California is soaking wet. But drought looms if we don’t get more rain — a lot more [Sacramento Bee]
… This week’s deluge left many Californians shoveling snow and splashing through puddles as an “atmospheric river” swept the state. More precipitation is in the forecast for next week. But experts worry that without repeated downpours over the next two months, the painful memories of the last drought could become reality again. … Fears of another big drought intensify the further one gets from California’s population centers. While urban Californians endured the last drought by watching their lawns go brown, their rural counterparts measured the impact in lost dollars and jobs.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article248840129.html
Editorial: Rain won’t stop California from facing another drought [Southern California News Group]
… Fifty percent of California’s water flows to the Pacific Ocean. Residences use only 5.7 percent of available water. Instead of trotting out tired calls for rationing among residential users, the state needs to bolster its amazing system of dams and canals so we can store more water during these rainy weeks. This takes vision and planning. The longer we wait, the more likely we are to find ourselves in yet another crisis.
https://www.dailybulletin.com/2021/01/28/rain-wont-stop-california-from-facing-another-drought/
Salinas River flooding could impact prized farmland [KCBS Radio, San Francisco]
… The coronavirus pandemic has already made it a rough year for farmers and agricultural workers, but now what started out as welcome rain for the fallow fields of Salinas is threatening to push back critical planting deadlines. The worry is contaminants from mud or flood water could delay the February planting schedule. “It would be our spring crops, which is leafy greens, lettuce, spinach, romaine and then also some of the vegetable crops like the broccoli, cauliflower,” said Norm Groot, head of the Monterey County Farm Bureau.
https://www.radio.com/kcbsradio/news/local/salinas-river-flooding-could-impact-prized-farmland
Meet the 7 congresswomen who are steering Biden’s immigration agenda in the House [USA Today]
In one of her first days in Congress nearly two decades ago, Rep. Linda Sánchez remembers being told by a friend on Capitol Hill that there are two types of lawmakers: a workhorse or a showhorse. Sánchez said she’s the kind of lawmaker who wants to get things done. Now, the California congresswoman has taken the lead in putting together a group of seven women, who she described as “workhorses,” who will shepherd the legislative efforts to get President Joe Biden’s immigration reform bill through the House of Representatives.
SD County Farm Bureau: ‘pivoting the best we can’ [Valley Roadrunner, Valley Center]
San Diego County’s farming community has endured a rain of body blows and attempts to hurt it with legislation during the year of COVID-19 but has proven to be remarkably resilient. “We are pivoting the best we can,” said Hannah Gbeh, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau. She is speaking of both area growers and the organization itself … They have kept busy with policy and advocacy. … Another issue for growers is wildfire insurance. … Today the Farm Bureau is working with the County, “keeping an eye on the vaccine and seeing when we can offer them to the farm workers. We are looking forward to getting that,” she said.
https://www.valleycenter.com/articles/sd-county-farm-bureau-pivoting-the-best-we-can/
Opinion: California must make fire prevention a priority in logging approvals [San Francisco Chronicle]
Over 4 million acres burned in California in 2020. Despite this unprecedented climate disaster, Cal Fire is poised to increase future wildfire risk for residents of Dunsmuir, Mount Shasta, McCloud and Castella by approving the Soda Springs Timber Harvest Plan (THP), which would use an unnecessarily dangerous even-aged logging method, similar to clear-cutting. California officials and state agencies have repeatedly called for additional thinning to remove underbrush and small trees to reduce wildfire risk, but they do nothing to stop logging plans that create the same dense small trees.
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