Water is a currency in California, and the low-income farmworkers who pick the Central Valley’s crops know it better than anyone. They labor in the region’s endless orchards, made possible by sophisticated irrigation systems, but at home their faucets spew toxic water tainted by arsenic and fertilizer chemicals. “Clean water flows toward power and money,” […]
The Trump Administration has withdrawn the previous administration’s support for the removal of four dams on the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Recently-appointed Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has rescinded a letter of support that Obama-era Interior Secretary Sally Jewell wrote in 2016. Jewell’s letter threw the agency’s weight behind the plan to […]
Public Water Now is challenging the Monterey County Planning Commission’s approval of a combined development permit for California American Water’s proposed desalination plant project. On Thursday, the organization best known for backing a public takeover of Cal Am’s local water system filed an appeal to the Board of Supervisors of the Planning Commission’s narrow approval […]
From above, tracing the Colorado River along the Arizona-California line in an airplane, it’s easy to see how it happened. As the river bends and weaves through the Southwest, its contents are slowly drained away. Concrete canals send water to millions of people in Phoenix and Tucson, Los Angeles and San Diego. Farms, ribbons of […]
California has a record $21.5 billion surplus. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have all that money because you are being overtaxed. Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget proposal, the largest in California history. At a staggering $214 billion dollars, the budget is larger than that of […]
On a summer day in the San Joaquin Valley, 101 in the shade, I merge onto Highway 99 past downtown Fresno and steer through the vibrations of heat. I’m headed to the valley’s deep south, to a little farmworker town in a far corner of Kern County called Lost Hills. This is where the biggest […]
They Grow The Nation’s Food, But They Can’t Drink The Water
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The New York Timesby Jose A. Del RealWater is a currency in California, and the low-income farmworkers who pick the Central Valley’s crops know it better than anyone. They labor in the region’s endless orchards, made possible by sophisticated irrigation systems, but at home their faucets spew toxic water tainted by arsenic and fertilizer chemicals. “Clean water flows toward power and money,” […]
Interior Department Pulls Support From Klamath Dam Removal Project
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Jefferson Public Radio (Redding, Calif.)by Liam MoriartyThe Trump Administration has withdrawn the previous administration’s support for the removal of four dams on the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Recently-appointed Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has rescinded a letter of support that Obama-era Interior Secretary Sally Jewell wrote in 2016. Jewell’s letter threw the agency’s weight behind the plan to […]
Public Water Now Appeals Monterey County’s Cal Am Desal Approval
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Monterey Heraldby Jim JohnsonPublic Water Now is challenging the Monterey County Planning Commission’s approval of a combined development permit for California American Water’s proposed desalination plant project. On Thursday, the organization best known for backing a public takeover of Cal Am’s local water system filed an appeal to the Board of Supervisors of the Planning Commission’s narrow approval […]
Final 100 Miles Of The Colorado Highlight How Badly The River Is Overtaxed
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Cronkite News (Phoenix)by Luke RunyonFrom above, tracing the Colorado River along the Arizona-California line in an airplane, it’s easy to see how it happened. As the river bends and weaves through the Southwest, its contents are slowly drained away. Concrete canals send water to millions of people in Phoenix and Tucson, Los Angeles and San Diego. Farms, ribbons of […]
OPINION: A New Water Tax? California Has A $21 Billion Surplus, Use That Instead
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Daily Press (Victorville, Calif.)by Jon Coupal and Phillip ChenCalifornia has a record $21.5 billion surplus. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have all that money because you are being overtaxed. Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget proposal, the largest in California history. At a staggering $214 billion dollars, the budget is larger than that of […]
OPINION: When You Dream Of California, Does Water Come To Mind? It Should
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /WBUR-FM (Boston)by Meghna ChakrabartiOn a summer day in the San Joaquin Valley, 101 in the shade, I merge onto Highway 99 past downtown Fresno and steer through the vibrations of heat. I’m headed to the valley’s deep south, to a little farmworker town in a far corner of Kern County called Lost Hills. This is where the biggest […]