Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
August 19, 2008
1. Top Items -
Parra booted from office - and the Capitol
The Sacramento
Parra booted from Capitol office
The
Assembly Member Nicole Parra a pariah in fight over state budget:
The
Editorial
Speaker’s retaliation against Parra is misplaced frustration: It was the GOP caucus that blocked the Democrats’ spending plan.
The
Reservoir levels plummet; rationing seen on horizon: Northern California reservoir is nearing its lowest point in 3 decades.
The Orange County
Water conservation a
The
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Parra booted from office - and the Capitol
The Sacramento
By Shane Goldmacher
In the latest episode of Capitol punishment, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass tossed Assemblywoman Nicole Parra from her office on Monday morning after the Central Valley Democrat failed to vote for the budget on Sunday.
In a twist, Parra hasn't been reassigned to more cramped quarters in the Capitol itself - but booted straight across the street to the
"I knew going in Sunday that if I didn't support the budget, something was going to happen," Parra, D-Hanford, said in an interview shortly after receiving the news. The budget, now 49 days late, failed 45-30, with 54 votes needed for passage.
The state Assembly's chief administrative officer informed Parra of the change shortly before noon and gave her staff until late afternoon to clear out of the office, she said.
"Boxes have been delivered," said Parra, who added that she was unhappy she would be unable to pack her "personal stuff" because the Assembly was in session and she was on the floor.
Her staff will be divided between her new office and a side office on the fifth floor of the Capitol.
Parra told Speaker Bass in a letter at the end of July that she would not support a budget until a "solution to the
She said Monday she stood by her decision - despite the consequences.
"Is it worth it? Yes," Parra said.
"If there's no future for water, then let's pave over the
Some Democrats, however, were quick to defend Bass' move.
"I believe it was done because she went in holding the speaker hostage on voting on this budget," said Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka. "There are two things you do when you are in the majority party when you are in this Assembly. One is vote on your leader and two is vote on the budget, because the budget has been negotiated amongst Democrats and it represents the majority's negotiated budget."
Berg added that Assembly Democrats have "spent millions of dollars ensuring that Nicole comes back three times in a row to our caucus."
Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, called it "outrageous that any member, Democrat or Republican, of this Legislature would force the children and the elderly and the disabled people of
The punishment is the first meted out by Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat, since she assumed the speakership earlier this year.
Moving lawmakers who go against leadership into small offices has a long tradition in the Capitol.
In 2007, Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, an outspoken Orange County Republican, was moved to the smallest office in the Capitol after angering former Speaker Fabian Nunez.
Spitzer quickly came to Parra's defense on Monday. "I love Nicole Parra," he said, throwing his arm around the Hanford Democrat in front of a TV camera.
He said the move by Bass showed "a complete lack of maturity."
Parra admitted that though she expected punishment for her non-vote Sunday she was "kind of shocked it would be across the street."
"Even Todd Sptizer got an office in the Capitol," she quipped.#
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/1166509.html
Parra booted from Capitol office
The
The broom closet wasn’t small enough for Nicole Parra.
Apparently upset about Parra’s decision to withhold her vote on the budget Sunday night, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass Monday exiled Parra from the Capitol entirely.
Capitol observers say punishing wayward members by moving them to smaller offices — including one so small it’s dubbed “the broom closet” — is customary.
But Parra’s transgression was apparently worse in the eyes of Bass.
Parra, D-Hanford, and her staff were given new quarters in the
Chernow said the order came at 11:30 a.m., and they had until 4 p.m. to get out. Parra was not involved in the packing — she had to stay on the Assembly floor.
Parra will be the only legislator without a Capitol office, Chernow said.
“That’s the most severe punishment I’ve ever heard of,” said Vic Pollard, who covered the Capitol for The Californian until last year.
Parra was the only Democrat who didn’t vote on the budget Sunday night. The budget proposal got 45 votes and needed 54 to pass, according to the Sacramento Bee.
“I knew going in Sunday that if I didn't support the budget, something was going to happen,” Parra told the Bee shortly after receiving the news.
Her staff will be divided between her new office and a side office on the fifth floor of the Capitol, the Bee said.
Parra has pledged to only vote for the budget if a water bond is passed by the Assembly.
“She is committed to seeing a vote on the water bond,” Chernow said.
And that’s exactly the problem, said Assemblyman Hector de la Torre, D-South Gate.
“It wasn’t the vote itself,” he said. “It was the way she went about it, making her vote conditional.”
While Parra is casting her move as standing up for her district, in reality she has become so isolated from her colleagues that she won’t be able to accomplish anything, he said.
Danny Gilmore, the Republican running to succeed the termed-out Parra, said he supports her.
“Good for her,” he said. “She’s doing what she should be doing, representing her district.”
State Sen. Dean Florez — whose mother, Fran, is running against Gilmore — took the opposite view.
“Creating ultimatums for a budget vote is one of the main reasons why we don’t have a budget on time. It’s a terrible form of vote trading that voters don’t necessarily appreciate,” Florez, D-Shafter, said in an e-mailed statement.
“The funny thing is the fact that she’s sat in office for six years and now, during the last few hours that she’s in office, on her political deathbed, she’s found the religion of water bonds.”
Political analyst Allan Hoffenblum said it’s a foolish move on the part of Bass.
“I don’t know what’s going on except this attitude that they work for the leadership and not for the voters who elected them,” he said.
Parra’s 30th District office leans Republican, so her demand for the water bond is good politics, he said.
“She has to say she got some kind of quid pro quo,” he said.
But the exile will push Parra closer to the Republicans, make it harder for Bass to round up the votes and could Gilmore win in November, Hoffenblum said.#
http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/527026.html
Assembly Member Nicole Parra a pariah in fight over state budget:
The
By E.J. Schultz
Hanford Democrat Nicole Parra was booted from her Assembly office Monday, a punishment for bucking her party on Sunday night's budget vote.
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass sent Parra packing not to smaller Capitol digs -- the usual reprimand for rebellious members -- but out of the building entirely. Parra landed across the street in a legislative office building where no other lawmakers are quartered.
Parra has vowed to not vote for the state budget unless lawmakers also agree to put a water bond on the November ballot -- a priority of the farmers in her district who have long pushed for new dams.
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On Sunday she kept her pledge and was the only Democrat present who abstained on a Democratic budget proposal that was never expected to pass. The budget bill requires a super majority and failed because no Republicans voted yes.
Hours later, on Monday morning, Parra's staff was already packing up.
"I knew that I would be punished some way, somehow," Parra said. But she said Valley residents should be "disgusted" at the way she was punished.
"I represent the same amount of people the speaker represents," she said. "Why should my constituents, because I'm fighting for them, not have access to me in my office in the Capitol building?"
Parra also said leaders have refused to put her bills up for a vote.
Bass, D-
"It's outrageous that any member, Democrat or Republican, of this Legislature, would force the children and the elderly and the disabled people of
Gov. Schwarzenegger has been pushing a $9.3 billion bond for water supply and conservation. But water talks have taken a back seat to the budget, now 50 days late. Without Parra's vote, it will take seven, not six, Assembly GOP votes to pass a budget, assuming all other Democrats vote yes.
Parra's water demand is her latest run-in with the Democratic establishment.
She has angered many in her party by openly praising Republican Danny Gilmore, a candidate to fill Parra's Assembly seat when she terms out at the end of the year. She conveyed her water demand to Bass in a letter in late July and reasserted it publicly at a recent Capitol water rally.
Parra won three Assembly elections by appealing to Republicans in the
But Parra has also relied on campaign contributions from the California Democratic Party and other Democratic lawmakers -- a fact that her colleagues aren't letting her forget.
"We have spent millions of dollars ensuring that Nicole comes back three times in a row," said Assembly Member Patty Berg, D-Eureka.
"The way it's done here is that if you are in the majority party, and you are a Democrat, you vote on the budget."
It's not unprecedented for leaders to move members to smaller offices to assert their will. But the last time a lawmaker ended up across the street was nearly 30 years ago when then-Democratic Assembly Member Walter Ingalls of
Two years ago Assembly Member Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, got into trouble with leaders when he did not vote on a public works bond package because it did not include money for dams. Then-speaker Fabian Núñez sent Arambula packing into the smallest office in the Capitol, known as the "doghouse."
Arambula declined to comment on Parra's situation but said water and budget talks should not be linked.
Indeed, it seemed the only lawmakers coming to Parra's defense were Republicans.
Assembly Member Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, who currently resides in the doghouse, said Bass is "beyond frustrated on the budget" and "is trying to exert her influence and power in a way that I think makes her look, actually, out of control." #
http://www.fresnobee.com/270/story/806117.html
Editorial
Speaker’s retaliation against Parra is misplaced frustration: It was the GOP caucus that blocked the Democrats’ spending plan.
The
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, unable to get Republicans to agree to a budget deal, has turned her frustration on Valley Democrat Nicole Parra, tossing the
Parra’s crime was taking a pass on an Assembly budget vote Sunday night. But it was the GOP caucus that blocked the Democrats’ spending plan, and Bass’ reaction shows how little control she has over Assembly operations.
On Monday, Bass told Parra that her new office would be across the street from the Capitol in a legislative office building. Parra refused to vote for the budget unless legislators also put a water bond on the November ballot.
They haven’t, so Parra abstained Sunday night in a vote that never had a chance of passage anyway.
Bass huddled with her advisers and decided to teach Parra a lesson. It was a little like a frustrated child getting whooped on the playground so she went home and punched her kid sister. The speaker would have been better served figuring out common ground with the Republicans on the budget.
The final budget vote was 45-30, nine votes short of the 54-votes needed to pass a budget. No Republicans supported the Democratic plan and Parra was the only Democrat at the session that abstained. The remaining Assembly members did not attend the session.
We support putting a water bond on the November ballot, although we aren’t ready to oppose the budget if a water deal falls through.
The state is 50 days into the fiscal year and Democrats and Republicans have ducked their responsibility.
Bass should toss the entire Assembly out of the Capitol if she wants to punish people who have failed Californians.
But if Republicans can vote against the budget because of their opposition to tax increases, Parra surely can abstain on the budget because she thinks her constituents deserve a solution to the water crisis.
Bass’ reaction to Parra revealed more about her weaknesses as speaker than it did about the Hanford Democrat not being a team player.#
http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/story/805819.html
Reservoir levels plummet; rationing seen on horizon: Northern California reservoir is nearing its lowest point in 3 decades.
The Orange County
By PAT BRENNAN
An important
The Oroville Reservoir in Northern California, a major supply reservoir for water that eventually flows into the
By Sept. 30, Oroville, about 75 miles north of Sacramento, is expected to hit its lowest level since 1977, and by year's end, the lowest level since records have been kept, said Wendy Martin, the statewide drought coordinator.
The agency's Web site says precipitation statewide was 30 percent of average in April, May and June, the sixth driest of 114 years on record – powerfully affecting the Sierra snow pack, which melts and drains into Oroville.
"I think it is unusual to have such a large facility so low, with the number of people who depend on that facility," Martin said. "One of the concerns that we have as water managers is people not recognizing the severity of the conditions."
Other important reservoirs are down as well, including Shasta, which is at 45 percent.
Lester Snow, the director of Water Resources, will address the Metropolitan Water District board in
One topic of discussion might be creation of a "drought water bank," as was done in the early 1990s, which would bring buyers and sellers of water together to balance supplies, said Metropolitan assistant general manager Roger Patterson.
Much depends on how much rain the state receives during the coming winter months.
"It's going to be an ongoing story here over the next several months, kind of no matter how it plays out," Patterson said. "Either there is going to be widespread rationing around the state, or we dodge the bullet and it gets wet."
Although the latest low numbers will not trigger any formal alerts, water agencies and state officials have been warning Californians for months about severe shortages to come.
In June, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought, and a state of emergency in nine central
In
Tightened supplies are likely to drive up water rates, water agency officials say. And if the coming winter is relatively dry, local water agencies could impose rationing next year, said Karl Seckel, assistant general manager for the Municipal Water District.
"We're laying the groundwork for mandatory rationing in 2009 – meetings, plans are being laid, so if we have to implement it, we can flip the switch and go to mandatory," he said.#
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-state-california-2129414-rationing-reservoir
Water conservation a
The
At the beginning of March in the Sierra Nevada, the snowfall seemed to hold the promise of a typical year: The white snowpack contained an average amount of moisture; cycles of storms were broken by periods of sun; everything seemed on track for an unremarkable weather year for
Then the storms stopped.
Changes in ocean temperature patterns, a condition known as La Niña, helped to create high-pressure area that blocked the spring storms from reaching
The rapid transition from an average year to a dangerously dry one may seem abnormal. But it is precisely the kind of weather pattern that is widely predicted for our future. For long-time Californians in particular, our gut instincts about weather need to begin changing.
And so must our policies relating to water. Future water policies must be based on the weather we have, not what we historically have had.
In the short term, we are struggling to cope with weather-induced water shortages without all of the necessary tools to efficiently capture and use the available supplies.
Our weather is indisputably changing. In downtown
As the temperature goes up, so does the demand for water, particularly for outdoor landscapes that mimic an English garden more than what is suited to our frequently arid Mediterranean climate. Up to 70 percent of residential water use takes place outdoors. Despite new plumbing codes for low-flow toilets and new front-loading washing machines, using water efficiently indoors cannot make up for wasting water outdoors.
In terms of water supplies, big challenges lie ahead in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where the state's major rivers merge before heading west to
For Southern California, about 30 percent of the overall supply comes from the delta (the rest comes from local supplies and the
Yet even if water leaders to do everything right in finding a workable balance between the needs of Californians and the environment, the weather is changing and the state's population is growing (in Southern California, two-thirds of growth is simply from local births, not immigration).
The Legislature is debating a bill that would aim to reduce the per capita use of water by 20 percent by the year 2020. It is an ambitious goal. But it is only the start. The governor's delta task force is recommending a 40 percent reduction in per-capita water use by 2050, and more after that. Conservation is no longer just a civic virtue. It is fast emerging as a statewide necessity. There is no longer the assurance that a healthy snowpack in March means a healthy water supply come May.
Timothy F. Brick is chairman of the Board of Ddirectors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. William Patzert is a climatologist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/18/EDNT12C19R.DTL
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