“A south Butte County water agency is putting up $150,000 for a
trip to England and Ireland to encourage and grow business in
the Oroville area.
“Mike Glaze, general manager of the South Feather Water and
Power Agency, appeared before the Butte County Board of
Supervisors Tuesday to outline his firm’s plans.”
“Frustrations bubbled over during a town hall meeting in a
foothills Yuba County subdivision on Monday as residents
criticized county officials for their handling of a recent
water emergency.
“However, county supervisors on Tuesday praised county staff
for their rapid response, noting workers were on the scene
shortly after the issue was discovered and spent the weekend
working on the problem.”
“Lincoln residents could see their water rates nearly double
over the next 31/2 years under a proposal being considered by
the Placer County city.
“As agencies across the region and state seek to match revenue
with expenses, Lincoln’s rate-hike proposal is believed to be
the largest sought locally.”
From The Sacramento Bee, a commentary by Bruce Maiman:
“A friend who manages 60 people in an industry known for high
turnover takes the practical view: ‘If they don’t wanna be
here, I don’t wanna keep ’em.’
“That should be our approach to Siskiyou County. Supervisors
there last week voted 4-1 in favor of seceding from California
to become the state of ‘Jefferson.’”
From U-T San Diego, a commentary by Steven Greenhut:
“Most Californians treat with bemusement the news that the
board of supervisors in far-north Siskiyou County voted 4-1
early this month to seek secession from California and revive
efforts to create a new state of Jefferson.
“Residents of the beleaguered Gold Village subdivision remained
without water on Friday after two wells serving the 84-home
Yuba County foothills community went dry. …
“The subdivision is on Hammonton-Smartsville Road northeast of
Beale Air Force Base.”
“The rugged 100-mile stretch from Lake Berryessa to 7,000-foot
Snow Mountain is making its way, slowly but surely, to national
status.
“That will be good for the gateway communities, for ranchers
and farmers who want to protect traditional uses, for those
seeking access to prime outdoor recreation, for those seeking
better management of public assets.”
“Rural California feels left out of the California Dream,
ignored, kicked around and over-taxed in its estimation. The
poster child for this cause is Siskiyou County, one of the
state’s most remote and poorest entities on the Oregon border.
…
“The straight up notion of secession is far-fetched.
“Two campgrounds in the Point Reyes National Seashore tested
positive for coliform bacteria in water in violation of
accepted state levels earlier this summer. … The two
sites draw water from the same water tank, said John Dell’Osso,
park spokesman.
“That tank has since been drained and cleaned, and water
samples have passed tests.”
“In a 4-1 vote that revitalized a regional secession movement
that supporters hope will one day lead to creation of the new
state of Jefferson, [Siskiyou] county supervisors approved a
declaration that called for breaking away from the Golden State.”
“The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday
to support the county’s split from the state of California.
“It’s the first in a long series of steps to form the proposed
State of Jefferson, which proponents of the effort say would
bring representation to rural North State counties that
currently are beholden to the whims of representatives of the
more-populated Southern California and free them from
burdensome state regulations.
From the Northern California Water Association (NCWA) Blog in
a post by Tib Belza, Chair, NCWA Bay-Delta Task Force:
“Recently in the Sunday Forum, The Sacramento Bee editorial
board advanced that the ‘Delta tunnel project is still stuck
with unacceptable baggage.’ The Bee captured the upstream water
supplier perspective very accurately when it provided:
“In the Bay-Delta processes, the state and federal agencies
’still haven’t provided guarantees to north state water users
that their water supplies and ecosystems won’t be harmed by
tunnel diversions….’”
“Shasta County supervisors — hearing complaints from irate
rural residents who’ve seen neighborhoods go to pot and keen to
demonstrate some action — are once again talking about outright
banning any growing of marijuana in the unincorporated county.
“They’re right to want to do something. … Illegal water
diversions, unlicensed use of pesticides and poisons, and
illegal squatting on property have become all too common.
“A Marysville school meeting may seem an unlikely place for the
first public forum in which Cal Water officials and opponents
are together for the company’s proposed rate hike.
“But Marysville Joint Unified School District trustees tonight
during their regular meeting will consider taking formal action
opposing the increase.”
“The question of the day was simple enough: When it comes to
the state’s multibillion-dollar proposal to build tunnels
diverting Sacramento River water around the Delta to points
south, ‘How will Sacramento Valley interests be addressed?’
“But the answers at a forum in Chico last week were as complex
— and polarized — as you’d expect.”
From Water | Food | Environment — The Blog of David Guy:
“Our food system is complicated. Credit Mark Bittman, the lead
food columnist for the New York Times Magazine, for making the
time in a busy journalistic world to take a deeper look at food
production in California’s Sacramento Valley.
From the Northern California Water Association (NCWA) Blog:
“The signs are everywhere – California is experiencing record
dry and warm conditions. The first part of 2013 was the driest
on record. Will this continue?” was the title of the Aug. 16
post by Fritz Durst, chair, NCWA Water Management Task
Force.
“In Northern California, water leaders continue to make a
concerted effort to prepare for dry conditions in California.
“As leaders in California’s maturing medical cannabis industry,
we are well aware of the potential environmental impacts
associated with cannabis cultivation. The main question coming up
in relationship to these impacts is: Why aren’t cannabis
cultivators held to the same guidelines and requirements as other
farmers or grape growers?”
