A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 28, 2007
2. Supply -
Governor beats the drum for Sites Reservoir -
Oroville Mercury Register
Storm, stong winds ravage Southland -
San Gabrial Valley Tribune
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Governor beats the drum for Sites Reservoir
Oroville Mercury Register – 3/28/07
By HEATHER HACKING/MediaNews Group
Sites has emerged as the top candidate for new water storage funding from the governor's proposal of a $5.9 billion bond sale for water supply.
In a press conference at the Department of Water Resources Joint Operations Center in
Increasingly the Delta has been a state water management issue with sensitive species and a threat of salt water contamination from rising sea levels.
The Northern California Water Association has been pushing for Sites Reservoir for years, including the project and an integrated statewide management plan in an important agreement about
But at times other issues in the state have taken away from momentum that began in 2001.
NCWA Executive Director David Guy said there is "still a big hill to climb. But my sense is if anyone can climb this hill, it's the governor."
He said he is hoping that the state can bring people together to work toward the water package.
The majority of the bond money, $4.5 billion, would go towards new water storage. Another $1 billion would be for Delta sustainability and $450 million for conservation and restoration.
Sen. Sam Aanestad,
Aanestad's press secretary Bill Bird said his boss is "very onboard" with the Sites project. The reservoir was part of the governor's water bond proposal last year, but was taken out of the proposal during legislative negotiations, Bird said.
The bond proposal also could go for a proposed reservoir at Temperance Flats, north of
However, Bird and others have said that Sites Reservoir is the farthest along as far as planning and environmental review.
"The senator is very much in favor of the governor's strategic action plan, but he is in the minority," in the legislature, Bird said.
The Senate majority leader, Don Perata (D-Oakland) is skeptical of surface water storage as an immediate priority.
His spokesperson Alicia Trost said Perata "has never said an absolute no," but rather that "we'll have a discussion about that."
She said the senator believes underground water banking would be more cost effective, quicker and not raise as much risk of litigation.
NCWA's Guy said the perspective of those who shy from surface water storage is skewed because people who live in the Bay Area don't understand the mechanics of
"It's not quite as simple as he would lead you to believe," Guy said.
"The reality is we need both," surface water and groundwater storage, Guy said. #
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_5534855
Storm, stong winds ravage Southland
San Gabrial Valley Tribune – 3/28/07
By Mike Sprague Staff Writer
A fast-moving storm wreaked havoc on parts of the Southland on Tuesday, causing trees to topple, power lines to snap and damaging mobile homes.
The storm hit
"I've never experienced anything like that," said Margaret Soto, 80, a
"I almost died of fright," Soto said. "The wind started up, and I heard a real ugly noise. It was like a hurricane or tornado."
Perhaps the only people not caught off guard by the storm were meteorologists at the National Weather Service.
"We were not forecasting a lot of rain," said meteorologist Curt Kaplan. "But we were anticipating today would be interesting with strong winds."
He said the NWS had issued high-wind warnings and advisories for the Southland. There were a few isolated micro bursts, but no tornadoes or coastal water spouts were reported. Gusts hit 50 mph in flatlands, and 65-70 mph in the mountains, Kaplan said.
The winds were expected to die down overnight and temperatures should return to normal today, with highs in the 60s.
The blustery weather Tuesday produced "soft hail" or snow in La Ca ada Flintridge around noon, and snow was reported along the
In
"It landed on top and just squeezed it like a juice box and flattened it," he said.
He thinks the refrigerator that the storm wedged in the doorway is what is holding his trailer up.
Elsewhere in the area, there was a report of a tree falling on a house in the 18200 block of
Also in the Southland, the roof was torn off the Orange County Fire Authority's aviation building in
In
In the desert, thick snow flurries fell in Twentynine Palms, KCDZ-Joshua Tree reported.
About 123,800 Southern California Edison customers had outages during the day, but only about 8,200 remained blacked out by late afternoon, the utility said. Another 20,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers also lost power, said spokeswoman Kim Hughes.
All available crews were dispatched to hard-hit areas including Whittier, Montebello, Rosemead, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Alhambra, South El Monte, San Marino, Downey, Commerce, Long Beach, Bellflower, Cerritos, Bell Gardens, Norwalk, Lakewood, Brea, Santa Ana, Cypress and Huntington Beach. #
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