The top executive at Palomar Health District earned more than $841,200 in wages last year, making him the fourth-highest-paid special district employee in the state, according to 2105 data. The CEO, Robert A. Hemker, was one of three employees at special districts in San Diego County to be paid more than $500,000 last year, according to data compiled by the state controller and the open government group Transparent California.
California’s trees are dying at an alarming rate. Late last week, the U.S. Forest Service said an aerial survey revealed that 36 million additional trees had died while in the grip of persistent drought, bringing the total since 2010 to more than 102 million. Those numbers have startled California officials and scientists while adding urgency to a long-simmering debate over what should be done about it. The tree deaths have been concentrated in the southern and central Sierra Nevada, but experts warn of increasing deaths in forests all the way up to the Oregon border.
Earlier this year, the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) completed work on a small bypass pipeline at San Vicente Dam, near Lakeside California, and a marina at the reservoir formed by the dam. Although relatively minor projects in their own right, their completion effectively brings to a close a massive effort spanning decades to ensure that the San Diego region maintains access to adequate water supplies in the event of an earthquake or other emergency, including severe drought.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
