California

This is from a few weeks ago, but very topical and important to keep in mind as you decide how to vote in the primary

Prop 16's fine print: PG&E measure could be the end of SMUD

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District board of directors last week heard a stark report about the risks posed by Proposition 16–the anti-public power initiative being pushed by PG&E on this June’s state ballot.

I mentioned a couple of these in the current issue of SN&R. But after hearing legal counsel Arlen Orchard’s presentation to the board on Thursday, the possible downside for SMUD is a lot more dire than I first realized.

“SMUD may need to place one or a series of ballot measures seeking super-majority voter consent to continue to provide electric service to residential and commercial customers,” Orchard told board members in his report.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Oversight Hearing on Delta Stewardship Council and BDCP set for May 11

by Dan Bacher

The Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee will hold an oversight hearing on the Delta Stewardship Council and Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) progress and updates on Tuesday May 11, in the State Capitol, Room 437, at 9:30 AM.

"At this hearing, we plan to get an update regarding the newly seated Delta Stewardship Council and its work on the Delta Plan, as well as follow up on questions related to the BDCP, including integration of the BDCP with the existing habitat conservation plan (HCP) and natural community conservation plan (NCCP) efforts in the Delta," said Tina Cannon Leahy, Principal Consultant for the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

"Because our last Delta informational and oversight hearing included primarily state and federal agency representatives, this hearing will include an opportunity for BDCP stakeholders, Delta County representatives, and non-governmental entities that are not on the BDCP Steering Committee, to also participate," Cannon Leahy stated.

Delta and fish advocates have blasted the BDCP and Delta Stewardship Council for creating a clear path to the construction of the peripheral canal and new dams. The canal/tunnel being pushed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would cost Californians $23 billion to $53.8 billion at a time when the state is an unprecedented budget crisis.

President Obama

The bottom line is this: given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth, produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we’re going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel. So today we're announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration

Click for more pics

Gulf: 5 times what they originally claimed

Chevron Vs. Filmmaker

Supporters of AB 1594 are very disappointed that such a simple, straightforward bill, designed to stop Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's peripheral canal from being built without legislative oversight and a fiscal analysis, didn't receive a second motion from the Committee members.

Bill to Stop Peripheral Canal Killed In Committee

by Dan Bacher

A bill introduced by Assemblymember Alyson Huber to require a full legislative vote to approve any proposed peripheral canal around the California Delta was killed in its first policy hearing today for lack of a second motion to take a vote.

“Today, California lost the opportunity to ensure accountability and oversight of any proposed peripheral canal," said Huber. "The intention of AB 1594 was not to reopen the debate about last year’s water package, but to add a critical piece missing from the process - legislative oversight and a fiscal analysis of any conveyance proposal."

The bill, heard in Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife, was supported by Senator Mark DeSaulnier (Co-Author) Assemblymember Wes Chesbro (Co-Author) Assemblymember Paul Fong (Co-Author), Assemblymember Ted Gaines (Co-Author), Assemblymember Tom Torlakson (Co-Author) and Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (Co-Author).

War Is Making California Poor

There’s a crisis on our hands in California. The cost of the war in Afghanistan is making basic goals, such as stable housing, decent work and education, nearly impossible to maintain.

Huber Reintroduces Bill To Stop The Peripheral Canal

by Dan Bacher

Assemblymember Alyson Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) has reintroduced a bill, AB 1594, that would prevent construction of a peripheral canal around the California Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the legislature.

Huber's bill prohibits the construction of a peripheral canal - defined to include any facility or structure that conveys water directly from a diversion point in the Sacramento River to SWP or CVP pumping facilities south of the Delta - unless expressly authorized by the Legislature. It further requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to complete an economic feasibility analysis prior to the enactment of a statute authorizing the construction of a peripheral canal, according to Jane Wagner-Tyack, Policy Analyst for Restore the Delta.

The bill would also require that the construction and operation of a peripheral canal "not diminish or negatively affect the water supplies, water rights, or quality of water for water users within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed."

"Last November's water package completely omits legislative oversight, merely leaving it to the Delta Stewardship Council to decide whether the BDCP is consistent with the co-equal goals of water supply and ecosystem restoration for the Delta," said Wagner-Tyack.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

It's not just a matter of a few frogs that are endangered

It's a domino effect

If the frogs disappear, there's a good chance the Clark's Nutcracker (bird) disappears. If that disappears, there's a good chance the Whitebark Pine disappears. And then ...

Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog's Site Fidelity May Lead to Further Decline

ScienceDaily (Apr. 16, 2010) — USDA Forest Service researchers found that site fidelity, the tendency to return to previously occupied habitats, is strong in the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog. Research showed how the cumulative effects of a changing climate and introduced non-native trout are negatively impacting the habitat of a species already gone from 90 percent of its historic localities, and will further stress frogs with strong site fidelity.

This is a year old, but the info is still relevant

The Real Boston Tea Party was Against the (Multi-national-megacorporations) Wal-Mart of the 1770s

California Court Okays Discrimination Against Section 8 Tenants

Remember Donald Sterling, the NBA team owner and Los Angeles mega-landlord who has been sued multiple times for outrageous housing discrimination, most recently by the U.S. Department of Justice? Sterling is back in the news this week, again for discrimination in his role as landlord. This time, however, Sterling convinced a California Court of Appeal that it was just fine for him to discriminate against a Section 8 tenant. At this point, anyone who still believes in the myth that judges are “liberal activists” needs to have his or her head examined.

CSU-Stanislaus Administrators Accused of Shredding Sarah Palin Documents They Claimed Did Not Exist

Did Sen. Leland Yee just evoke Watergate in his ongoing quest to discern how much California State University-Stanislaus will pay Sarah Palin for a forthcoming speech? You betcha.

When it was last month announced the former Republican vice-presidential candidate would appear at the Turlock college in June for its 50th anniversary, Yee queried how much she would be paid; Palin has earned six figures for past appearances.

The state senator's moves inspired two responses from the university. First, it claimed that its university foundation -- the privately funded auxiliary of the school officially hosting Palin -- was not subject to the California Public Records Act, and therefore didn't have to turn over any papers. But the university claimed that to be a moot point, because the school's compliance officer, Gina Leguria, informed Yee's office that "The University has no documents that are responsive to your request."

And yet, at a Sacramento press conference this morning, a pair of CSU-Stanislaus students claim they discovered university officials on April 9 -- a furlough Friday -- shredding the very documents the school claimed it did not have, and disposing of them in a dumpster.

The Startling Effects of Going Vegetarian for Just One Day

Sometimes, solutions to the world's biggest problems are right in front of us. The following statistics are eye-opening, to say the least.

April 2, 2009

I've written extensively on the consequences of eating meat -- on our health, our sense of "right living", and on the environment. It is one of those daily practices that has such a broad and deep effect that I think it merits looking at over and over again, from all the different perspectives. Sometimes, solutions to the world's biggest problems are right in front of us. The following statistics are eye-opening, to say the least.

If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would save:

— 100 billion gallons of water, enough to supply all the homes in New England for almost 4 months;

— 1.5 billion pounds of crops otherwise fed to livestock, enough to feed the state of New Mexico for more than a year;

— 70 million gallons of gas -- enough to fuel all the cars of Canada and Mexico combined with plenty to spare;

Judge Wanger Affirms Flows to Protect Central Valley Salmon

by Dan Bacher

Environmentalists, fishermen and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe scored a legal victory on March 31 when a federal judge affirmed restrictions on Delta pumping to protect imperiled Central Valley salmon populations.

In a rebuke to junior water rights holders, Judge Oliver Wanger of the Eastern District of California refused to grant the Westlands Water District and its co-plaintiffs a temporary restraining order on the biological opinion of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The opinion includes seasonal water flows required to protect Sacramento River endangered spring-run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead in the California Delta, according to the Planning and Conservation League (PCL).

Despite claims to contrary from the plaintiffs, the Judge found that the NMFS opinion, expressed in written comments to the Delta Flow Criteria Proceeding as the absolute "…minimum flows necessary to avoid jeopardy," was based on the best available science and takes the human impacts of seasonal flow regimes into account.

Click the link below to sign the petition

Say NO to Cuts