California has the opportunity to enter a new era in water management. Unprecedented efforts by leaders at the state and national level have led to the kind of cooperation that will provide valuable benefits to water users and the environment. I know because that’s what we’ve been doing in the Sacramento Valley...
California Rules Anger Water Agencies, Environmental Groups
SACRAMENTO — California regulators on Tuesday set new rules about how much water can be taken from the state's largest rivers, angering water agencies for restricting how much they can take and environmental groups for not making those limits low enough to protect endangered species. Most of California's water comes...
Water Is Life. It’s Also a Battle. So What Does the Future Hold for California?
Water plays a lead role in the state’s political theater, with Democrats and Republicans polarized, farmers often fighting environmentalists and cities pitted against rural communities. Rivers are overallocated through sloppy water accounting. Groundwater has dwindled as farmers overdraw aquifers. Many communities lack safe drinking water. Native Americans want almost-extinct salmon...
From Bakersfield, You Can See Forever
From Yosemite Valley to the Golden Gate, California boasts extraordinary vistas. But if you’re looking for the most thought-provoking view in the state, skip the beaches and mountains, and head for Bakersfield’s Panorama Park. When you walk through this narrow neighborhood park atop the Panorama Bluffs on Bakersfield’s northern edge,...
California Braces for Wildfire Season After Dry Winter
SAN FRANCISCO — A winter with little precipitation has left most of California abnormally dry and officials are bracing for the possibility of an early and more intense wildfire season amid record-breaking temperatures. Drought has expanded to nearly a quarter of the state, mainly in central California, the heart of...
Newsom Sues Trump Administration to Block Water Rules
Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration on Thursday to block new rules that would let farmers take more water from the state's largest river systems, arguing it would push endangered populations of delta smelt, chinook salmon and steelhead trout to extinction. The federal rules govern how much water can...
Legislature Approves Contentious Environmental Bill SB 1. Newsom Signals Veto.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated he will veto a bill aimed at countering rollbacks of environmental rules by the Trump Administration. The California legislature passed the controversial environmental bill SB 1 on Saturday and sent it to Newsom's desk. The measure was strongly opposed by Central Valley farming and water...
Rep. Jeff Denham on Water Actions, Migrant Caravan and Marijuana Taxes
GV Wire interviewed Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) for a recent installment of our recurring Take 5 video feature. The full version of that interview is available above. Use the following time notations to hear Denham's responses to questions on individual topics: 00:00 — President Trump's actions on water policy and water...