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A Local Water Board Paid An Employee Not To Work There. Now He’s On The Board.

/in , /by /The Voice of San Diegoby Ry Rivard

Five years ago, the Sweetwater Authority paid one of its engineers $175,000 to drop a lawsuit against the water district if he agreed to never work there again. Now, the engineer, Hector Martinez, is one of seven board members in charge of running the district. He also has ties to a former board member who, years earlier, was paid in exchange for leaving the district’s board. In 2014, the district paid to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit Martinez filed against Sweetwater, which provides drinking water to National City and parts of Chula Vista. Martinez claimed the district didn’t give him a promotion in 2008 because he is Hispanic.

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Heavy Sierra Snow, Valley Thunderstorms And Hail Possible Wednesday As Storm Peaks

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Michael McGough

The heaviest rain, heaviest snow and highest probability of thunderstorms accompanying the current storm will pass through Northern California at varying times Wednesday. Early morning showers were scattered, dropping heavier precipitation in the northern half of the Sacramento Valley while Sacramento stayed mostly dry as of 6 a.m., as National Weather Service radar images show. Rain in Sacramento will likely begin later Wednesday morning.

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How California Is Defying Trump’s Environmental Rollbacks

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Bettina Boxall

California is building walls at its borders — they’re just not the kind President Trump has in mind. As the Trump administration continues its assault on environmental regulation, state officials are throwing up legal barriers to some high-stakes attacks. They are preparing to strengthen safeguards for waterways that are about to lose federal protections in a major rollback of the Clean Water Act. They are refusing to issue permits the federal government needs to build a controversial dam project that would drown portions of a Northern California river renowned for its wild trout fishery.

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