The fish win the water, humans lose it, but with better planning through the years to increase the water supply, that would not have been the only option, and it is not too late.
Raising Shasta Dam by the extra 200 feet it is engineered for, would triple the water that could be stored behind it, which would certianly help the Delta Smelt and the humans.
Smelt ruling could spell scarcer and pricier water
Delta pumping limits will cut supplies to Bay Area, Los Angeles.
By Matt Weiser and John Ellis - mweiser@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 15, 2007
FRESNO – A federal court order finalized Friday could mean millions of Californians will have to get accustomed to spending more money on less water – and soon.
The order by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, based in Fresno, wraps up his August decision in favor of the Natural Resources Defense Council. The environmental group sued state and federal agencies that pump water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Wanger ruled that those agencies failed to adequately protect the Delta smelt, a fragile fingerling listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. His final order in the case Friday could result in a 30 percent reduction in water pumped out of the Delta starting as soon as Christmas Day.
"I truly believe this water crisis is going to make the power crisis pale in comparison," said Tom Birmingham, general manager of Westlands Water District.
The Delta, a 700,000-acre maze of islands and canals, is the hub of the state's water system. A funnel for runoff from north-state mountains, its waters irrigate more than 2 million acres of farmland and provide some of the drinking water enjoyed by 23 million Californians. The two pumping systems near Tracy deliver much of this water to Southern California via canal networks.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Emotions Cloud Science
This point is one we wrote about in our 2006 report on water supply, that the almost religious fervor many environmentalists bring to the discussion around these issues clouds their ability to accept science that may contradict their currently accepted position, which is largely what science is all about, questioning established theories when new information becomes available.
THE STANFORD REVIEW (December 7, 2007)
Emotional Warning
by Elizabeth Lowell
Staff Writer
In a talk on “Scientific Skepticism” sponsored by Stanford in Government in November, Dr. Fred Singer sparked a heated debate as he combated the widespread view that humans are causing climate change. Meanwhile, a mostly indignant audience exchanged glances of frustration and disbelief, bubbling with counterarguments they did not have the opportunity to express. One audience member became accusatory, demanding to know whether Singer also rejected other established scientific results, such the role of ultraviolet rays in causing melanoma. His implication was that Dr. Singer’s stance was unscientific, and almost blasphemous.
Although the audience members likely possessed valid arguments that Dr. Singer did not address, their emotionalism represented an unscientific method of considering the science behind global warming. Dr. Singer affirms in an article in Imprimis entitled “Global Warming: Man-Made or Natural?” that science does not progress based on a “show of hands” but rather through scientific “evidence.” He points out that scientific advances often come from a minority that challenges the majority view, or the scientific consensus. The term “consensus” is a political rather than a scientific term, as John Kay writes in an article appearing in the Financial Times entitled “Science is the pursuit of the truth, not consensus.”
Dr. Singer, who has served on multiple high-level state and federal advisory panels and is now President of the Science and Environmental Policy Project, asserted that scientists agree that global warming is occurring; they disagree as to whether or not this change is anthropogenic. He referred to “unstoppable global change,” mentioning that cycles of warming and cooling have occurred throughout earth’s history; in the period from 1940 to 1975, the climate was cooling and people were afraid of a coming Ice Age. He further affirmed that the pattern of greenhouse warming predicted by computer models don’t match observed patterns, overstating the human-produced greenhouse gas contributions to climate change. A possible explanation for this overstatement is that water vapor feedback could be negative rather than positive, reducing the effect of carbon dioxide. Solar variability could also play an important role in controlling climate. In observing the correlation between temperature increase and carbon dioxide emissions, Dr. Singer noted that temperature has historically increased before the rise in carbon dioxide levels. He went so far as to argue that a mildly warmer climate could be beneficial.
THE STANFORD REVIEW (December 7, 2007)
Emotional Warning
by Elizabeth Lowell
Staff Writer
In a talk on “Scientific Skepticism” sponsored by Stanford in Government in November, Dr. Fred Singer sparked a heated debate as he combated the widespread view that humans are causing climate change. Meanwhile, a mostly indignant audience exchanged glances of frustration and disbelief, bubbling with counterarguments they did not have the opportunity to express. One audience member became accusatory, demanding to know whether Singer also rejected other established scientific results, such the role of ultraviolet rays in causing melanoma. His implication was that Dr. Singer’s stance was unscientific, and almost blasphemous.
Although the audience members likely possessed valid arguments that Dr. Singer did not address, their emotionalism represented an unscientific method of considering the science behind global warming. Dr. Singer affirms in an article in Imprimis entitled “Global Warming: Man-Made or Natural?” that science does not progress based on a “show of hands” but rather through scientific “evidence.” He points out that scientific advances often come from a minority that challenges the majority view, or the scientific consensus. The term “consensus” is a political rather than a scientific term, as John Kay writes in an article appearing in the Financial Times entitled “Science is the pursuit of the truth, not consensus.”
Dr. Singer, who has served on multiple high-level state and federal advisory panels and is now President of the Science and Environmental Policy Project, asserted that scientists agree that global warming is occurring; they disagree as to whether or not this change is anthropogenic. He referred to “unstoppable global change,” mentioning that cycles of warming and cooling have occurred throughout earth’s history; in the period from 1940 to 1975, the climate was cooling and people were afraid of a coming Ice Age. He further affirmed that the pattern of greenhouse warming predicted by computer models don’t match observed patterns, overstating the human-produced greenhouse gas contributions to climate change. A possible explanation for this overstatement is that water vapor feedback could be negative rather than positive, reducing the effect of carbon dioxide. Solar variability could also play an important role in controlling climate. In observing the correlation between temperature increase and carbon dioxide emissions, Dr. Singer noted that temperature has historically increased before the rise in carbon dioxide levels. He went so far as to argue that a mildly warmer climate could be beneficial.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Helping Fish & Raising Shasta Dam
Both are important objectives in the long struggle to ensure adequate water and flood control for California.
Water district buys Yolo tract
The Central Valley giant says it wants to aid fish habitat.
By Matt Weiser - mweiser@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 14, 2007
One of California's most powerful water agencies has purchased a huge tract of land in the Yolo Bypass, saying it hopes to create a nursery for imperiled fish and ease pressure on the state's water system.
Westlands Water District irrigates more than 600,000 acres of farms in the San Joaquin Valley and is almost entirely dependent on water pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It is the world's largest irrigation district, known for power politics as much as a billion-dollar annual yield of grapes, nuts and cotton.
But its fortunes are threatened by Delta pumping restrictions that were driven by a rapid decline in several sensitive fish species, particularly the Delta smelt, a native fingerling protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.
On Wednesday, Westlands closed escrow on a 3,450-acre tract of farmland on the southern edge of Yolo County alongside the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel. The acreage lies in the Yolo Bypass, a swath of land designed to flood in major storms.
Research shows that fish colonize the bypass to feed on insects and plants that bloom during floods. By causing more frequent flooding and creating refuge areas within the bypass for fish to feed and rest, biologists believe the bypass could boost the population of many native species.
Government agencies have tried and failed to pull that off, so Westlands decided to step in.
"The district purchased this property because it thinks that if we're going to improve our water supply, it's necessary to recover the species, and restoring the habitat is one of the things necessary to accomplish that," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manager. "We are not dependent on federal or state appropriations. So there will be a steady stream of revenue for the restoration program."
Westlands bought the land for $12 million from longtime Yolo Bypass farmer Duncan McCormack. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Delta advocates greeted the deal with skepticism and hope.
The skeptics point to Westlands' track record. In 2006, it outbid a host of other parties to buy a fishing resort on the McCloud River and 3,000 acres of surrounding land considered sacred to the Winnemem Wintu tribe.
Birmingham stated plainly that Westlands bought the land to ensure it doesn't become an obstacle to raising Shasta Dam.
Water district buys Yolo tract
The Central Valley giant says it wants to aid fish habitat.
By Matt Weiser - mweiser@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 14, 2007
One of California's most powerful water agencies has purchased a huge tract of land in the Yolo Bypass, saying it hopes to create a nursery for imperiled fish and ease pressure on the state's water system.
Westlands Water District irrigates more than 600,000 acres of farms in the San Joaquin Valley and is almost entirely dependent on water pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It is the world's largest irrigation district, known for power politics as much as a billion-dollar annual yield of grapes, nuts and cotton.
But its fortunes are threatened by Delta pumping restrictions that were driven by a rapid decline in several sensitive fish species, particularly the Delta smelt, a native fingerling protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.
On Wednesday, Westlands closed escrow on a 3,450-acre tract of farmland on the southern edge of Yolo County alongside the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel. The acreage lies in the Yolo Bypass, a swath of land designed to flood in major storms.
Research shows that fish colonize the bypass to feed on insects and plants that bloom during floods. By causing more frequent flooding and creating refuge areas within the bypass for fish to feed and rest, biologists believe the bypass could boost the population of many native species.
Government agencies have tried and failed to pull that off, so Westlands decided to step in.
"The district purchased this property because it thinks that if we're going to improve our water supply, it's necessary to recover the species, and restoring the habitat is one of the things necessary to accomplish that," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manager. "We are not dependent on federal or state appropriations. So there will be a steady stream of revenue for the restoration program."
Westlands bought the land for $12 million from longtime Yolo Bypass farmer Duncan McCormack. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Delta advocates greeted the deal with skepticism and hope.
The skeptics point to Westlands' track record. In 2006, it outbid a host of other parties to buy a fishing resort on the McCloud River and 3,000 acres of surrounding land considered sacred to the Winnemem Wintu tribe.
Birmingham stated plainly that Westlands bought the land to ensure it doesn't become an obstacle to raising Shasta Dam.
Public Private Partnership
One that has worked very well, raising funds, helping flood control and the wildlife, a very good thing for everyone.
Splendid sanctuary
Yolo refuge serves multitudes
By Ngoc Nguyen - ngnguyen@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 14, 2007
Farming and wildlife don't always go hand in hand, but at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, waterfowl rest and feed among tules and rice paddies.
Stretching 10 miles south of Interstate 80 and covering 25 square miles, the wildlife refuge is home to 200 species of birds. The fertile and abundant lands also support rice and tomato crops and cattle grazing.
When President Clinton dedicated the wildlife area, he hailed it as an innovative land use project. Today, the bypass area serves a mix of functions and brings together diverse partners, including government officials, farmers, hunters and the public.
Today, state fish and game officials and wildlife advocates will commemorate its 10th anniversary during an invitation-only event. Members of the public can tour the wildlife area by car – the best way to view birds, officials say – when a new auto tour road opens on Saturday.
When the bypass was created in the early part of the 20th century, flood control was the main goal.
"Its purpose is to get the water from the Feather and Sacramento Rivers to the Delta without flooding the city (Sacramento)," said Dave Feliz, who manages the wildlife area for the California Department of Fish and Game.
When the Sacramento River reaches about 37 feet, water spills over the Fremont Weir into the bypass, flowing into the north Delta through Cache Slough. Without the bypass, the city "would have been destroyed by now," Feliz said.
The state purchased some land to create the bypass, but it also paid landowners for the rights to flood their property. Two-thirds of the wetlands are privately held by farmers, ranchers and duck hunters, and a third are public lands.
"We're neighbors and have to work together pretty closely," Feliz said.
The state Reclamation Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintain the levees and supervise the flood control mission of the bypass. The state Department of Fish and Game oversees the wildlife refuge.
Farmers and duck hunters play their part, too, by creating and maintaining levees and irrigation systems, Feliz said.
Robin Kulakow of the Yolo Basin Foundation said the public-private partnership has worked. Founded in 1989, the foundation has raised funds to buy land and helped build the political will to create a wildlife habitat.
Splendid sanctuary
Yolo refuge serves multitudes
By Ngoc Nguyen - ngnguyen@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 14, 2007
Farming and wildlife don't always go hand in hand, but at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, waterfowl rest and feed among tules and rice paddies.
Stretching 10 miles south of Interstate 80 and covering 25 square miles, the wildlife refuge is home to 200 species of birds. The fertile and abundant lands also support rice and tomato crops and cattle grazing.
When President Clinton dedicated the wildlife area, he hailed it as an innovative land use project. Today, the bypass area serves a mix of functions and brings together diverse partners, including government officials, farmers, hunters and the public.
Today, state fish and game officials and wildlife advocates will commemorate its 10th anniversary during an invitation-only event. Members of the public can tour the wildlife area by car – the best way to view birds, officials say – when a new auto tour road opens on Saturday.
When the bypass was created in the early part of the 20th century, flood control was the main goal.
"Its purpose is to get the water from the Feather and Sacramento Rivers to the Delta without flooding the city (Sacramento)," said Dave Feliz, who manages the wildlife area for the California Department of Fish and Game.
When the Sacramento River reaches about 37 feet, water spills over the Fremont Weir into the bypass, flowing into the north Delta through Cache Slough. Without the bypass, the city "would have been destroyed by now," Feliz said.
The state purchased some land to create the bypass, but it also paid landowners for the rights to flood their property. Two-thirds of the wetlands are privately held by farmers, ranchers and duck hunters, and a third are public lands.
"We're neighbors and have to work together pretty closely," Feliz said.
The state Reclamation Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintain the levees and supervise the flood control mission of the bypass. The state Department of Fish and Game oversees the wildlife refuge.
Farmers and duck hunters play their part, too, by creating and maintaining levees and irrigation systems, Feliz said.
Robin Kulakow of the Yolo Basin Foundation said the public-private partnership has worked. Founded in 1989, the foundation has raised funds to buy land and helped build the political will to create a wildlife habitat.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Salmon Spawning Bed Announcement
Gravel on its way to aid fish spawning habitat
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 13, 2007
RANCHO CORDOVA – Federal officials on Monday will begin delivering hundreds of tons of gravel to the banks of the American River for a project to improve fish spawning habitat.
The $1.5 million project by the Bureau of Reclamation will be on the north bank of the river between Nimbus Dam and Sailor Bar. For two to three weeks dump trucks will stockpile gravel along river. The 30 to 40 truckloads a day will be delivered only on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Starting next summer, the gravel will be spread on the river bottom to increase spawning areas for salmon and steelhead. The project also includes creating side channels to provide refuge and spawning areas for fish.
Salmon and steelhead spawn by depositing eggs in gravel beds on the river bottom. But there isn't enough gravel habitat in the two miles below Nimbus Dam, in part because the dam blocks movement of gravel downstream. The project, authorized under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, is designed to remedy that.
In total, about 290 truckloads of gravel – about 50,000 cubic yards – will be added to the river over five years.
– Matt Weiser
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 13, 2007
RANCHO CORDOVA – Federal officials on Monday will begin delivering hundreds of tons of gravel to the banks of the American River for a project to improve fish spawning habitat.
The $1.5 million project by the Bureau of Reclamation will be on the north bank of the river between Nimbus Dam and Sailor Bar. For two to three weeks dump trucks will stockpile gravel along river. The 30 to 40 truckloads a day will be delivered only on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Starting next summer, the gravel will be spread on the river bottom to increase spawning areas for salmon and steelhead. The project also includes creating side channels to provide refuge and spawning areas for fish.
Salmon and steelhead spawn by depositing eggs in gravel beds on the river bottom. But there isn't enough gravel habitat in the two miles below Nimbus Dam, in part because the dam blocks movement of gravel downstream. The project, authorized under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, is designed to remedy that.
In total, about 290 truckloads of gravel – about 50,000 cubic yards – will be added to the river over five years.
– Matt Weiser
Lake Davis Update
The trout are back, some of them anyway.
22,000 pounds of trout put in recovering Lake Davis
One last residue from poisoning remains, and waters will stay closed until tests show it's gone.
By Jane Braxton Little - Bee Correspondent
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 13, 2007
PORTOLA – State officials planted 22,000 pounds of trout in Lake Davis Tuesday and Wednesday despite the presence of chemicals lingering in the water from poisons applied in September to eradicate non-native northern pike.
By the end of the week the Plumas County reservoir will have 33,000 pounds of Eagle Lake trout, all of them between 2 and 4 pounds, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game.
But the lake remains closed to fishing due to the continued presence of Fennedefo 99, one of several chemicals used to help disperse the poisons into the water.
Although the chemical poses no human health issues, state officials agreed to continue the public closure until Lake Davis shows no signs of toxins for three consecutive tests, said Randy Kelly, Lake Davis pike coordinator for Fish and Game.
The pressure to release trout into the reservoir before it is completely chemically free came from the American River hatchery, he said.
The fish intended for Lake Davis were growing too large to remain in the hatchery tanks, he said.
"We risked losing them to another lake," said Kelly.
Fennedefo 99 is the last remaining residue still detectable from the state's $16.7 million chemical treatment, said David Spath, who is overseeing the project for the state Department of Health Services.
Rotenone, an organic insecticide used to kill all of the fish in the lake, is now undetectable in the water, he said.
After the poisoning, department officials said no fish would be planted until lake waters tested chemical-free in three consecutive tests. They decided to plant the trout this week on the advice of state health officials, Kelly said.
Fennedefo 99 is commonly used as a food additive in gum and several soft drinks, he said. It was used in Lake Davis as a distribution agent for the toxins. It poses no risk to human health, he said.
It's apparently safe for fish, too.
Last month department officials put trout in cages for 96 hours at five different depths in the reservoir. All survived, said Kelly.
22,000 pounds of trout put in recovering Lake Davis
One last residue from poisoning remains, and waters will stay closed until tests show it's gone.
By Jane Braxton Little - Bee Correspondent
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 13, 2007
PORTOLA – State officials planted 22,000 pounds of trout in Lake Davis Tuesday and Wednesday despite the presence of chemicals lingering in the water from poisons applied in September to eradicate non-native northern pike.
By the end of the week the Plumas County reservoir will have 33,000 pounds of Eagle Lake trout, all of them between 2 and 4 pounds, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game.
But the lake remains closed to fishing due to the continued presence of Fennedefo 99, one of several chemicals used to help disperse the poisons into the water.
Although the chemical poses no human health issues, state officials agreed to continue the public closure until Lake Davis shows no signs of toxins for three consecutive tests, said Randy Kelly, Lake Davis pike coordinator for Fish and Game.
The pressure to release trout into the reservoir before it is completely chemically free came from the American River hatchery, he said.
The fish intended for Lake Davis were growing too large to remain in the hatchery tanks, he said.
"We risked losing them to another lake," said Kelly.
Fennedefo 99 is the last remaining residue still detectable from the state's $16.7 million chemical treatment, said David Spath, who is overseeing the project for the state Department of Health Services.
Rotenone, an organic insecticide used to kill all of the fish in the lake, is now undetectable in the water, he said.
After the poisoning, department officials said no fish would be planted until lake waters tested chemical-free in three consecutive tests. They decided to plant the trout this week on the advice of state health officials, Kelly said.
Fennedefo 99 is commonly used as a food additive in gum and several soft drinks, he said. It was used in Lake Davis as a distribution agent for the toxins. It poses no risk to human health, he said.
It's apparently safe for fish, too.
Last month department officials put trout in cages for 96 hours at five different depths in the reservoir. All survived, said Kelly.
Mall Wars
Given the deterioration the city has allowed, for many years, on lower K Street—one of the gateways to the Downtown Mall—it is hardly any wonder the area does not draw enough shoppers to encourage the mall operators to devote more money on mall upgrades.
Plaza takes back seat to Galleria, critics say
Westfield favors Roseville mall over downtown site, capital officials complain.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga And Terri Hardy - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 13, 2007
They may share the same parent, but Sacramento's Downtown Plaza and the Galleria at Roseville have received very different treatment.
Shoppers at the Roseville mall owned by Westfield Corp. stroll along carpeted walkways lined with high-end stores. The steel skeleton of a $250 million addition is rising next to the Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.
At the Downtown Plaza, also owned by Westfield, at least a dozen storefronts on the second floor sit empty as Christmas approaches. One major tenant, J. Crew, decamped to Arden Fair mall northeast of downtown three months ago. A third of the spaces in the food court are shuttered.
Since shortly after it bought the center on K Street in 1998, Westfield has promised upgrades. But they haven't arrived.
Sacramento city leaders grumble that Westfield treats Downtown Plaza like an unwanted stepchild. The City Council's frustration boiled over Tuesday night when a lawyer for Westfield challenged the city's environmental review for a massive proposal to redevelop the downtown railyard, which would include enough retail space to fill a shopping mall.
Plaza takes back seat to Galleria, critics say
Westfield favors Roseville mall over downtown site, capital officials complain.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga And Terri Hardy - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 13, 2007
They may share the same parent, but Sacramento's Downtown Plaza and the Galleria at Roseville have received very different treatment.
Shoppers at the Roseville mall owned by Westfield Corp. stroll along carpeted walkways lined with high-end stores. The steel skeleton of a $250 million addition is rising next to the Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.
At the Downtown Plaza, also owned by Westfield, at least a dozen storefronts on the second floor sit empty as Christmas approaches. One major tenant, J. Crew, decamped to Arden Fair mall northeast of downtown three months ago. A third of the spaces in the food court are shuttered.
Since shortly after it bought the center on K Street in 1998, Westfield has promised upgrades. But they haven't arrived.
Sacramento city leaders grumble that Westfield treats Downtown Plaza like an unwanted stepchild. The City Council's frustration boiled over Tuesday night when a lawyer for Westfield challenged the city's environmental review for a massive proposal to redevelop the downtown railyard, which would include enough retail space to fill a shopping mall.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tax Increase Anyone?
Part of the ongoing reason most of us are against new taxes, including those being proposed for the Parkway, it is difficult to ensure public money is well used for public purposes.
Dan Walters: State Fund scandal not alone
By Dan Walters - dwalters@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 12, 2007
State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner issued a highly critical report Tuesday on the shoddy, perhaps even illegal, financial practices of the quasi-public State Compensation Insurance Fund, California's largest workers' compensation insurer.
Poizner's audit is official confirmation of the scandal, including self-dealing, that had already led to a shake-up of the fund's board and management and an ongoing criminal investigation.
Given the multibillion-dollar stakes in workers' compensation, the system that provides medical care and financial support for workers with job-related illnesses and injuries, the audit is an important document unto itself. As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "It is outrageous that the former State Fund management would recklessly spend dollars."
There is, however, another dimension to the scandal: It's not an isolated case.
State Fund could engage in irregular financial practices for so many years because, as large as it may be, it exists in an official netherworld.
Dan Walters: State Fund scandal not alone
By Dan Walters - dwalters@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 12, 2007
State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner issued a highly critical report Tuesday on the shoddy, perhaps even illegal, financial practices of the quasi-public State Compensation Insurance Fund, California's largest workers' compensation insurer.
Poizner's audit is official confirmation of the scandal, including self-dealing, that had already led to a shake-up of the fund's board and management and an ongoing criminal investigation.
Given the multibillion-dollar stakes in workers' compensation, the system that provides medical care and financial support for workers with job-related illnesses and injuries, the audit is an important document unto itself. As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "It is outrageous that the former State Fund management would recklessly spend dollars."
There is, however, another dimension to the scandal: It's not an isolated case.
State Fund could engage in irregular financial practices for so many years because, as large as it may be, it exists in an official netherworld.
Developments Slow
More retrenchment in local development.
Bob Shallit: High-rise hopes fall short again at Eighth and I
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Hopes for an office tower and high-rise housing at Eighth and I streets downtown have been dashed again.
The CIM Group, a Hollywood-based developer, has opted out of its plans to buy the parcel, raze the existing building and build a new one, says Rob Leonard, economic development director for Sacramento County, which owns the site.
CIM's move follows a similar decision last year by Texas home builder D.R. Horton to abandon its plans for a 21-story "Library Lofts" project at the same site.
Leonard says CIM's decision was a "sign of the (weakening real estate) market" and an indication that CIM is focusing on other local projects, including a joint venture with CalPERS at the former John Saca high-rise condo site at Third and Capitol Mall.
As for backing out of the Eighth and I streets project, CIM exec John Given says there were "some great ideas but it didn't come together."
What happens now at that location, where a three-story, former Bank of America building now sits vacant?
Leonard says the county likely will hold the land until the market improves.
Meanwhile, he adds, "we've heard from a couple of private and public (entities) that might want to lease the building."
Bob Shallit: High-rise hopes fall short again at Eighth and I
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Hopes for an office tower and high-rise housing at Eighth and I streets downtown have been dashed again.
The CIM Group, a Hollywood-based developer, has opted out of its plans to buy the parcel, raze the existing building and build a new one, says Rob Leonard, economic development director for Sacramento County, which owns the site.
CIM's move follows a similar decision last year by Texas home builder D.R. Horton to abandon its plans for a 21-story "Library Lofts" project at the same site.
Leonard says CIM's decision was a "sign of the (weakening real estate) market" and an indication that CIM is focusing on other local projects, including a joint venture with CalPERS at the former John Saca high-rise condo site at Third and Capitol Mall.
As for backing out of the Eighth and I streets project, CIM exec John Given says there were "some great ideas but it didn't come together."
What happens now at that location, where a three-story, former Bank of America building now sits vacant?
Leonard says the county likely will hold the land until the market improves.
Meanwhile, he adds, "we've heard from a couple of private and public (entities) that might want to lease the building."
Railyards Approved
Now we can wait to see what actually happens, but very good news to get this far.
Railyard project OK'd by council
Sacramento, Thomas Enterprises must now find funding for the huge downtown development.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Sacramento City Council set the table Tuesday for the transformation of the dormant downtown railyard into a major entertainment, shopping and residential district by unanimously approving the plan of developer Thomas Enterprises for the 240 acres.
Members of the audience gave the council a standing ovation after the vote, which caps months of frenzied work on the railyard plan and years of frustrated dreams and failed development attempts.
Over the next 20 years, if it builds out as planned, the railyard will sprout more than 10,000 housing units, avenues lined with stores and upstairs apartments, office towers, hotels, a public market and a cultural and entertainment district centered around the historic railroad shops.
It will create 19,000 permanent jobs and inject $2.7 billion into Sacramento's economy, according to a study commissioned by the city.
Railyard project OK'd by council
Sacramento, Thomas Enterprises must now find funding for the huge downtown development.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Sacramento City Council set the table Tuesday for the transformation of the dormant downtown railyard into a major entertainment, shopping and residential district by unanimously approving the plan of developer Thomas Enterprises for the 240 acres.
Members of the audience gave the council a standing ovation after the vote, which caps months of frenzied work on the railyard plan and years of frustrated dreams and failed development attempts.
Over the next 20 years, if it builds out as planned, the railyard will sprout more than 10,000 housing units, avenues lined with stores and upstairs apartments, office towers, hotels, a public market and a cultural and entertainment district centered around the historic railroad shops.
It will create 19,000 permanent jobs and inject $2.7 billion into Sacramento's economy, according to a study commissioned by the city.
Nuclear Power on Table
As we still smart from the unwise shuttering of Rancho Seco, public leadership moves to reopen the discussion about nuclear power in California.
Nuclear power back in spotlight
By Dean Calbreath
STAFF WRITER
December 11, 2007
Spurred by concerns about global warming, a state Senate committee launched an inquiry yesterday into the potential of using nuclear power as a clean energy source.
Yesterday's special session in San Diego was the first time in two decades that the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications held hearings on nuclear power, said Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, the panel's chairwoman.
The key question facing the committee was whether nuclear power could help the state meet its goal of slashing greenhouse gases 80 percent by 2050.
“Before we talk about changing state policies, we want to find out what's going on in the world,” Kehoe said. “We haven't heard any information on nuclear power in 20 years.”
Nuclear power lost favor with the public after the Three Mile Island accident of 1979 and the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that the radioactive fallout from Chernobyl will ultimately cause 4,000 deaths, although some environmental groups believe that tens of thousands more will die.
Fears of an accident similar to Chernobyl led to a freeze on construction of nuclear power plants in this country. The last nuclear plant built in California was Diablo Canyon Plant 2, which went into service near San Luis Obispo in 1985.
But nuclear power has been enjoying a comeback lately, since it creates far less pollution than power plants fueled by oil, gas or coal. Two months ago, NRG Energy filed an application to build two nuclear units in Texas. It was the first application filed since the Chernobyl disaster.
Nuclear power back in spotlight
By Dean Calbreath
STAFF WRITER
December 11, 2007
Spurred by concerns about global warming, a state Senate committee launched an inquiry yesterday into the potential of using nuclear power as a clean energy source.
Yesterday's special session in San Diego was the first time in two decades that the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications held hearings on nuclear power, said Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, the panel's chairwoman.
The key question facing the committee was whether nuclear power could help the state meet its goal of slashing greenhouse gases 80 percent by 2050.
“Before we talk about changing state policies, we want to find out what's going on in the world,” Kehoe said. “We haven't heard any information on nuclear power in 20 years.”
Nuclear power lost favor with the public after the Three Mile Island accident of 1979 and the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that the radioactive fallout from Chernobyl will ultimately cause 4,000 deaths, although some environmental groups believe that tens of thousands more will die.
Fears of an accident similar to Chernobyl led to a freeze on construction of nuclear power plants in this country. The last nuclear plant built in California was Diablo Canyon Plant 2, which went into service near San Luis Obispo in 1985.
But nuclear power has been enjoying a comeback lately, since it creates far less pollution than power plants fueled by oil, gas or coal. Two months ago, NRG Energy filed an application to build two nuclear units in Texas. It was the first application filed since the Chernobyl disaster.
California Water
California has made a good deal to ensure water from the Colorado River as we struggle to capture more of our own water through the construction of new dams and reservoirs.
California tackles historic drought
States reach 'monumental agreement' on Colorado River water
By Michael Gardner
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
December 11, 2007
SACRAMENTO – With scattered water rationing looming statewide, California has secured a virtual lock on its Colorado River supply and will be allowed more storage at Lake Mead, effectively creating a new reservoir without pouring an ounce of concrete.
The twin prizes were negotiated as part of a broad seven-state accord that will, for the first time, spell out how reductions would be imposed should a historic drought continue to plague the Colorado River basin.
“This is a monumental agreement on the Colorado River. It provides us with new tools and possibilities,” said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
More than two years in the making, the accord charts how cuts will be imposed if Lake Mead continues to shrink. Arizona and Nevada must absorb losses in the first rounds, sparing California until an almost apocalyptic scenario.
California would not be a target until levels at Lake Mead plummet to just 16 percent capacity. The lake, behind Hoover Dam in Nevada, is 48 percent full after eight years of stingy snowfall.
Patterson said it's “highly unlikely” that lake levels would ever fall so precariously to warrant cuts here.
California tackles historic drought
States reach 'monumental agreement' on Colorado River water
By Michael Gardner
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
December 11, 2007
SACRAMENTO – With scattered water rationing looming statewide, California has secured a virtual lock on its Colorado River supply and will be allowed more storage at Lake Mead, effectively creating a new reservoir without pouring an ounce of concrete.
The twin prizes were negotiated as part of a broad seven-state accord that will, for the first time, spell out how reductions would be imposed should a historic drought continue to plague the Colorado River basin.
“This is a monumental agreement on the Colorado River. It provides us with new tools and possibilities,” said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
More than two years in the making, the accord charts how cuts will be imposed if Lake Mead continues to shrink. Arizona and Nevada must absorb losses in the first rounds, sparing California until an almost apocalyptic scenario.
California would not be a target until levels at Lake Mead plummet to just 16 percent capacity. The lake, behind Hoover Dam in Nevada, is 48 percent full after eight years of stingy snowfall.
Patterson said it's “highly unlikely” that lake levels would ever fall so precariously to warrant cuts here.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Golf Carts & Bike Road
A wonderful idea, good for everyone involved.
Woodland to Davis via bike road?
By Hudson Sangree - hsangree@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Each week, hundreds of bicyclists ride through the farmland of Yolo County on rural byways that connect the cities of Woodland and Davis.
Some bike for pleasure. Others commute to work or school. All share the danger of being hit by cars and trucks that blow past them at highway speeds on narrow county roads.
In October that danger became a reality when 60-year-old Woodland bicyclist Francisco "Willie" Lopez was struck and killed by a car on County Road 99 during his daily ride to work at UC Davis.
In the wake of Lopez's death, the county plans to widen sections of some routes favored by cyclists. At the same time, proposals are emerging to create a route only for bicycles and electric vehicles from Davis to Woodland.
A Roseville engineering firm has proposed a paved thoroughfare connecting East Street in Woodland with F Street in Davis via a railroad right of way.
Meanwhile, county Supervisor Matt Rexroad is discussing a plan to extend County Road 101 and limit access to bicycles, slow-moving electric vehicles and, maybe, farm equipment.
"I'm talking about a dedicated bicycle trail, a non-car option," Rexroad said Monday.
Rexroad sees the pathway as a potential economic benefit to both cities and a way to encourage people to bike the distance, about seven miles, between them.
Woodland to Davis via bike road?
By Hudson Sangree - hsangree@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Each week, hundreds of bicyclists ride through the farmland of Yolo County on rural byways that connect the cities of Woodland and Davis.
Some bike for pleasure. Others commute to work or school. All share the danger of being hit by cars and trucks that blow past them at highway speeds on narrow county roads.
In October that danger became a reality when 60-year-old Woodland bicyclist Francisco "Willie" Lopez was struck and killed by a car on County Road 99 during his daily ride to work at UC Davis.
In the wake of Lopez's death, the county plans to widen sections of some routes favored by cyclists. At the same time, proposals are emerging to create a route only for bicycles and electric vehicles from Davis to Woodland.
A Roseville engineering firm has proposed a paved thoroughfare connecting East Street in Woodland with F Street in Davis via a railroad right of way.
Meanwhile, county Supervisor Matt Rexroad is discussing a plan to extend County Road 101 and limit access to bicycles, slow-moving electric vehicles and, maybe, farm equipment.
"I'm talking about a dedicated bicycle trail, a non-car option," Rexroad said Monday.
Rexroad sees the pathway as a potential economic benefit to both cities and a way to encourage people to bike the distance, about seven miles, between them.
Arden Cityhood
This is moving closer to becoming a reality and, if approved, will be the better for the new city and its residents, and for the region as one of its members becomes revitalized.
Road map to cityhood: Citrus Heights sets example for Arden Arcade
By Ed Fletcher - efletcher@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The plan called for holiday singing, hot chocolate and outdoor merriment before the official lighting of the Citrus Heights Christmas tree.
Mother Nature had other plans. A steady rain drove the annual tree ceremony into the carpeted confines of City Hall last week. But the celebration went on, capped by a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
Citrus Heights has been a city for just 10 years, but its leaders are already good at creating silver linings – whether improvising on a tree-lighting ceremony, or thriving with a reserve fund approaching $35 million while surrounding municipalities suffer in budget deficits.
While most cities bank on taxes and fees from new developments to fill civic piggy banks, Citrus Heights prospers for now by focusing on existing business districts and neighborhoods.
Citrus Heights' successful launch as a city may well serve as a template for organizers working to turn the unincorporated Arden and Arcade neighborhoods of Sacramento County into the city of Arden Arcade.
"They have been able to be very efficient and effective with their budgets. They have done everything right," Joel Archer, chairman of the incorporation committee, recently told a handful of residents. "I see no reason Arden Arcade can't be like Citrus Heights."
Archer makes the Arden Arcade-Citrus Heights comparison for good reason.
Arden Arcade has more in common with Citrus Heights than any other Sacramento County city. Unlike Folsom, Elk Grove or Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Arden Arcade have no geographic room to grow. Citrus Heights is 14.4 square miles. Arden Arcade, as proposed, would be 13.3 square miles. Citrus Heights' primary tax generator is Sunrise Marketplace, while Arden Arcade boasts nearly two dozen automobile dealerships along Fulton Avenue.
Road map to cityhood: Citrus Heights sets example for Arden Arcade
By Ed Fletcher - efletcher@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The plan called for holiday singing, hot chocolate and outdoor merriment before the official lighting of the Citrus Heights Christmas tree.
Mother Nature had other plans. A steady rain drove the annual tree ceremony into the carpeted confines of City Hall last week. But the celebration went on, capped by a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
Citrus Heights has been a city for just 10 years, but its leaders are already good at creating silver linings – whether improvising on a tree-lighting ceremony, or thriving with a reserve fund approaching $35 million while surrounding municipalities suffer in budget deficits.
While most cities bank on taxes and fees from new developments to fill civic piggy banks, Citrus Heights prospers for now by focusing on existing business districts and neighborhoods.
Citrus Heights' successful launch as a city may well serve as a template for organizers working to turn the unincorporated Arden and Arcade neighborhoods of Sacramento County into the city of Arden Arcade.
"They have been able to be very efficient and effective with their budgets. They have done everything right," Joel Archer, chairman of the incorporation committee, recently told a handful of residents. "I see no reason Arden Arcade can't be like Citrus Heights."
Archer makes the Arden Arcade-Citrus Heights comparison for good reason.
Arden Arcade has more in common with Citrus Heights than any other Sacramento County city. Unlike Folsom, Elk Grove or Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Arden Arcade have no geographic room to grow. Citrus Heights is 14.4 square miles. Arden Arcade, as proposed, would be 13.3 square miles. Citrus Heights' primary tax generator is Sunrise Marketplace, while Arden Arcade boasts nearly two dozen automobile dealerships along Fulton Avenue.
Greenness is Godliness?
Funny and very tragic commentary.
Greenness is next to godliness
These days, being anything less than an environmental evangelist means always having to say you're sorry.
Gregory Rodriguez
December 10, 2007
Is your marriage on the rocks? Are you and the spouse always fighting? Is the passion gone? A new study published by the National Academy of Sciences suggests that you should think twice before considering divorce. No, not because of the negative effects it may have on the children or even on your pocketbook, but of what it'd do to your poor mother. Mother Earth, that is.
All kidding aside, the study's findings make sense. Because they share resources, people in married households use energy and water more efficiently than divorced ones. But the study also indicates how much global climate change, which -- along with terrorism -- has replaced the Soviet Union as the Monster Under the Bed in our national consciousness. It has reached the level of a full-blown zeitgeist social issue, with far-reaching moral and religious undertones.
Past national threats -- even fear of the atom bomb -- were largely relegated to the political sphere. Most people may have worried about nuclear warfare, but it encroached on their private lives only at the margins: Not very many of us built bomb shelters in the backyard. But the fear of climate change has invaded our private and everyday lives.
Indeed, because global warming and the efforts to halt it touch on nearly every realm of policy, the environment has become a moral prism through which all other issues are being filtered. Whether or not they actually care about the environment, partisans of all stripes are using the issue to gain the moral edge. Now, even the anti-divorce "family values" folks have environmental ammunition.
There are many more examples. In July, an obscure environmental impact report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management was quickly embraced by anti-immigration activists because it found that undocumented migrants were an ecological threat to public lands in southern Arizona -- when they crossed the desert in numbers, a fragile ecosystem got, literally, trampled. Opposing advocates argued that the increasing militarization of the border was an even greater ecological threat than the migrants themselves.
Climate change has even entered the realm of sexual politics. Last month, a female Swedish scientist found that "women cause considerably fewer dioxide emissions than men, and thus considerably less climate change." A green think tank in London has urged British couples to think of the environmental consequences of having more than two children. It released a paper showing that if couples had two children instead of three, "they could cut their family's carbon dioxide output the equivalent of 620 return flights a year between London and New York."
Similarly, last month a London tabloid featured a 35-year-old environmentalist who asked to be sterilized so she could contribute to the effort "to protect the planet."
"Having children is selfish," she insisted. "It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet."
Greenness is next to godliness
These days, being anything less than an environmental evangelist means always having to say you're sorry.
Gregory Rodriguez
December 10, 2007
Is your marriage on the rocks? Are you and the spouse always fighting? Is the passion gone? A new study published by the National Academy of Sciences suggests that you should think twice before considering divorce. No, not because of the negative effects it may have on the children or even on your pocketbook, but of what it'd do to your poor mother. Mother Earth, that is.
All kidding aside, the study's findings make sense. Because they share resources, people in married households use energy and water more efficiently than divorced ones. But the study also indicates how much global climate change, which -- along with terrorism -- has replaced the Soviet Union as the Monster Under the Bed in our national consciousness. It has reached the level of a full-blown zeitgeist social issue, with far-reaching moral and religious undertones.
Past national threats -- even fear of the atom bomb -- were largely relegated to the political sphere. Most people may have worried about nuclear warfare, but it encroached on their private lives only at the margins: Not very many of us built bomb shelters in the backyard. But the fear of climate change has invaded our private and everyday lives.
Indeed, because global warming and the efforts to halt it touch on nearly every realm of policy, the environment has become a moral prism through which all other issues are being filtered. Whether or not they actually care about the environment, partisans of all stripes are using the issue to gain the moral edge. Now, even the anti-divorce "family values" folks have environmental ammunition.
There are many more examples. In July, an obscure environmental impact report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management was quickly embraced by anti-immigration activists because it found that undocumented migrants were an ecological threat to public lands in southern Arizona -- when they crossed the desert in numbers, a fragile ecosystem got, literally, trampled. Opposing advocates argued that the increasing militarization of the border was an even greater ecological threat than the migrants themselves.
Climate change has even entered the realm of sexual politics. Last month, a female Swedish scientist found that "women cause considerably fewer dioxide emissions than men, and thus considerably less climate change." A green think tank in London has urged British couples to think of the environmental consequences of having more than two children. It released a paper showing that if couples had two children instead of three, "they could cut their family's carbon dioxide output the equivalent of 620 return flights a year between London and New York."
Similarly, last month a London tabloid featured a 35-year-old environmentalist who asked to be sterilized so she could contribute to the effort "to protect the planet."
"Having children is selfish," she insisted. "It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet."
Public & Private Leadership
We are very fortunate to live in a state where, when public leadership fails to provide solutions to pressing public issues, private leadership can rise to the occasion and help through the initiative process.
Legislative logjam sends coalitions down the initiative trail
George Skelton
Capitol Journal
December 10, 2007
SACRAMENTO — It's a sign of ineptitude within the state Capitol that two disparate coalitions of interest groups have launched ballot initiative campaigns to do what the elected representatives should have done.
Two high-profile issues are involved: water supply and legislative redistricting.
The Capitol hang-up over water is that Republicans and Democrats don't trust each other. Republicans insist that any bond money to pay for dam building be doled out by some entity independent of the Democrat-controlled Legislature. But Democrats don't trust anyone to spend the money wisely without legislative oversight.
With redistricting, the legislative stumbling block is the reluctance of many Democrats to surrender their gerrymandering power to shape districts to benefit themselves.
In both cases, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has failed to exert enough leadership to forge a compromise.
And the outside interests have run out of patience.
The interests also have almost run out of time if they're to qualify their measures for next November's ballot. They need to get official titles from Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and begin circulating petitions sometime next month in order to turn in enough signatures around May to qualify for November. So they kicked off their efforts publicly last week.
There's nothing new about this scenario, of course. Our officeholders' inability to solve real problems and to reform themselves increasingly has led to policy making by initiative, or at least the attempt.
Legislative logjam sends coalitions down the initiative trail
George Skelton
Capitol Journal
December 10, 2007
SACRAMENTO — It's a sign of ineptitude within the state Capitol that two disparate coalitions of interest groups have launched ballot initiative campaigns to do what the elected representatives should have done.
Two high-profile issues are involved: water supply and legislative redistricting.
The Capitol hang-up over water is that Republicans and Democrats don't trust each other. Republicans insist that any bond money to pay for dam building be doled out by some entity independent of the Democrat-controlled Legislature. But Democrats don't trust anyone to spend the money wisely without legislative oversight.
With redistricting, the legislative stumbling block is the reluctance of many Democrats to surrender their gerrymandering power to shape districts to benefit themselves.
In both cases, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has failed to exert enough leadership to forge a compromise.
And the outside interests have run out of patience.
The interests also have almost run out of time if they're to qualify their measures for next November's ballot. They need to get official titles from Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and begin circulating petitions sometime next month in order to turn in enough signatures around May to qualify for November. So they kicked off their efforts publicly last week.
There's nothing new about this scenario, of course. Our officeholders' inability to solve real problems and to reform themselves increasingly has led to policy making by initiative, or at least the attempt.
Portland’s Light Rail
Portland is often used as a model of what we wish Sacramento to become, and we even have some of its former public administrators now in leadership roles in Sacramento to help us make that wish more of a reality.
While we move towards that, here is some reporting on how Portland’s light rail project has evolved over the years, and it is not a model we want to emulate.
Light Rail Follies #1: State Troopers Ride Max
We have a spate of light-rail follies this week. First up: Crime on Portland’s “MAX” light rail has gotten so bad that, in November, Oregon’s governor directed state police to ride the rails regularly to protect passengers from assaults. “I am absolutely adamant that its citizens feel safe at all times in using a fine mass transit system,” said the governor.
Grateful representatives of TriMet, Portland’s transit agency, expressed confidence that the troopers would be able to solve the gang-related crime problems that have plagued the light-rail system. The troopers “will allow us to better work out a long-term solution with local law enforcement people,” said TriMet’s public services director.
While potential passengers might look upon this action with relief, the only problem is that it happened in November, 1988. When TriMet opened the light-rail line in 1986, it eliminated its transit police because it did not have enough money to both operate light rail and offer passenger security. The light rail gave drug dealers and other inner-city criminals easy access to the suburbs, and soon they were intimidating and assaulting riders.
“Once we had verbal assaults,” said TriMet’s general manager in November, 1988. “Now we’re talking about knives and guns.”
Oregon’s governor in 1988 was Neil Goldschmidt, the man who, a dozen years earlier, had decided to build the light-rail line because he had a hundred million federal dollars that he had to spend on transit capital improvements–or lose the money to some other city. Buying buses wasn’t an option, because TriMet didn’t have enough money to run that many new buses. So Goldschmidt selected the light-rail technology precisely because of its high capital cost.
Goldschmidt failed to foresee that the cost would be far higher than originally projected. To make up some of the difference, TriMet cut bus service and raised fares, with the result that transit’s share of commuting fell from 9.8 percent in 1980 to 6.7 percent in 1990. Plus, of course, it cut its budget for transit police.
How well did the state troopers work out? For nearly six months, at a cost to state taxpayers of $31,000 a month, seven troopers rode the light-rail cars, ejecting riders for failing to pay their fares and discouraging members of the Crips and Blood gangs from bothering passengers.
The program hit a snag when Portland’s transit union complained that TriMet was engaging in unfair labor practices. The union was upset that TriMet cut its own transit police (who would have been transit union members) and was relying on state police instead. A labor relations board rejected the union’s complaint….
Of course, as the Antiplanner has reported several times in the past few months, Portland’s light-rail crime problem is worse than ever today. TriMet’s solution: end the downtown free-fare zone. If people have to pay to get on, TriMet officials reason, criminals will be less likely to use the system.
“Fareless Square provides a free ride for panhandlers, who go back and forth between downtown and the Lloyd Center, and drug dealers and rowdy gangs of young people, homeless people and drunks who are using the train as a shelter and a place to do their business,” says TriMet’s general manager.
While we move towards that, here is some reporting on how Portland’s light rail project has evolved over the years, and it is not a model we want to emulate.
Light Rail Follies #1: State Troopers Ride Max
We have a spate of light-rail follies this week. First up: Crime on Portland’s “MAX” light rail has gotten so bad that, in November, Oregon’s governor directed state police to ride the rails regularly to protect passengers from assaults. “I am absolutely adamant that its citizens feel safe at all times in using a fine mass transit system,” said the governor.
Grateful representatives of TriMet, Portland’s transit agency, expressed confidence that the troopers would be able to solve the gang-related crime problems that have plagued the light-rail system. The troopers “will allow us to better work out a long-term solution with local law enforcement people,” said TriMet’s public services director.
While potential passengers might look upon this action with relief, the only problem is that it happened in November, 1988. When TriMet opened the light-rail line in 1986, it eliminated its transit police because it did not have enough money to both operate light rail and offer passenger security. The light rail gave drug dealers and other inner-city criminals easy access to the suburbs, and soon they were intimidating and assaulting riders.
“Once we had verbal assaults,” said TriMet’s general manager in November, 1988. “Now we’re talking about knives and guns.”
Oregon’s governor in 1988 was Neil Goldschmidt, the man who, a dozen years earlier, had decided to build the light-rail line because he had a hundred million federal dollars that he had to spend on transit capital improvements–or lose the money to some other city. Buying buses wasn’t an option, because TriMet didn’t have enough money to run that many new buses. So Goldschmidt selected the light-rail technology precisely because of its high capital cost.
Goldschmidt failed to foresee that the cost would be far higher than originally projected. To make up some of the difference, TriMet cut bus service and raised fares, with the result that transit’s share of commuting fell from 9.8 percent in 1980 to 6.7 percent in 1990. Plus, of course, it cut its budget for transit police.
How well did the state troopers work out? For nearly six months, at a cost to state taxpayers of $31,000 a month, seven troopers rode the light-rail cars, ejecting riders for failing to pay their fares and discouraging members of the Crips and Blood gangs from bothering passengers.
The program hit a snag when Portland’s transit union complained that TriMet was engaging in unfair labor practices. The union was upset that TriMet cut its own transit police (who would have been transit union members) and was relying on state police instead. A labor relations board rejected the union’s complaint….
Of course, as the Antiplanner has reported several times in the past few months, Portland’s light-rail crime problem is worse than ever today. TriMet’s solution: end the downtown free-fare zone. If people have to pay to get on, TriMet officials reason, criminals will be less likely to use the system.
“Fareless Square provides a free ride for panhandlers, who go back and forth between downtown and the Lloyd Center, and drug dealers and rowdy gangs of young people, homeless people and drunks who are using the train as a shelter and a place to do their business,” says TriMet’s general manager.
Global Cooling Approaching?
That’s one possible conclusion, and one a group of Russian scientists see from the changing behavior of the sun, and sunspots in particular.
Ray of hope: Can the sun save us from global warming?
Could the Sun's inactivity save us from global warming? David Whitehouse explains why solar disempower may be the key to combating climate change
Published: 05 December 2007
Something is happening to our Sun. It has to do with sunspots, or rather the activity cycle their coming and going signifies. After a period of exceptionally high activity in the 20th century, our Sun has suddenly gone exceptionally quiet. Months have passed with no spots visible on its disc. We are at the end of one cycle of activity and astronomers are waiting for the sunspots to return and mark the start of the next, the so-called cycle 24. They have been waiting for a while now with no sign it's on its way any time soon.
Sunspots – dark magnetic blotches on the Sun's surface – come and go in a roughly 11-year cycle of activity first noticed in 1843. It's related to the motion of super-hot, electrically charged gas inside the Sun – a kind of internal conveyor belt where vast sub-surface rivers of gas take 40 years to circulate from the equator to the poles and back. Somehow, in a way not very well understood, this circulation produces the sunspot cycle in which every 11 years there is a sunspot maximum followed by a minimum. But recently the Sun's internal circulation has been failing. In May 2006 this conveyor belt had slowed to a crawl – a record low. Nasa scientist David Hathaway said: "It's off the bottom of the charts... this has important repercussions for future solar activity." What's more, it's not the only indicator that the Sun is up to something.
Sunspots can be long or short, weak or strong and sometimes they can go away altogether. Following the discovery of the cycle, astronomers looked back through previous observations and were able to see it clearly until they reached the 17th century, when it seemed to disappear. It turned out to be a real absence, not one caused by a lack of observations. Astronomers called it the "Maunder Minimum." It was an astonishing discovery: our Sun can change. Between 1645 and 1715 sunspots were rare. About 50 were observed; there should have been 50,000.
Ever since the sunspot cycle was discovered, researchers have looked for its rhythm superimposed on the Earth's climate. In some cases it's there but usually at low levels. But there was something strange about the time when the sunspots disappeared that left scientists to ponder if the sun's unusual behaviour could have something to do with the fact that the 17th century was also a time when the Earth's northern hemisphere chilled with devastating consequences.
Scientists call that event the "Little Ice Age" and it affected Europe at just the wrong time. In response to the more benign climate of the earlier Medieval Warm Period, Europe's population may have doubled. But in the mid-17th century demographic growth stopped and in some areas fell, in part due to the reduced crop yields caused by climate change. Bread prices doubled and then quintupled and hunger weakened the population. The Italian historian Majolino Bisaccioni suggested that the wave of bad weather and revolutions might be due to the influence of the stars. But the Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli speculated that fluctuations in the number of sunspots might be to blame, for he had noticed they were absent.
Ray of hope: Can the sun save us from global warming?
Could the Sun's inactivity save us from global warming? David Whitehouse explains why solar disempower may be the key to combating climate change
Published: 05 December 2007
Something is happening to our Sun. It has to do with sunspots, or rather the activity cycle their coming and going signifies. After a period of exceptionally high activity in the 20th century, our Sun has suddenly gone exceptionally quiet. Months have passed with no spots visible on its disc. We are at the end of one cycle of activity and astronomers are waiting for the sunspots to return and mark the start of the next, the so-called cycle 24. They have been waiting for a while now with no sign it's on its way any time soon.
Sunspots – dark magnetic blotches on the Sun's surface – come and go in a roughly 11-year cycle of activity first noticed in 1843. It's related to the motion of super-hot, electrically charged gas inside the Sun – a kind of internal conveyor belt where vast sub-surface rivers of gas take 40 years to circulate from the equator to the poles and back. Somehow, in a way not very well understood, this circulation produces the sunspot cycle in which every 11 years there is a sunspot maximum followed by a minimum. But recently the Sun's internal circulation has been failing. In May 2006 this conveyor belt had slowed to a crawl – a record low. Nasa scientist David Hathaway said: "It's off the bottom of the charts... this has important repercussions for future solar activity." What's more, it's not the only indicator that the Sun is up to something.
Sunspots can be long or short, weak or strong and sometimes they can go away altogether. Following the discovery of the cycle, astronomers looked back through previous observations and were able to see it clearly until they reached the 17th century, when it seemed to disappear. It turned out to be a real absence, not one caused by a lack of observations. Astronomers called it the "Maunder Minimum." It was an astonishing discovery: our Sun can change. Between 1645 and 1715 sunspots were rare. About 50 were observed; there should have been 50,000.
Ever since the sunspot cycle was discovered, researchers have looked for its rhythm superimposed on the Earth's climate. In some cases it's there but usually at low levels. But there was something strange about the time when the sunspots disappeared that left scientists to ponder if the sun's unusual behaviour could have something to do with the fact that the 17th century was also a time when the Earth's northern hemisphere chilled with devastating consequences.
Scientists call that event the "Little Ice Age" and it affected Europe at just the wrong time. In response to the more benign climate of the earlier Medieval Warm Period, Europe's population may have doubled. But in the mid-17th century demographic growth stopped and in some areas fell, in part due to the reduced crop yields caused by climate change. Bread prices doubled and then quintupled and hunger weakened the population. The Italian historian Majolino Bisaccioni suggested that the wave of bad weather and revolutions might be due to the influence of the stars. But the Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli speculated that fluctuations in the number of sunspots might be to blame, for he had noticed they were absent.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Arden Arcade
The folks working to incorporate Arden Arcade, or Arden as I would hope the new city is eventually named, will be taking their presentation around the area to help educate the community about their important work.
Carlos Alcalá: Cityhood bid goes to the people
By Carlos Alcalá - calcala@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 6, 2007
Around Arden Arcade: Incorporation efforts are hitting the road. Not leaving town, just going on the move around Arden Arcade to bring their campaign to the people who will vote on it. The latest stop, at Arcade Library last week, showed a well-prepared and well- spoken group of six pro-cityhood advocates. And a rather small turnout. Of the 21 present, six were the presenters, at least two were journalists and at least one was a Citrus Heights resident, leaving no more than a dozen resident listeners. (Next meeting is Jan. 8 at the Arden-Dimick Library.) The city advocates talked about all the big issues – taxes, police services, representation – plus the silly question we raised way back in January: what to call the new city? "Our No. 1 comment is they don't like the name (Arden Arcade)," incorporation leader Joel Archer said. But that's small potatoes, apparently. If and when it becomes a city, the name can be worked out then, he said. "If the people don't like it (Arden Arcade), it can be changed." ... Oddly, they have a flashier name for the part of Arden left out of city plans. They're calling that slice between Fair Oaks Boulevard and the river SOFO, for south of Fair Oaks. Why not SOFA? Seems like a comfy place to live. ...
Carlos Alcalá: Cityhood bid goes to the people
By Carlos Alcalá - calcala@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 6, 2007
Around Arden Arcade: Incorporation efforts are hitting the road. Not leaving town, just going on the move around Arden Arcade to bring their campaign to the people who will vote on it. The latest stop, at Arcade Library last week, showed a well-prepared and well- spoken group of six pro-cityhood advocates. And a rather small turnout. Of the 21 present, six were the presenters, at least two were journalists and at least one was a Citrus Heights resident, leaving no more than a dozen resident listeners. (Next meeting is Jan. 8 at the Arden-Dimick Library.) The city advocates talked about all the big issues – taxes, police services, representation – plus the silly question we raised way back in January: what to call the new city? "Our No. 1 comment is they don't like the name (Arden Arcade)," incorporation leader Joel Archer said. But that's small potatoes, apparently. If and when it becomes a city, the name can be worked out then, he said. "If the people don't like it (Arden Arcade), it can be changed." ... Oddly, they have a flashier name for the part of Arden left out of city plans. They're calling that slice between Fair Oaks Boulevard and the river SOFO, for south of Fair Oaks. Why not SOFA? Seems like a comfy place to live. ...
River Hotel
It is very nice to finally see lodging being built along our rivers and an encouraging sign of our region's growing maturity as a destination.
Bob Shallit: Luxury hotelier goes with the flow
By Bob Shallit - bshallit@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, December 10, 2007
Developer Bob Leach has patiently waited more than a decade to build a hotel on the Sacramento River.
Now, with the $32 million project nearing completion, he's seeing an upside to years of frustrating delays caused by neighborhood opposition and environmental hurdles.
"The thing is, this was a good idea 13 years ago," he says, while giving a tour of his 101-room Le Rivage hotel and the adjoining Scott's Seafood Grill and Bar, both of which will open in early January. "Now it's a great idea."
In other words, Sacramento has matured and the former site of the long-gone Captain's Table restaurant is now ready for what Leach describes as a "first-class hotel with an Italian and French Riviera" flavor.
Riviera on the river? Sure, says Leach. The polished marble flooring is from Italy. So are the guest robes and high-end linens. The stone archway at the entrance is "our little piazza," with Italian pavers underfoot.
As Leach envisions it, guests will stand on their private balconies, "with a glass of vino and listen to Italian opera" coming from performers at the hotel's riverside amphitheater.
"You get the drift," he says.
Leach says he decided a year ago to upgrade the project from upscale to luxury. ("The market had evolved to the point where that was the one area not covered," he says.)
In this case, luxury means $250- to- $575- a-night rooms and suites, with amenities like claw-foot soaking tubs or Jacuzzis, fireplaces, treadmills and 42-inch flat-screen TVs. The Lt. Governor's Suite has a billiards table; the Governor's Suite features a large handcrafted conference table (imported from Italy, natch), along with separate living quarters.
But the project's key selling point is its connection with the river.
Bob Shallit: Luxury hotelier goes with the flow
By Bob Shallit - bshallit@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, December 10, 2007
Developer Bob Leach has patiently waited more than a decade to build a hotel on the Sacramento River.
Now, with the $32 million project nearing completion, he's seeing an upside to years of frustrating delays caused by neighborhood opposition and environmental hurdles.
"The thing is, this was a good idea 13 years ago," he says, while giving a tour of his 101-room Le Rivage hotel and the adjoining Scott's Seafood Grill and Bar, both of which will open in early January. "Now it's a great idea."
In other words, Sacramento has matured and the former site of the long-gone Captain's Table restaurant is now ready for what Leach describes as a "first-class hotel with an Italian and French Riviera" flavor.
Riviera on the river? Sure, says Leach. The polished marble flooring is from Italy. So are the guest robes and high-end linens. The stone archway at the entrance is "our little piazza," with Italian pavers underfoot.
As Leach envisions it, guests will stand on their private balconies, "with a glass of vino and listen to Italian opera" coming from performers at the hotel's riverside amphitheater.
"You get the drift," he says.
Leach says he decided a year ago to upgrade the project from upscale to luxury. ("The market had evolved to the point where that was the one area not covered," he says.)
In this case, luxury means $250- to- $575- a-night rooms and suites, with amenities like claw-foot soaking tubs or Jacuzzis, fireplaces, treadmills and 42-inch flat-screen TVs. The Lt. Governor's Suite has a billiards table; the Governor's Suite features a large handcrafted conference table (imported from Italy, natch), along with separate living quarters.
But the project's key selling point is its connection with the river.
Global Warming Data?
Questions about the temperature graphs used for global warming claims.
Contaminated data
Hot cities, not CO2, cause urban thermometers to rise
Ross McKitrick, Financial Post Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Below is the famous graph of "global average surface temperature," or "global temperature" for short. The data come from thermometers around the world, but between the thermometer readings and the final, famous, warming ramp, a lot of statistical modelling aims at removing known sources of exaggeration in the warming trend. In a new article just published in the Journal of Geophysical Research -- Atmospheres, a co-author and I have concluded that the manipulations for the steep post-1980 period are inadequate, and the above graph is an exaggeration. Along the way, I have also found that the United Nations agency promoting the global temperature graph has made false claims about the quality of its data.
The graph at right comes from data collected in weather stations around the world. Other graphs come from weather satellites and from networks of weather balloons that monitor layers of the atmosphere. These other graphs don't show as much warming as the weather-station data, even though they measure at heights where there is supposed to be even more greenhouse-gas-induced warming than at the surface. The discrepancy is especially clear in the tropics.
The surface-measured data has many well-known problems. Over the post-war era, equipment has changed, station sites have been moved, and the time of day at which the data is collected has changed.
Many long-term weather records come from in or near cities, which have gotten warmer as they grow. Many poor countries have sparse weather-station records and few resources to ensure data quality. Fewer than one-third of the weather stations operating in the 1970s remain in operation.
Scientists readily acknowledged that temperature measurements are contaminated for the purpose of measuring climate change. But they argue that adjustments fix the problem. To deal with a false warming generated by urbanization, they have the "Urbanization Adjustment." To deal with biases due to changing the time of day when temperatures are observed, they have the "Time of Observation Bias Adjustment."
And so forth.
How do we know these adjustments are correct? In most studies, the question is simply not asked. A few studies argue that the adjustments must be adequate since adjacent rural and urban samples give similar results. But closer inspection shows some of these papers don't actually give similar results at all, or when they do they define "rural" so broadly that it includes partly urbanized places. Other studies say the adjustments must be adequate because trends on windy nights look the same as trends on calm nights. But the long list of data problems includes issues just as serious under both windy and calm conditions.
The papers describing the adjustments aim to construct data showing what the temperature would be in a region if nobody had ever lived there. If the adjustments are right, the final output should not be correlated with the extent of industrial development and variations in socioeconomic conditions. But in a 2004 study with climatologist Patrick Michaels, we found that the adjustment models were not removing the contamination patterns as claimed. If the contamination were removed, we estimated the average measured warming rate over land would decline by about half. Dutch meteorologists using different data and a different testing methodology had come to the same conclusions.
Contaminated data
Hot cities, not CO2, cause urban thermometers to rise
Ross McKitrick, Financial Post Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Below is the famous graph of "global average surface temperature," or "global temperature" for short. The data come from thermometers around the world, but between the thermometer readings and the final, famous, warming ramp, a lot of statistical modelling aims at removing known sources of exaggeration in the warming trend. In a new article just published in the Journal of Geophysical Research -- Atmospheres, a co-author and I have concluded that the manipulations for the steep post-1980 period are inadequate, and the above graph is an exaggeration. Along the way, I have also found that the United Nations agency promoting the global temperature graph has made false claims about the quality of its data.
The graph at right comes from data collected in weather stations around the world. Other graphs come from weather satellites and from networks of weather balloons that monitor layers of the atmosphere. These other graphs don't show as much warming as the weather-station data, even though they measure at heights where there is supposed to be even more greenhouse-gas-induced warming than at the surface. The discrepancy is especially clear in the tropics.
The surface-measured data has many well-known problems. Over the post-war era, equipment has changed, station sites have been moved, and the time of day at which the data is collected has changed.
Many long-term weather records come from in or near cities, which have gotten warmer as they grow. Many poor countries have sparse weather-station records and few resources to ensure data quality. Fewer than one-third of the weather stations operating in the 1970s remain in operation.
Scientists readily acknowledged that temperature measurements are contaminated for the purpose of measuring climate change. But they argue that adjustments fix the problem. To deal with a false warming generated by urbanization, they have the "Urbanization Adjustment." To deal with biases due to changing the time of day when temperatures are observed, they have the "Time of Observation Bias Adjustment."
And so forth.
How do we know these adjustments are correct? In most studies, the question is simply not asked. A few studies argue that the adjustments must be adequate since adjacent rural and urban samples give similar results. But closer inspection shows some of these papers don't actually give similar results at all, or when they do they define "rural" so broadly that it includes partly urbanized places. Other studies say the adjustments must be adequate because trends on windy nights look the same as trends on calm nights. But the long list of data problems includes issues just as serious under both windy and calm conditions.
The papers describing the adjustments aim to construct data showing what the temperature would be in a region if nobody had ever lived there. If the adjustments are right, the final output should not be correlated with the extent of industrial development and variations in socioeconomic conditions. But in a 2004 study with climatologist Patrick Michaels, we found that the adjustment models were not removing the contamination patterns as claimed. If the contamination were removed, we estimated the average measured warming rate over land would decline by about half. Dutch meteorologists using different data and a different testing methodology had come to the same conclusions.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Another K Street Perspective
A good case for the effectiveness of K Street's private leadership, and judging from the well-known and long-term lack of public leadership about K Street, maybe closer to the truth than the conventional wisdom.
Another View: Mohanna is not the problem on K Street
By Griselda Barajas - Special To The Bee
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
Nearly three years ago, Americans across the country rallied behind Suzette Kelo, the woman who stood up to city officials in Connecticut when they wanted to condemn her home and give it to a developer. It is unjust for anyone to lose his or her property so another person can profit from it.
Sadly, Sacramento City officials want to do the same thing to a man whose commitment to our town is unparalleled. His name is Moe Mohanna.
City "insiders" want you to believe he's the problem. If you blame Mohanna for all of downtown's problems, it's easier to "take" his land. They aren't taking his properties for a park or some other public use. No, the city intends to give the property to another developer.
When few cared to invest a dime downtown, Mohanna invested his money, his time and his energy. For more than 20 years, he partnered with local businesspeople and the community to preserve unique old buildings. Mohanna renovated The Grand on J Street, the Crepe Café on K Street and the old Levinson's Bookstore on 10th Street, and now the Temple Coffeehouse. And, of course, my restaurant, Texas Mexican.
The city says Mohanna's buildings are empty and vacant. City officials fail to mention it was they who created the so-called "blight." It was the city that evicted tenants from their properties more than a year ago. I know because the city forced me to shut down my restaurant in 2006. And, it's the city that owns half of the vacant and run-down properties on the 700 block and the big hole in the ground on the 800 block.
The city says Mohanna didn't complete a deal to swap his buildings on the 700 block for buildings on the 800 block. What the city won't say is the buildings Mohanna was to receive in the "exchange" are no longer there – they were demolished by the city after a fire.
Another View: Mohanna is not the problem on K Street
By Griselda Barajas - Special To The Bee
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
Nearly three years ago, Americans across the country rallied behind Suzette Kelo, the woman who stood up to city officials in Connecticut when they wanted to condemn her home and give it to a developer. It is unjust for anyone to lose his or her property so another person can profit from it.
Sadly, Sacramento City officials want to do the same thing to a man whose commitment to our town is unparalleled. His name is Moe Mohanna.
City "insiders" want you to believe he's the problem. If you blame Mohanna for all of downtown's problems, it's easier to "take" his land. They aren't taking his properties for a park or some other public use. No, the city intends to give the property to another developer.
When few cared to invest a dime downtown, Mohanna invested his money, his time and his energy. For more than 20 years, he partnered with local businesspeople and the community to preserve unique old buildings. Mohanna renovated The Grand on J Street, the Crepe Café on K Street and the old Levinson's Bookstore on 10th Street, and now the Temple Coffeehouse. And, of course, my restaurant, Texas Mexican.
The city says Mohanna's buildings are empty and vacant. City officials fail to mention it was they who created the so-called "blight." It was the city that evicted tenants from their properties more than a year ago. I know because the city forced me to shut down my restaurant in 2006. And, it's the city that owns half of the vacant and run-down properties on the 700 block and the big hole in the ground on the 800 block.
The city says Mohanna didn't complete a deal to swap his buildings on the 700 block for buildings on the 800 block. What the city won't say is the buildings Mohanna was to receive in the "exchange" are no longer there – they were demolished by the city after a fire.
Rail Yards Questions
This is a good case that there is a lot more work that needs to be done and it needs to be done by the public leadership, which hasn’t been doing much of a job for quite some time on downtown development, but one hopes they get this one right, as getting it wrong—combined with the long-term failure with K Street—could result in another 40 years of wandering in the downtown developmental wilderness.
Editorial: Will railyard project pencil out in long run?
Sac City Council should provide more scrutiny, oversight of development deal
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
If you were to believe certain members of the Sacramento City Council, the debate about the downtown railyard is over.
In their minds, this project has been reviewed and vetted for years. The public process has worked. The railyard is ready to leave the station with a lucrative cargo of city entitlements.
The reality, of course, is that key details of this project have emerged only as recently as last week. Others are still unsettled.
Although Thomas Enterprises is anxious for the council to meet Tuesday and approve the project, there's good reason for city leaders to take a little more time. They need to ensure this project is based on realistic assumptions, and doesn't stick the city with hidden costs – or crushing disappointments – if those assumptions fail to pan out.
Financing the railyard redevelopment is the largest challenge. The city and Thomas say that $745 million will be needed to pay for streets, sewers, utilities and other infrastructure.
Of this amount, $169 million will come from the developer and fees placed on tenants. Roughly $222 million will come from city funds and redevelopment monies. Another $354 million is expected from federal and state grants, including $150 million from Proposition 1C, the $2.9 billion housing and infrastructure bond approved by voters last November.
Is the railyard positioned to receive this $150 million? We don't know. Council members didn't drill down on that question last week. At its meeting Tuesday, they need to ask city staff to provide an overview of Proposition 1C funding pots and the likely scoring system for awarding this money.
Editorial: Will railyard project pencil out in long run?
Sac City Council should provide more scrutiny, oversight of development deal
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
If you were to believe certain members of the Sacramento City Council, the debate about the downtown railyard is over.
In their minds, this project has been reviewed and vetted for years. The public process has worked. The railyard is ready to leave the station with a lucrative cargo of city entitlements.
The reality, of course, is that key details of this project have emerged only as recently as last week. Others are still unsettled.
Although Thomas Enterprises is anxious for the council to meet Tuesday and approve the project, there's good reason for city leaders to take a little more time. They need to ensure this project is based on realistic assumptions, and doesn't stick the city with hidden costs – or crushing disappointments – if those assumptions fail to pan out.
Financing the railyard redevelopment is the largest challenge. The city and Thomas say that $745 million will be needed to pay for streets, sewers, utilities and other infrastructure.
Of this amount, $169 million will come from the developer and fees placed on tenants. Roughly $222 million will come from city funds and redevelopment monies. Another $354 million is expected from federal and state grants, including $150 million from Proposition 1C, the $2.9 billion housing and infrastructure bond approved by voters last November.
Is the railyard positioned to receive this $150 million? We don't know. Council members didn't drill down on that question last week. At its meeting Tuesday, they need to ask city staff to provide an overview of Proposition 1C funding pots and the likely scoring system for awarding this money.
Klamath Deal
Obviously still some work to do.
Fish benefit of a Klamath pact questioned
As groups plan to vote on water deal, new studies say salmon may get shorted.
By David Whitney - dwhitney@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
WASHINGTON – Environmentalists, Indian tribes, fishermen and farmers have been meeting in private for months trying to come up with a deal to turn the battle over Klamath River water into a showcase for cooperation and restoration.
Now, just as the 26 organizations involved in the secret talks are about to vote on whether to endorse the nearly completed pact, new studies raise doubts about whether it will send enough water down the ailing 263-mile-long river to lift its salmon runs from the brink of extinction.
No one disputes that the river is killing fish.
Recent runs have been so poor that Congress sent $60 million earlier this year to help relieve a financial disaster for fishermen, the result of a massive fish kill in 2002. Troubling signs now are emerging on the river's tributaries, including the Shasta River, where scientists are puzzled about why hundreds of thousands of small fingerlings die before they reach the Pacific Ocean.
Neither is there any dispute over the leading cause.
Four small hydroelectric dams operated by PacifiCorp cut the river system in half, diverting so much water to high desert irrigation in southern Oregon that in dry years there isn't enough for both farmers and fish, let alone to flush out parasites and diseases downstream of the dams.
Parallel talks are under way with the Portland-based utility to remove the dams. The proposed deal focuses on amicably resolving other issues, including how much water farmers get in the upper basin and how much is sent down the river, on the assumption the dams are coming down.
Fish benefit of a Klamath pact questioned
As groups plan to vote on water deal, new studies say salmon may get shorted.
By David Whitney - dwhitney@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
WASHINGTON – Environmentalists, Indian tribes, fishermen and farmers have been meeting in private for months trying to come up with a deal to turn the battle over Klamath River water into a showcase for cooperation and restoration.
Now, just as the 26 organizations involved in the secret talks are about to vote on whether to endorse the nearly completed pact, new studies raise doubts about whether it will send enough water down the ailing 263-mile-long river to lift its salmon runs from the brink of extinction.
No one disputes that the river is killing fish.
Recent runs have been so poor that Congress sent $60 million earlier this year to help relieve a financial disaster for fishermen, the result of a massive fish kill in 2002. Troubling signs now are emerging on the river's tributaries, including the Shasta River, where scientists are puzzled about why hundreds of thousands of small fingerlings die before they reach the Pacific Ocean.
Neither is there any dispute over the leading cause.
Four small hydroelectric dams operated by PacifiCorp cut the river system in half, diverting so much water to high desert irrigation in southern Oregon that in dry years there isn't enough for both farmers and fish, let alone to flush out parasites and diseases downstream of the dams.
Parallel talks are under way with the Portland-based utility to remove the dams. The proposed deal focuses on amicably resolving other issues, including how much water farmers get in the upper basin and how much is sent down the river, on the assumption the dams are coming down.
Rail Yards Resolution
It is good to see this resolved.
Railyard parties resolve dispute
Developer agrees to donate two historic buildings for a museum.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
Ending a quarrel with the state that threatened its entire project, the developer of Sacramento's downtown railyard Saturday agreed to donate two historic shop buildings to the state parks department for a museum of railroad technology.
In a deal brokered by state Sen. Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Dave Jones, both Sacramento Democrats, Thomas Enterprises also received assurances that the state would raise the money needed to build a high-quality museum.
"We've reached agreement on all the major business terms, but the lawyers are still exchanging documents that will be finalized in the next couple of days," said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises.
Totah said he expects a signed agreement to be in place before a scheduled Tuesday vote by the Sacramento City Council on the entire railyard project.
Railyard parties resolve dispute
Developer agrees to donate two historic buildings for a museum.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007
Ending a quarrel with the state that threatened its entire project, the developer of Sacramento's downtown railyard Saturday agreed to donate two historic shop buildings to the state parks department for a museum of railroad technology.
In a deal brokered by state Sen. Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Dave Jones, both Sacramento Democrats, Thomas Enterprises also received assurances that the state would raise the money needed to build a high-quality museum.
"We've reached agreement on all the major business terms, but the lawyers are still exchanging documents that will be finalized in the next couple of days," said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises.
Totah said he expects a signed agreement to be in place before a scheduled Tuesday vote by the Sacramento City Council on the entire railyard project.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Cal Expo Arena Update
The involved parties are working towards a meeting.
No fast break yet in talks
NBA, Cal Expo teams prep for upcoming arena discussions.
By Terri Hardy And Mary Lynne Vellinga - thardy@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 8, 2007
A month after former Gov. Pete Wilson was hired to negotiate with the NBA for a new Kings arena at the Cal Expo fairgrounds, formal talks have yet to take place and no timeline for discussions has been set.
Instead, both sides say they are doing their homework, putting together a needs list, updating the cost of the proposed work and investigating how to financially make the project pencil out.
"Everyone has agreed to get all our ducks in order so when we have a meeting it will be meaningful," said Rex Hime, a Cal Expo board member. "Otherwise, it will just be a bunch of lawyers looking at each other and billing us for their time."
The basic concept of the arena plan is to craft a commercial and housing development on the state-owned site that would produce enough profit to pay for an arena and revamp the 40-year-old fairgrounds.
The Cal Expo board contracted with Wilson and other consultants from international law firm Bingham McCutchen to lead negotiations from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. It was hoped that within 30 days, Wilson, a lawyer, along with sports consultant Gregory Clark could hammer out a memorandum of understanding that resolves major deal points between the NBA and Cal Expo.
No fast break yet in talks
NBA, Cal Expo teams prep for upcoming arena discussions.
By Terri Hardy And Mary Lynne Vellinga - thardy@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 8, 2007
A month after former Gov. Pete Wilson was hired to negotiate with the NBA for a new Kings arena at the Cal Expo fairgrounds, formal talks have yet to take place and no timeline for discussions has been set.
Instead, both sides say they are doing their homework, putting together a needs list, updating the cost of the proposed work and investigating how to financially make the project pencil out.
"Everyone has agreed to get all our ducks in order so when we have a meeting it will be meaningful," said Rex Hime, a Cal Expo board member. "Otherwise, it will just be a bunch of lawyers looking at each other and billing us for their time."
The basic concept of the arena plan is to craft a commercial and housing development on the state-owned site that would produce enough profit to pay for an arena and revamp the 40-year-old fairgrounds.
The Cal Expo board contracted with Wilson and other consultants from international law firm Bingham McCutchen to lead negotiations from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. It was hoped that within 30 days, Wilson, a lawyer, along with sports consultant Gregory Clark could hammer out a memorandum of understanding that resolves major deal points between the NBA and Cal Expo.
RT Cameras
They will help, but the behavior most folks who might choose to ride the trains and buses are concerned about is the kind that needs a regular security officer presence.
Police presence is what deters the threatening public behavior keeping people from frequenting public space viewed as unsafe, whether it is on light rail/buses, at the downtown mall, or on the Parkway.
RT cameras watching you
Devices posted at all 47 stations so riders can feel more secure.
By Tony Bizjak - tbizjak@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 8, 2007
Transit riders bothered by scofflaws and other bad actors at light-rail stations are about to get some relief.
Sacramento Regional Transit last week launched live video surveillance from overhead cameras at all 47 light-rail stations.
The cameras send real-time feeds to a downtown command center where guards at computer screens can, with the click of a mouse, pivot cameras and zoom in so close they can practically read lips or see what someone has in his or her hand.
RT security officials say they still are working out kinks, but they trumpet the system as an important step in making transit safer – and improving transit's shaky image.
Warning signs went up in recent weeks at stations, officials said, letting people know: You may be watched.
"People are concerned about issues at stations, and we are taking public concerns seriously," RT interim General Manager Mike Wiley said.
Police presence is what deters the threatening public behavior keeping people from frequenting public space viewed as unsafe, whether it is on light rail/buses, at the downtown mall, or on the Parkway.
RT cameras watching you
Devices posted at all 47 stations so riders can feel more secure.
By Tony Bizjak - tbizjak@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 8, 2007
Transit riders bothered by scofflaws and other bad actors at light-rail stations are about to get some relief.
Sacramento Regional Transit last week launched live video surveillance from overhead cameras at all 47 light-rail stations.
The cameras send real-time feeds to a downtown command center where guards at computer screens can, with the click of a mouse, pivot cameras and zoom in so close they can practically read lips or see what someone has in his or her hand.
RT security officials say they still are working out kinks, but they trumpet the system as an important step in making transit safer – and improving transit's shaky image.
Warning signs went up in recent weeks at stations, officials said, letting people know: You may be watched.
"People are concerned about issues at stations, and we are taking public concerns seriously," RT interim General Manager Mike Wiley said.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Water Bills
Public leadership’s inability to provide reasonable response to California’s need for more water by approving dams has led to the efforts by private leaders to do so, and that is to be encouraged.
Editorial: California on course for another water debacle
Dueling initiatives on water projects set stage for a rerun of 1982 electoral follies
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 7, 2007
California's "water community" – the term often used to describe the agencies, environmental groups, agribusinesses and other industries with an interest in the state's water – is one of the silliest misnomers in common parlance.
A community, like a functional family, shares certain attributes: It communicates. It recognizes shared interests. It doesn't put the needs of an individual over that of the group.
California's water community is anything but. At its worst, it is an assemblage of medieval hill towns, heavily fortified and prone toward lobbing fire balls at each other. For several months, the governor's office and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata have been trying to intercept those bombs. They are failing. California's water wars now appear to be heading to the ballot.
Again.
On Wednesday, the California Chamber of Commerce filed four initiatives that could lead to a November bond measure of $10 billion or more for dams and other projects.
If the Chamber ends up qualifying one of these initiatives, Perata and his environmental allies are prepared to file a countermeasure. In all likelihood, voters will reject both, partly because the state's fiscal crisis is likely to deepen by November.
Editorial: California on course for another water debacle
Dueling initiatives on water projects set stage for a rerun of 1982 electoral follies
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 7, 2007
California's "water community" – the term often used to describe the agencies, environmental groups, agribusinesses and other industries with an interest in the state's water – is one of the silliest misnomers in common parlance.
A community, like a functional family, shares certain attributes: It communicates. It recognizes shared interests. It doesn't put the needs of an individual over that of the group.
California's water community is anything but. At its worst, it is an assemblage of medieval hill towns, heavily fortified and prone toward lobbing fire balls at each other. For several months, the governor's office and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata have been trying to intercept those bombs. They are failing. California's water wars now appear to be heading to the ballot.
Again.
On Wednesday, the California Chamber of Commerce filed four initiatives that could lead to a November bond measure of $10 billion or more for dams and other projects.
If the Chamber ends up qualifying one of these initiatives, Perata and his environmental allies are prepared to file a countermeasure. In all likelihood, voters will reject both, partly because the state's fiscal crisis is likely to deepen by November.
Smoking in Parks Announcement
Roseville snuffs smoking at parks
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 7, 2007
ROSEVILLE – The City Council voted 4-1 Wednesday night to ban smoking in public parks.
Councilman John Allard cast the dissenting vote on the ordinance, after pointing out smoking is an addiction.
"One thing we didn't talk about is what we're doing as far as the rights of other people," Allard said. "Think about how this affects 15 to 20 percent of the people in Roseville who do smoke and the fact that we're saying, 'You're not welcome in our parks.' "
Allard asked fellow council members to direct city staff to look at ways the city can support or be involved in smoking-cessation programs.
The council agreed, and staff will come back in 30 days with proposals.
The park smoking ban will take effect early next year.
– Jennifer K. Morita
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 7, 2007
ROSEVILLE – The City Council voted 4-1 Wednesday night to ban smoking in public parks.
Councilman John Allard cast the dissenting vote on the ordinance, after pointing out smoking is an addiction.
"One thing we didn't talk about is what we're doing as far as the rights of other people," Allard said. "Think about how this affects 15 to 20 percent of the people in Roseville who do smoke and the fact that we're saying, 'You're not welcome in our parks.' "
Allard asked fellow council members to direct city staff to look at ways the city can support or be involved in smoking-cessation programs.
The council agreed, and staff will come back in 30 days with proposals.
The park smoking ban will take effect early next year.
– Jennifer K. Morita
Delta Agency
Good idea for research and advocacy but bad idea for management as the waters flowing through it impact the entire state and need to be largely controlled by the large governmental agencies able to balance those often conflicting claims, whereas a Delta only agency would not, though Reclamation should have spent the $100,000 to save the fish.
Wolk calls for Delta protection agency
A recent fish kill shows fragmentation of system, she says.
By Ngoc Nguyen - ngnguyen@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 7, 2007
After hearing testimony Thursday about events that led up to last month's massive fish kill on Prospect Island, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk said she is convinced of the need for a single oversight body looking after the Delta.
"Everybody is pointing fingers," said Wolk, the Davis Democrat who chairs the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife. "No one is taking responsibility for what went wrong."
Wolk, who convened the public hearing Thursday, said she would like to work in the next legislative session to establish a Delta oversight and stewardship body.
Before Thanksgiving, Bureau of Reclamation contractors repaired a breached levee, leaving a body of standing water on the island. They then began pumping water off the island, killing tens of thousands of stranded fish.
A local fisherman reported the dead fish, and eventually the pumping was halted.
John Davis, Bureau of Reclamation regional director, said Thursday that he "deeply regrets" the high loss of fish and that "fish mortality exceeded expectations."
The levee repair project, which cost $2.5 million, was modeled after previous efforts, Davis said.
A bureau evaluation found that salvaging the fish would have cost $100,000, he said.
Wolk calls for Delta protection agency
A recent fish kill shows fragmentation of system, she says.
By Ngoc Nguyen - ngnguyen@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 7, 2007
After hearing testimony Thursday about events that led up to last month's massive fish kill on Prospect Island, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk said she is convinced of the need for a single oversight body looking after the Delta.
"Everybody is pointing fingers," said Wolk, the Davis Democrat who chairs the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife. "No one is taking responsibility for what went wrong."
Wolk, who convened the public hearing Thursday, said she would like to work in the next legislative session to establish a Delta oversight and stewardship body.
Before Thanksgiving, Bureau of Reclamation contractors repaired a breached levee, leaving a body of standing water on the island. They then began pumping water off the island, killing tens of thousands of stranded fish.
A local fisherman reported the dead fish, and eventually the pumping was halted.
John Davis, Bureau of Reclamation regional director, said Thursday that he "deeply regrets" the high loss of fish and that "fish mortality exceeded expectations."
The levee repair project, which cost $2.5 million, was modeled after previous efforts, Davis said.
A bureau evaluation found that salvaging the fish would have cost $100,000, he said.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Water Bond Measures Announcement
CalChamber Files Water Infrastructure Bond Measures
(December 6, 2007) The California Chamber of Commerce along with a broad coalition of business, labor and agricultural groups, filed four versions of the ‘Comprehensive Safe Drinking Water, Water Supply Reliability and Delta Restoration Act of 2008’ with the Attorney General for title and summary yesterday.
With the goal of enacting comprehensive solutions to California’s looming water crisis and to assure that all Californians have an adequate supply of clean, safe water for years to come while protecting and enhancing the environment, the group has formed a new coalition, Californians for Clean and Reliable Water (CCRW).
“We remain committed to working with the Governor and legislative leadership to produce a solution and are encouraged and hopeful that a legislative agreement can be reached and a measure placed before voters next year,” said Zaremberg. “In case this does not happen legislatively, we felt it necessary to file these measures today in order to preserve our options and have adequate time to gather signatures for the November ballot. The four versions are very similar in concept and scope. The group will spend the next several weeks, during the title/summary process, to review language and determine future steps.”
In addition to the CalChamber, the following organizations are assisting in the effort:
• California Alliance for Jobs
• California Building Industry Association
• California Business Properties Association
• California Business Roundtable
• Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California
• Western Growers Association
The Association of California Water Agencies serves as a technical advisor to Californians for Clean and Reliable Water
(December 6, 2007) The California Chamber of Commerce along with a broad coalition of business, labor and agricultural groups, filed four versions of the ‘Comprehensive Safe Drinking Water, Water Supply Reliability and Delta Restoration Act of 2008’ with the Attorney General for title and summary yesterday.
With the goal of enacting comprehensive solutions to California’s looming water crisis and to assure that all Californians have an adequate supply of clean, safe water for years to come while protecting and enhancing the environment, the group has formed a new coalition, Californians for Clean and Reliable Water (CCRW).
“We remain committed to working with the Governor and legislative leadership to produce a solution and are encouraged and hopeful that a legislative agreement can be reached and a measure placed before voters next year,” said Zaremberg. “In case this does not happen legislatively, we felt it necessary to file these measures today in order to preserve our options and have adequate time to gather signatures for the November ballot. The four versions are very similar in concept and scope. The group will spend the next several weeks, during the title/summary process, to review language and determine future steps.”
In addition to the CalChamber, the following organizations are assisting in the effort:
• California Alliance for Jobs
• California Building Industry Association
• California Business Properties Association
• California Business Roundtable
• Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California
• Western Growers Association
The Association of California Water Agencies serves as a technical advisor to Californians for Clean and Reliable Water
Water Initiative
The state of California desperately needs new dams to have an adequate water supply for the future, and if public leadership can’t seem to agree on that, it is up to private leadership to step in, which is exactly what the initiative process is for, to give the voting public the final say in important issues when public leadership is unable to respond to pressing issues.
Businesses float water bond plan
Stalled legislative efforts prod bid to qualify measure for the November ballot.
By E.J. Schultz - eschultz@fresnobee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 6, 2007
With legislative negotiations stalled, an alliance of business and farm groups on Wednesday began an effort to qualify an $11.7 billion water bond initiative for November's ballot.
The move sets up a potential ballot-box showdown between competing solutions to the state's water woes – a Republican-backed plan that places an emphasis on dams and a Democratic proposal that focuses on groundwater storage and conservation.
The business-backed measure is similar to the proposal Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and GOP lawmakers have pushed all year. The California Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the effort, filed the proposal Wednesday with the state attorney general's office.
"We are encouraged and hopeful that a legislative agreement can be reached and a measure placed before voters next year," Allan Zaremberg, president of the chamber, said in a statement. "In case this does not happen legislatively, we felt it necessary to file these measures today in order to preserve our options and have adequate time to gather signatures for the November ballot."
The alliance filed four versions of the initiative and will spend the next several weeks deciding which one to pursue. To qualify an initiative, the group will need to gather 433,971 valid signatures.
Up to $3.5 billion would be set aside for dams, possibly including a reservoir northeast of Fresno at Temperance Flat. Other money would go for regional water supply grants and upgrades to the deteriorating Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the pass-through point for much of the state's water supply.
Businesses float water bond plan
Stalled legislative efforts prod bid to qualify measure for the November ballot.
By E.J. Schultz - eschultz@fresnobee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 6, 2007
With legislative negotiations stalled, an alliance of business and farm groups on Wednesday began an effort to qualify an $11.7 billion water bond initiative for November's ballot.
The move sets up a potential ballot-box showdown between competing solutions to the state's water woes – a Republican-backed plan that places an emphasis on dams and a Democratic proposal that focuses on groundwater storage and conservation.
The business-backed measure is similar to the proposal Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and GOP lawmakers have pushed all year. The California Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the effort, filed the proposal Wednesday with the state attorney general's office.
"We are encouraged and hopeful that a legislative agreement can be reached and a measure placed before voters next year," Allan Zaremberg, president of the chamber, said in a statement. "In case this does not happen legislatively, we felt it necessary to file these measures today in order to preserve our options and have adequate time to gather signatures for the November ballot."
The alliance filed four versions of the initiative and will spend the next several weeks deciding which one to pursue. To qualify an initiative, the group will need to gather 433,971 valid signatures.
Up to $3.5 billion would be set aside for dams, possibly including a reservoir northeast of Fresno at Temperance Flat. Other money would go for regional water supply grants and upgrades to the deteriorating Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the pass-through point for much of the state's water supply.
Global Warming Catastrophes
Over the years many things have been proclaimed to occur due to global warming and finally someone in the UK pulled them all together with links to the news, and you can check them out, and then book passage on the first spaceship to Mars :), especially after clicking on the link about extinctions, human…where a scientist promises we will be extinct by the end of the century.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Global Warmism?
A very serious question and a very enjoyable read.
BUSINESS WORLD
The Science of Gore's Nobel
What if everyone believes in global warmism only because everyone believes in global warmism?
BY HOLMAN W. JENKINS JR.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
The Nobel Committee might as well have called it Al Gore's Inner Peace Prize, given the way it seems designed to help him disown his lifelong ambition to become president in favor of a higher calling, as savior of a planet.
The media will be tempted to blur the fact that his medal, which Mr. Gore will collect on Monday in Oslo, isn't for "science." In fact, a Nobel has never been awarded for the science of global warming. Even Svante Arrhenius, who first described the "greenhouse" effect, won his for something else in 1903. Yet now one has been awarded for promoting belief in manmade global warming as a crisis.
How this honor has befallen the former Veep could perhaps be explained by another Nobel, awarded in 2002 to Daniel Kahneman for work he and the late Amos Tversky did on "availability bias," roughly the human propensity to judge the validity of a proposition by how easily it comes to mind.
Their insight has been fruitful and multiplied: "Availability cascade" has been coined for the way a proposition can become irresistible simply by the media repeating it; "informational cascade" for the tendency to replace our beliefs with the crowd's beliefs; and "reputational cascade" for the rational incentive to do so.
Mr. Gore clearly understands the game he's playing, judging by his resort to such nondispositive arguments as: "The people who dispute the international consensus on global warming are in the same category now with the people who think the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona."
Here's exactly the problem that availability cascades pose: What if the heads being counted to certify an alleged "consensus" arrived at their positions by counting heads?
It may seem strange that scientists would participate in such a phenomenon. It shouldn't. Scientists are human; they do not wait for proof; many devote their professional lives to seeking evidence for hypotheses (especially well-funded hypotheses) they've chosen to believe.
Less surprising is the readiness of many prominent journalists to embrace the role of enforcer of an orthodoxy simply because it is the orthodoxy. For them, a consensus apparently suffices as proof of itself.
With politicians and lobbyists, of course, you are dealing with sophisticated people versed in the ways of public opinion whose very prosperity depends on positioning themselves via such cascades. Their reactions tend to be, for that reason, on a higher intellectual level.
Take John Dingell. He told an environmental publication last year that the "world . . . is great at having consensuses that are in great error." Yet he turned around a few months later and introduced a sweeping carbon tax bill, which would confront Congress more frontally than Congress cares to be confronted with a rational approach to climate change if Congress really believes human activity is responsible.
Mr. Dingell is no fool. Is he merely trying to embarrass those who offer fake cures for climate change at the expense of out-of-favor industries such as Mr. Dingell's beloved Detroit?
Take Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist working with Kleiner Perkins, a firm Mr. Gore joined last month to promote alternative energy investments. Mr. Khosla told a recent Senate hearing: "One does not need to believe in climate change to support climate change legislation. . . . Many executives would prefer to deal with known legislation even if unwarranted."
Mr. Khosla is no fool either. His argument is that the cascade itself is a reason that politicians can gain comfort by getting aboard his agenda.
BUSINESS WORLD
The Science of Gore's Nobel
What if everyone believes in global warmism only because everyone believes in global warmism?
BY HOLMAN W. JENKINS JR.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
The Nobel Committee might as well have called it Al Gore's Inner Peace Prize, given the way it seems designed to help him disown his lifelong ambition to become president in favor of a higher calling, as savior of a planet.
The media will be tempted to blur the fact that his medal, which Mr. Gore will collect on Monday in Oslo, isn't for "science." In fact, a Nobel has never been awarded for the science of global warming. Even Svante Arrhenius, who first described the "greenhouse" effect, won his for something else in 1903. Yet now one has been awarded for promoting belief in manmade global warming as a crisis.
How this honor has befallen the former Veep could perhaps be explained by another Nobel, awarded in 2002 to Daniel Kahneman for work he and the late Amos Tversky did on "availability bias," roughly the human propensity to judge the validity of a proposition by how easily it comes to mind.
Their insight has been fruitful and multiplied: "Availability cascade" has been coined for the way a proposition can become irresistible simply by the media repeating it; "informational cascade" for the tendency to replace our beliefs with the crowd's beliefs; and "reputational cascade" for the rational incentive to do so.
Mr. Gore clearly understands the game he's playing, judging by his resort to such nondispositive arguments as: "The people who dispute the international consensus on global warming are in the same category now with the people who think the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona."
Here's exactly the problem that availability cascades pose: What if the heads being counted to certify an alleged "consensus" arrived at their positions by counting heads?
It may seem strange that scientists would participate in such a phenomenon. It shouldn't. Scientists are human; they do not wait for proof; many devote their professional lives to seeking evidence for hypotheses (especially well-funded hypotheses) they've chosen to believe.
Less surprising is the readiness of many prominent journalists to embrace the role of enforcer of an orthodoxy simply because it is the orthodoxy. For them, a consensus apparently suffices as proof of itself.
With politicians and lobbyists, of course, you are dealing with sophisticated people versed in the ways of public opinion whose very prosperity depends on positioning themselves via such cascades. Their reactions tend to be, for that reason, on a higher intellectual level.
Take John Dingell. He told an environmental publication last year that the "world . . . is great at having consensuses that are in great error." Yet he turned around a few months later and introduced a sweeping carbon tax bill, which would confront Congress more frontally than Congress cares to be confronted with a rational approach to climate change if Congress really believes human activity is responsible.
Mr. Dingell is no fool. Is he merely trying to embarrass those who offer fake cures for climate change at the expense of out-of-favor industries such as Mr. Dingell's beloved Detroit?
Take Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist working with Kleiner Perkins, a firm Mr. Gore joined last month to promote alternative energy investments. Mr. Khosla told a recent Senate hearing: "One does not need to believe in climate change to support climate change legislation. . . . Many executives would prefer to deal with known legislation even if unwarranted."
Mr. Khosla is no fool either. His argument is that the cascade itself is a reason that politicians can gain comfort by getting aboard his agenda.
Dam Security
Keeping them secure is costly, but well worth it.
Bill caps dam security cost
House deal sets expense of anti-terror patrols for local water, power users.
By Michael Doyle - mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 5, 2007
WASHINGTON – The House on Tuesday limited how much local water and power customers might have to pay to protect the state's dams from terrorists and trespassers.
In a case study of Capitol Hill compromise, lawmakers quickly approved a cap on local payments for federal dam security throughout the nation. The bill could shield the water and power districts from some higher costs, but it doesn't go nearly as far as some lawmakers originally wanted.
"This bill ... reflects the reality that these dams are national treasures that provide national benefits," said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.
The House bill seeks to settle a dam cost-sharing dispute that's percolated since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It also marks the latest round in a decades-long tussle over who should pay for Western water projects.
Lawmakers usually protect their local constituents by spreading water project costs nationwide. Administrations usually try to make local beneficiaries pay. The revised Reclamation Safety of Dams Act amendments strike a middle path, of sorts.
The legislation limits to $18.9 million the total amount local water agencies nationwide would have to pay annually for higher security costs. This reflects what the Bureau of Reclamation anticipates spending. If security costs rise higher, the bureau must shoulder the difference.
Bill caps dam security cost
House deal sets expense of anti-terror patrols for local water, power users.
By Michael Doyle - mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 5, 2007
WASHINGTON – The House on Tuesday limited how much local water and power customers might have to pay to protect the state's dams from terrorists and trespassers.
In a case study of Capitol Hill compromise, lawmakers quickly approved a cap on local payments for federal dam security throughout the nation. The bill could shield the water and power districts from some higher costs, but it doesn't go nearly as far as some lawmakers originally wanted.
"This bill ... reflects the reality that these dams are national treasures that provide national benefits," said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.
The House bill seeks to settle a dam cost-sharing dispute that's percolated since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It also marks the latest round in a decades-long tussle over who should pay for Western water projects.
Lawmakers usually protect their local constituents by spreading water project costs nationwide. Administrations usually try to make local beneficiaries pay. The revised Reclamation Safety of Dams Act amendments strike a middle path, of sorts.
The legislation limits to $18.9 million the total amount local water agencies nationwide would have to pay annually for higher security costs. This reflects what the Bureau of Reclamation anticipates spending. If security costs rise higher, the bureau must shoulder the difference.
Climate Change
Senate version proceeds.
Boxer set to tackle climate change bill
By David Whitney - dwhitney@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 5, 2007
WASHINGTON – After 20 hearings and countless speeches on the Senate floor warning of the risks of failure, a key committee starts work today on historic legislation to dramatically reduce global warming.
It's a tall order. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's chair, Sen. Barbara Boxer, the chamber's leading liberal, said she was up to the task.
"This is the biggest week of my life," the California Democrat said Monday.
Republican critics, led by the committee's senior Republican, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, also are energized for the fight. Inhofe is a global warming skeptic who believes that rising temperatures have more to do with cyclical changes and not with the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
By midday Tuesday, Republicans had filed more than 150 possible amendments. Inhofe has complained bitterly that the sweeping legislation intended to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than half by 2050 will impose huge costs on consumers and hurt oil- and coal-producing states such as his own.
But Matthew Dempsey, spokesman for the Republican minority on the committee, said Republicans will not be maneuvering to delay or kill the legislation.
"It's a foregone conclusion it's going to pass," he said. Rather, he said, the committee meeting "will provide Senator Inhofe and committee members the opportunity to raise major concerns about the bill, including the severe economic harm this bill will place upon American families and the American economy."
Boxer set to tackle climate change bill
By David Whitney - dwhitney@mcclatchydc.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 5, 2007
WASHINGTON – After 20 hearings and countless speeches on the Senate floor warning of the risks of failure, a key committee starts work today on historic legislation to dramatically reduce global warming.
It's a tall order. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's chair, Sen. Barbara Boxer, the chamber's leading liberal, said she was up to the task.
"This is the biggest week of my life," the California Democrat said Monday.
Republican critics, led by the committee's senior Republican, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, also are energized for the fight. Inhofe is a global warming skeptic who believes that rising temperatures have more to do with cyclical changes and not with the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
By midday Tuesday, Republicans had filed more than 150 possible amendments. Inhofe has complained bitterly that the sweeping legislation intended to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than half by 2050 will impose huge costs on consumers and hurt oil- and coal-producing states such as his own.
But Matthew Dempsey, spokesman for the Republican minority on the committee, said Republicans will not be maneuvering to delay or kill the legislation.
"It's a foregone conclusion it's going to pass," he said. Rather, he said, the committee meeting "will provide Senator Inhofe and committee members the opportunity to raise major concerns about the bill, including the severe economic harm this bill will place upon American families and the American economy."
Railyards Update
City plans initial funding, hopes for state and federal funding to be able to proceed.
City's plan puts $159 million into railyard project
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The city of Sacramento is proposing initially to put $159 million toward public improvements needed for the redevelopment of the downtown railyard.
City staff members Tuesday presented the details of the proposed railyard spending as part of a briefing for the City Council on finances for the project.
City Economic Development Director Dave Harzoff said a formal agreement detailing the city's commitment would be brought back to the council in January, after a planned Dec. 11 vote on project approval.
The city money would offset some of the $745 million projected cost of the backbone of streets, sewers, utilities and other improvements needed to transform the railyard from a weed-filled industrial wasteland into a vibrant extension of downtown.
"We do believe public subsidies are warranted for this project," Harzoff said. "If we can get the project jump-started it will have huge financial benefits."
Even when combined with $168 million in private fees proposed for the project, the city's proposed contribution would fall far short of paying for the needed public improvements.
The city and Thomas Enterprises are hoping to land state and federal funds, particularly money from a recently passed state housing bond, Proposition 1C. The city's finance plan for the railyard anticipates receiving $354 million from such outside sources.
"If we don't get it, this project is not going to be going forward," said City Councilman Steve Cohn.
City's plan puts $159 million into railyard project
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The city of Sacramento is proposing initially to put $159 million toward public improvements needed for the redevelopment of the downtown railyard.
City staff members Tuesday presented the details of the proposed railyard spending as part of a briefing for the City Council on finances for the project.
City Economic Development Director Dave Harzoff said a formal agreement detailing the city's commitment would be brought back to the council in January, after a planned Dec. 11 vote on project approval.
The city money would offset some of the $745 million projected cost of the backbone of streets, sewers, utilities and other improvements needed to transform the railyard from a weed-filled industrial wasteland into a vibrant extension of downtown.
"We do believe public subsidies are warranted for this project," Harzoff said. "If we can get the project jump-started it will have huge financial benefits."
Even when combined with $168 million in private fees proposed for the project, the city's proposed contribution would fall far short of paying for the needed public improvements.
The city and Thomas Enterprises are hoping to land state and federal funds, particularly money from a recently passed state housing bond, Proposition 1C. The city's finance plan for the railyard anticipates receiving $354 million from such outside sources.
"If we don't get it, this project is not going to be going forward," said City Councilman Steve Cohn.
Ski Green
Might be nice to know for some folks.
How green is your mountain? Ski resorts rated on environment
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The Kirkwood Mountain Resort might be pretty nifty in the ski department, but it is hell on the environment, according to an annual scorecard of California ski areas, which gave the wooded resort an F.
In fact, many of the most popular and beautiful Sierra ski resorts are at the bottom of the hill when it comes to impact on the environment. The Bear Valley Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe were second and third from the bottom with D's. And Heavenly Mountain Resort is far from heavenly in Mother Nature's eyes, according to the grade card, getting a C from the panel as the fourth-worst environmental steward.
The good news is that nature-loving skiers and snowboarders won't have to put biodegradable bags over their heads at Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, which ranked 1 and 2, the only California ski resorts to get A's in the complicated scoring system.
The eighth annual Ski Area Environmental Scorecard ranked 19 ski resorts in California on such things as storm water runoff, wetlands destruction, the amount of energy burned and how many pollutants are spewed into the forests and atmosphere. The idea is to encourage the snow-loving public to stop spending money at resorts that, according to the scorecard, shirk their responsibilities as protectors of the alpine environment.
How green is your mountain? Ski resorts rated on environment
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The Kirkwood Mountain Resort might be pretty nifty in the ski department, but it is hell on the environment, according to an annual scorecard of California ski areas, which gave the wooded resort an F.
In fact, many of the most popular and beautiful Sierra ski resorts are at the bottom of the hill when it comes to impact on the environment. The Bear Valley Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe were second and third from the bottom with D's. And Heavenly Mountain Resort is far from heavenly in Mother Nature's eyes, according to the grade card, getting a C from the panel as the fourth-worst environmental steward.
The good news is that nature-loving skiers and snowboarders won't have to put biodegradable bags over their heads at Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, which ranked 1 and 2, the only California ski resorts to get A's in the complicated scoring system.
The eighth annual Ski Area Environmental Scorecard ranked 19 ski resorts in California on such things as storm water runoff, wetlands destruction, the amount of energy burned and how many pollutants are spewed into the forests and atmosphere. The idea is to encourage the snow-loving public to stop spending money at resorts that, according to the scorecard, shirk their responsibilities as protectors of the alpine environment.
Arborcide
While the prison term mentioned is clearly excessive, the consequences of this destruction of other’s property—their trees—does deserve to be serious.
Nevada man is guilty of killing trees
Douglas Hoffman, 60, of Henderson faces up to 35 years in prison for destroying hundreds of trees that blocked his view of the Strip.
By Ashley Powers
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 4, 2007
HENDERSON, NEV. — Cloaked by darkness, a saw tucked under his jacket, Douglas Hoffman skulked through suburbia, methodically killing trees.
He severed some. Others he sliced just enough so they would slowly die. In a year's time, authorities said, he wiped out more than 500 trees near an upscale retirement community just south of Las Vegas.
Greenery, he had complained to a homeowners committee, was blocking his view of the Strip.
In November, a jury convicted Hoffman, 60, on 10 charges in the destruction of nearly $250,000 worth of mesquite and other trees. He will likely face sentencing next month and could get as much as 35 years in prison.
The "arborcide," as one lawyer dubbed it, has resonated in booming Clark County, where hillsides in recent years have been overrun with sand-colored homes and transplanted trees. In many neighborhoods, glimpses of the Spring and Muddy Mountain ranges -- and the Strip's neon skyline -- have vanished.
The retirement haven of Sun City Anthem is typical of the neighborhoods that have ballooned Henderson's population from almost 65,000 in 1990 to more than 240,000 last year. The development's 7,000 or so homes are governed by a lengthy list of rules that took a real estate agent more than an hour to explain, said Charles Davis, a resident who runs a Sun City website.
Nevada man is guilty of killing trees
Douglas Hoffman, 60, of Henderson faces up to 35 years in prison for destroying hundreds of trees that blocked his view of the Strip.
By Ashley Powers
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 4, 2007
HENDERSON, NEV. — Cloaked by darkness, a saw tucked under his jacket, Douglas Hoffman skulked through suburbia, methodically killing trees.
He severed some. Others he sliced just enough so they would slowly die. In a year's time, authorities said, he wiped out more than 500 trees near an upscale retirement community just south of Las Vegas.
Greenery, he had complained to a homeowners committee, was blocking his view of the Strip.
In November, a jury convicted Hoffman, 60, on 10 charges in the destruction of nearly $250,000 worth of mesquite and other trees. He will likely face sentencing next month and could get as much as 35 years in prison.
The "arborcide," as one lawyer dubbed it, has resonated in booming Clark County, where hillsides in recent years have been overrun with sand-colored homes and transplanted trees. In many neighborhoods, glimpses of the Spring and Muddy Mountain ranges -- and the Strip's neon skyline -- have vanished.
The retirement haven of Sun City Anthem is typical of the neighborhoods that have ballooned Henderson's population from almost 65,000 in 1990 to more than 240,000 last year. The development's 7,000 or so homes are governed by a lengthy list of rules that took a real estate agent more than an hour to explain, said Charles Davis, a resident who runs a Sun City website.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
The Big Dig
In terms of urban infrastructure, this is the project that looms as a model, of what can be done and what shouldn’t, and it has gone on almost as long as the revitalization of K Street.
Lessons of Boston’s Big Dig
America’s most ambitious infrastructure project inspired engineering marvels—and colossal mismanagement.
Nicole Gelinas
Autumn 2007
States, cities, and towns across America must spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually to preserve the nation’s infrastructure—the backbone of its private-sector economy—and yet more to build the next generation of roads, bridges, tunnels, and dams. Spending so much money wisely is daunting. The good news: no matter how complex and expensive any future project is, it’s unlikely to be more so than the Big Dig, Massachusetts’s three-decade-long quest to bury and expand the Central Artery, Boston’s major interstate highway, and carve out a new underwater tunnel to Logan Airport.
Conceived in the 1970s and finished, more or less, in 2005, the Big Dig is modern America’s most ambitious urban-infrastructure project, spanning six presidents and seven governors, costing $14.8 billion, and featuring many never-before-done engineering and construction marvels. Long before construction peaked around the turn of the millennium, eating up $100 million a month for three years, the Big Dig was a local legend, spawning dozens of jokes. (Wouldn’t it be cheaper to raise Boston than to bury the highway? Congressman Barney Frank asked.) Later, when fewer people viewed the Dig whimsically, it was the setting of a 2002 murder-mystery novel. And last year, after falling concrete panels in a Big Dig tunnel that had been open for three years killed a 38-year-old car passenger, the project became a reminder that infrastructure failure can exact a cruel price.
Every major decision that could conceivably be made on an infrastructure project was made on the Big Dig, from how to pay for it to how to forge the public and political support for it to how to manage its construction and maintenance. Its stewards have encountered every imaginable public-infrastructure pitfall, and fallen into many. The Big Dig’s story is an invaluable lesson: How can America invest in infrastructure—and do it smart?
Lessons of Boston’s Big Dig
America’s most ambitious infrastructure project inspired engineering marvels—and colossal mismanagement.
Nicole Gelinas
Autumn 2007
States, cities, and towns across America must spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually to preserve the nation’s infrastructure—the backbone of its private-sector economy—and yet more to build the next generation of roads, bridges, tunnels, and dams. Spending so much money wisely is daunting. The good news: no matter how complex and expensive any future project is, it’s unlikely to be more so than the Big Dig, Massachusetts’s three-decade-long quest to bury and expand the Central Artery, Boston’s major interstate highway, and carve out a new underwater tunnel to Logan Airport.
Conceived in the 1970s and finished, more or less, in 2005, the Big Dig is modern America’s most ambitious urban-infrastructure project, spanning six presidents and seven governors, costing $14.8 billion, and featuring many never-before-done engineering and construction marvels. Long before construction peaked around the turn of the millennium, eating up $100 million a month for three years, the Big Dig was a local legend, spawning dozens of jokes. (Wouldn’t it be cheaper to raise Boston than to bury the highway? Congressman Barney Frank asked.) Later, when fewer people viewed the Dig whimsically, it was the setting of a 2002 murder-mystery novel. And last year, after falling concrete panels in a Big Dig tunnel that had been open for three years killed a 38-year-old car passenger, the project became a reminder that infrastructure failure can exact a cruel price.
Every major decision that could conceivably be made on an infrastructure project was made on the Big Dig, from how to pay for it to how to forge the public and political support for it to how to manage its construction and maintenance. Its stewards have encountered every imaginable public-infrastructure pitfall, and fallen into many. The Big Dig’s story is an invaluable lesson: How can America invest in infrastructure—and do it smart?
Green Economics
The way forward may be more growth oriented than many suppose.
Ban Ki-moon: A new green economics
By Ban Ki-moon -
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, December 4, 2007
We have read the science. Global warming is real, and we are a prime cause.
We have heard the warnings. Unless we act, now, we face serious consequences. Polar ice will melt. Sea levels will rise. A third of our plant and animal species could vanish. There will be famine in Africa and Central Asia.
Largely lost in the debate is the good news: We can do something -- more easily, and at far less cost, than most of us imagine.
These are the conclusions of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the scientific body that recently shared the Nobel Peace Prize. It is sobering reading. But let's remember its optimistic bottom line as world leaders gather in Bali this week, seeking an agreement on climate change that all nations can embrace.
We do not yet know what such an accord might look like. Should it urge governments to tax greenhouse gas emissions or endorse a global carbon-trading system? Should it provide mechanisms for preventing deforestation, accounting for 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, or help less developed nations adapt to the inevitable effects of global warming? The answer, of course, is some variation on all these things -- and much, much more. But at Bali, the goal is simpler and more immediate.
We must set an agenda -- create a road map to a better future, coupled with a timeline that produces a deal by 2009.
In this, it helps to have a vision of how the future might look if we succeed. That is not merely a cleaner, healthier, more secure world for all. Handled correctly, our fight against global warming could set the stage for an eco-friendly transformation of the global economy -- one that spurs growth and development rather than crimps it, as many nations fear.
Ban Ki-moon: A new green economics
By Ban Ki-moon -
Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, December 4, 2007
We have read the science. Global warming is real, and we are a prime cause.
We have heard the warnings. Unless we act, now, we face serious consequences. Polar ice will melt. Sea levels will rise. A third of our plant and animal species could vanish. There will be famine in Africa and Central Asia.
Largely lost in the debate is the good news: We can do something -- more easily, and at far less cost, than most of us imagine.
These are the conclusions of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the scientific body that recently shared the Nobel Peace Prize. It is sobering reading. But let's remember its optimistic bottom line as world leaders gather in Bali this week, seeking an agreement on climate change that all nations can embrace.
We do not yet know what such an accord might look like. Should it urge governments to tax greenhouse gas emissions or endorse a global carbon-trading system? Should it provide mechanisms for preventing deforestation, accounting for 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, or help less developed nations adapt to the inevitable effects of global warming? The answer, of course, is some variation on all these things -- and much, much more. But at Bali, the goal is simpler and more immediate.
We must set an agenda -- create a road map to a better future, coupled with a timeline that produces a deal by 2009.
In this, it helps to have a vision of how the future might look if we succeed. That is not merely a cleaner, healthier, more secure world for all. Handled correctly, our fight against global warming could set the stage for an eco-friendly transformation of the global economy -- one that spurs growth and development rather than crimps it, as many nations fear.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Parkway Tax
We don’t agree with increasing taxes for the Parkway for three reasons:
1) Property owners are already taxed for parks;
2) Taxing only adjacent property owners is unfair as many who will be taxed do not use the Parkway and many who do will not;
3) There is no guarantee the funds raised will be used strictly for the Parkway, or that existing parkway funding won’t be cut in proportion to the new tax.
But the most important reason is that there is a better way, see our news release (Guest Editorial, second post down) at http://www.arpps.org/news.html
Q&A: Why parkway might need property levy
Survey has sampled how county could finance cost of the popular ribbon along American River
By Ed Fletcher - efletcher@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, December 3, 2007
Property owners near the American River Parkway may be asked to authorize a special assessment to maintain and protect the recreational area.
Under one plan, property owners within a half mile of the parkway would be assessed between $18 and $48 annually, and property owners between a half mile and three miles away would pay half that amount.
The Bee reported that a mail survey of property owners found at least majority support, which prompted these questions.
Q: I read that 3,800 of 21,500 property owners responded to the survey. How can you say people support it? Isn't that a weak response?
A: An 18 percent response on a mail survey is considered good, and is accurate within a two percentage point margin of error.
Q: Is there any precedent for and is it legal to make nearby homeowners pay for a park that is open to anyone? Do homeowners near McKinley Park, Capitol Park, etc. have to pay fees to support their parks?
A: Most benefit assessment districts pay for such things as street lighting. It's legal to ask property owners to assess themselves for their mutual benefit. No, property owners near McKinley and Capitol parks don't pay a special fee.
1) Property owners are already taxed for parks;
2) Taxing only adjacent property owners is unfair as many who will be taxed do not use the Parkway and many who do will not;
3) There is no guarantee the funds raised will be used strictly for the Parkway, or that existing parkway funding won’t be cut in proportion to the new tax.
But the most important reason is that there is a better way, see our news release (Guest Editorial, second post down) at http://www.arpps.org/news.html
Q&A: Why parkway might need property levy
Survey has sampled how county could finance cost of the popular ribbon along American River
By Ed Fletcher - efletcher@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, December 3, 2007
Property owners near the American River Parkway may be asked to authorize a special assessment to maintain and protect the recreational area.
Under one plan, property owners within a half mile of the parkway would be assessed between $18 and $48 annually, and property owners between a half mile and three miles away would pay half that amount.
The Bee reported that a mail survey of property owners found at least majority support, which prompted these questions.
Q: I read that 3,800 of 21,500 property owners responded to the survey. How can you say people support it? Isn't that a weak response?
A: An 18 percent response on a mail survey is considered good, and is accurate within a two percentage point margin of error.
Q: Is there any precedent for and is it legal to make nearby homeowners pay for a park that is open to anyone? Do homeowners near McKinley Park, Capitol Park, etc. have to pay fees to support their parks?
A: Most benefit assessment districts pay for such things as street lighting. It's legal to ask property owners to assess themselves for their mutual benefit. No, property owners near McKinley and Capitol parks don't pay a special fee.
US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Announcement
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Declined 1.5 Percent in 2006
Total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 7,075.6 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) in 2006, a decrease of 1.5 percent from the 2005 level according to Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006, a report released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Since 1990, U.S. GHG emissions have grown at an average annual rate of 0.9 percent. The 2006 emissions decrease is only the third decline in annual emissions since 1990.
U.S. GHG emissions per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or “U.S. GHG-intensity,” fell from 653 metric tons per million 2000 constant dollars of GDP (MTCO2e/$Million GDP) in 2005 to 625 MTCO2e /$Million GDP in 2006, a decline of 4.2 percent. Since 1990, the annual average decline in GHG-intensity has been 2.0 percent.
Total estimated U.S. GHG emissions in 2006 consisted of 5,934.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (83.8 percent of total emissions), 605.1 MMTCO2e of methane (8.6 percent of total emissions), 378.6 MMTCO2e of nitrous oxide (5.4 percent of total emissions), and 157.6 MMTCO2e of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) (2.2 percent of total emissions).
Emissions of carbon dioxide from energy consumption and industrial processes, which had risen at an average annual rate of 1.2 percent per year from 1990 to 2005, declined by 1.8 percent in 2006. The decline in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 to 2006 can be attributed to a one-half percent decline in overall energy demand and a decrease in the carbon intensity of electricity generation. Favorable weather patterns, where both heating and cooling degree-days were lower in 2006 than 2005, and higher energy prices, were the primary causes of lower total energy consumption. The decline in carbon intensity of electricity generation was driven by increased use of natural gas, the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel, and greater reliance on non-fossil fuel energy sources. Methane emissions, meanwhile, decreased by 0.4 percent, while nitrous oxide emissions rose by 2.9 percent. Emissions of HFCs, PFCs, and SF6, a group labeled collectively as “high-GWP gases” because their high heat trapping capabilities, fell by 2.2 percent.
The full report can be found on EIA's web site at:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html
Total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 7,075.6 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) in 2006, a decrease of 1.5 percent from the 2005 level according to Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006, a report released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Since 1990, U.S. GHG emissions have grown at an average annual rate of 0.9 percent. The 2006 emissions decrease is only the third decline in annual emissions since 1990.
U.S. GHG emissions per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or “U.S. GHG-intensity,” fell from 653 metric tons per million 2000 constant dollars of GDP (MTCO2e/$Million GDP) in 2005 to 625 MTCO2e /$Million GDP in 2006, a decline of 4.2 percent. Since 1990, the annual average decline in GHG-intensity has been 2.0 percent.
Total estimated U.S. GHG emissions in 2006 consisted of 5,934.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (83.8 percent of total emissions), 605.1 MMTCO2e of methane (8.6 percent of total emissions), 378.6 MMTCO2e of nitrous oxide (5.4 percent of total emissions), and 157.6 MMTCO2e of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) (2.2 percent of total emissions).
Emissions of carbon dioxide from energy consumption and industrial processes, which had risen at an average annual rate of 1.2 percent per year from 1990 to 2005, declined by 1.8 percent in 2006. The decline in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 to 2006 can be attributed to a one-half percent decline in overall energy demand and a decrease in the carbon intensity of electricity generation. Favorable weather patterns, where both heating and cooling degree-days were lower in 2006 than 2005, and higher energy prices, were the primary causes of lower total energy consumption. The decline in carbon intensity of electricity generation was driven by increased use of natural gas, the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel, and greater reliance on non-fossil fuel energy sources. Methane emissions, meanwhile, decreased by 0.4 percent, while nitrous oxide emissions rose by 2.9 percent. Emissions of HFCs, PFCs, and SF6, a group labeled collectively as “high-GWP gases” because their high heat trapping capabilities, fell by 2.2 percent.
The full report can be found on EIA's web site at:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Parkway Cultivation
It is good to see some more cultivation going on in the Parkway, as humans very often can do a better job, for everyone, by helping nature rather than leaving nature to its own devices.
At park, a new garden sets example
By Dan Nguyen - dnguyen@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 2, 2007
The din Saturday morning at the William B. Pond Recreation Area sounded a little more like the gravel operation it used to be than the quiet park it is now.
About 50 volunteers broke into rock-littered soil with shovels and pickaxes to start a garden that will showcase the area's native plant life.
"This is only going to break my lower and middle back," said Gary Stock, 34, after he found a spot of more forgiving ground to dig into.
The plants are as hardy as the soil and have exotic names such as the bush monkeyflower, purple needlegrass and mule fat.
But besides beautifying the location, the native plants are intended to show landowners how to be more environmentally conscious when planning their lawns and landscaping.
"This will demonstrate to people what they can grow with less water," said Leo Winternitz, a board member for the American River Parkway Foundation. "So other than the aesthetic appeal, there is a practical benefit to this."
The nearly 1-acre garden runs along the foundation's Streng Volunteer Center in Carmichael and will accommodate about 50 species of plant life native to a section of the American River that the parkway follows.
At park, a new garden sets example
By Dan Nguyen - dnguyen@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 2, 2007
The din Saturday morning at the William B. Pond Recreation Area sounded a little more like the gravel operation it used to be than the quiet park it is now.
About 50 volunteers broke into rock-littered soil with shovels and pickaxes to start a garden that will showcase the area's native plant life.
"This is only going to break my lower and middle back," said Gary Stock, 34, after he found a spot of more forgiving ground to dig into.
The plants are as hardy as the soil and have exotic names such as the bush monkeyflower, purple needlegrass and mule fat.
But besides beautifying the location, the native plants are intended to show landowners how to be more environmentally conscious when planning their lawns and landscaping.
"This will demonstrate to people what they can grow with less water," said Leo Winternitz, a board member for the American River Parkway Foundation. "So other than the aesthetic appeal, there is a practical benefit to this."
The nearly 1-acre garden runs along the foundation's Streng Volunteer Center in Carmichael and will accommodate about 50 species of plant life native to a section of the American River that the parkway follows.
Saving Fish
It is very nice to see folks helping the critters, and even though it may be just for the fisherman's hook, at least in the open water it will be a fair fight for survival, which the fish wins more times than not.
Save a fish, please an angler
Volunteers scramble to free bass in the Delta
By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg - cpeytondahlberg@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 2, 2007
PROSPECT ISLAND – Slogging through foot-sucking mud and murky water, a few dozen fishing enthusiasts worked Saturday to free the same striped bass that many normally would be trying to hook.
"We want to give back to the fisheries," said Jeff Nash as an ad hoc rescue crew gathered on a Delta levee just after sunrise.
The group had come to save fish stranded when levee repairs cut off their passage back to the Sacramento River Delta.
Nash, a Roseville computer systems engineer, figured that a love of fishing, shared from one generation to the next, had brought out the volunteer rescuers on the brilliantly crisp fall morning.
"Most of us are parents, or we've been out here with our fathers or grandfathers," said Nash. "We don't want to see the fisheries depleted."
Save a fish, please an angler
Volunteers scramble to free bass in the Delta
By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg - cpeytondahlberg@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 2, 2007
PROSPECT ISLAND – Slogging through foot-sucking mud and murky water, a few dozen fishing enthusiasts worked Saturday to free the same striped bass that many normally would be trying to hook.
"We want to give back to the fisheries," said Jeff Nash as an ad hoc rescue crew gathered on a Delta levee just after sunrise.
The group had come to save fish stranded when levee repairs cut off their passage back to the Sacramento River Delta.
Nash, a Roseville computer systems engineer, figured that a love of fishing, shared from one generation to the next, had brought out the volunteer rescuers on the brilliantly crisp fall morning.
"Most of us are parents, or we've been out here with our fathers or grandfathers," said Nash. "We don't want to see the fisheries depleted."
Parkway Group Organizing
It is good to see other Parkway groups becoming more organizationally efficient, with a more focused direction and understanding the value of being tax deductible for donors, as the Parkway needs all the help it can get.
Parkway defenders busy
Alcohol ban among victories, group says
By Bill Lindelof - blindelof@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, November 29, 2007
For an organization with a minuscule budget and one paid part-time clerical employee, the Save the American River Association stayed busy this year.
The watchdog group's work will be reviewed at its annual member meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael's Ancil Hoffman Park.
Warren Truitt, president of the organization, recently provided a thumbnail sketch of SARA's year, which included support for a holiday alcohol ban for rafters and making a big downtown development more environmentally sensitive.
"We don't back off of any issue that threatens the parkway," Truitt said.
The 23-mile parkway, maintained by Sacramento County, runs from the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers at Discovery Park near Interstate 5 to Nimbus Dam near Highway 50. The trail also extends to Folsom Lake, a stretch that is under state jurisdiction.
Parkway defenders busy
Alcohol ban among victories, group says
By Bill Lindelof - blindelof@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, November 29, 2007
For an organization with a minuscule budget and one paid part-time clerical employee, the Save the American River Association stayed busy this year.
The watchdog group's work will be reviewed at its annual member meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael's Ancil Hoffman Park.
Warren Truitt, president of the organization, recently provided a thumbnail sketch of SARA's year, which included support for a holiday alcohol ban for rafters and making a big downtown development more environmentally sensitive.
"We don't back off of any issue that threatens the parkway," Truitt said.
The 23-mile parkway, maintained by Sacramento County, runs from the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers at Discovery Park near Interstate 5 to Nimbus Dam near Highway 50. The trail also extends to Folsom Lake, a stretch that is under state jurisdiction.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Doing it Over Again
Actually if Sacramento had it to do over again they would have asked that Shasta Dam be completed as originally engineered—200 feet higher and tripling the water storage—reducing substantially the need for massive levees in Natomas, as noted here http://dwb.sacbee.com/content/news/story/11527399p-12429402c.html
Editorial: Flood agency makes the right call for Natomas
With thousands of homes in floodplain, massive levee improvements are essential
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 1, 2007
If Sacramento had to do it over again, Natomas would be different. A safer Natomas would not have 70,000 people in a basin that could flood 20 feet deep. A smarter Natomas, if it had to be heavily developed, would now be protected by levees that were hundreds of feet wide and less prone to underseepage. Such levees would be set back from the river, and they would not have houses built on top and beside them.
But decades of decisions by local and state agencies, including the state Reclamation Board, have left us with the Natomas we have now.
This year, local leaders learned that the basin's levees – including the one along the Garden Highway that is dotted with homes – fail to meet minimal federal flood control standards. Ever since, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency has moved quickly to protect lives and property.
On Thursday, the SAFCA board made the right decision by endorsing a plan that will bulwark the most vulnerable northern stretches of Natomas levees next year. It then plans to phase in other work by 2010 to bring the entire basin up to 200-year flood protection.
Editorial: Flood agency makes the right call for Natomas
With thousands of homes in floodplain, massive levee improvements are essential
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 1, 2007
If Sacramento had to do it over again, Natomas would be different. A safer Natomas would not have 70,000 people in a basin that could flood 20 feet deep. A smarter Natomas, if it had to be heavily developed, would now be protected by levees that were hundreds of feet wide and less prone to underseepage. Such levees would be set back from the river, and they would not have houses built on top and beside them.
But decades of decisions by local and state agencies, including the state Reclamation Board, have left us with the Natomas we have now.
This year, local leaders learned that the basin's levees – including the one along the Garden Highway that is dotted with homes – fail to meet minimal federal flood control standards. Ever since, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency has moved quickly to protect lives and property.
On Thursday, the SAFCA board made the right decision by endorsing a plan that will bulwark the most vulnerable northern stretches of Natomas levees next year. It then plans to phase in other work by 2010 to bring the entire basin up to 200-year flood protection.
Delta
While understanding the peripheral canal should have been built long ago to protect the Delta—supplying water to 40% of California—the squabbles continue as the opposition still ignores reality using the “environmentalism of limits and the politics of ‘no’” from the Sixties generation of environmentalists, which current thinking, as reflected in the new book "Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility", understands just doesn't work anymore.
Changes urged in moving water through Delta
By Matt Weiser - mweiser@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 1, 2007
California must find another way to move its drinking water through the fragile Delta, a committee appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided Friday, but the estuary also needs immediate help before anybody leaps into new plumbing projects.
The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force said there is no mythical single fix for the complex estuary, such as the "peripheral canal" rejected by California voters in 1982.
New plumbing is needed, it said, but too little is known about costs and environmental effects to choose now.
Instead, the task force calls for a study that will lead to that kind of decision by June 2008. In particular, it wants the governor to authorize an assessment of what has come to be called the "dual conveyance" approach.
This involves building an isolated canal for a portion of Sacramento River flows around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, while also improving water flows through the estuary and boosting upstream water storage.
Task force members said the conflict between environmental threats in the Delta and water shortages statewide makes simple solutions unrealistic.
"Everybody knows we're in a stalemate. They're looking for a way out," said task force Chairman Phil Isenberg, a former Democratic assemblyman. "The assessment we're talking about is really to compel the players to act."
Changes urged in moving water through Delta
By Matt Weiser - mweiser@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 1, 2007
California must find another way to move its drinking water through the fragile Delta, a committee appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided Friday, but the estuary also needs immediate help before anybody leaps into new plumbing projects.
The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force said there is no mythical single fix for the complex estuary, such as the "peripheral canal" rejected by California voters in 1982.
New plumbing is needed, it said, but too little is known about costs and environmental effects to choose now.
Instead, the task force calls for a study that will lead to that kind of decision by June 2008. In particular, it wants the governor to authorize an assessment of what has come to be called the "dual conveyance" approach.
This involves building an isolated canal for a portion of Sacramento River flows around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, while also improving water flows through the estuary and boosting upstream water storage.
Task force members said the conflict between environmental threats in the Delta and water shortages statewide makes simple solutions unrealistic.
"Everybody knows we're in a stalemate. They're looking for a way out," said task force Chairman Phil Isenberg, a former Democratic assemblyman. "The assessment we're talking about is really to compel the players to act."
La Nina
The most potent weather system producing floods in the most potent flood producing region—the high Sierras—makes for an interesting winter and sadness that the advice of those engineers and leaders who called for the building of Auburn Dam weren’t listened to almost 50 years ago as we would now have a 500 year level of flood protection if they had been.
With La Niña, who knows?
Wet or dry, warm or cold -- it's hard to say what weather system will bring this winter.
By Dorothy Korber - dkorber@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 1, 2007
Call her fickle. Temperamental. Quite possibly schizophrenic. She's the weather phenomenon known as La Niña, and in Sacramento she runs hot and cold, wet and dry.
La Niña, signaled by cooler waters in the equatorial Pacific, sometimes unleashes torrential rain in the Sierra, spawning Central Valley flooding.
But not this weekend. Today and Sunday we can credit La Niña for the dry, arctic air swirling down from Alaska.
A frost warning has been declared this morning in a swath from Redding to Turlock.
In Sacramento, the forecast is for highs in the mid-50s and lows near freezing, said meteorologist Felix Garcia of the National Weather Service. But no rain.
"La Niña is creating this pattern that is blocking us getting low pressure systems, moving them more to the north," Garcia said. "We won't have a chance of rain for the Valley until midweek, and then we'll be lucky if we get maybe an inch."…
"Interstate 80 is just about the pivot point," said Kelly Redmond of the weather service's Western Region Climate Center in Reno. "Statistically, the results in Sacramento are pretty much a wash."
He said that El Niño, La Niña's opposite phenomenon, usually means a wet season for the Southwest – but not a catastrophic one.
"In El Niño years, a lot of the storms come in directly off the Pacific Ocean, kind of flying in from north of Hawaii," Redmond said. "But they don't usually trigger major floods."
Mecurial La Niña, even in a dry year overall, can still cause flooding. Redmond said California's top 10 floods all came during La Niña years.
"In California, the really big floods – the billion-dollar floods – come off the Sierra," he explained. "The Sierra Nevada, when it gets cranked up, is as good a precipitation-generator as you'll find anywhere in the world. And, in the Sierra Nevada, floods seem to be associated with La Niña."
With La Niña, who knows?
Wet or dry, warm or cold -- it's hard to say what weather system will bring this winter.
By Dorothy Korber - dkorber@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, December 1, 2007
Call her fickle. Temperamental. Quite possibly schizophrenic. She's the weather phenomenon known as La Niña, and in Sacramento she runs hot and cold, wet and dry.
La Niña, signaled by cooler waters in the equatorial Pacific, sometimes unleashes torrential rain in the Sierra, spawning Central Valley flooding.
But not this weekend. Today and Sunday we can credit La Niña for the dry, arctic air swirling down from Alaska.
A frost warning has been declared this morning in a swath from Redding to Turlock.
In Sacramento, the forecast is for highs in the mid-50s and lows near freezing, said meteorologist Felix Garcia of the National Weather Service. But no rain.
"La Niña is creating this pattern that is blocking us getting low pressure systems, moving them more to the north," Garcia said. "We won't have a chance of rain for the Valley until midweek, and then we'll be lucky if we get maybe an inch."…
"Interstate 80 is just about the pivot point," said Kelly Redmond of the weather service's Western Region Climate Center in Reno. "Statistically, the results in Sacramento are pretty much a wash."
He said that El Niño, La Niña's opposite phenomenon, usually means a wet season for the Southwest – but not a catastrophic one.
"In El Niño years, a lot of the storms come in directly off the Pacific Ocean, kind of flying in from north of Hawaii," Redmond said. "But they don't usually trigger major floods."
Mecurial La Niña, even in a dry year overall, can still cause flooding. Redmond said California's top 10 floods all came during La Niña years.
"In California, the really big floods – the billion-dollar floods – come off the Sierra," he explained. "The Sierra Nevada, when it gets cranked up, is as good a precipitation-generator as you'll find anywhere in the world. And, in the Sierra Nevada, floods seem to be associated with La Niña."
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