Agriculture accounts for roughly 80 percent of the water used by people in California. “Roughly” because, unlike urban water districts, farm-water suppliers reveal little about how much of the state’s most precious resource goes into irrigation ditches and fields. That lack of basic public information from a behemoth water consumer was one reason the state […]
When 36 people died in the nation’s deadliest fire since 2003, Oakland’s mayor promised full transparency about the infamous Ghost Ship inferno. Instead, city officials ran roughshod over the state Public Records Act, delaying release of documents for weeks until we threatened to sue. When the Sacramento Bee sought records about former UC Davis Chancellor […]
So many of President Trump’s Cabinet appointments have been so alarming that nominations to posts further down in the pecking order might seem a bit anticlimactic. What’s the use of getting worked up over subordinate positions? There has got to be a point at which consternation over the president’s choices yields to exhaustion. And then […]
On May 13, 2017, Governor Brown outlined his revised budget proposal focusing the state’s financial resources on his High Speed Rail legacy project and renewing its efforts to fight the Trump Administration on multiple fronts. While he may have dropped the mic with an antagonistic $183 billion budget, points on the scorecard went to the […]
Complaints are flooding City Hall as word spreads that San Francisco’s beloved Hetch Hetchy drinking water is being mixed with less pristine groundwater. So many, in fact, that Supervisor Norman Yee was compelled to call Wednesday’s hearing to ask the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to address the myriad of concerns, from the safety of […]
Ventura County may have survived the worst of the state’s drought, but if a severe dry spell returns and lasts more than five years, most local cities will be back in serious trouble. That’s the finding of a report issued this week by the Ventura County grand jury that evaluated plans of the county’s 10 […]
OPINION: California Needs To Stop Letting Farm-Water Suppliers Ignore The Law
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento BeeAgriculture accounts for roughly 80 percent of the water used by people in California. “Roughly” because, unlike urban water districts, farm-water suppliers reveal little about how much of the state’s most precious resource goes into irrigation ditches and fields. That lack of basic public information from a behemoth water consumer was one reason the state […]
OPINION: More Government Transparency Needed In California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /East Bay TimesWhen 36 people died in the nation’s deadliest fire since 2003, Oakland’s mayor promised full transparency about the infamous Ghost Ship inferno. Instead, city officials ran roughshod over the state Public Records Act, delaying release of documents for weeks until we threatened to sue. When the Sacramento Bee sought records about former UC Davis Chancellor […]
EDITORIAL: Trump’s latest Interior Department Pick is Bursting with Conflicts of Interest and Alternative Facts
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles TimesSo many of President Trump’s Cabinet appointments have been so alarming that nominations to posts further down in the pecking order might seem a bit anticlimactic. What’s the use of getting worked up over subordinate positions? There has got to be a point at which consternation over the president’s choices yields to exhaustion. And then […]
Trump Provides California Water Solutions as Gov. Brown Focuses on his Legacy
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Fox and Hounds Dailyby Aubrey BettencourtOn May 13, 2017, Governor Brown outlined his revised budget proposal focusing the state’s financial resources on his High Speed Rail legacy project and renewing its efforts to fight the Trump Administration on multiple fronts. While he may have dropped the mic with an antagonistic $183 billion budget, points on the scorecard went to the […]
City Hall Flooded with Complaints Over SF’s New Mixed Drinking Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco ExaminerComplaints are flooding City Hall as word spreads that San Francisco’s beloved Hetch Hetchy drinking water is being mixed with less pristine groundwater. So many, in fact, that Supervisor Norman Yee was compelled to call Wednesday’s hearing to ask the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to address the myriad of concerns, from the safety of […]
Grand Jury Finds Cities Under-Prepared for Another Major Water Emergency
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Thousand Oaks Acornby Hector GonzalezVentura County may have survived the worst of the state’s drought, but if a severe dry spell returns and lasts more than five years, most local cities will be back in serious trouble. That’s the finding of a report issued this week by the Ventura County grand jury that evaluated plans of the county’s 10 […]