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Defeat Of Water Bond Imperils Desert Community Of Borrego Springs

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones

It’s back to square one for the desert community of Borrego Springs, which is facing the daunting task of reducing its consumption of water by at least 75 percent in the coming decades. Mostly lost in the hubbub surrounding the Nov. 6 election was the defeat of Proposition 3, an $8.8 billion state water bond. Had it passed, Borrego Springs would have received $35 million to fallow most of the 3,800 acres of citrus and other farms in the northern part of the community.

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Bigger Wildfires. Worsening Droughts. More Disease. How Climate Change Is Battering California

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

Analyses estimated that the area burned by wildfire across the western United States from 1984 to 2015 was twice what would have burned had climate change not occurred. Wildfires around Los Angeles from 1990 to 2009 caused $3.1 billion in damages (unadjusted for inflation). Tree death in mid-elevation conifer forests doubled from 1955 to 2007 due, in part, to climate change. Allowing naturally ignited fires to burn in wilderness areas and preemptively setting low-severity prescribed burns in areas of unnatural fuel accumulations can reduce the risk of high-severity fires under climate change. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally can also reduce ecological vulnerabilities.

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HOA Homefront: Saving Our Lawns Or Saving Our Artificial Turf?

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Kelly G. Richardson

Our board has indicated that they plan to remove all turf from the front yards of our community and replace it with various types of non-turf plants. The vast majority of homeowners oppose such a plan. Can a board make a decision of this nature and magnitude without homeowner approval? Their decision would make a highly significant change to the appearance of our community.

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OPINION: L.A. Wasn’t Built In The Desert, But The Desert May Be Coming To Us

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times

It’s hard out there for an environmentally responsible but thirsty Angeleno — someone who wants to grow a couple organic tomatoes in the backyard, take more than an occasional shower and still have enough money to repair the rain barrel after paying the various water bills, fees and taxes. Measure W, which voters passed on Nov. 6, will help. But it won’t put an end to our water problems.

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OPINION: End Of An Era At Valley Center Municipal Water District

/in , /by /Valley Roadrunnerby Gary Arant

Something profound happened at 3:22 p.m. on Monday afternoon, November 19, 2018, at the Valley Center Municipal Water District. After serving as a Director for Election Division 3, Board President, and San Diego County Water Authority Representative, Gary A. Broomell walked out of the board room for the last time as a water board director. As the general manager of the district for close to 30 years, i have seen a few board members come and go.  What was profound about Mr. Broomell’s final exit was that it came after 48 years of continuous public service to the citizens, ratepayers and landowners of the Valley Center Municipal Water District.

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San Diego Region Can Expect Light Rain on Thanksgiving Morning

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

A low-pressure system sweeping into Southern California will produce light rain throughout San Diego County on Wednesday evening and continue into Thanksgiving Day. The National Weather Service office in San Diego said the majority of the rainfall is expected late Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning. Escondido and Oceanside are expected to receive around a quarter-inch of rainfall, while one-tenth of an inch is expected near the coast and in the western valleys. The mountains are forecast to get between a quarter-inch and one-third inch, and the deserts less than one-tenth of an inch.

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Thanksgiving Day Storm Will Be Weak, Short-Lived — Not Close To What San Diego Needs

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

A major storm out of the North Pacific will drench parts of Northern and Central California this week. But the system will fall apart by the time it gets to Southern California, producing only minute amounts of precipitation in San Diego County on Thanksgiving Day, says the National Weather Service. “San Diego will only get about one-tenth of an inch of rain between late Wednesday night through Thanksgiving Day,” said Joe Dandrea, a weather service forecaster. “The mountains could get a little more. Then things should mostly clear up.

 

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Federal Judge Considers Request To Dismiss Cross-Border Sewage Lawsuits

/in , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

The federal government was back in court Monday, arguing that the lawsuits asking the U.S. government to fix cross-border sewage flows should be thrown out. The Department of Justice is trying, for the second time, to have three cross-border sewage lawsuits thrown out before they get to trial. Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and the port of San Diego filed the first lawsuit. SurfRider’s San Diego chapter filed the second. And the state of California filed the third.

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SDG&E Is Looking To Leave The Power-Buying Business

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

In a dramatic sign of California’s changing energy market, San Diego Gas & Electric wants to stop buying and selling electricity. In recent days, the company has asked lawmakers to introduce legislation that would let SDG&E reduce its role – while also pushing the state to enter the energy market in a big way. The company’s vision could eventually require the state to buy out its long-term power contracts and possibly pay the company for several natural gas-fired power plants it owns. SDG&E is pitching this idea as the company prepares to lose about half of its power customers within the next few years.

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OPINION: As Elsewhere, Here In The Coachella Valley Economies Grow Where Water Flows

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ben Olson

A century ago, the Coachella Valley looked nothing like it does today. But the foundation for its future growth and success was set in place those many years ago by forward-thinking pioneers who knew that economies grow where water flows. Without water, growth in the valley would stop. The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) was formed as a flood control Special District in 1918. Those early Coachella Valley farmers realized natural recharge of the basin was not going to provide sufficient water for the agricultural development our forefathers envisioned.

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