The Sacramento Bee Archives

OPINION: Keep State’s Struggling Water Systems Afloat

May 21, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby Danielle Blacet and David Guy

We all can agree every Californian should have access to safe drinking water. But too many – nearly 800,000 people – do not. The unfortunate reality is their local drinking water system serves contaminated water or can’t provide reliable service, and also can’t afford to invest in improvements to make the system safe. There are about 300 of these chronically noncompliant systems, most small and in rural, isolated communities. We can take an important step toward fixing this important health and safety problem by empowering newly created local agencies to supply clean and safe drinking water.

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OPINION: Why A Bill Before Congress Is Such A Big Threat To The Delta

If you care about the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or protecting California water rights, you should be very alarmed by something that just happened 3,000 miles away in the halls of Congress. Backed by southern California interests, the House Appropriations Committee just unveiled the fiscal year 2019 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. It includes language that would prohibit any judicial review of anything associated with the disastrous twin tunnels project, also known as California WaterFix, under federal or state laws. Let’s be clear on what this means. Currently, there are over 25 lawsuits challenging various aspects of the project.

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OPINION: Should California Borrow $4 Billion More For Parks And Water?

May 17, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby Jay Ziegler and Tim Quinn

California’s safe drinking water and natural resources are increasingly threatened by drought, wildfires, floods and mudslides. Proposition 68 is designed to help make our communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. The measure was placed on the June 5 ballot by a bipartisan, two-thirds vote of the Legislature to make much-needed investments to bolster the reliability of our water supply and the infrastructure we depend on to help get us through wet and dry years. The Nature Conservancy’s mission goes beyond land conservation. We aim to protect the waters on which all life depends.

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OPINION: No: State Can’t Afford To Take On More Debt

May 17, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby John Moorlach

It’s time, Californians, to hold on to our collective wallets. “It does NOT raise taxes,” proponents of Proposition 68 insist in the official state voters’ guide. Then where do they think the money will come from to repay the $4 billion inbonds that are supposed to go for parks and “climate adaptation,” whatever that is? Bonds are debt. Debt needs tobe repaid, with interest. The debt payments will increase the state budget or something in the budget will have to be cut to provide the required funds. But most likely, taxes will have to be raised.

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A Ban On Delta Tunnels Lawsuits Slips Into Federal Spending Plan

May 15, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Emily Cadei and Ryan Sabalow

With the California Delta tunnels proposal facing an uncertain future, one of the state’s Republican congressmen has come up with a way to help the multibillion water project, known formally as California WaterFix, reach completion: ban environmental lawsuits. On Tuesday, veteran Rep. Ken Calvert of Riverside County released a 142-page draft spending bill for fiscal year 2019 for the Interior Department and related agencies.

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Can A Truce Hold Off Another Water Rebellion?

May 12, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler

The last time water was this scarce in the Klamath Basin, a rugged agricultural area straddling the California-Oregon border, farmers clashed with U.S. marshals and opened locked canal gates with blowtorches so they could irrigate. Nearly 10,000 agriculture activists from around the U.S. later converged on the region to hold symbolic “bucket brigade” protests. Months of unrest ended after then-Vice President Dick Cheney personally intervened and worked behind the scenes to have water delivered to the growers – a decision that tribal fishing communities downstream blamed for killing 68,000 salmon in the fall of 2002.

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6 Charts From New Report Show How Much California’s Climate Has Already Changed

May 9, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler and Sharon Okada

Warmer days — and nights. Rising sea levels. Less water available in summer. A report released Wednesday by state officials says climate change is affecting California’s ecosystem already in ways great and small. The document looks at 36 indicators that measure aspects of climate change, including human-influenced causes of climate change such as greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of the changes on people and wildlife.

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Summer Just Got A Little Hotter: State Could Have You Using Your AC Less

May 9, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

The managers of California’s electrical grid warned Wednesday that the state is facing tight power supplies this summer, due in part to a drier winter that is reducing available hydro power. Some Californians could be forced to turn down their air conditioners, hold off on doing their laundry or make other sacrifices in the name of energy conservation.

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Brown’s Delta Tunnels Get $650 Million Boost From Bay Area Water Agency

May 8, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

A Bay Area water agency agreed Tuesday to pump $650 million into Gov. Jerry Brown’s Delta tunnels project, providing a meaningful boost for the controversial $16.7 billion plan. The 4-3 vote by the Santa Clara Valley Water District brings the tunnels project, which would overhaul the troubled heart of California’s aging water delivery network, a step closer to being fully funded. Just a few months ago the project, officially known as California WaterFix, was sputtering for a lack of funds.

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One Stretch Of River Could Decide Shasta Dam’s Future

May 6, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Andrea Mora /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler

The final stretch of the McCloud River before it empties into the state’s largest reservoir is a place of raw beauty. On a recent morning, the river’s icy water, flanked by flowering dogwood trees and jagged rock formations, flowed fast and clean. This part of the McCloud is off limits to almost everyone except a few Native Americans and some well-heeled fly fishermen. Its gatekeeper is an unlikely one, an organization that also happens to be a hugely controversial player in California water politics.

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