Investors can now trade on and profit from California water — how might that work out? [San Francisco Chronicle]
The novel marketplace allows speculators to make money betting on future prices of California water while allowing farmers, businesses and municipal suppliers to hedge against price swings and stabilize their costs. How well this will work remains to be seen. While many say a commodities market can help those in need of water, finance and water experts say the new financial instrument may provide only limited risk protection and could even put upward pressure on water prices. … Unlike oil, grain and other traded commodities, the new water futures aren’t about the physical exchange of a product. They’re about exchanges of money based on the value of the product.
Quest for water in the Kern River continues [Bakersfield Californian]
The steady drumbeat of support to get more water flowing in the Kern River through Bakersfield continued Tuesday at the State Water Resources Control Board. … Most of the river dries up through Bakersfield from Manor Street west as its waters are taken to agricultural lands through a series of canals. … North Kern alleged that Kern Delta wasn’t using all of its rights to the river and in 2007, a Tulare County court agreed. But the question of who should get that water was moved to the State Water Resources Control Board, which did agree in 2010 there was some unappropriated water on the river but has yet to decide how much and who should get the water.
U.S. says monarch butterflies deserve protection, but must wait in line [Reuters]
Monarch butterflies deserve federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, President Donald Trump’s administration said on Tuesday, but the black-and-orange insects must wait in line behind 161 other species facing more imminent threats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it expects to list these winged pollinators for protection under the landmark conservation law in fiscal 2024, which begins on Oct. 1, 2023. … Environmental groups criticized the administration’s move, saying it has prioritized herbicide users in the agriculture industry over the butterflies.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-says-monarch-butterflies-deserve-030821528.html
Immigrant rights activists gather at Kevin McCarthy’s office, call for prompt action under Biden administration [Bakersfield Californian]
About 100 immigrant rights activists chanted in front of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s Bakersfield office Tuesday afternoon in a loud but orderly demand for a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and an end to Trump administration policies that have separated families seeking refuge at the border. … Despite years of persistent pressure by immigrant advocates and California farm groups struggling with a labor shortage, McCarthy has insisted publicly that immigration reform should be carried out piecemeal and with a precondition of border security.
State Senator Andreas Borgeas named chairman of Senate Agriculture Committee [KMPH TV, Fresno]
State Senator Andreas Borgeas is now the only Republican committee chair in the state’s legislature. Pro Tempore Toni Atkins called Borgeas Monday to ask if he’d like to be Chairman of the Senate Agricultural Committee. … Borgeas came to Fresno after law school to clerk for a federal judge, where he worked on water-related litigation. “And, naturally, being a Senator for our community… there’s an extraordinary amount of agriculture interest and processing that happens in our backyard.”
https://kmph.com/news/local/state-senator-andreas-borgeas-named-chairman-of-agriculture-committee
Opinion: California may be losing its business mojo [CalMatters]
… Do the state’s high taxes, high operating and living costs and a political drift to the left make it hostile to business? … Clearly the COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on corporate attitudes. … But there are other recent developments that may have a cumulative effect. … We may have reached a tipping point in which the disadvantages of doing business in California outweigh the advantages. We should remember what happened to Detroit, which was the Silicon Valley of its day a century ago, but took its prosperity for granted and paid a heavy financial and social price for its complacency.
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2020/12/california-texas-business-climate-oracle-musk-hewlett/
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