California governor unveils ambitious water plan

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/california-governor-unveils-ambitious-water-plan-011326323.html?_esi=1

By Jim Christie | Reuters – 1 hr 36 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan for two giant tunnels that would dramatically reconfigure the state's water delivery system.

The nearly $24 billion project aims to help restore the habitat of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and improve the reliability of water supplies to the arid central and southern parts of the state.

The state already has two massive aqueducts that move water from the north to the south, but the way in which the water is transferred has severely damaged fish populations and degraded their habitat in the delta.

The planned project is similar to one Brown approved three decades ago when he was first governor. Voters rejected that project amid vociferous opposition from northern California residents. A similar political battle will be fought this time around.

"It's a long time in coming," the 74-year-old Democrat said, asserting that the project balances regional, environmental and agricultural concerns that have long blocked efforts to expand the state's water infrastructure.

The twin 35-mile tunnels would divert water from the Sacramento River just south of the state capital of Sacramento to the aqueduct system. The tunnels would bypass the delta rather than drawing water directly from it, reducing the number of fish killed by pumps and restoring natural water flows.

The tunnels would reduce the risk of environmental lawsuits that could interrupt water supplies, a critical concern for California's multibillion-dollar farming industry.

An estimated 25 million Californians who would rely on water from the tunnels would repay the bonds issued to finance them.

The cost of the tunnels is pegged at $14 billion. The additional $10 billion in costs includes debt service payments and 40 years of expenses for its operation, said Richard Stapler, a spokesman for the state resources agency.

Additional money for habitat restoration in the delta could come from an $11 billion water bond that lawmakers recently deferred until 2014, Stapler said.

Critics called the tunnels an expensive boondoggle and said there are cheaper conservation measures for the delta.

Kate Poole, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the plan for the tunnels is "putting plumbing before sensible policy."

"Twenty-first century technology opens up new sources of water, including water conservation and efficiency, recycling and other tools to allow us to reduce our reliance on the delta, allow fish to recover, farmers to farm and people to turn on the tap and rely on good quality water," Poole said.

Edited July 26, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

California must be filthy rich with projects like this and that high speed rail system. I'm thinking every Californian posting on this board has a driveway paved with gold.

[MyLittlePony 340]

They are doing stupid projects, were is the money coming from? That money a chunk of should go to a mexico border fence to keep the illegals out.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

They are doing stupid projects, were is the money coming from? That money a chunk of should go to a mexico border fence to keep the illegals out.

The money is coming from all those tax paying illegals that make up 10+% of California's work force. In the meantime California businesses are relocating to other states.

Edited July 26, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Boiler 46,123]

I thought California was bankrupt?

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I thought California was bankrupt?

http://newmexico.watchdog.org/13328/californias-debt-woes-are-nearly-twice-as-bad-as-estimated/

California’s debt nearly twice as bad as estimated

By Rob Nikolewski On May 13, 2012

How bad was your weekend? Safe to say it wasn’t as bad as California’s.

From the Los Angeles Times:

California’s projected budget deficit has ballooned to $16 billion, much larger than the $9.2 billion estimated in January, Gov. Jerry Brown said, and he warned of more painful spending cuts.

“We will have to go much further, and make cuts far greater, than I asked for at the beginning of the year,” Brown said in a video posted Saturday on YouTube. He plans to detail his revised spending plan in the Capitol on Monday.

The deficits have worsened due to a couple factors. First, the state hasn’t received the amount of tax revenue it expected (not surprising, considering the tax climate for businesses there) and second, the Democratically-controlled state legislature rejected many of the suggested cuts that Gov. Brown proposed.

All this brings to mind a conversation I had last year with Dr. Matt Mitchell of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Huge deficits are a reality many on the political left deny or say are exaggerated. Mitchell told me he suspects in the near future that Democratic Party governors are better suited to curb spending because whenever fiscally conservative governors call for serious spending cuts they are immediately attacked from the left.

In other words, if a Democrat — especially one initially supported by public sector unions — comes out and essentially says, “we have to make changes,” only then will the economic cold water get splashed in the face. It’s similar to the old political adage that “only Nixon could go to China.”

But changes are coming. Unlike the federal government, state governments cannot simply print more money to try to paper over the problem (and even that doesn’t work because it leads to inflation). And no amount of political rhetoric can change the demographic reality of an aging population that is significantly larger than the population behind it.

Oh, and Los Angeles taxpayers also received news this weekend that the cost of the city allowing and then eventually evicting Occupy Los Angeles protesters cost $4.7 million – some $2 million more than estimated.

[dalegg 143]

I thought California was bankrupt?

Are you kidding? See since they passed the dream act, high tech industries in California can now sigh a big breath of relief knowing that all of those engineering jobs can be filled with a blossoming educated work force, and as the news spreads, companies from around the country and indeed probably the world will relocate here and our economy will be a global model. The problem we had before the dream act was that there just wasn't any out of work college graduates to fill those jobs, and industries just couldn't function....see.

[Boiler 46,123]

Ohh

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/californias-governor-brown-bets-thinking-big-070321988--business.html?_esi=1

Analysis: California's Governor Brown bets on thinking big

By Peter Henderson and Jim Christie | Reuters – 27 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California may be struggling to make ends meet, but Governor Jerry Brown is still thinking big.

The 74-year-old governor is championing major public works projects, including a statewide bullet train network and giant tunnels for delivering fresh water, even as he tries to convince voters to approve a tax increase in the fall.

"I want to get #### done," Brown said this week as he unveiled a $14 billion project to move fresh water from north to south while protecting fish in the Sacramento river Delta. The proposal came less than a month after Brown green lighted a $68 billion high-speed rail system.

"Biting off too much? There's an election every two years and sometimes we get special elections!" he told reporters while introducing the water plan. "If the fear of electoral outcomes is going to be a basis of paralysis, we are never going to get anything done."

Brown in June signed a state budget that closed a nearly $16 billion deficit, but the plan relies on voters approving a ballot measure that will boost income taxes on the wealthy and temporarily increase sales taxes.

"The national equivalent would be Barack Obama talking about balancing the federal budget and at the same time unveiling a mission to Mars," said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution who was an aide to former Republican Governor Pete Wilson.

"On the one hand, he's telling voters we have no more money and need to raise taxes," Whalen said. "On the other hand, he wants to spend billions of dollars on projects like high speed rail and the water tunnels."

Though California has historically benefited immensely from government investment in technology, aerospace, higher education and other areas, today it does not seem like a state ready for a spending binge.

The city of Stockton recently filed for bankruptcy protection, and at least two other cities will likely soon do the same. The unemployment rate is among the highest in the United States, and many parts of the state are still reeling from the housing bust.

"BASTA!"

The state is notorious for political gridlock, and may have further undermined confidence with the discovery earlier this week that the state parks agency had a previously unknown stash of $54 million. Opponents of the tax measure have seized on that as evidence that the state doesn't know how to manage its money.

Further, voters in the fall are likely to face a host of local tax increase measures in addition to Brown's state tax hike. That's in part because one of Brown's major policy initiatives has been to push responsibility for some state services, such as prisons, back to the cities and counties.

"The more tax increases on the ballot, the harder it is to distinguish them and voters say 'Basta!'" said Steven Frates, director of research at the Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy, using the Spanish word for enough.

The city of La Mirada, in Southern California, is one of many that want voters to raise local sales taxes. "I'm not going to delude myself that it's not going to be a challenge," said City Manager Tom Robinson.

Brown has had difficulty lining up allies when it mattered most. His tax measures took the long route to the ballot, having to gather signatures after he failed to convince the legislature to approve the proposition. And his plan to reform public pensions is being ignored by the state assembly and senate.

Polls suggest that Brown faces a tough road. A recent Field Poll showed 54 percent support for his November tax plan, but a third of likely voters were less likely to back the plan if the legislature funded the bullet train.

Brown, though, is calculating that California's famous population of dreamers will seize on his vision, said Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California.

"People are looking for something that will give them hope," he said. "Many people came here with a dream, and they dream of a better life."

Baldassare said that the key would be showing support that crosses political boundaries. Brown has proven to be a formidable campaigner in the past with the ability to build coalitions, and he'll need to do that again.

"He is going to need partners up and down the state," Baldassare said.

Brown could have waited until after the election to announce the water project, said Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo. "It's a calculated assessment, I believe, that showing leadership will benefit him," he said.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

California just needs a Sarah Palin to run the state, right?

[JohnR! 5,495]

1343272231[/url]' post='5556626']

California must be filthy rich with projects like this and that high speed rail system. I'm thinking every Californian posting on this board has a driveway paved with gold.

I think so too, but being the eighth largest economy in the world, California is sure to attract the envy of outsiders.

[JohnR! 5,495]

1343272803[/url]' post='5556638']

They are doing stupid projects, were is the money coming from? That money a chunk of should go to a mexico border fence to keep the illegals out.

At first it might seem stupid, but consider that the entire country depends on produce from California, so keeping the water running is in the interest of everyone, really.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

California just needs a Sarah Palin to run the state, right?

When Sarah left office Alaska was $42 billion dollars in the black and is now $50 billion dollars to the good while California on the other hand is $15.8 billion dollars in the red. It's because of Sarah's oil tax that Alaska gained another $10 billion dollars in it's state coffers in a three year time span.

California is setting to raise taxes again, while Alaska gives money to it's citizens once a year every year.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I think so too, but being the eighth largest economy in the world, California is sure to attract the envy of outsiders.

California can be the largest economy in the world but it's of little consequence when you spend more money than you take in.

5 minus 6 = -1

Edited July 27, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

When Sarah left office Alaska was $42 billion dollars in the black and is now $50 billion dollars to the good while California on the other hand is $15.8 billion dollars in the red. It's because of Sarah's oil tax that Alaska gained another $10 billion dollars in it's state coffers in a three year time span.