In his new Salmon Water Now video, “Twisted Water Games,” Bruce Tokars gives Westlands family farmers (and there are a few of those) some reasons to oppose the Peripheral Tunnel plan. View that video here.Read More
Last week, two scientists writing for the U.S. Geological Survey published a paper that adds to the growing body of scientific concern about the effects of exports on the Bay-Delta Estuary. The paper, by James E. Cloern and Alan D. Jassby, is Drivers of Change in Estuarine-Coastal Ecosystems: Discoveries from Four Decades of Study in...Read More
Here is the latest on landowners’ opposition to DWR’s motions for pre-judgment possession of the affected properties in DWR’s pending eminent domain actions. Recall that the Superior Courts of Sacramento, San Joaquin and Contra Costa Counties have all ruled against DWR and in the landowners’ favor. Now attorney Tom Keeling reports that, as he had...Read More
On October 19, DWR began sending new appraisal notification letters to Delta landowners. These letters inform landowners that DWR “will soon be completing an appraisal” of each listed property and that the appraisals are being completed “in conjunction with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.” Each letter requests the landowner’s permission for DWR appraisers to “inspect”...Read More
Nancy Vogel, communications director at the Department of Water Resources (DWR), blogged last week that “Building fat Delta levees does not create a healthier Delta ecosystem or help the state cope with drought.” Restore the Delta agrees that improved levees are not the only answer to habitat and water supply challenges. But we don’t agree...Read More
On October 15, the Senate Select Committee on Delta Stewardship and Sustainability, chaired by Senator Lois Wolk, received a report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) on “Funding and Options for Near-Term Action in the Delta.” Interesting details from the report: Of $405 million in Delta-related expenditures by the State, 30 percent ($123 million) will...Read More
Consider the situation of Westlands Water District, which is currently issuing $77 million in Refunding Revenue Bonds. The bonds will refund outstanding Revenue Certificates of Participation from 2002, purchase a municipal bond insurance policy to guarantee payment of principle and interest, and purchase municipal bond debt service insurance. The Official Statement regarding the bond issue...Read More
In the event of a zombie apocalypse, Delta residents might be glad that many residents of the region still don’t know where the Delta is. The Stockton Record has learned from its Facebook fans that some see the Delta as a potential refuge if zombies appear. One said he’d hide on his boat in a...Read More
For Immediate Release: Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546; steve@hopcraft.com Twitter: @shopcraft Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 barbara@restorethedelta.org; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta “Over Troubled Waters”: Selected as Finalist in 11th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival Over Troubled Waters, a documentary about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, has been selected as a finalist in the 2013 11th Annual Wild...Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546 steve@hopcraft.com; Twitter: @shopcraft; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 barbara@restorethedelta.org; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta Restore the Delta Coalition: “Our Books are Open”; Challenges “Sustainable Delta”: “Who’s funding you?” Stockton, CA – Restore the Delta (RTD), a coalition of farmers, fishermen, environmentalists and business owners dedicated to a fair water...Read More
