The number of retired public employees in the CalPERS system with annual pensions of $100,000 or more grew 63 percent since 2012, according to a report released Wednesday. Riverside County, Long Beach, Anaheim, Torrance and Riverside made the list of the 25 public agencies with the most pensioners receiving six-figure retirement pay, Transparent California reported. […]
Big Bear had a big winter. Or at least it felt like it. Yet it’s August and the lake is 13 feet, 2 inches from full. “Even though up north got a lot of precip, we just did not,” said Mike Stephenson, general manager of the Big Bear Municipal Water District. In mid-August of 2016, […]
At a hearing last month, Bernhardt testified that he stopped lobbying for Westlands on Nov. 18, 2016, at a time when he was serving on the Trump transition team. But since then, Bernhardt had helped draft two major California water bills and wrote a proposed executive order for Trump on water issues – all at Westland’s behest. Reveal […]
Butte County plans to file a lawsuit over the plan to bury a pair of tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to move Sacramento River water south. County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to file the suit against the Department of Water Resources over the so-called “California WaterFix,” the largest part of which is the “twin […]
According to a study published August 10 in Nature, the length of drought recovery depends on several factors, including the region of the world and the post-drought weather conditions. The authors, including William Anderegg of the University of Utah, warn that more frequent droughts in the future may not allow time for ecosystems to fully […]
Consider a couple of scenarios for big trouble at Oroville Dam: First: The facility’s main concrete spillway suffers serious damage, resulting in erosion of the rock beneath it — and potentially threatening the safety of the dam itself. Second: Water fills Lake Oroville, the gigantic reservoir behind the dam, and begins surging down a steep […]
More CalPERS Retirees are Getting $100,000 Pensions, Report Says
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /LA Daily NewsThe number of retired public employees in the CalPERS system with annual pensions of $100,000 or more grew 63 percent since 2012, according to a report released Wednesday. Riverside County, Long Beach, Anaheim, Torrance and Riverside made the list of the 25 public agencies with the most pensioners receiving six-figure retirement pay, Transparent California reported. […]
Last Winter Not Big Enough to Fill Lake
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Big Bear GrizzlyBig Bear had a big winter. Or at least it felt like it. Yet it’s August and the lake is 13 feet, 2 inches from full. “Even though up north got a lot of precip, we just did not,” said Mike Stephenson, general manager of the Big Bear Municipal Water District. In mid-August of 2016, […]
Zinke’s New No. 2 Once Lobbied for CA’s largest Water District
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /High Country News (Paonia, Colo.)At a hearing last month, Bernhardt testified that he stopped lobbying for Westlands on Nov. 18, 2016, at a time when he was serving on the Trump transition team. But since then, Bernhardt had helped draft two major California water bills and wrote a proposed executive order for Trump on water issues – all at Westland’s behest. Reveal […]
County to File Suit to Oppose ‘Twin Tunnels’ Proposal
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Chico Enterprise-RecordButte County plans to file a lawsuit over the plan to bury a pair of tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to move Sacramento River water south. County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to file the suit against the Department of Water Resources over the so-called “California WaterFix,” the largest part of which is the “twin […]
What it Takes to Recover from Drought
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Phys.OrgAccording to a study published August 10 in Nature, the length of drought recovery depends on several factors, including the region of the world and the post-drought weather conditions. The authors, including William Anderegg of the University of Utah, warn that more frequent droughts in the future may not allow time for ecosystems to fully […]
Panel Weighed Oroville Spillway Failure in 2014 — and Called It Unlikely
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /KQED News (San Francisco)by Dan BrekkeConsider a couple of scenarios for big trouble at Oroville Dam: First: The facility’s main concrete spillway suffers serious damage, resulting in erosion of the rock beneath it — and potentially threatening the safety of the dam itself. Second: Water fills Lake Oroville, the gigantic reservoir behind the dam, and begins surging down a steep […]