Badlands Journal
Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
It was exciting for a moment, even for a whole Easter weekend because the judge created suspense beyond the well-known events – Crucifixion, Sepulcher, Ascension. Stockton could go bankrupt! We would know on Monday.
Last week the eastern Merced County Integrated Regional Water Management Plan meeting (pronounced "Ear-Wimp") was edified by an hour-long report scheduled for 15 minutes by Merced Irrigation District. It was presented by the speaker as a word-by-word repeat of MID's recitation before the state Water Quality Control Board in protest against the state's proposal to increase the flow of the Merced River to 35 percent of natural flow between the months of February and June for the benefit of certain species of salmon.
One member of the Badlands Journal editorial board, from Brooklyn and old enough to have seen Jackie Robinson play for the Dodgers and to have seen the Dodgers leave for LA, in short a man who had experienced the highs and lows of life before entering high school, wished to inform the rest of the board recently that he saw absolutely no resemblance between Robinson and President Obama.
"Obama like Jackie Robinson? Ferget it!" he said..
Badlands Journal editorial board
Regarding the issue of the now imfamous Merced County ambulance contract, a "local" firm, Riggs Ambulance Service, is pitted against an "out-of-town corporation", American Medical Response. The way the contract has been handled stinks so much that the local newpaper has produced some surprisingly complete reports, even if they are scattered across the months of the controversy.
As long as we try to account for water policy from the profit and loss ledgers of agribusiness, we are not going to get anywhere at all on the problem of production, natural resources and consumption in the midst of a growing global eological crisis that most certainly does involve California in multiple ways, most of which are exascerbated by water policy established by oligarchs.
LAS VEGAS -- Drought and demand are pushing the Colorado River beyond its limits -- Ken Ritter, AP, April 16, 2013
California High Speed Rail -- A boondoggle in search of a Pork Barrel
There is a railroad boom going on right now in the San Joaquin Valley. At least there is a boom going on in the newspapers about railroads, fast and not so fast.
Once again the clarion voice of the Good Texas speaks from debatsed populist heart and soul. If Jim Hightower were the Texas Ag Commissioner today, as he once was, it would be hard to imagine anything like the crater and the coverup in West, TX. But the central point of this article, the war on whistleblowers, reminds us that effective regulation requires whistleblowers and that whistleblowers have saved the lives of many humans and much wildlife.
Badlands Journal editorial board
4-24-13
Alternet.org
Admittedly, Jerry Brown was never the best California governor at picking staffers, even with his extensive experience. Jerry Meral, his assistant secretary of the state Natural Resource sAgency is an ethically disadvantaged green Sacramento hack, who has been in favor of peripheral conveyances for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta since the people rejected the peripheral canals in 1982.
We preface the thorough coverage of Westlands WAter District Chairman Mark Borba's foul, racist mouth with an ariicle written by the Central Valley Safe Environmental Network defending Lloyd Carter, author of the article on Borba, when he came under concerted, organized attack for an allegedly racial comment during that last drought/PR campaign by Westlands in 2009.
As this Water-War year shapes up, the lies, the slurs, the gaffes -- the "air game" as the politicos call it -- heats up with the temperature.
If only the desire of the agribusiness plutocracy that things remain the same -- i.e. get better and better for the richer and richer -- could be realized, somehow. Then we could all be happy farmworkers on the west side, enjoying the sun and dust-and-pesticide free fresh air. And for excellent wages, no doubt.
THE BADLANDS JOURNAL
EDITORIAL BOARD WISHES
WILLIE NELSON THE
HAPPIEST 80TH BIRTHDAY
EVER CELEBRATED!!
--BLJ