Few would doubt that California’s single most important economic/political issue is a growing housing shortage which distresses millions of Californians and is the largest single factor in the state’s highest-in-the-nation poverty rate. The state says we need to be building 180,000 new housing units each year to keep up with...
Collusion? Bias? State Responds After Temperance Flat Vote.
Although never mentioned by name, Kristal Davis Fadtke became the villain in the eyes of a roomful of ticked-off politicians. Last Friday (May 4), a bipartisan group of Central Valley politicians lined up at the podium to let the world know how angry they were about the paltry funding...
Vidak: Brown Disrespects Valley Again With Dam Funding
Many of my Central Valley legislative colleagues are furious that the staff at Gov. Jerry Brown's Water Commission have rigged the system so the recently announced proposed funding for Temperance Flat Reservoir is just that — flat. It's not surprising that environmentally-oriented staff at the California Water Commission (and other...
Is Temperance Flat Dam Proposal Down to Its Last Strike?
A proposed dam at Temperance Flat on the San Joaquin River above Friant is eligible for $171.3 million in funding, California officials announced today. But while that's a lot of money, it's well short of what's needed — along with federal and local financing — to make the $2.6 billion,...
Come 2050, Californians Will Wish They Had More Dams
A new University of California report forecasts kick-to-the-gut climate-change realities for California farmers, especially those who grow permanent crops in the Central Valley. In a nutshell, the report anticipates big trouble ahead for crops such as almonds, peaches, table grapes, corn and rice. Scorching summer heat and longer periods of...