Have you been searching for a particular tree or shrub this year and just can’t seem to find it anywhere? Local nurseries and growers are scrambling to keep up, but demand — especially for specific cultivars — has caused an extreme shortage of many sought-after plants. With most of the drought water restrictions now removed, people […]
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 […]
Popular Drought-Resistant Plants In Short Supply
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Mercury News (San Jose)by Rebecca JepsenHave you been searching for a particular tree or shrub this year and just can’t seem to find it anywhere? Local nurseries and growers are scrambling to keep up, but demand — especially for specific cultivars — has caused an extreme shortage of many sought-after plants. With most of the drought water restrictions now removed, people […]
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 […]