 2014 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini farms 1200 acres of prime farmland near the city of Patterson. Much of his land is bordered by the Tuolumne River. Supervisor DeMartini led the way to formation of Stanislaus County’s pioneering agricultural element, which features mitigation for loss of farmland. He has also worked with the Audubon Society to restore native riparian vegetation and wildlife habitat on his property. The Valley Citizen: You finance […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, California groundwater, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, Jim DeMartini

Groundwater: When Regulation Fails, Part II

October 18, 2014 By Eric Caine 6 Comments

Though California has finally joined every other state in regulating groundwater usage, we shouldn’t believe regulation will necessarily promote groundwater sustainability. If regulation were the answer, the great Ogallala Aquifer wouldn’t be facing total depletion. If regulation were the answer, the Colorado River Basin wouldn’t have lost over 41 million acre feet of groundwater over the last ten years. That’s enough water to serve residential use for the entire US population […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, California groundwater, groundwater Stanislaus County, Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee

Groundwater: When Regulation Fails, Part I

October 14, 2014 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Especially since the drought extended through last year’s dry winter, you couldn’t write “groundwater” and “California” without adding, “the only state that doesn’t regulate.” The assumption was that California’s groundwater problems must be due to lack of regulation. That assumption, however, fails against the realities of groundwater regulation in many states where groundwater woes are not unlike those in California. One such example is Texas, where large portions of the […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Stanislaus County groundwater, Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee

Stanislaus County’s Water Committee on Borrowed Time?

October 7, 2014 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

After months of dithering and ducking, the Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee (WAC) may have finally lost its lease. It’s becoming ever more apparent the WAC’s purpose is exactly what Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini said it was when he resigned as chair. DeMartini said almost immediately after its formation that the purpose of the committee was to provide “political cover” for supervisors unwilling to take action on the groundwater pumping […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Stanislaus County groundwater

County May Declare Moratorium on East Side Wells

September 25, 2014 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Just as it appeared Wednesday’s meeting of the Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee (WAC) was going to conclude another session of deferred action, Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow lit up the room. “I was talking to Jim and he was pretty adamant about putting a moratorium on the east side,” said Withrow. “And right now he’s got the votes to do it.” No one had to be told “Jim” was Stanislaus […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, Stanislaus County groundwater moratorium, Stanislaus Water Advisory Committee

Supervisor Dodges Hot (Ground)Water

September 19, 2014 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Two things were crystal clear after Stanislaus County Supervisor Bill O’Brien met with members of the Stanislaus Water Coalition last Wednesday in Oakdale. One, Supervisor O’Brien wants no part in regulating water use in Stanislaus County. And two, members of the Stanislaus Water Coalition agree that the state’s 2040 deadline to achieve groundwater sustainability is far too distant to prevent serious and lasting harm from ongoing overdrafting of groundwater. A […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, California groundwater law, Stanislaus County groundwater

California Fails on Groundwater

September 14, 2014 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

It didn’t take long for elation to turn to dismay after state legislators approved regulations on groundwater. If Governor Brown signs off, California will become the last state to enact groundwater rules. Sort of. In fact, all the fuss about groundwater has done is establish more firmly Big Ag’s unshakeable grip on water policy. The tell is in the state’s requirement that counties achieve groundwater “sustainability” by 2040. From today, […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, San Joaquin Valley groundwater, Stanislaus County groundwater

The Last Windmill?

September 3, 2014 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

With a history dating back over 2,000 years, the windmill represents one of man’s most enduring mechanical contrivances. There are few images more representative of the arid American west. It’s a clean-energy, labor-saving device older than the terms that describe it. Given 15-to-20 mile an hour winds, an 8-foot diameter windmill can pump around 150 gallons an hour. An average family of four might use 200 to 300 gallons of […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Stanislaus County groundwater

Another Trip Down the Groundwater Rabbit Hole

August 25, 2014 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

  “Steal a little and they throw you in jail; steal a lot and they make you king”…Uncle Bob It was big news when the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) caught six customers stealing water from MID canals. The culprits were not only fined, their names were published in the Modesto Bee. The fines, thought to be in the neighborhood of $1500, were food for thought when someone at the MID […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater

Why Should Tax Payers Subsidize Water Miners?

August 6, 2014 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

“So maybe this is not the time to start a new orchard,” said Stanislaus County’s Geologist, August 5, 2014. In California, water has been “for fighting” since the founding of the state. That’s why it’s noteworthy when people agree on anything about it. But recently, there’s unanimity on one water fact statewide: Without surface water, nut farming in the foothills of the eastern San Joaquin Valley is not sustainable. Why […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Stanislaus County groundwater

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Off The Wire

?Monster Fracks? Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
“Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
A Times analysis shows that increasingly complex oil and gas wells now require astonishing volumes of water to fracture the bedrock and release fossil fuels, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
www.nytimes.com
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has 'paralyzed' California cities
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has ‘paralyzed’ California cities
The Democratic governor’s intervention lays down a mark in a legal dispute with potentially profound implications for one of California’s most pressing issues.
www.politico.com
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
www.propublica.org
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is hunger in California? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but now is being reduced.
calmatters.org
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the county’s homeless population….
www.mercurynews.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
The epidemic’s staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.
www.bbc.com
Can licensed tent villages ease California's homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Can licensed tent villages ease California’s homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Taking people off the street and into tents is a new twist on homeless shelter being explored by the San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy in two tent villages operating in Los Angeles and Culver City.
www.latimes.com
Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.
Mississippi has problems, but it’s handling homelessness better than L.A.
The public tends to blame homelessness on poverty, drug use, crime or even warm weather. But other cities don’t have L.A. levels of street homelessness because they have more available housing.
www.latimes.com
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
The demonstrators raised “Heil Hitler” salutes and waved flags with swastikas.
www.thedailybeast.com
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom's CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Gov. Gavin Newsom?s experiment to push Californians with mental illness off the streets and into treatment, CARE Court, starts soon.
calmatters.org
Pope says 'backward' U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope says ‘backward’ U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church. He says they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
apnews.com

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The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
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The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
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Email us at:
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