Recent California Water Press
March 2010
" Another water project could divide the stateSan Joaquin Valley farmers hope for $3.3-billion dam and reservoir at Temperance Flat, but they need help paying for it."
Los Angeles Times, March 9,2010
"Federal drought ag aid targets Valley
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing $10 million to farmers affected by California's water shortages."
Fresno Bee, March 5, 2010
"Conservation group challenges PG&E, seeks more water for Eel River
A conservation group is looking to the state to significantly cut back on the diversion of Eel River water to the Russian River in what it says is a last-ditch effort to save crashing salmon and steelhead runs."
Times Standard, March 4, 2010
"Salmon season to undergo scrutiny
There is hope for a decent salmon season after several years of crushing closures driven by troubling returns of spawning chinook salmon to the Sacramento and Klamath rivers."
Contra Costa Times, March 1, 2010
February 2010
"Water agencies loosen taps; Feinstein backs offState and federal water regulators agreed Friday to open the spigots a bit more on account of all the recent rain and snow, prompting Sen. Dianne Feinstein to drop her threat to bypass the Endangered Species Act to get farmers more water."
San Francisco Chronicle, February 27,2010
"George Miller: Feinstein amendment is a water grab
Beware of the latest attempt at an old-fashioned water grab - the last gasp of an outdated approach to California's complex water problems."
San Francisco Chronicle, February 26, 2010
"Upbeat salmon forecast worries fishermen
A surprisingly optimistic projection Thursday that nearly 250,000 salmon will spawn in the Sacramento River system next fall has created a dilemma for fishermen who crave the opportunity to reel in some chinook after a two-year fishing ban: They're worried that they might contribute to the demise of the species."
San Francisco Chronicle, Febrary 26, 2010
"North state lawsuit a major onslaught in war over water
Invoking the specter of a century-old Los Angeles water grab, Northern California farmers have filed a lawsuit that may escalate the state's ongoing water crisis."
Contra Costa Times, February 18, 2010
"Feinstein may drop Valley water plan
Facing objections from a dozen West Coast lawmakers, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday that she might drop her controversial bid to direct more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers if the Interior Department takes action on its own."
Fresno Bee, February 18, 2010
"Lowest delta-rivers salmon run ever in 2009
The lowest number of chinook salmon in recorded history made their way up the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers last fall, turning what was already a disaster for the fishing industry into what some are calling an environmental and economic catastrophe."
San Francisco Chronicle. February 13, 2010
"Fishermen Worry About Future of Central Valley Salmon Runs Record Low 2009 salmon return caused by delta pumping
The Pacific Fisheries Management Council has just released numbers showing California's once abundant salmon runs came in at a new all time record low in 2009."
YubaNet.com, February 12, 2010
"Feinstein proposes Central Valley water plan
Sen. Dianne Feinstein ignited a firestorm among fellow California Democrats on Thursday as word spread of her proposal to divert Northern California water to Central Valley farmers."
San Francisco Chronicle, February 12, 2010
"Fishing the North Coast: Hatchery steelhead returns back on the rise
After a couple of sub-par seasons, steelhead are once again finding their way back to our North Coast rivers and hatcheries in good numbers."
Eureka Times Standard, February 11, 2010
"Watchdog's suit says hatchery fish hurt natives
An environmental watchdog group sued the state Wednesday for what representatives called a wholesale failure to protect native species from sickness, death and other harmful effects caused by hatchery-raised fish."
San Francisco Chronicle, February 11, 2010
"Judge rejects delay in delta pumping restrictions
West Valley farmers last week were celebrating a reprieve from water pumping restrictions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Five days later, it's over. A federalFreson judge Wednesday rejected an emergency request by water districts representing cities and Valley farmers to delay a new set of pumping restrictions in the delta."
Fresno Bee, February 10, 2010
"Testing waters for salmon in San Joaquin River
Friant Dam opened to study flows in long-dry portions of San Joaquin."
San Francisco Chronicle, February 7, 2010
January 2010
"Science panel's review of California water woes prompts fightIt's political, say critics; Farmers call effort vital."
Sacramento Bee, January 21, 2010
"2009 another bad year for Delta ecosystem
The latest survey of Delta fish populations shows another ominous dip."
Contra Costa Times, January 6, 2010
"Autumn chinook run falls short
Salmon didn't make the big fall comeback in Central Valley rivers that anglers and nature lovers yearned for, raising the likelihood of a third year of fishing restrictions."
Sacramento Bee, January 4, 2010
December 2009
"The Oh Decade: Old water policies limit choices for future by Peter GleickWe live in a fragile time and place. Californians started out in 1850 grossly abusing our water resources and we've never stopped."
Sacramento Bee, December 30, 2009
"Decision pending on toxic runoff being dumped into San Joaquin River from Merced County Westside farms
Roughly 100,000 acres of farmland along the Fresno-Merced county line have been moved one step closer to being allowed to continue discharging toxic runoff into the San Joaquin River until 2019, according to a Dec. 22 decision by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation."
Merced Sun Star, December 29, 2009
"State bond lets firms profit from water
Private companies could own, operate and profit from reservoirs and other water-storage projects built with billions in taxpayer dollars under a little-noticed provision of the $11.1 billion water bond that was approved by the Legislature and goes before California voters next year."
San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 3009
November 2009
"Californians asked to spend more during unprecedented spree of water spendingSupporters of a proposed $11 billion water bond say the money is urgently needed to fix California's water supply problems, yet billions of dollars in previous bond money still hasn't been spent, according to the California treasurer."
Mercury News, November 24, 2009
"Water package lacks clout to reverse Delta's decline
The momentous reform of California's water system signed into law last week is largely toothless where it matters most: Action to reverse the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta's environmental decline."
Sacramento, Bee, November 15, 2009
"Winners and losers in water deal
Follow California's water as it falls first as snow in the Sierra, melts and flows down rivers, through the Delta and out the Golden Gate, and you get a pretty good idea of where the "no" votes came from in one of the most important water policy shifts in decades."
Contra Costa Times, November 8.2009
"Westlands Water District is a powerhouse for Valley farmers
The most powerful voices in the state's $11 billion water talks last week might have been two water districts -- one speaking for half the state's population and the other for just 600 San Joaquin Valley farmers."
The Fresno Bee, November 7,2009
"California lawmakers pass historic water package
It took long months of delicate negotiations - and the last-minute deletion of a project dear to the heart of the state's most powerful legislator - for California lawmakers to craft what could turn out to be one of the most pivotal water deals in state history."
The Sacramento Bee, November 5, 2009
"California Legislature passes state water conservation bill
The legislation, part of a larger package, mandates a statewide drop in per capita water use by targeting urban areas. The Assembly is still considering other measures already approved by the Senate."
Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2009
October 2009
"Delta water plan emerges for public to viewStrict conservation, new dams and a peripheral canal are all on the table after six weeks of closed-door negotiations to solve the state's water crisis and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta ecosystem."
San Francisco Chronicle, October 27, 2009
"Water plan seen as prelude to canal
Two powerful California water agencies, the Westlands Water District in the Central Valley and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, support a legislative water compromise in part because they believe it brings the Peripheral Canal closer to reality."
Capitol Weekly, October 26, 2009
"Delta legislators hardening against water plan
Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Sacramento, and Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, don't agree on much. But both are against the water plan being negotiated between the Legislature and the governor -- and neither thinks the package has the votes to pass."
Capitol Weekly, October 22, 2009
"EBMUD likely to move ahead with dam plan today
The East Bay's largest water agency today will consider moving ahead on its plan to raise a Sierra dam, flooding a prime stretch of river to ease the grip of droughts."
Contra Costa Times, October 13, 2009
"East Bay water districts see reform bill differently
The East Bay's largest water district says the most ambitious attempt to reform state water policy in at least a decade is a bare-knuckled water grab by Southern California that will cost its 1.3 million customers money and deeper rationing in droughts. A neighboring district, meanwhile, views the package as a step in the right direction."
Contra Costa Times, October 8, 2009
"Editorial: The Klamath River lessons
The agreement reached Tuesday to remove four dams on the Klamath River in northwestern California and southern Oregon is welcome news, and not just for the salmon that spawn upstream or the people who depend on a sustainable fishery for their livelihood."
Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2009
"Flows to restore San Joaquin River start today
More than a half century after a colossal federal dam built outside Fresno transformed 64 miles of the San Joaquin River into a dusty trench and annihilated native salmon populations, engineers will open the floodgates to begin a new era for California's second-longest river."
San Francisco Chronicle, October 1, 2009
"Feinstein planning major delta legislation
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, considered a pre-eminent broker in the state's water wars, said Wednesday she is planning one of the biggest pieces of legislation she's ever attempted, to address the water and environmental crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta."
San Francisco Chronicle, October 1, 2009
September 2009
"Water interests argue new state dam proposalsAs California grapples with an aging water-delivery network, growing population, worsening water quality, a drought and the potentially far-reaching effects of global climate change, dams are again on the table."
San Francisco Chronicle, September 29, 2009
"For San Joaquin River, a historic reawakening
It all starts Thursday with a gentle surge of water to be released from Friant Dam into the San Joaquin River. A massive, unprecedented and unpredictable river restoration project will begin, reawakening miles of dried riverbed and salmon runs that have been extinct for six decades."
Fresno Bee, September 27, 2009
"S.F., East Bay fear water rationing in future
San Francisco and East Bay water managers are warning that a plan to overhaul the state's water system could result in draconian restrictions and rationing in the Bay Area and possibly undermine water rights that are more than 100 years old."
San Francisco Chronicle, September 24, 2009
"Farm baron gets high-level help
Acting at the request of Beverly Hills billionaire and Kern County water baron Stewart Resnick, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is seeking a high-level scientific review of new endangered-species permits that farmers and others blame for water shortages."
Contra Costa Times, September 19, 2009
"Yolo officials fear big water districts will buy up revenue-rich ag lands to aid smelt
Yolo officials see the restoration of other wetlands as a potential threat – and are taking steps to prevent it. They're worried that powerful water districts from Southern California, which draw water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, will buy up tracts of Yolo open land and flood them to create habitat for the endangered Delta smelt."
Sacramento Bee, September 17, 2009
"Key salmon spawning rivers all but dry
The key spawning grounds for what was once the greatest run of salmon on the North Coast are close to being as dry as they have ever been, according to biologists and the U.S. Geological Survey."
San Francisco Chronicle, September 13, 2009
"Calif. lawmakers fail to reach water deal
California lawmakers have fallen short in their attempt to reach a deal to overhaul the state's water system, their most ambitious goal in the current legislative session."
San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 2009
"Editorial: Water wisdom for California
Our water woes, exacerbated now by a continuing drought, require focused attention, but not an end-of-session rush job that relies more on deal-making than good policy."
Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2009
August 2009
"Second Thoughts: Worries abound as the Delta nears collapseAs a response to those concerns and a three-year drought, a quintet of bills is floating through the state Legislature with the goal of completely overhauling the state’s patchwork water system."
Tracy Press, August 28, 2009
"'Water buffaloes' got it all wrong
The "water buffaloes" like to frame their fight as farmers vs. fish. It is not. It's about farmers and fishermen."
Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2009
"Major water action vowed, but all sides are skeptical
Lawmakers say they are determined to start solving the state's water problems this week."
Sacramento Bee, August 18, 2009
"Package of water bills seek to balance thirst of water users and environment
With the state's budget resolved for now, lawmakers this week will take up a comprehensive reform package that is the most ambitious attempt in at least a decade to revamp management of the increasingly unreliable Delta."
Mercury News, August 17, 2009
"Spotlight on delta in coming state water fight
With the bruising battle over the state budget barely over, a new fight looming in the Capitol promises to be just as ugly. At stake is nothing less than the replumbing of California's water system, a complicated, aging network of pipes, canals and pumps that has watered America's breadbasket, fueled the largest population in the union and given rise to one of the world's most prosperous economies."
San Francisco Chronicle, August 9, 2009
"Democratic lawmakers introduce bills to deal with California water policy
The package would create a politically appointed council that could approve projects, such as a canal, involving the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Local farm interests are critical."
Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2009
July 2009
"Moratorium on gold dredging permits in CaliforniaThe California Department of Fish and Game has stopped issuing permits for gold miners to use suction dredges in rivers until it develops new rules to protect salmon."
Business Week, July 29, 2009
"New tack on Southern California's water needs
As the big straws that carry that water hundreds of miles from the eastern Sierra, Colorado River and Northern California all shrivel under long-term environmental forces, water managers are shifting their gaze homeward, toward sources that Martha Davis calls "overlooked, mistreated or underutilized."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 2009
"Farmers told how to save huge amounts of water
California farmers could save enough water each year to fill Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy reservoir 16 times by using more efficient irrigation techniques, according to a study that is bound to be highly controversial among the state's powerful agriculture interests."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 22, 2009
"Drought spotlights region's patchwork water supply
Bay Area residents wash, irrigate and swim in water from varied, sometimes far-flung sources - from the mighty Sacramento River to tiny Vasona Reservoir in Los Gatos - with very different hydrological conditions and regulatory controls."
San Francisco Chronicle, July 20, 2009
"Fishermen feeling pinch of water policy
While the plight of farmers and idled farmworkers in the San Joaquin Valley has captured attention, a similar deepening crisis is unfolding along California's North Coast."
San Diego Union-Tribune July 12, 2009
"Groundwater in So. San Joaquin Valley draining fast
USGS scientists found that groundwater levels in the southern Tulare Basin portion of the San Joaquin Valley are declining as more water is pumped out than is recharged naturally. But the southern Central Valley also shows the most promise for large-scale artificial groundwater recharge, particularly along the eastern side, according to research led by USGS hydrologist Claudia Faunt."
Watertechonline.com July 10, 2009
"Parched State Searches for Ways to Expand Water Supply
As soon as the stalemate over how to bridge California's $26.3 billion budget gap is resolved, the governor and legislative leaders plan to introduce a package of water-related measures calling for more water conservation and an estimated $10 billion bond measure to finance more fresh water storage."
The Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2009
"Delta supporters rally at Capitol's doorstep
It seems all the attention has gone to the south San Joaquin Valley, where marches, public demonstrations and news conferences have highlighted the cry for water there.Tuesday it was the Delta's turn."
Recordnet.com July 8, 2009
"Merced River has a vital role
Re-licensing of Merced Irrigation District's dams could have far-reaching consequences."
Merced Sun Star, July 7, 2009
"Warning on trout hatcheries could force changes
Hatchery-raised steelhead trout pass on genetic defects that hamper survival of even their wild-born offspring, according to a study that biologists say could lead to a radical shift in the way salmon breeding programs operate on the West Coast."
San Francisco Chronicle July 5, 2009
" VANISHING HABITAT: As the delta goes, so go our salmon
California is without its salmon for a second year. Prospects for the reopening of the season next year are encouraging, but the future of this iconic fish beyond that is uncertain."
San Francisco Chronicle July 5, 2009
" WATER RESOURCES: Take a good look at costly water bills - the ones in Sacramento
While still not resolving the $26.3 billion budget crisis, the California Legislature is on the verge of considering an extensive and costly restructuring of California's water laws and water infrastructure. Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing?"
San Francisco Chronicle July 5, 2009
" Water use must change whether fish live or die
Sooner or later California is going to have to change how it uses water. We can do it before we lose our salmon, or after."
San Francisco Chronicle July 5, 2009
" Limit agribusiness - for salmon's sake
Maybe we need to consider conservation incentives rather than water subsidies. Instead of more reservoirs, we should talk about recharging the ground water aquifers that already exist, recycling, desalination and retiring drainage-impaired agricultural land in the San Joaquin Valley."
San Francisco Chronicle July 5, 2009
" Bay-Delta litigation, by species
The war is over water, but California's native fish are deployed on the front lines."
San Francisco Chronicle July 5, 2009
" THERE'S ANOTHER THREATENED SPECIES - HUMANS
For Californians south of Tracy's water delivery pumps, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger's recent ruling on the delta smelt has transformed 2009 into both the best of times and the worst of times."
San Francisco Chronicle July 5, 2009
"Divisive Delta canal now on the fast track
Fears loom that moving water south could devastate, contaminate supply."
Contra Costa Times, July 3, 2009
"How it works: The Bay Delta Conservation Plan
By making the plan's centerpiece a resurrected peripheral canal, the highly controversial aqueduct rejected by voters in 1982, the plan could solve water users' twin problems at once: It would eliminate their dependence on Delta levees, and their water operations would have a full regulatory blessing under endangered species laws." Contra Costa times, July 3, 2009
June 2009
"Editorial: It's not only fish vs. peopleThe National Marine Fisheries Service has issued a wake-up call on the dangers facing the Central Valley's salmon and, ultimately, the water system they depend on. It should be mulled and acted upon.
Sacramento Bee, June 29, 2009
"Water czar named to help state deal with drought
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced several steps on Sunday that he hopes would ease the toll of the state's water shortage on farmers, and said he would assign a top deputy to help find solutions."
San Francissco Chronicle, June 29, 2009
"Anger alone won't solve the Valley's water woes
Westlands, as constituted, isn't sustainable. Not with the state continuing to grow in population, and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta turned into an environmental nightmare. The district never again will get all the water it wants."
The Fresno Bee, June 27, 2009
"San Joaquin soon will begin flowing year-round
The San Joaquin River will finally flow year-round as a long-awaited restoration begins in October."
The Fresno Bee, June 14, 2009
"Hatchery Fish May Hurt Efforts To Sustain Wild Salmon Runs
Steelhead trout that are originally bred in hatcheries are so genetically impaired that, even if they survive and reproduce in the wild, their offspring will also be significantly less successful at reproducing, according to a new study published today by researchers from Oregon State University."
Science Daily, June 13, 2009
"Plan would aid salmon, reduce water for people.
Federal regulators prescribed sweeping changes Thursday to the dams, reservoirs and pumps that supply water to two-thirds of California in an effort to restore a salmon population whose steep decline has sounded an environmental alarm and led to the cancellation of two consecutive commercial fishing seasons."
San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 2009
May 2009
"Gaming the water systemThe Kern Water Bank, which was owned by the state Department of Water Resources from 1988 to 1995, is now in the hands of Kern County interests and is 48 percent owned by Westside Mutual Water Company, a private water company controlled by Beverly Hills billionaire Stewart Resnick."
Contra Costa Times, May 25, 3009
"New suit filed in delta smelt dispute; Group says feds have no authority to oversee the fish
A conservative legal organization waded into the delta smelt controversy Thursday, claiming in a lawsuit that the federal government has no constitutional authority to oversee the endangered fish."
Fresno Bee, May 21, 2009
"Water Allocations Making Some Rich In Midst Of Drought
While millions of Californians are being told to turn off the spigot because of drought, a KTVU Channel 2 News report reveals a handful of major landowners have so much water they are flooding farm fields and even selling water they get for free back to Californians for a profit."
KTVU, May 12, 2009
"Calif. water agency changes course on delta smelt
A fragile truce in a long battle over an endangered fish took a hit last week as California water regulators urged the federal government to reconsider protections for the delta smelt."
New York Times, May 12, 2009
"Low snow, reservoir levels force rationing
April's warm, dry weather melted the Sierra Nevada snowpack to two-thirds of normal, according to the last measure of the season Thursday, as agencies serving cities and farms across California prepare to cut water use this summer."
San Francisco Chronicle, May 1, 2009
"Opinion: Water won't wash away Valley's recession
What is causing unemployment in the San Joaquin Valley? According to water contractors and their political supporters, a "regulatory drought" has eliminated water-dependent farm jobs, and they point to high unemployment rates in farming communities as proof.... However, the facts don't support the water contractors' view."
Sacramento Bee, May 1, 2009
April 2009
"Lawmakers fish for water fixesAs some lawmakers hold up the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta's endangered fish as a symbol of the farmer's struggle with environmental rules, others are bypassing the notion to focus on long-term fixes to the state's distribution system."
Capital Press, April 23, 2009
"Hundreds Protest Cuts in Water in California
Hundreds of farmers, farm workers and local elected officials walked along dusty roads in the Central Valley on Thursday, part of a four-day march to protest federal cutbacks in water supplies."
New York Times, April 16, 2009
"Water projects to get $260 million of stimulus
Cash-strapped California will receive $260 million in federal economic stimulus funds to fix dams, restore fisheries and habitat and help the state cope with drought conditions, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday."
San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2009
"$260 million pledged for water projects
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar came to California on Wednesday to announce $260 million in federal funding for water projects -- but little of that money will help the Valley, local officials said."
Fresno Bee, April 15, 2009
"Feds pay farmers to till arid land
As drought forces families in the West to shorten their showers and let their lawns turn brown, two Depression-era government programs have been paying some of the nation's biggest farms hundreds of millions of dollars to grow water-thirsty crops in what was once desert."
AP, April 14, 2009
"Bay Area's tricky choices about delta's future
Continuing to supply the Bay Area and other water users directly from the delta is the worst long-term strategy for native species and a poor strategy for California's economy. The most promising long-term strategy for native fishes alone is to end water exports entirely, at a still greater water supply and economic cost."
San Francisco Chronicle, April 12, 2009
"State must rescue delta from crisis
California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of the Americas, is in crisis. Multiple species of fish are in rapid decline."
San Francisco Chronicle, April 12, 2009
"Feds deny Bay- Delta longfin smelt endangered species protection
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the population of longfin smelt in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will not be protected under the federal Endangered Species Act."
Mercury News, April 8, 2009
"Calif. chinook fishing season halted again
California's commercial chinook salmon fishing season will be called off again after a record low number of the fish returned to the Sacramento River to spawn last year, federal fisheries managers announced Wednesday."
San Francisco Chronicle, April 8, 2009
"Report: State's big rivers in big trouble
California's two longest rivers, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, were named the nation's most endangered waterways by an environmental group that considers them threatened by outdated water management and poor flood planning."
The San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 2009
"Editorial: Governor needs salmon agenda
Along with advancing a water agenda, Schwarzenegger needs to advance a salmon agenda. Otherwise, the governor could leave office with the state's prized salmon fisheries sinking into oblivion."
The Sacramento Bee, April 2, 2009
"Central Valley leaders seek more delta water
Displaying a bowl of minnows and pictures of unemployed farmworkers and their families, California congressmen pleaded with their colleagues Tuesday to make an emergency exception to the federal Endangered Species Act."
San Francisco Chronicle, April 1, 2009
March 2009
" Plan to restore San Joaquin River approvedIn one of the boldest river restorations in the Western United States, a 63-mile stretch of the San Joaquin River will be transformed from a dusty ditch into a fish-friendly waterway under legislation approved Wednesday that ends a decades-long dispute between farmers and environmentalists."
San Francisco Chronicle, March 26, 2009
"Mokelumne frustrations flow toward EBMUD
East Bay water officials were flooded with emotional objections to a proposal that would expand Pardee Reservoir and cut off access to a much-loved stretch of the Mokelumne River during a crowded and sometimes testy meeting Monday."
Amador Ledger Dispatch, March 19, 2009
"Confluence of factors caused salmon collapse, report says
The scientists who wrote the report contend that while ocean conditions were bad, California's salmon have been so weakened by loss of habitat, water diversions and reliance on hatcheries that they were especially vulnerable."
Contra Costa Times, March 18, 2009
" Ban on commercial fishing of chinook extended
The grim reality of a devastated salmon fishery hit home Thursday when the Pacific Fishery Management Council agreed to another ban on commercial fishing of chinook in California and Oregon."
San Francisco Chronicle, March 13, 2009
"California's claims of three-year drought are all wet
California's "drought" is overblown. The alarmists calling it a historic disaster are trying to pull a fast one."
Stockton Record, March 11, 2009
"Leaf Hillman: Taxpayers help miners hurt fish habitat
In the midst of a financial and fisheries crisis, we taxpayers are subsidizing the destruction of our own fishery so that a bunch of guys can rip and tear our river bottoms to shreds for fun."
Sacramento Bee, March 6, 2009
February 2009
"Cities face 20% cuts in water use during crisisGov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought emergency Friday, urging cities to cut their use of water 20 percent and paving the way for projects such as desalination plants and water recycling projects to bypass standard environmental reviews."
San Francisco Chronicle, February 28, 2009
"Water officials say they violated Delta flow standard to aid salmon
California water officials admitted this week they have already violated a key water flow standard in the Delta intended to protect imperiled fish."
Sacraento Bee, February 20, 2009
"Open Forum: Response to drought is dry run for a response to climate change
California's unfolding drought - now three years running - may prove to be the worst in recorded history. Farms have begun to fail, communities to crumble, food prices to rise and more people are going hungry. How we respond to the drought will offer us a template of how to respond to global climate change."
San Francisco Chronicle, February 11, 2009
"Delta bill rekindles debate on exports
A group of lawmakers says the government should be allowed to bypass endangered species law and export Delta water to farms and cities during times of devastating drought."
Stockton Record, February 10, 2009
"Water watchers cast a wary eye
Water experts are having a hard time finding the right words to describe what lies ahead, after recording a dismally dry January in California."Scary," "grim," and possible "conservation mandates" are offered up."
The Sacramento Bee, February 2, 2009