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Pursuing truth toward justice

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Tuolumne River

The Valley Citizen Water Primer

January 2, 2014 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

  Until recently, a sixty mile span of the San Joaquin River ran dry every year, no matter how wet or dry the year. Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout populations declined precipitously. But because people got informed and involved, a more natural flow cycle has been restored for fish and fisheries. Salmon and Steelhead are returning to the river. Over eighty percent of the water from the Tuolumne River has […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: groundwater Stanislaus County, San Joaquin Delta, San Joaquin River Restoration, Tuolumne River

Are Bee Editors and MID Directors Equally Clueless About Future Water Supplies?

July 25, 2012 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

  Sunday, July 22, the Modesto Bee’s big story was on the declining use of irrigation water by local farmers. The story was accompanied by a large photograph of Don Pedro Reservoir, full almost to the point of overflowing. Most of the story seemed to support the Modesto Irrigation District’s (MID) water sale by assuring Bee readers that the District has plenty of water. As is often the case in […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: MID water sale, MID water transfer, SFPUC water transfer, Tuolumne River

The Godfather Speaks: Bob Hackamack on the Tuolumne River

July 14, 2012 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

  Bob Hackamack is already immortalized with a portion of the Tuolumne River named for him—Hackamack’s Hole, a Class IV rapid. Fortunately for the river, Hackamack, a Control Systems and Chemical Engineer, is as adept with a slide rule as he is with a canoe or kayak paddle. Many of those who know best about protecting rivers credit Hackamack with the unique mix of passion and scientific expertise it took […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Bob Hackamack, MID water sale, Tuolumne River

River Wars, Episode III: End of the River?

June 29, 2012 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

  When the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) assures its customers there is enough Tuolumne River water to sell 2,000 acre feet per year to the city of San Francisco, knowledgeable citizens can only assume there’s a hidden back story. For one thing, many local farmers have been informed of reduced water allotments. Since their water comes from the Tuolumne River, they can’t help wondering how the claim of excess water […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: MID water sale, MID water sale to San Francisco, Tuolumne River, Tuolumne River water sale

River Wars, Episode II: The King of California and Imperial San Francisco

June 22, 2012 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

Marc Reisner’s, Cadillac Desert, is still the primary text for those who would understand water use in the arid American west, but the recent flap over the proposed sale of Tuolumne River water to the city of San Francisco by the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) is best illuminated by Mark Arax’s, The King of California, and Gray Brechin’s, Imperial San Francisco. In The King of California, Arax and Rick Wartzman […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: MID water sale, Modesto Irrigation District, Tuolumne River

Specter of Fish Haunts MID Water Sale

June 1, 2012 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

Shortly after John Mensinger and Larry Byrd blew the wheels off the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale bandwagon and the City of Modesto looked likely to sue to assure its water rights, the Modesto Bee opined that, given the intense controversy surrounding the water sale, it couldn’t hurt to form a citizens’ advisory committee of agricultural and urban customers to help steer the water sale controversy to a reasonable […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: MID water sale, MID water transfer to San Francisco, Modesto Irigation District Water Sale, Tuolumne River

Valley Leaders and Media AWOL on MID Water Sale

April 22, 2012 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

The more you look at the proposed Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale to San Francisco, the more apparent it becomes that MID manager Allen Short and his allies on the Board of Directors are engaging in a dangerous game of sleight of hand. The fundamental premise of the sale—that MID has water to sell—is so patently false as to make one wonder why the MID has dared voice it. […]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: MID water transfer, Modesto Irrigation District Tuolumne River, Modesto Irrigation District Water Sale, Tuolumne River, Tuolumne River water sale

Will MID Directors Be Fleeced In the New Gold Rush?

March 31, 2012 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

There’s not much of a mystery why the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) Board of Directors wants to sell water to San Francisco. Faced with a water treatment plant that has become an embarrassing money pit and having failed to raise rates enough to maintain infrastructure, they need the money. San Francisco’s demand for water, on the other hand, is at first glance a bit puzzling. As recently as November 17, […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: MID water transfer, Tuolmne River water transfer, Tuolumne River

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Off The Wire

California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Housing advocates are about to deliver a message to the Bay Area: Comply with state…
www.sfchronicle.com
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty 'Law of the River' holds sway
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
At the heart of tensions over water allotments from the Colorado River is a complex set of agreements and decrees known as the ‘Law of the River.’
www.latimes.com
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com

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PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

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The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
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Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

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Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

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