Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 8, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
FALLBROOK: Challenge to water district measure dismissed
North County Times
Judge says no to class action lawsuit against Paso Robles over water rate increases
San Luis Obispo Tribune
Sewer pipe replacement work nearing completion
Fairfield Daily Republic
Lindsay officials look to OK water contract authority
The Porterville Recorder
Worldwide container traffic is expected to drop more than 10% this year
L.A. Times
Deadly dive kills Hoopa man
Eureka Times-Standard
Man drowns during outing at lake
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
2 people rescued from San Francisco Bay
San Jose Mercury News
Cronyism at Nevada Irrigation District: It's All About Control and Power
YubaNet
UCSC Professor seeks climate answers in the Bering Sea
Santa Cruz Sentinel
BMW Oracle Racing refloats its America's Cup boat
Fairfield Daily Republic
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FALLBROOK: Challenge to water district measure dismissed
Petitioner's bid to block August ballot item thrown out
North County Times-7/7/09
By Morgan Cook
A lawsuit seeking to pull a Rainbow Municipal Water District measure from the Aug. 25 ballot was dismissed last week after a judge ruled the plaintiffs were unable to show "clear and convincing evidence" that the measure was flawed.
The measure would amend an ordinance that requires Rainbow Municipal to get voter approval before incurring significant debt. The amendment would allow the district's board of directors to apply for and receive certain kinds of federal and state government-backed, low-interest loans without voter approval.
The lawsuit was filed June 24 by Fallbrook residents Jack Wireman and Ron Thompson, who had petitioned the district to adopt the ordinance in 1995. The suit alleged the measure's vague language would endanger the fiscal accountability the ordinance was designed to impose and that some of the supplemental materials related to the measure contained "false and misleading" statements.
In a July 2 ruling, Judge Thomas Nugent threw out the case, finding that Wireman and Thompson could not prove their claims that the measure was vague or misleading.
Neither Thompson nor Wireman could be reached for comment Tuesday.
Unless the petitioners get an immediate stay from the Fourth District Court of Appeals before July 15 ---- the deadline for ballot changes set by the Registrar of Voters ---- the measure will go on the ballot "just the way it is," said James Lough, attorney for water district board member Rua Petty, who was named in the suit.
The arguments in favor of and against the measure will be printed in the ballot pamphlet sent to voters before the elections in their original form as well.
If the measure passes, Rainbow General Manager Dave Seymour said, the district can move quickly enough to apply for loans within the short window of opportunity after officials begin accepting applications. One of the district's top priorities is to obtain up to $25 million in low-interest loans to finance construction of reservoir covers required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in conjunction with California's Department of Public Health, Seymour said.
The deadline to cover the district's four reservoirs passed in April of this year, and if the district delays much longer, they face fines and sanctions from the Department of Public Health, Seymour said.
The cost of covering all four reservoirs is an estimated $45 million, and the district has only $20 million to finance the project, part of which is already under way, he said. The district must borrow the rest.
Wireman and Thompson's attorney Everett DeLano told a North County Times reporter in June that his clients petitioned for the ordinance more than a decade ago as means to ensure the district's fiscal responsibility. He said they brought the suit to make sure that the accountability they worked to create would not be undermined by a misleading ballot measure.
Seymour said the district wasn't attempting to duck its fiscal responsibility or to do away with the ordinance altogether. Instead, he said, they are hoping to amend it to include pre-approval for the district to apply for the type of low-interest loan needed to accomplish projects like reservoir cover construction.#
Judge says no to class action lawsuit against Paso Robles over water rate increases
But attorney for Concerned Citizens group gets second chance before suit over water fee increases continues
San Luis Obispo Tribune-7/7/09
By Tonya Strickland
A judge was not swayed Tuesday to allow a North County citizens group to include all the city’s water customers in its lawsuit against the city of Paso Robles.
However, Superior Court Judge Roger Picquet in a Paso Robles courtroom gave the group’s attorney another chance to clarify his argument that the lawsuit should go ahead under a class-action status.
The hearing was the first public proceeding after the Concerned Citizens of Paso Robles filed claims to sue the city in March, alleging Paso Robles breached Proposition 218 with fee increases in 2002 and 2004 without first letting citizens have a say.
If the case succeeds in court under a class-action status, it would take millions of dollars from the city’s water fund, city officials said, which customers pay into to keep water operations going.
Lawyers on both sides said they don’t know how much money could be refunded to each water customer if the plaintiffs win.
If it doesn’t go ahead as class-action suit, Picquet said, the lawsuit will represent only the four members of the Concerned Citizens group that filed claims of the alleged wrongdoing. They are Paso Robles residents John Borst, an educator; Brooke Mayo, a retiree; William Taylor, a chemical engineer; and Teresa St. Clair, who declined to give her occupation.
Paul Heidenreich, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney with Manhattan Beach law firm Huskinson, Brown, Heidenreich & Carlin LLP, plans to file a clarified argument by the end of the month, he said.
In his tentative ruling — adopted Tuesday in court — Picquet said the plaintiffs’ argument doesn’t merit class-action, knocking down two of the plaintiffs’ four complaints.
Picquet then amended his ruling to allow Heidenreich to redo his argument at a future date, which is different from tossing the initial argument out, Heidenreich said.
City Attorney Iris Yang will file an opposition to Heidenreich’s clarified argument and they will go before Picquet again at a future date, she said.
Yang, who said she was pleased with the ruling since she filed a request to dismiss the class-action status in April, thinks Heidenreich faces hurdles in making a case for a class-action status because other cases before his have failed to do so, she said.
Tuesday’s ruling shouldn’t hurt the Concerned Citizens case, Heidenreich said, because it has nothing to do with the claims filed by the four plaintiffs, just who will be represented in the lawsuit.
In future public proceedings after the class-action status question is resolved, Picquet will determine if the fees in question are considered a tax or a charge and if they are subject to Proposition 218, the initiative approved by California voters in 1996 that mandates a public review and protest process.
The fees the lawsuit refers to are different from the most recent rate structure changes, and include an $18 monthly fee on users’ water bills and a $25.86 monthly fee on their sewer bills.#
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/776777.html
Sewer pipe replacement work nearing completion
Fairfield Daily Republic-7/7/09
By Ben Antonius
They've been in Fairfield longer than most residents and its time for them to go.
Work crews around town are working on the last phase of a long-running project to rid the city of its underground cast iron water and sewer pipes.
“There are a bunch of different spots around town where they are replacing old water and sewer lines that have cracks in them,” Public Works Director Gene Cortright said. Some of the pipes are as much as 60 years old.
The undertaking, which has been contracted out to Teichert Construction, cost about $3.6 million, Cortright said.
The majority of the project work is happening in the neighborhood around Sullivan Middle School and NorthBay Medical Center. Some work is also being done in the Gregory Street area east of Allan Witt Park and in the Hamilton Street area west of the park.
The project doesn't involve road closures, but through traffic is being detoured around some areas, Cortright said. Residents in the affected areas are still able to drive to and from their homes.
The entire project is expected to wrap up in “early September to mid-September,” Cortright said.
Reach Ben Antonius at 427-6977 or bantonius@dailyrepublic.net.#
http://search.dailyrepublic.com/display.php?id=1586
Lindsay officials look to OK water contract authority
The Porterville Recorder-7/8/09
Lindsay city officials today will consider a resolution authorizing Mayor Ed Murray to sign a temporary water service contract for the 2009 Friant Division water year.
The current contract, which will remain in effect through Feb. 28, 2010, allows up to 10,000 acre-feet of water to be delivered.
The South-Central California Area Office is working with appropriate officials to address the 10,000 acre-foot constraint, according to a staff report prepared for Tuesday’s meeting.
The Endangered Species Notice to the Friant Division Water Service Contractors noted that some types of surface-disturbing activities would require consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The intent is that irrigation activities not affect the presence of threatened or endangered species, according to the staff report.
Grasslands and shrub land that have never been tilled or irrigated must not be tilled and put into agricultural production using this water, according to the staff report. If the land has been fallow for three consecutive years or more, it must be inspected for endangered species.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 251 E. Honolulu St.#
http://www.recorderonline.com/news/lindsay-41744-water-contract.html
Worldwide container traffic is expected to drop more than 10% this year
L.A. Times-7/8/09
By Ronald D. White
Trade at international ports is on track to drop more than 10% this year, one of the steepest declines ever, according to a new maritime industry report.
Cargo ships will carry 27 million fewer containers by year's end than they did in 2008 -- a reduction roughly equivalent to all of the cargo containers handled by the five busiest U.S. seaports in a typical year, according to London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants' Container Forecaster Report.
One small, green rail line makes peace... Shipyard plan doesn't jibe with Port..."There has never been a decline like this before. We have never seen numbers like these," said Neil Dekker, editor of the Drewry report. "The container industry is looking at a $20-billion black hole of losses. We can expect a lot of casualties."
Because the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are so busy -- they handle more than 40% of U.S.-bound cargo container trade -- the wharves here are disproportionately affected by the drop-off in imports and exports, Dekker said.
The ramifications for the Los Angeles and the Long Beach ports will be felt in some of the best-paying blue-collar jobs in the nation, as longshore workers lose hours at the docks, truckers have fewer containers to carry and railroad traffic ebbs.
The Inland Empire, which has the nation's second-highest unemployment rate among urban areas because of the collapse of its warehouse and distribution system, will continue to suffer, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
"The forecasts for 2010 call only for a very moderate recovery in trade volume. This is a long-term problem. It will take several years for us to get back to the trade levels we saw in 2006 and 2007," Kyser said.
At the Port of Long Beach, the nation's second-busiest container port behind Los Angeles', trade volumes have been knocked back all the way to 2003 levels, according to spokesman Art Wong, wiping out all of the trade gains recorded during the boom years of 2004 through 2007. Similar results can be found at many of the major U.S. ports.
"It's unprecedented for us to see this kind of slide. Is it going to flatten out? Are we at the bottom? We don't know yet," Wong said.
The continuing global recession has run so deep that it has caused Moody's Investors Service to downgrade its outlook to negative overall for the 53 U.S. ports whose credit ratings it tracks.
But there is a bright spot for Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to a new report by Moody's. Even though the two ports are spending millions on expensive environmental improvements and legal battles over their plans to clean up the air, the ports remain attractive to shippers, the report said.
"Los Angeles-Long Beach are the two most highly rated ports in the U.S. Two of the primary drivers are their strong financial situations and their competitive market positions," said Baye Larsen, an analyst and assistant vice president at Moody's. "Both are a key advantage for those ports. They will be among the first to benefit when the recovery does come."
Lori Kelman, spokeswoman for the Port of Los Angeles, said officials expect business to pick up toward the end of the year.
"Our port is positioned well to embrace that recovery," Kelman said.
There are few indications that the turnaround will begin any time soon. The trade route that had been the most resilient in the face of the global recession -- between Asia and Europe -- has now succumbed to the downturn as well. So far this year, the last three years of growth in trade between Asia and Europe have been erased, Dekker said.
The result, he said, would be consolidation throughout the shipping business.
"We believe that, consequently, the basic makeup of the industry will change as companies either go bust, amalgamate or shrink, shedding assets and personnel in the process," Dekker said.
Many shipping lines are consolidating and sharing cargo routes with competitors to reduce costs.
The world's biggest shipping line, A.P. Moller-Maersk of Denmark, has a worldwide fleet that is bigger than the U.S. Navy. Maersk has been the Port of Los Angeles' biggest tenant in terms of cargo volumes. But this year it has sharply cut back its service in Los Angeles and to other ports to cut costs. Maersk Line, which operates 470 vessels and owns 1.9 million containers, says it lost $559 million in the first quarter of 2009.
Freight rates for transpacific trade, the amount that shipping lines can charge for a typical 40-foot container for cargo moving between Asia and the West Coast of the U.S., have plummeted to $920 from $1,400 at the beginning of the year, according to the Drewry report.
The continued slump has dashed the hopes of many in the industry, who had come to believe that the recession had bottomed out and that a recovery was beginning.
"At this moment we can't see anything particularly positive around the corner," Dekker said. "We don't want to be overly negative. That is just the reality."#
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ports8-2009jul08,0,53929.story
Deadly dive kills Hoopa man
Eureka Times-Standard-7/8/09
A 25-year-old man likely drowned Sunday after diving into Trinity River near Tish Tang campground.
Richard Jones Jr., 25, of Hoopa, hit his head when he dove into the water at about 3 p.m. and possibly drowned, reported Deputy Coroner Charles Comer. Jones sustained blunt force head trauma from the dive, but it appears drowning was the cause of death.
Alcohol is suspected to be a factor, but that cannot be confirmed until the toxicology report comes back in about two weeks, Comer said.
Hoopa Tribal Police Department responded to the incident and it has not yet released a report.#
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_12775078?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
Man drowns during outing at lake
Santa Rosa Press Democrat-7/7/09
A Cloverdale man died while swimming in Lake Mendocino late Friday afternoon, officials said.
Matthew Arreguin, 26, and some friends were pulling a large raft out into the lake when Arreguin turned around and headed back toward the shore just after 4 p.m., said Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.
It's not known why he turned back, he said.
Near the shore, Arreguin yelled for help and sank under the surface, Smallcomb said.
A bystander pulled him out of the water about a minute later, Smallcomb said, but attempts by bystanders and Corps of Engineers personnel to resuscitate Arreguin were unsuccessful.
Arreguin was declared dead at the scene after fire and ambulance emergency technicians arrived, Smallcomb said.
Arreguin had been camping at the lake with his family, Smallcomb said. Alcohol had been consumed during the gathering, but it was unclear Monday how much Arreguin had consumed, he said.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090707/NEWS/907071071
2 people rescued from San Francisco Bay
San Jose Mercury News-7/7/09
A man and a woman have been rescued from the San Francisco Bay south of the San Mateo Bridge after their catamaran overturned.
The U.S. Coast Guard says it received a distress call around 3:11 p.m. Tuesday from the man.
A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted him out of the water around 3:45 p.m. Around the same time, a Redwood City Fire Department boat rescued the woman, who was holding onto the overturned boat's hull.
The Coast Guard says both boaters were wearing dry suits and were not injured.#
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12773315?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.co
Cronyism at Nevada Irrigation District: It's All About Control and Power
YubaNet-7/6/09
By Susan Snider
Opinion
Off goes the reporter hat. This commentary is long overdue.
Call it parochialism. Throw in unprofessional. Add "good ol' boys" and you pretty much describe what happened at the June 24 Nevada Irrigation District board meeting. But make no mistake, in the final analysis, the vote to elect a new vice president of the board revolved around control and power - with more than a palpable dash of discrimination and vindictiveness thrown in.
For the third time, Division I Director Nancy Weber was shamelessly passed over for a leadership role on the water district's five-member board.
Currently the longest-seated director and into her third elected term, Weber sat by while fellow board members President John Drew and Scott Miller withheld their support. Placer County rancher Jim Bachman - newly appointed Division IV director - also joined Miller and Drew in their silence following Nick Wilcox's motion to nominate Weber for vice president.
Ultimately, with Weber and Wilcox casting "nay" votes, the cabal of three elected Division III Scott Miller - for the third time. This, after the same Director Miller used flowery expletives like "bulls**t" and "a**hole" during the June 24 meeting. So much for Drew's statement that Miller exemplifies the kind of role model necessary for leadership on NID's board.
And what about "observations" made later by Drew and Miller that Director Weber lacks leadership ability and fails to behave as a team player on NID's board? Along with another comment that she has not served on behalf of her constituents?
Let Nancy Weber's professional contributions to her community and testimonials by her peers and constituents speak for themselves. Her record deserves to be heard.
Moving here in 1988 from Davis, Calif., Nancy was already an experienced registered nurse. Settling into her new surroundings, she immediately assumed a leadership role in founding the Lake Vera Round Mountain Neighborhood Association.
While organizing and supporting her local neighborhood association, Nancy became involved in fire safety issues and eventually helped form the Nevada County Fire Safe Council.
According to David Ray, the Battalion Chief for Nevada County Consolidated Fire District, Nancy was instrumental in "leading the charge" to form Nevada County's current fire plan. "The fire plan was a complex issue," Ray recently told me. "Nancy and I worked together for over a three-year period. She assisted in the big picture and the more microscopic areas of the plan," Ray added. "She had the leadership qualities that were appropriate, she was a good leader within the plan and kept it going, kept things on track. I certainly had no issues working with her, nor did any of the committee members."
Local Cement Hill resident Tim Hagen also remembered worked with Nancy on CalFire/CDF fire-related issues. "Nancy and I were on the steering committee for the Shaded Fuel Break and Brush Removal programs,"
Hagen says. "I also worked with her on the Nevada County Fire Plan." "Nancy leads by example. Throughout her life, she's always been a listener and a nurse who believes in TLC. That is what has empowered her to be so successful in an adverse political environment," Hagen added.
Hagen pointed to Nancy's work in helping form the Fire Safe Council and in particular, obtaining the FEMA grant that funded the fuel break and brush chipping programs. "Nancy was inspiring, she kept firing us up to keep applying for the darn thing [FEMA grant]. She even took a grant-writing class to hone her skills."
As a result, Nevada County finally received the grant. Hagen noted that $1.2 million alone was spent in the 49er Fire District, creating 22 linear miles of shaded fuel break in addition to providing free brush chipping to anyone in the district. "Off of this, the Fire Safe Council built its model," Hagen observed.
Nancy's work in her community hasn't been limited to fire safety issues. While working both as a substitute teacher and a nurse and resource specialist for local school districts, she was approached to write a grant application for what became the highly-touted Nevada County Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TTUP).
Not only was Nancy successful in securing grant funding from the State Department of Education, but the TTUP became a model program that Nancy and her co-workers took to other school districts throughout the state.
Jane Oleson, one of Nancy's school district peers and a member of the team that designed and implemented the TTUP, remembered her experience working with Weber. "She was able to collaborate not only with the diverse constituency at the NU High School District but also with the County Health Department and other county agencies, the Board of Supervisors, and the State Department of Education," Oleson pointed out.
"If you aren't a team player, you can't pull that off," said Oleson speaking to Weber's ability to work with others. "Nancy always explored every possible solution with this [TTUP] team. She had the ability to recognize strong traits within people in her team. She is one of the most supportive persons I've ever worked with," Oleson said.
According to Oleson, the TTUP never would have happened without Nancy's dogged persistence in navigating the state bureaucratic maze and ultimately securing the grant which funded the program in the mid 1990s.
Prior to her achievements in Nevada County, Weber's community service work included a pilot program for physically-challenged infants. While working within mid-level school administration in Yolo County, Nancy was approached by United Cerebral Palsy to start a program for infants with physical and mental handicaps. She not only secured grant money for the pilot program, but also coordinated a multidisciplinary support staff for several years.
Eventually, she was hired by the State Department of Education to be a consultant for designing similar programs throughout California for this population of infants.
Then, there's her work as Division I Director at NID. Her division includes Banner Mountain, Cascade Shores, Cement Hill and areas along Newtown, Brunswick, and Ridge roads.
One could argue that Nancy's district has truly been "ground zero" for NID during her time on the board. Consider that most of the district's highest-profile projects like the Lower Cascade Canal, Banner Cascade Pipeline, DS Flume Replacement and Cement Hill Water Supply Project are all within Weber's division.
And let's not forget that water flows from the district's upper reservoir system down through Scotts Flat Reservoir and over Banner Mountain, both in Division I.
During the highly contentious and eventually litigious EIR stage of the Banner Cascade Pipeline project, Nancy negotiated on behalf of residents along the pipeline route, working for legal assurances that residents would incur as few impacts as possible to their property.
She lobbied for protections for wells along the pipeline route and also worked to secure a treated water line (previously not included in the project) for residents along the project alignment. This was critical in the event wells adjacent to the project failed due to construction impacts.
Similarly, Nancy worked with residents along the Lower Cascade Canal when NID proposed dewatering the ditch. She pressed for higher water levels in the canal and protections for wells against potential impacts from NID's decision to permanently lower water levels in the canal.
Nancy is currently working with several residents along the DS Flume on environmental protections, design aesthetics and impacts to sight lines and protection of wells. This project is already into its second CEQA review, due in part to Weber's concerns that the initial negative declaration failed to provide adequate environmental protections.
On NID's Regional Water Treatment Plant, more commonly referred to by many as the Lincoln pipeline project, Nancy's position is clear. "I am not opposed to the Lincoln project as long as there are other waterline extension projects conducted in other areas of the district.
There are others who have been paying taxes in the district for years who still can't get water but we are running water to people in Lincoln where there aren't any ratepayers yet," Nancy recently told YubaNet.
"I'm trying to get waterline extensions for people in my district who have been here for years," Nancy reiterated. "I agree it's good business to provide water in the Lincoln area because of small lots and easy delivery. But if you look at the overall needs of the district, Lincoln has received priority status over taxpayers waiting for years for water, some whose wells are failing."
Take, for instance, Banner Mountain resident MaryAnne Bacon, who has been trying to get NID water for over 20 years. Her current well is failing and five attempts at drilling new wells have proven unsuccessful. Her observations are a true testimonial to Weber's efforts on behalf of her constituents.
"Nancy has worked really hard for everyone up here and she has been diligent in trying to get me going to get water in our area up on Quaker Hill Cross Road," Bacon said recently. "I just think the opposite about the statement that she is not a team player - Nancy is such a team player and works very hard for her constituents. I think she is wonderful and was sorry to hear she was passed over."
Nancy recently expressed disappointment over the district's ongoing unwillingness to support her efforts in getting a waterline extended to the Quaker Hill Cross area. "I have met over a period of 10 years with various neighborhood groups up there.
Some neighbors have been trying to get water for over 30 years without success," Nancy said recently, frustration evident in her voice.
But not all her efforts to bring water to her constituents have been for naught. The Cement Hill Water Supply Project is evidence of her diligence on behalf of people in her division. "I was instrumental in setting up a countywide citizens committee to write new guidelines at NID for waterline extensions,"
Nancy proudly admits. "And both the Cement Hill CFD [Community Facilities District] and the Rodeo Flat Benefit Assessment District came out of that committee."
The Cement Hill CFD is the first in the district. The waterline project was made possible through low-interest financing from the State Department of Health Services. "Financing was crucial and I helped lead the Cement Hill community in its effort by attending a funding workshop put on by the State Department of Water Resources," Nancy noted.
Cement Hill resident Norm Stout believes that he and his neighbors will now receive NID water as a result of Nancy's efforts. "Thanks to her, we have the project," Stout offered in response to my query about Nancy's participation.
"Absolutely, she worked tirelessly on our behalf to bring this to fruition. She helped integrate the group up here. She was a key member of the committee and the neighborhood in working with NID. No one could have asked for any more help than Nancy has given us," Stout added.
Former NID Assistant Manager Ben Barretta knows all too well about Nancy's efforts to help residents in her division. "She has always been looking out for her constituents, to the point she is such an advocate for her area, she has obviously alienated other members of the board," Barretta told me. "Nancy's successes have been getting water to areas that didn't have NID water before."
Barretta was not only referring to the Cement Hill area but also to Deer Creek Park up on Banner Mountain. He reminded me that Nancy's first real success was bringing the original Deer Creek Park development into the district.
"They originally had their own water treatment plant, they were their own operator," Barretta said. "But Nancy negotiated strongly for the Deer Creek Park people."
A final footnote, though not of any lesser significance to her previous efforts on behalf of her constituents. Here are a few factoids that may have escaped notice.
Nancy voted against this year's current rate increases and rate structure. She objected to the influence exerted on NID's Committee (recently retired Division IV director and Lincoln-area cattle rancher Paul Williams was on this committee during the rate review) by large raw water users, particularly flood-irrigating cattle ranchers in Placer County. Ultimately, this committee recommended to reduce rate increases to large raw water users from 5.45 percent to 4 percent.
Of particular concern for Nancy are the small raw water users in her district, some of whom are on fixed incomes. Rates for these customers rose 26 percent last year. And the 5-year projection is 5.45 percent annually.
Nancy objected to the lack of parity across NID's customer base with this year's increases, especially as this relates to the .25 miner's inch customers in her district.
And don't get her started on NID's long standing policy to throw a disproportionate amount of the district's property tax revenues toward subsidizing big raw water users such as flood-irrigation cattle ranchers. Nancy is working actively to have these revenues used for capital projects like extending waterlines to people who need water rather than using taxes to subsidize water rates.
It particularly bothers her that tax dollars used to "augment" rates are collected from property owners in the District who can't get NID water.
Then there's the fact she's given broad-based support to policy-making and projects outside her division, such as the Rodeo Flat Benefit Assessment District. And NID now pays for retrofitting of treated waterlines to include the addition of fire hydrants. This as a result of Nancy advocating for this practice under NID's recently-formed Community Investment Program (CIP).
Finally, arising from her concern over failing wells and the questionable status of groundwater sources throughout Nevada County, Nancy called for a "needs assessment study" to determine those taxpayers within NID's boundaries who have water needs which aren't being met by the District.
To date, she's been unable to garner support for this critical study. Could it be that NID doesn't want to know - because then they just might have to deal with the problem?
So, here we are back wondering about June 24th version of kabuki theater.
One overriding question remains. President Drew acknowledged before the vote that within NID's current system of electing board leaders is the inherent "potential of cronyism" - and that he wants to see a workshop in the future to review the current methodology of choosing board leadership.
Given his freely-acknowledged admission that the process is potentially fraught with inequity, why didn't Drew do the right thing at the June 24 meeting?
Clearly, last week's vote was just more of the same at NID. It certainly seems time that NID change this archaic practice. The district need only look to our local municipalities to see an example of how many public entities throughout the state fairly and equitably determine their leadership positions. I'm speaking of a rotation system.
So, what does last week's display of blatant cronyism tell me? There are some people at NID who are really afraid of change - and one woman who has the fortitude to speak out against it.
Editor's note: Susan Snider covers NID news for YubaNet.com. She is the only local reporter who attends virtually every meeting. To read Snider's outstanding in-depth NID news coverage, sign up to receive YubaNet's weekly newsletter.#
http://yubanet.com/regional/Susan-Snider-Cronyism-at-NID.php
UCSC Professor seeks climate answers in the Bering Sea
Santa Cruz Sentinel-7/8/09
By Catherine Viglienzoni
Instead of taking the summer off this year, UC Santa Cruz ocean studies professor Christina Ravelo will sail into the Bering Sea with hopes of peeking back into 5 million years worth of geological history -- and bringing scientists closer to understanding global climate change.
In an expedition organized through the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, an international geoscience organization, Ravelo and Japanese scientist Kozo Takahashi will take sediment samples from the sea floor. They will analyze the samples, looking for changes in patterns of ancient sea ice, which they hope will provide clues about temperature changes over time.
The research is important because of the dearth of existing data for that area, Ravelo said. "Currently, nothing is known about the long history of climate change in the Bering Sea," said Ravelo, who sets sail on the JOIDES Resolution this week. "Nothing."
Ravelo hopes to change that by filling in the gaps in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program's data. Some core work was done in 1973, and again in 2005, but neither produced continuous sedimentary records. Broken records are like missing pages in a book -- they provide some information but not the complete story. Ravelo's team hopes to retrieve the first continuous set of records, which they will use to reconstruct the history of the Bering Sea.
Before the drilling even starts, the drill will have to pass through water that is up to 10,500 feet deep. Then, to take the cores, scientists will drill up to 2,300 feet into the sea floor. Core samples are thick, ranging from 6 to 9 inches in diameter, and are around 30 feet long.
Once they have a sample, Ravelo and others will test and analyze the components. With the results, they hope to be able to put together a geological record of climate change through time. Ultimately, the goal is to project future climate change, Ravelo said.
As the mission's proponent and co-chief, Ravelo is responsible for running the expedition, including when drilling starts and stops, as well as analyzing data as they go and solving any problems that arise when they are out at sea.
For Ravelo, the expedition is a chance to look at one piece of a bigger puzzle.
"In my own lab, I work on paleoclimatological studies from all over the world, not just the Bering Sea," Ravelo said. "Climate change is interconnected across many systems and regions, so it is important to understand Bering Sea climate change within a global context."#
BMW Oracle Racing refloats its America's Cup boat
Fairfield Daily Republic-7/7/09
By Bernie Wilson (Associated Press)
From San Diego Bay to Lake Geneva, it's going to be a busy week for the bitter rivals set to sail for the America's Cup in February.
The challenger, BMW Oracle Racing of San Francisco, relaunched its massive trimaran on Monday after the carbon-fiber boat was significantly modified during the last four months.
The space age-looking craft, which is 90 feet long and wide, was moved by crane from a temporary boatshed to its berth on San Diego Bay. It will be refitted with its mast before being load-tested to make sure it's seaworthy. Sailing on the Pacific Ocean is scheduled to resume later this week.
“This is cutting-edge technology and sailing. We look forward to testing how fast is fast,” helmsman James Spithill said in a statement.
BMW Oracle Racing is scheduled to face two-time defending America's Cup champion Alinghi of Switzerland in a best-of-3 series starting Feb. 8 for the oldest trophy in international sports.
Whether this boat, known as BOR 90, is the boat that will face Alinghi remains to be seen. BMW Oracle Racing, owned by software tycoon and sailor Larry Ellison, has refused to confirm or deny reports it is building a second boat. Ellison is believed to have spent between $10 million and $20 million on the boat that was relaunched Monday.
If BMW Oracle Racing is building a new trimaran, the current one would at least serve as a sparring partner.
Early Wednesday morning, with the Alps as a backdrop, a giant helicopter is scheduled to lift Alinghi's equally exotic-looking catamaran from a boatyard in Villeneuve and launch it on Lake Geneva. The Swiss cat, which has been described as resembling a praying mantis, is 90 feet on the waterline and reportedly has a bowsprit that makes it 120 feet overall. It's believed to be not quite 90 feet wide.
The rare one-on-one showdown is the result of a convoluted, two-year court fight in which the American syndicate's backing yacht club was declared the rightful Challenger of Record.
Alinghi gets to pick the venue. A decision is due by Aug. 8, six months before the first race. The Swiss reportedly are considering Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, apparently feeling their catamaran would excel there in light wind and flat water.
With the size and speed of the giant multihulls, it could be the most spectacular racing in the 158-year history of the America's Cup.
BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran is capable of sailing 2 to 2 1/2 times the speed of the wind. Its mast is as high as a 16-story building and the mainsail is twice the size of a Boeing 747's wing. The boat's three hulls would cover the diamond on a major league baseball field, and are just shorter than an NBA court.
Boats that size can be lethal, too. BMW Oracle Racing's sailors have been cautious while sailing their big boat, including wearing crash helmets and life vests, hardly the normal America's Cup attire.
BMW's sailors are en route to San Diego to resume testing the trimaran. The outer hulls, or floats, appear to have been significantly reshaped.
“We are really excited to get out on the water,” Spithill said. “We still have plenty to do to complete sea trials and be ready for the America's Cup in February so every day counts. It is only seven months until the America's Cup so we are now in the home stretch.”
The trimaran was launched late last summer in Anacortes, Wash., and underwent initial sea trials on Puget Sound. It was barged to San Diego and underwent two testing sessions on the Pacific Ocean.#
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