Posted by red on 2/15/2008, 7:36 am
4.246.255.218
Editorial: Another day, another bad water bond proposal
Sacramento Bee – 2/10/08
Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of deficits can stay the California Chamber of Commerce from proposing yet another multibillion-dollar water bond.
The chamber's latest – $11.7 billion – was filed Wednesday. Nearly a third of this borrowed money would go to new dams and water storage. Smaller pots of money would go to conservation (11 percent) and water recycling (2 percent).
There's no doubt that California needs to invest in its water future. The top priority should be the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Concerns about troubled fisheries – and cutbacks in Delta water pumping – are setting the stage for decades of more litigious clashes.
Sadly, this latest version by the chamber is only likely to further the divisions. It doesn't offer the balanced approach advocated by the governor's Delta Vision task force, which recently advised that ecosystem restoration and water reliability be "primary, coequal goals."
The initiative, if passed, would also add $760 million in annual interest payments to the state's budget. How can California afford that?
The key players here are Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The chamber is lobbying both to support its latest initiative. If they did support it, the state's construction firms and trade unions – seeking a fresh source of contracts and jobs from more state borrowing – would be more likely to pour money into the campaign.
This is a lousy way to formulate water policy. Feinstein and Schwarzenegger shouldn't be party to it. But they also shouldn't cater to the do-nothing crowd of the water community. The Delta needs fixing. State leaders need to embrace the measured findings of Delta Vision to move the state beyond water gridlock.
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The author of this editorial probably didn’t know there is a campaign underway seeking to stop the Senator Feinstein and Governor Schwarzenegger from supporting the Chamber’s bonds. Below you’ll find the phone numbers you should call to tell the Governor and Senator that they should not be supporting bad bonds that will not solve the problems in the Delta or its collapsing fishery resources.
You could also mention they should not support the Chambers bonds because they would preempt the recommendations from the Governor’s Delta Vision Task Force, and because they would fail to reduce exports from the Delta. That’s all you would need to say. The secretary on the other end will just take your message and keep a talley.
If you live in Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher’s District, please contact her and ask her to let Senator Feinstein know that the Chambers bond initiatives are bad for the California Delta and its fishery resources.
Senator Diane Feinstein
(415) 393-0707 – San Francisco Office
(310) 914-7300 – Los Angeles Office
(619) 231-9712 – San Diego Office
(559) 485-7430 – Fresno Office
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger – (916) - 445-2841
Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher
(925) 757-7187 – Antioch Office
(925) 932-8899 – Walnut Creek Office
(707) 428-7792 – Fairfield Office
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