One in a galley

California Matters

Feds demand Colorado River water cutbacks

One must wade through a thicket of bureaucratic jargon to find it, but late last month federal officials issued what appears to be a serious warning to California and other states that use water from the highly stressed Colorado River: If they cannot agree DaN WaLTERS on sharp reductions in diversions of the Colorado’s water, the feds will impose them unilaterally.

It’s the latest wrinkle in decades of interstate squabbling over the river, which has become more heated as the river’s flows continue to decline and conditions in its two major reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, reach the crisis stage.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation wants California, Arizona and Nevada to reduce diversions by at least 2 million acre-feet a year and as much as 4 million, but negotiations have been fruitless. California, which takes the most water from the river, by far, has offered just a 400,000 acre-foot reduction. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons. Summary With talks stalemated, bureau officials said Federal officials they will begin planning are warning for unilateral action “to address the serious operational realities California and other states that facing the system…” use Colorado due to “the likelihood of continued low-runoff conditions across the River water to sharply reduce (Colorado River) basin.” It diversions or the would implement cuts by reducing releases from the two reservoirs. government will act unilaterally.

“The Interior California would Department continues to pursue a collaborative and consensus-based approach take the biggest hit. to addressing the drought crisis afflicting the West. At the same time, we are committed to taking prompt and decisive action necessary to protect the Colorado River system and all those who depend on it,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

The Bureau of Reclamation is telling the states, “That this is kind of their last opportunity for consensus-building, for voluntary action,” Jaime Garcia, a water fellow at the University of Colorado Law School’s Getches-Wilkinson Center, told the Los Angeles Times.

“The fundamental issue is, whatever solution people come up with is going to hurt,” Garcia said. “The river is over-allocated. It’s drying up. And we have to find a way to sort of spread out the pain evenly.”

Because California is the largest user of Colorado River water, cutbacks — either voluntary or imposed — would have their greatest impact on the state. However, while the Colorado is a major source of water for Southern California’s more than 20 million residents, the region has other sources

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Letters to the Editor

Horrified and disgusted

EDITOR:

So let me get this straight, Mitch McConnell is “horrified and disgusted” by the attack on Paul Pelosi while he and others in the GOP continue to spread lies and mistruths, which knowingly serve to foment extremists just like David Wayne. It seems to me the pawns are being taken by the king. Sixty lawsuits across the country, 60 failures, there are dozens upon dozens of credible witnesses refuting the lies about election fraud and yet you continue. I am curious how you say an election was rigged an entire year before the election occurred?

It’s things like this that truly have me confused, when did we start basing our independent opinion on an unknown voice over a radio or a TV show? When did we start making decisions that directly affect our lives based on a stranger? Especially one who has a proven record of deceit, bankruptcy, bullying, fraud, theft, misogyny, theft of top secret documents and the list goes on. Is this the type of individual you want leading your, cities, counties, state and the country?

Please understand those of you who continue to follow regardless of the facts. Autocracies and dictatorships take all who are not wealthy, powerful or connected. You may be part of a movement today but tomorrow you could be the casualty of their reign. Google a little history; you may be surprised at what you find.

TAMARA JANIES Pollock Pines

Response to Wendy Thomas

EDITOR:

This is in response to comments by Supervisor Wendy Thomas in a Sept. 26 article in the Mountain Democrat, “FPPC rejects conflict complaint,” which was in reference to an anonymous complaint filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission, citing that Thomas’ ownership interest in commercial buildings on Broadway would financially benefit Thomas by her vote to support a homeless navigation center proposed for Perks Court in the Missouri Flat Road area of Placerville.

Many readers feel Thomas alluded that the El Dorado County Republican Central Committee filed the anonymous complaint. Thomas stated, “This baseless and anonymous complaint was nothing but a nasty political hit piece meant to discredit me and derail plans for a navigation center.”

In no way did any member or the Republican Central Committee have anything to do with filing this complaint. It would serve Thomas well to look to those who reside in her district.

Thomas did not stop there. Her main bone of contention was the RCC’s circulation and mailing of a letter and flyer to business owners and county citizens, motivating residents to show up at the Aug. 23 Board of Supervisors to support the sheriff’s plan for the homeless and oppose the Perks Court navigation center.

Thomas specifically claimed the RCC flyer falsely stated the navigation center “would allow drug and alcohol use on the premises and have free paraphernalia provided by Sierra Harm Reduction.” Thomas then claimed county leaders previously stated the facility would “have been a drug-free site.”

The Mountain Democrat reported, confirmed in an email to county CAO Don Ashton, “If the (homeless navigation center) was built and operated, according to federal rules, drug users who are occupants can’t be evicted as a result of drug abuse.”

Many were surprised and disturbed to find what they consider enablers are using taxpayer dollars distributing syringes, razor blades and crack pipes.

Unlike Thomas and three other board members, what the RCC did was respond and support the constituents and this special community we represent. This was not the experience for those who attended and spoke at the board meeting, walking away feeling they were stifled, lectured to and insulted, in particular by Supervisors Thomas and Sue Novasel, who found themselves losing the vote to move forward with the navigation center.

Recently the board voted to use the juvenile hall in the government center as a temporary navigation center. And, yes, the new proposed site is contingent the “county provides weekly substance use and behavioral health screening.”

Our job is not done. We do not want our county government center and library to become San Francisco’s government center with a city hall surrounded by tents, garbage, feces and individuals who look like the cast of the “Night of the Living Dead.”

Wendy Thomas, you need to read the Mountain Democrat more often and pay attention to emails county leaders send out, not to mention — listen to your constituents.

TERRY GHERARDI Executive director, El Dorado County Republican Central Committee

The Not So Weekly Daley

After Election Day — is it still democracy as we know it?

The great 2022 Midterm Election is now in the history books. I don’t mean the complete results are in by any stretch of the imagination. The actual election ended Tuesday night in most places, but the post-election chaos is well under way. The name-calling, finger-pointing, lawsuits and counter suits should already be driving the real news as well as the faux news with no end in sight.

If earlier predictions are borne out, democracy as we know it “died” this week. Fascism triumphed and we went out with barely a whimper. If other predictions hold sway, communist China, North Korea, Russia and Iran will soon combine to turn the U.S. into some kind of vassal state-cum-gas station. And

democracy as we know it will also have “died” this week. Depending upon where you call home, you can get an abortion, perform an abortion or drive someone to get an abortion. If you live somewhere else, you may go to jail if you get CHRiS DaLEy an abortion, perform an abortion or drive someone else to get an abortion. As they say in real estate, it’s “location, location, location.” Here in California the homeless problem along with addiction to all manner of substances or behaviors have been solved if Proposition 26 and/or Proposition 27 passed or didn’t pass Tuesday. Proponents and opponents of either one or both of these propositions have assured us that either more or less legal gambling will tackle many societal ills and fix them or not. Like other

Democracy as we know it could also be on its way out if citizens continue to have to stand in line for hours and hours every Election Day.

significant issues, “it depends.”

I know someone who actually researched all the judges on the ballot who we’ve never heard of. Her conclusion was that all of those high-end judges were doing a decent job and could be re-elected with confidence. That was good enough for me. I didn’t see or hear any political ads warning that a vote for or against any of the state’s top judges would “end democracy as we know it.” That’s a comfort so far, acknowledging that it’s still “early days” since Tuesday night.

Democracy as we know it could also be on its way out if citizens continue to have to stand in line for hours and hours every Election Day. Some kind of universal “mail-in” or remote system could potentially eliminate the in-person way we have traditionally conducted our elections while offering a far more humane way to ascertain and collect the will of the voters.

Unfortunately, there are those who don’t want the rest of us to know the “will of the voters.” So those inhumane lines will probably persist until further notice or until we do something about the current system. Meanwhile, there’s no end in sight to the old-time practice and philosophy of “keep ’em waiting in line,” and maybe they’ll just go home and quit voting altogether. Eventually that will lead to the demise of democracy just as sure as any other more obvious or imminent threat.

Chris Daley is a biweekly columnist for the Mountain Democrat.