 |
 |
|
|
|
| About | Contact | Subscribe | Calendar | Publish | Donate |
|---|
|
More
 $32.00 donated in past month
|
Delta Protection Commission Opposes Peripheral Tunnels!  - by Dan BacherThe Delta Protection Commission voted 9-2 on May 24 to oppose the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build the peripheral tunnels as currently drafted. This is a huge victory for Delta advocates, fish, the environment and the people of California.
The construction of the twin tunnels would hasten the extinction of Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta and longfin smelt and other fish species and take large areas of Delta farmland, among the most fertile on the planet, out of productio... Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 11:19AM 
Health and Safety Gaps in Safe Drinking and Clean Water Acts - by by Patrick Porgans and Lloyd G. Carter Since 1978 the State has received on average $600 million to $800 million annually for clean water programs that are administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. EPA officials estimate California needs $39 billion in capital improvements through 2026 for water systems to continue providing safe drinking water to the public. Instead, Gov. Brown is pushing a $14 billion twin tunnel project to ship relatively clean S... Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 11:20AM 
Damage control. City entangled in CalDesal’s advocacy and lobbying activities  - by Paul GratzLast week, the City of Santa Cruz issued the unusual news release entitled “Santa Cruz Water Director Key to Non-Profit CalDesal Success. Bill Kocher Named Vice-President of the Board.” The PR piece appears designed as a damage control tactic to both reframe and obfuscate the city’s role as a prominent member of the CalDesal advocacy and lobbying organization. [Attachment: City issued news release extolling the key contributions of Bill "Desal or Die" Kocher makes towards advancing th... Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 2:16PM
Why should Californians pay for $50 billion tunnel boondoggle?  - by Dan BacherRestore the Delta (RTD) responded to Meral’s latest claim by asking, “So why then should rate payers from Southern California and tax payers throughout the state be asked to pick up the tab for a $50 billion project that will not make more water for Southern California or save the Delta?
Photo of Jerry Meral at BDCP meeting by Dan Bacher. Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 12:19PM 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) threatened in San Francisco (audio/mpeg 1.4MB) - by KPFA Evening News, 05.18.2013California's most important environmental law, the California Environmental Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), is under attack, and activists are trying to make sure the act will still hold sway in San Francisco. CEQA requires corporations and landholders to provide public information about potential environmental impacts of their projects in advance. A statewide coalition recently blocked attempts to weaken CEQA at the state level, but now San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener has proposed ... Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 5:27PM
California Trust Act Moves Forward - by Steve PleichTrust and Equal Protection Under the Law Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 2:50PM
Delta Stewardship Council Adopts Plan Amidst Massive Opposition  - by Dan BacherNicky Suard, owner of Snug Harbor Resorts in Walnut Grove on the Delta, summed up the lack of credible science in the Delta Plan and the EIR when she described it as "Salad Bowl Science," where the plan officials "pick and choose" the science to justify their pre-determined goals.
"Don't pass this plan," Suard urged the Council. "It will destroy the Delta and everything in it."
Photo of Wendy Stokes, Chair of Restore the Delta, speaking at the protest at the Delta Stewardship Council m... Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 12:43PM 
Berkeley Citizens Action Forum on Fair Elections - by Nick GalloroRedwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby Street, Berkeley. Redwood Gardens is located on the Clark Kerr Campus at Derby and Claremont. Public transportation is available on the 49A and 49B bus schedules………… depending on the direction you travel. Ask the driver to let you off at Derby and Claremont. There’s a green awning with steps. Go up the steps and to your right. Doors to the Community Room will be open. Event Date:Sun May 19, 2013 1:00PM Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 11:10AM
Three fracking moratorium bills pass Assembly Resources Committee  - by Dan BacherKristin Lynch, Pacific region director for Food and Water Watch, said the Natural Resources Committee “sided with the people of California” when it voted to advance legislation that places a moratorium on fracking.
“From the food that California farmers grow today to the long-term future of our state’s water resources and air, California’s economy and vital resources hang in the balance if we allow fracking to continue in California,” stated Lynch.
Photo courtesy of Food an... Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 4:08PM
Californians Against Fracking Rally - by Rose BrazGovernor Jerry Brown's Office: State of California Bldg, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA Event Date:Thu May 30, 2013 12:00PM Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 11:33AM
Bay-Delta salmon population just one fifth of mandated goal  - by Dan Bacher“After two closed salmon fishing seasons in 2008 and 2009, and a token season in 2010, fishermen are fishing again, but we remain far below the abundant runs required by law,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association and GGSA board member. “Stronger Delta pumping restrictions are paying off but we have to finish the job and get these salmon runs rebuilt.”
Photo of commercial salmon fishing boat outside of the Golden Gate by Dan B... Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 8:24AM
Barrigan-Parrilla will oppose Delta tunnels at Senate hearing  - by Dan Bacher"We oppose the rush to build a project that would exterminate salmon runs, destroy sustainable family farms and saddle taxpayers with tens of billions in debt, mainly to benefit a small number of huge corporate agribusinesses on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta (RTD).
Photo of Governor Jerry Brown, flanked by California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, at the press con... Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 8:18AM
Desal Advocacy and Conflict of Interest - Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District - by Paul GratzLast week at the so-called special joint study session, the City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District rolled out their advocacy campaign to build political and public acceptance for the desal EIR study and approval of the regional desal plant.
All eyes are now on Santa Cruz , which should be considered the litmus test for the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary’s desal future. If the Santa Cruz “expandable” regional desal plant is approved, then desal industry leaders can easily pur... Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 10:02PM
Costa introduces legislation to strip ESA protections for Delta fish  - by Dan Bacher"Congressman Jim Costa’s call to restrict the Endangered Species Act gets to the heart of the problem with current management of the Delta, as well as Governor Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan," said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. "Five times more in water rights has been promised to water takers than what exists in the watershed. Rep. Costa’s solution is to simply further deprive the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of the Americas, the Delta... Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 8:42AM
Brown and Obama administrations set Oct. 1 deadline for draft tunnel plan  - by Dan BacherBarbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, responded to the state-federal announcement by stating, “The governor’s new Oct. 1 deadline is an attempt to thread the needle between pressure from the water-takers, who are threatening to stop paying for the BDCP, and the delay he faces because the science stubbornly still shows his tunnels would kill the Delta." Posted: Thu May 9, 2013 5:18PM
Sierra Club California Condemns Governor's Delta Policy - by Dan BacherBased on recently released chapters of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), the tunnel proposal “will be disastrous for the environment, the cultural resources and the economy in the Delta,” the letter from Sierra Club California says. Posted: Tue May 7, 2013 5:58PM
Public Hysteria Task Force Has 1st Meeting Tonight 6 PM Tony Hill Room Civic Auditorium SC - by Robert NorseThe "Public Safety" Task Force, hand-picked by Mayor Hillary Bryant, has its first meeting tonight at 6 PM in the small Tony Hill sideroom at the Civic Auditorium on Church St. across from City Council chambers. According to staff person Scott Collins, the meeting will not be televised, though he intends to bring a small audio recorder. The room accommodates a much smaller number of people than the City Council chambers across the street or the main Civic auditorium assembly room in the sa... Posted: Tue May 7, 2013 9:24AM
Pro-desal EIR marketing campaign pitches “green boutique” plant, downplays expansion  - by Paul GratzOn Tuesday, May 7, the Santa Cruz City Council and Soquel Creek Water Board will hold a 7 PM special study session about the Regional Seawater Desal Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) expected to be released on May 13. Ironically, the pro-desal EIR kick-off coincides with the six month anniversary of the overwhelming passage (72%) of Measure P. The November election vote created a Charter Amendment guaranteeing Santa Cruz City residents the right to vote on the construction of th... Posted: Mon May 6, 2013 3:53PM
Santa Cruz Desal EIR Detached From Reality? - by Paul GratzOn Tuesday, May 7 at 7 PM, the Santa Cruz City Council will hold a special study session about the Regional Seawater Desal Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which is expected to be released next week. Posted: Fri May 3, 2013 12:29PM
Who is funding, operating and administering the 180/180 project?  - by John E. ColbyAfter Santa Cruz journalist/activist Robert Norse was unable to obtain the list of those managing the 180/180 project, I submitted several California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests to answer my own questions about who operates, administers and funds 180/180.
This is important to me because I believe the 180/180 project should be open, transparent and accountable.
For example, several disabled homeless people I have advocated for and represented — individuals with serious medical ... Posted: Fri May 3, 2013 12:29AM |