Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee Chair Fran Pavley is holding hearings on the progress of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) and the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan. She held one on March 13 and invited as panelists mainly representative of groups that have been involved in these processes from the beginning. But during...Read More

Twenty-six people were able to make public comments, with Pavley giving speakers 3 minutes each until the allotted hour drew to a close. Only four of them spoke in support of the planning efforts under discussion. The rest – elected officials, business people, farmers, fishing interests, and other concerned citizens – gave Pavley’s committee a...Read More

Stockton mayor Ann Johnston told Pavley’s committee that the Delta Stewardship Council is “the Coastal Commission on steroids.” In his comments later, Isenberg disagreed, saying that the Coastal Commission has direct permitting authority, whereas the Stewardship Council does not. They’re both right. What the Stewardship Council can do is to use its appellate authority to...Read More

On his blog, UOP economist Dr. Jeffrey Michael has noted that a peripheral canal or tunnel could actually increase drought risk. Here’s why: A peripheral canal or tunnel will increase the cost of water for farmers like those on the west side. These farmers have already planted more lucrative permanent crops like almonds despite the...Read More