When the Columbia Journalism Review noted Modesto’s dire need for news, most Valley citizens weren’t even aware of the report. Shortly thereafter, the Modesto Bee joined Modesto Irrigation District (MID) General Manager Allen Short and MID Board member Tom Van Groningen in touting a sale of Tuolumne River water to the City of San Francisco. At the time, the Bee and many of our civic leaders were promoting the notion […]
MID water sale
Is the Bee Serious?
There are times when our beloved local newspaper outdoes even itself in high self-mockery. On those increasingly regular occasions, you have to wonder whether you’re reading the Bee or yet another clever send-up by the perpetrators of The Onion. Just consider last Wednesday’s editorial, “Water posturing stifles compromise.” The Bee couldn’t “resist pointing out the irony” when the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) decided to increase river flows for […]
Bee Scales New Heights of Hypocrisy
Long-time readers of the Modesto Bee have known that for the last two decades, any time the Bee takes a position on an issue it also abandons objectivity and fair play. Thus, it was no surprise that when the Modesto Irrigation District’s (MID) proposed water sale to San Francisco was rejected, the Bee immediately began a campaign to get the sale back on the table. The means the Bee […]
Underdogs Celebrate Defeat of MID Water Sale
Only a few years ago, he was mugged and left for dead by the Powers that Bee, but Sunday night former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino was back in his element as he hosted a victory celebration for the many players who somehow managed the defeat of the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale to San Francisco. “We’re not spiking the football and we’re not dancing in the end zone,” […]
Bee Fails on Water story, Blames MID
Every once in a while the curtain lifts just enough to reveal exactly what today’s Modesto Bee is really all about. That’s what happened in its September 19 editorial, when the Bee tried to tiptoe away from its role in the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale fiasco.In what has become typical Bee fashion, the only game in town tried to blame the MID for the controversy and rancor […]
Modesto Terminates Water Transfer to SFPUC, from the Tuolumne River Trust
On September 18 the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) voted to terminate negotiations for a transfer (sale) of 2,240 acre feet of water to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to supplement dry year supplies. The decision was met with enthusiasm by farmers, environmentalists and the City of Modesto. Had the water transfer gone through, the SFPUC would have been obligated to pay MID $1.5 million per year regardless […]
How the Modesto Irrigation District Lost Trust and Credibility
“I’m not going to give them one damned drop,” said Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Director Paul Warda in October of 2010.Warda’s defiant comment came in response to news that the State Water Resources Control Board had determined that in order to insure the survival of native salmon, there could be a 40 percent reduction in the amount of water farmers and urban residents take from the Merced, Tuolumne and […]
Read the Letter the Bee and the MID Don’t Want You to See
Monday, we broke news that over a month ago the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau (SCFB) sent a letter to the Modesto Irrigation District Board of Directors (MID) informing them of the Farm Bureau’s position that the proposed sale of water to San Francisco is illegal. Apparently, the Modesto Bee received a copy of the letter about the same time it was sent, yet has published nothing about it, despite, […]
Farm Bureau Says Water Sale Illegal But Bee Won't Tell the People
July 31, the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau (SCFB) sent a letter to the Modesto Irrigation District (MID). Some ten pages in length, the letter voices strong objections to the proposed MID sale to San Francisco, and questions not only the MID’s legal authority to make the sale but also whether the MID actually has surplus water to sell. In strong language, the Farm Bureau argues that, “MID has not […]
MID Water Sale—Amnesia or Worse?
Back in 2010, the State Water Resources Board released a study that said survival for salmon and the San Joaquin Delta depended on far greater flows from the local rivers, including the San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced Rivers.“ Apoplectic” doesn’t begin to describe the reaction from local water districts. Jeff Barton, assistant general manager for engineering and water resources at the Turlock Irrigation District said, “It would be […]