7-3-09

 
7-3-09
Merced Sun-Star
HUD secretary announces possible help for homeowners in trouble...SCOTT JASON
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/932553.html
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan stood Thursday in front of two foreclosed houses on Saddleback Court to reiterate his plan to offer more help to the nation's distressed homeowners.
As he did Wednesday in Las Vegas, Donovan announced that more homeowners will be eligible to modify their loans under the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable program, which targets people who have mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The housing secretary toured Merced at the request of Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, who has been trying to focus Washington's attention on the Valley. He likened the area's devastation to that seen after Hurricane Katrina.
"It really doesn't matter to a family if a windstorm put their possessions on the front yard or the foreclosure agent put your possession on the front yard," Cardoza said. "You're still homeless. You're still having to look your family in the eye and explain to them you have no place to go tonight."
Cardoza and Donovan walked along Independence Court, a well-established neighborhood off Highway 140 that's been hit by foreclosures. They then went across town to Saddleback Court, a street inside the half-built Sierra Vista subdivision in the southeast part of the city.
The house was sold April 12, 2006, for $340,000. It's in the midst of being sold to a first-time home buyer and was listed at $83,500. There's another foreclosed house next door with weeds shooting toward the sky.
"This is a cancer all over the country," Cardoza said. "We're just more affected by it."
Donovan touted the administration's past accomplishments, including the economic stimulus package, which included $2 billion more in foreclosure aid funding for local governments, and also the proposed consumer protection agency.
"We're working together to make sure this never happens again," Donovan said. "I've heard stories about people being taken advantage of that make my blood boil."
The loan-to-value ratio had been set at 105 percent. It's now increased to 125 percent, which Donovan will increase the number of people eligible in California by 60 percent.
If a person's home is worth $200,000 you have to owe less than $250,000 on the mortgage to qualify. Before the limit was owing less than $210,000.
The change makes more Mercedians qualified for the program, though people who bought at the boom's peak and watched their homes value fall precipitously still won't qualify.
They also may not be interested in carrying a hefty mortgage when it will take years for the home to be regain its worth.
In Merced, 44.4 percent of the mortgages are underwater and 68 percent of the loans taken out since 2004 are underwater.
Councilwoman and Merced County Association of Realtors President Michele Gabriault-Acosta noted that many homeowners owe far more than what their home's worth and said the expanded program may help a little.
"Any help we can get will be appreciated," she said, adding "I don't know what kind of change we'll see."
UC Merced outlines cost of first lady's commencement speech...DANIELLE GAINES
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/932536.html
The total cost for May's commencement ceremony at UC Merced -- with a keynote address by first lady Michelle Obama -- has finally been tallied.
$1,047,338.82.
Private contributions of more than $185,000 (including donations and free labor) added to $500,000 in unrestricted interest earnings on a private endowment fund, managed by the UC Office of the President, have helped offset the cost of the event.
The balance will be covered by nonstate dollars from campus sources and offset by any additional donations that may be made, spokeswoman Patti Waid Istas said Thursday.
The original budget for the ceremony to commemorate the university's first full, four-year graduating class was $100,000, officials on campus said in the spring. That was before Michelle Obama agreed to address the graduating students.
In late April, officials told the Sun-Star that the ceremony's budget had risen to $700,000. That means the final total is $347,338.82 more than the university's highest estimate before the event.
No state money was used to cover the cost of the event, Istas said. The university was also not able to use the money set aside for commencement to cover employee salaries and benefits -- which will soon be cut, she said.
The university rented thousands of white chairs hauled in from around the state and set up a long bank of metal detectors for the big day. Also shipped in were massive JumboTrons, air-conditioned restroom trailers, an expansive stage and enough sod to cover the ceremony site.
About 38 percent of the budget, or $398,795.99, was spent on audio-visual and multimedia needs. Another 28 percent, or $292,504.27, went to facilities and transportation costs. Those who attended the ceremony were shuttled to campus from parking lots along Lake Road and around town.
Security services added another $122,960 to the bill and rentals cost $159,719.
The first lady is not compensated for appearing at events and UC Merced did not pay for Obama's travel or personal security, Istas said.
The university could not release the financial information sooner, the communications department said, because it had to wait for the end of the fiscal year to identify all available funding sources.
The 2009-2010 fiscal year began Wednesday.
An estimated crowd of 12,000 attended the afternoon ceremony on May 16, despite sweltering temperatures and a harsh afternoon sun. Almost all members -- 511 of 517 -- of the graduating class were also on hand.
Shot in the arm
Almost 20 percent of the total expenses for the ceremony, $208,000, went to Merced County-based companies. Stanislaus County businesses took in the most money when compared to other locations in the state, with $267,686 spent there.
In total, the university spent $516,907.60 in five San Joaquin Valley counties. Another $441,000 was spent statewide.
Just $89,239, or 8.52 percent of total spending, went out of state.
How much money visitors spent in the city of Merced is still unclear, city spokesman Mike Conway said, but it was not insignificant.
"The figure we are estimating is in the neighborhood of $1.5 million to the community," Conway said, which does not take into account any of the contracting purchases by the university.
"We do know that our hotels were filled from Thursday night on for that weekend, restaurants were pretty busy," he said. "It certainly looks like it was a shot in the arm for our local economy."
Long-term investment
University officials said it was still unclear if they were in the midst of what's called an "Obama Bump," a dramatic increase in popularity in a thing or place after the Obamas have visited. The bump has been noted at the Broadway play the first couple attended on date night, several D.C.-area restaurants, and at Occidental College in Southern California, where Barack Obama attended before transferring to Columbia University.
While the first lady's announcement came after application deadlines for the upcoming school year, Istas said the campus has seen a marked increase in the number of students touring campus this summer.
More than 1,000 media organizations ran reports on the graduation ceremony that weekend, Istas said.
"We jumped ten years into the future when it comes to national and international visibility. Millions of dollars in advertising could not have accomplished as much," Chancellor Steve Kang said in a statement. "Having the first lady as our commencement speaker will prompt high-achieving students and talented, accomplished faculty and staff to learn more about UC Merced."
Istas said the publicity was more than the campus could ever have imagined paying for, "but there's more to it than that," she said.
It is the result of the publicity that is more important. It is graduates going out to interviews and having their campus name recognized, she said.
The first lady agreed to speak on campus 50 days before the ceremony on March 27, as the result of a student-run, grassroots campaign called "Dear Michelle." Students on campus sent more than 900 handwritten valentines and personal letters to the White House, and produced a YouTube video named "We Believe."
UC Merced opened on Sept. 5, 2005 with 875 students. Officials expect 3,200 students on campus this fall.
Loose Lips:
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/115/v-print/story/932538.html
'The Map' is missing Merced
Lips is having a hard time finding Merced.
First, as we understand it, this city of 80,000-some people wasn't on The Map. Must have been an oversight by Valley cartographers.
Then in February, Amgen and cyclist Lance Armstrong put us on it. We were added again when first lady Michelle Obama came to speak at UC Merced. Last month, Yahoo! News story labelled Merced as a Ghost Town, USA.
"Like many former boom towns, Merced is paying the price for unsustainable growth," the article reads.
Then, during a House committee meeting a couple weeks back, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, said we were on the verge of falling off again. That'd make him D-Nowhere.
To add to the confusion, the Los Angeles Times reported two weeks ago that Obama's trip to San Francisco marked her first visit to California as the first lady. That nearly proves Merced isn't on the map.
We're not sure what's next for this place. Perhaps government officials will adopt a better metaphor.
Tour de ruin
A few residents in southwest and southeast Merced were surprised and confused Thursday to see their neighborhoods filled with a gaggle of suits looking at vacant homes.
One man asked if something bad had happened. Well, that depends if he bought his home in 1996 or 2006.
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was strolling around with Cardoza, who asked that he see the area's devastation firsthand.
Cardoza took Donovan out to breakfast at Toni's Courtyard Cafe, known for naming dishes after big events in Merced. For the UC graduation, she sold Bobcat Burgers.
Lips wonders if Toni Fiorenza did that this time. Maybe Donovan nibbled on Foreclosure French Toast with a side of Housing-Bust Bacon and Cardoza had some Economic-Stimulus Sausage. (Washington loves pork!)
Out on Merced's streets, the two politicos were flanked by Secret Service guards and a team of staffers clicking away on their Blackberrys.
Of course, Donovan isn't the most high-profile of Obama's appointments. One staffer pointed out Donovan when he arrived in case the reporters weren't sure who he was. Sounds like someone needs to work on his public image.
A grass-roots, organic effort
Lips once again will switch hats and become the Trader Crusader. With the last campaign, Benchwatch 2008/2009, ending with new judges finally getting appointed we feel it's time to start a new effort.
And we figure it's foolish to ask for anything from California's leaders at this point.
In case you missed the last column, Lips is joining the effort to bring a Trader Joe's to Merced. Lips is pretty sure its arrival will put -- and keep -- Merced on the map.
Fresno Bee
Commencement featuring Obama cost UC Merced $1m...Cyndee Fontana
http://www.fresnobee.com/564/v-print/story/1513206.html
The University of California at Merced spent more than $1 million on the commencement featuring first lady Michelle Obama, officials said Thursday.
Early estimates had put the cost of the May 16 ceremony at about $700,000. Campus spokeswoman Patti Waid Istas said that always was "a rough estimate," adding that officials repeatedly said the number could change.
The final tally doesn't include any major surprises, she said, but commencement plans evolved and elements were added. For example, officials hadn't anticipated teleprompters-- one of the unexpected costs.
The tab will be paid through donations and nonstate dollars. That includes $185,000 in private contributions and $500,000 in unrestricted interest earnings on a private endowment fund managed by the UC Office of the President.
The university fielded some flak for the expensive ceremony. Officials countered criticism by painting the event as a long-term investment that could yield new donors and friends and create valuable publicity for the system's youngest campus.
Sacramento Bee
SMUD pullout dims hopes for big power project...Ed Fletcher
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/v-print/story/1997486.html
One of the largest public works projects in the West – 600 miles of high-voltage power lines through Northern California – is on life support after its biggest player abruptly pulled the plug.
A magnet for opposition from both owners of properties the transmission lines would cross and environmental activists, the project was promoted as vital to the region's clean-energy future.
A consortium of municipal power providers said the lines were needed to bring renewable solar, wind and geothermal energy from the northeast corner of California to power-thirsty urban areas.
On Wednesday, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District told The Bee it was pulling out of the $1.5 billion project due to regulatory and financial uncertainties – leaving a gaping hole in the project budget. SMUD had been expected to shoulder 35 percent of the project's costs.
The Transmission Agency of Northern California – the project's sponsor – has 15 members. But only five had agreed to fund the power line project's environmental impact studies and, if it ultimately was approved, finance the project.
The remaining participants are the city of Santa Clara, Redding Electric Utility, and the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts.
The Western Area Power Authority is a federal partner.
On Thursday, those partners grappled with questions about the project's viability.
"We need another entity or entities to step forward in order to move this thing forward," said Paul Hauser, director of Redding Electric.
Keeping the project alive means one or more of the existing players would have to absorb SMUD's $525 million share, or a new partner would have to be found to salvage the project – or even pieces of it, officials said.
Most of the staff and board members of the participating utilities contacted by The Bee said they doubted the project would survive, despite the need for additional transmission capacity.
Tom Van Groningen, the Modesto Irrigation District board chairman, said he would "give serious consideration" to pulling out was well.
The likelihood of carrying on without SMUD is "very, very slight," he said.
Modesto had expected to pay $300 million of the total project cost, he said.
Santa Clara remains interested in the added transmission capacity, but a city spokesman said going it alone doesn't pencil out.
With SMUD out of the picture, "financing will be up in the air," said Dan Beerman, a city spokesman.
The Turlock Irrigation District was a participant, but its interest was limited to east/west lines between Tracy and Turlock, officials said. The district was not expected to pay for or use the more controversial north/south portion of the project.
The federal Western Area Power Authority, which delivers power to governmental and nonprofit entities from federal dams, also has some limited involvement.
If the project is to live on, it will be the feds that save it, some opponents of the project speculated.
But that's not a logical leap, said Randy Wilkerson, an authority spokesman.
"Western isn't in the business of bankrolling transmission projects," Wilkerson said. "We do participate in transmission projects that have a need and can – in the foreseeable future – pay for themselves."
Wilkerson said that like other players, Western is required to break even.
Randy Fiorini, vice president of the Turlock Irrigation District, said he wasn't surprised SMUD had pulled out.
Some of the project's opposition – which has been fierce – probably can be attributed to the lack of initial outreach, Fiorini said. Three tentative routes for the transmission lines were plotted on a map before stakeholders could weigh in.
"There has been so much controversy with the way the scoping was handled," he said.
SMUD acknowledged difficulty with the process but said the public uproar wasn't key to to its decision to pull out.
Rather, SMUD officials said a changing regulatory environment – and how that might affect the financial picture – was the main factor.
There is talk at the state and federal level of changing the way transmission projects are placed and funded. Given the uncertainty, it made sense to hold off, said SMUD spokeswoman Elisabeth Brinton.
Rule changes could force SMUD to share in the cost of energy grid projects in which it is not directly involved. And it could force SMUD to share the assets it paid for, officials said.
"The game rules are changing," Brinton said. "We are going to the game, but we don't know if we are playing football, baseball or softball."
600-MILE POWER LINE: WHAT'S NEXT
• The public comment period will be extended as officials of the Transmission Agency of Northern California assess the viability of the $1.5 billion 600-mile high voltage power-line project.
• All scheduled outreach meetings regarding the project have been postponed.
• TANC's next scheduled board meeting is July 22.
• Participating districts will also meet to discuss their options.
Power Line Route...Image
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1997486-a1997565-t46.html
Project pullout leaves SMUD scrambling to fill power needs...Jim Downing
http://www.sacbee.com/business/v-print/story/1997525.html
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District's withdrawal this week from a major Northern California power-transmission project complicates its transition to renewable energy.
SMUD planners foresaw using the new high-voltage lines to carry power to Sacramento from new wind, solar and geothermal energy projects envisioned for Lassen County and northwestern Nevada. SMUD cited financial uncertainties for the pullout.
Together, the projects could have provided nearly all of the new renewable energy SMUD needs to line up over the next decade to meet state and district mandates, said Jim Shetler, the utility's assistant general manager.
"We've got a lot of hole to fill," he said Thursday.
SMUD is on pace to get one-fifth of its electricity from renewable sources this year. By 2020, the figure must hit 33 percent – an increase of about 1.7 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy a year.
It would take around 700 megawatts of new solar or wind capacity to hit that target. That's equivalent to around 200,000 typical residential rooftop solar-power systems.
SMUD already must go far afield for its low-carbon power. This year, about half will be generated outside California. The utility buys electricity from wind farms in Oregon and a biomass plant in Washington. It pays a landfill operator in Texas to pump methane into the natural gas pipeline network to offset some of the gas burned in SMUD's Cosumnes power plant.
Without access to Lassen-area renewables, SMUD will look to maximize local resources, Shetler said. It is expanding wind farms on its 6,000 acres of property in Solano County. The same land might support tens or even hundreds of megawatts of solar power. Local efforts to turn garbage and plant waste into energy might chip in as much as 100 megawatts. Small hydroelectric projects could add a few dozen megawatts.
SMUD is developing a plan – due by the end of the year – that will formalize its renewable-energy strategy through 2020, Shetler said.
Weighing investments in renewable power is particularly difficult now because the electricity sector is changing so rapidly.
Many clean-energy technologies haven't been widely deployed yet, adding uncertainty to cost comparisons.
Rules governing the power grid are evolving, making it difficult to predict the feasibility of buying electricity from distant sources in the future.
In addition, as renewable-power mandates take hold elsewhere in the country, SMUD and other California utilities are likely to face more competition – and higher prices – when they bid for out-of-state energy.
It's possible that SMUD could still get some power from renewable-energy projects in the Lassen County area. If another investor steps in and the transmission lines are built, SMUD might be able to purchase any excess capacity.
State budget crisis scuttles Delta levee hazard detection, repairs...Matt Weiser
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/v-print/story/1997436.html
Politicians across the state are demanding major water projects in the Delta, but basic repairs on its vast network of levees have come to a standstill.
State reimbursement for levee projects completed as far back as 2007 has been stalled by the budget crisis. This means flood-control districts in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have not been able to pay back loans they took out for those projects or to finance new projects.
As a result, almost no levee repairs are getting done in the Delta this year. One levee engineer told The Bee as much as 15 miles of levee repairs have been stalled. Any of these levee segments could become the next failure that plunges the state into an even more desperate water crisis.
"As we look to the long-term future of the California Delta, we can't overlook necessary fixes that need to be done right now," said Jonas Minton, a senior project manager at the Planning and Conservation League and former deputy director of flood management at the state Department of Water Resources.
Delta levees don't just protect farmland. They also serve as the Delta's plumbing system, channeling fresh water from the Sacramento River to state and federal water diversion pumps near Tracy.
The levees also help prevent tidal saltwater from mixing with that fresh water, which serves 23 million Californians via two massive canal systems.
The state budget mess has also stalled surveys to find hidden vulnerabilities on about 100 miles of Delta levees.
These surveys employ an innovative and affordable new technique that uses an electromagnetic sensor towed behind an all-terrain vehicle. It allows engineers to "see inside" levees down to a depth of 30 feet to find weak soils, old pipes, beaver dens and other threats.
Argus Technologies of West Sacramento developed the system and has at least a dozen levee districts lined up to use it, said Mara Johnson, a senior scientist with the company.
The surveys could allow levee districts to find and remove hazards before they cause a flood. But a state fund that subsidizes the work has been bottled up by the state's budget crisis.
Such surveys might have prevented a Delta levee break five years ago, on June 3, 2004. That break, on the Upper Jones Tract near Stockton, flooded 12,000 acres and required water-export pumps to be shut down for two days, risking shortages for millions of Californians.
The flood was eventually blamed on either a beaver den in the levee or porous soils that caused seepage. Both can be detected by the Argus surveys and then quickly repaired.
In fact, a federal grant prompted by the Upper Jones Tract flood helped pay for surveys on eight Delta islands. More than 150 hazards were found inside these levees, including two old fuel tanks, three 55-gallon drums, six beaver excavations, eight concrete structures, and 87 old pipes.
These hazards were quickly targeted and removed. But about 60 levee-protected Delta islands remain to be surveyed.
"The idea is, any one of these could have led to a failure," Johnson said. "We're hoping to refute the notion that levee breaks are random and unpredictable."
The state supports this kind of work because it recognizes that Delta levees serve more than just the farmland they encircle. The levees also help convey drinking water to millions of Californians.
A key state financing tool is the awkwardly named "subventions fund." It requires a local funding match from levee districts, which then borrow to pay the bulk of project costs and are later reimbursed by the state to pay off the loans.
The goal is to help the districts raise and strengthen levees to meet a minimum Army Corps of Engineers standard for agricultural levees, called the PL 84-99 standard.
Of 1,100 miles of levees in the Delta, more than 600 miles don't meet this standard. The cost to comply – often more than $1 million per levee mile – is beyond the reach of most levee districts.
"This whole year – this spring and summer construction season – is pretty much toast," said Gilbert Cosio of MBK Engineers in Sacramento, which represents many Delta levee districts. "We could have had probably 10 to 15 miles of work done up to a very reliable standard. It's going to take years to get there, and we essentially missed a full year of work."
Yet the districts are still waiting for subventions reimbursements dating back two years, to June 2007, totaling about $20 million, said Cosio.
Meanwhile, no funding has been made available for this year, and planning has also been delayed for 2010 projects, said Gil Labrie, a levee engineer in Walnut Grove.
"At this point, these districts are hung out to dry for two years," said Labrie. "We're borrowing to survive, which means we're not going to be maintaining the (levee) system like it should be."
Mike Mirmazaheri, manager of the Delta levees program at the state Department of Water Resources, said standard funding agreements with the levee districts stipulate that reimbursement is made when funding is available.
"I sympathize, but … at this point in time the funding is not available because of the dire situation we are in," he said.
SoCal-to-Vegas route wins federal designation...KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, Associated Press Writer
http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/v-print/story/1997300.html
LAS VEGAS -- The clogged tourist travel route between Southern California and Las Vegas has been designated a federal high-speed rail corridor, in a move that officials hope would signal increased cooperation between the regions on building speedier train travel.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday that the route is now considered part of the federally designated California high-speed rail corridor.
LaHood called the congestion on Interstate 15 linking Southern California and the Las Vegas-area, "very bad for business, very bad for safety and certainly very bad for the environment."
He made the announcement at a news conference in Las Vegas, accompanied by Sen. Harry Reid and California Department of Transportation Director Will Kempton.
The immediate impact of designation appears to be minimal. Nine other rail routes in the U.S. share the distinction, considered a boost for applying for a portion of the $8 billion in stimulus funding set aside by the Obama administration for high-speed rail projects.
But Kempton said California will not include the Las Vegas leg in its application for federal money. That state's initial priority - a route connecting several cities along the coast - is considered a front-runner to receive a significant chuck of the federal dollars.
Reid spokesman Jon Summers said the designation could help a Las Vegas route secure federal loans, however transportation officials minimized the distinction's impact on federal loan programs.
"If they're going to apply for a loan they can apply a loan whether or not they're a designated corridor or not," said Federal Rail Administration spokesman Rob Kulat. "It doesn't matter, it depends on the quality of the application."
Still, Reid and Kempton used the announcement to promise high-speed rail between Southern California and Nevada was on a fast track.
The men also touted their support for one of two competing train proposals vying to be the first to shuttle people across the desert to the casinos of the Las Vegas Strip.
Reid recently abandoned his backing for a futuristic levitating train connecting Anaheim and Las Vegas. The train, which would be the first in the U.S. to use magnetic levitation technology, was derided as the "Sin City Express" by the Democrat's political opponents.
On Thursday, the Senate majority leader said the maglev train, which carries an estimated a $12 billion price tag and would rely on federal money, wasn't realistic.
"We just simply don't have the money," Reid said.
The senator's preferred project is now one advocated by powerful Republican lobbyist and political ally, Sig Rogich. The electric DesertXpress train would travel at speeds of up to 150 mph and would stop 85 miles short of Los Angeles in Victorville, Calif.
DesertXpress backers say the project's estimated cost of up to $4 billion will be privately funded with the help of federal loans.
The president of the group backing the maglev project said he was surprised by the officials' public endorsement for DesertXpress. When the Obama administration announced its plan to fund high-speed rail earlier this year, Neil Cummings said he thought maglev was poised to get some stimulus money. Even without Reid's support, Cummings said the project will move forward.
Stockton Record
Delta advocates plan Capitol rally
Peripheral canal looms large in estuary debate...Alex Breitler
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090703/A_NEWS14/907030339/-1/A_NEWS
SACRAMENTO - Hundreds of Delta advocates plan to rally next week at the state Capitol, fearing that behind-the-scenes negotiations by legislators over the future of the estuary will shut them out of the debate until it is too late.
Earlier this week, it appeared a key committee hearing would take place next week, on Tuesday or Thursday. Grass-roots group Restore the Delta sent an alert to its members, warning that the proposed legislation - perhaps a combination of existing bills - could include authorization of a peripheral canal.
That hearing is now in question as legislators grapple with the state budget. Some advocates are concerned there could be no hearing at all.
"One public hearing for a set of water policies that has far-reaching and expensive implications for the entire state is a mockery of the democratic process," Restore the Delta director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla said in her message to members.
"We are tired of the decisions being made without our consent and involvement," she wrote.
Hearing or no, advocates plan a rally and news conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday on the north steps of the Capitol. Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, whose 5th District includes portions of San Joaquin County, is expected to attend.
Wolk said Thursday that discussion and negotiations on the water bills were ongoing.
"The budget is taking center stage, as it should," she said. "Everything is in flux, and it changes from day to day."
A spokesman for Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, a canal supporter whose Senate Bill 12 is one of those set for discussion at the proposed hearing, declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiations.
While draft documents have apparently been circulated, Delta advocates say they've been left out of the loop and will therefore have little time to respond.
"Frankly, the voices of the Delta - the fishermen, the farmers, Delta interests and communities - have not been involved in this process," said Stockton environmentalist Bill Jennings, head of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
A canal would skirt the Sacramento River around, rather than through, the Delta to giant pumps near Tracy. Those pumps send water to cities and farms from the Bay Area to San Diego.
Supporters say a canal could be operated to take more river water during wet years and less during dry years, but opponents say it will ultimately lead to increased water exports and turn the Delta into a stagnant swamp.
SMUD rethinks project...Reed Fujii
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090703/A_BIZ/907030324
Sacramento's power company dropped its support for a $1.5 billion electric transmission project, casting doubt over plans to crisscross much of Northern California, including San Joaquin County, with new high-voltage lines and substations.
Increasing doubts over the project's financial feasibility and possible new regulation led the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to that decision, said Elisabeth Brinton, SMUD's director of communications.
Project sponsor Transmission Agency of Northern California, a partnership of 14 municipal utilities and special districts including the city of Lodi and Modesto Irrigation District, said SMUD's announcement Wednesday means it must now consider other options.
Agency officials will postpone public outreach meetings still scheduled this month but will accept written public comments about the project through July 30.
The withdrawal of SMUD, which had agreed to pay 35 percent of the project's cost, doesn't necessarily mean the project's death, a Transmission Agency spokesman said Thursday.
"No. The most important thing for us right now, our members, as well as the Western Area Power Administration, as well as others involved, is to step back and evaluate our options," Brendan Wonnacott said.
Still, one opponent of the transmission project welcomed the new developments.
"The public outcry was so great. I think they're taking a very hard look at what's going on." said Joe Bacchetti, president of the Farm Bureau's Tracy chapter. He organized a meeting in which dozens of farmers and south county residents raised objections to the new electric lines.
Bacchetti said Thursday the high-power lines strung on 100- to 150-foot-tall towers threatened small farms and residents all along the proposed routes.
State Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, also welcomed SMUD's decision but warned the fight is not over.
"Eleven other local utilities remain as project proponents and are charging ahead with this project despite the fact that the existing planning process is seriously flawed," Wolk said Thursday in a news release.
She promised to push forward with legislation that would make the Transmission Agency's project and similar municipal utility proposals subject to the same state scrutiny now given to shareholder-owned electric companies.
Agency officials said its transmission project of about 600 miles of power lines and substations would connect renewable energy solar and wind projects expected in northeastern California with its utility members in the Central Valley and Bay Area.
In San Joaquin County, the proposal would bring 80 to 90 miles of lines running southwest from Elk Grove to a Tracy substation and then east to Oakdale.
San Francisco Chronicle
Wake up: Here is what a real water crisis looks like...Dr. Peter Gleick, President, Pacific Institute
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gleick/detail?entry_id=42949
California is in the midst of an ugly debate about water--uglier than normal--because of a confluence of events, including a "hydrologic" drought caused by nature, a longer-term trend to restore some water back to failing ecosystems, and the gross mismanagement of the state's water, which has been going on for a century, but is affecting us now more than ever.
But despite all of the rhetoric, news stories, name-calling, yelling, and screaming, Californians have very little clue about what a real water crisis looks like. It looks like what's happening in Australia. Today's Water Number:
Water Number: 18,000 tons of rice. That is the total rice production from all of Australia last year, compared to the long-term average from 1970 of over 720,000 tons, and the high (in 2000) of over 1.6 million tons. Effectively, Australian rice production has dropped to zero because there is not enough water. And that is only one measure of the severity of their water crisis.
I think when the final agricultural production numbers for this year are released, it will turn out that California agriculture overall had a pretty good year. Indeed, for some growers and sectors, income and levels of production will be at record highs. In fact, the loss of Australian rice production is one reason California rice production is going to be healthy this year--prices are up. Are some farmers and sectors going to see decreases from last year, or from average? Yes, certainly. But what we are experiencing now in California is a far cry from the seriousness of what the Australians have had to deal with.
Australia has suffered from a decade of drought. Serious drought. And rainfall shortfalls have been accompanied by seriously rising temperatures. The hot, dry conditions have led to unprecedented bushfires, deaths, and property destruction. Power plants have shut down for lack of cooling water. Cotton, wheat, and other crop production also plummeted. The Australian Bureau of Statistics calculated that more than 10,500 families gave up farming between 2001 and 2006.
This real drought has, at last, led to transformational changes in Australian water policy--changes unlike the tiny, incremental modifications we've fought over in the western United States. Among other things, they have:
-restructured their water rights;
-integrated groundwater use with surface water use, and instituted comprehensive monitoring of all water use;
-strengthened ecosystem protections during shortages;
-expanded gray water use and water recycling;
-cut industrial water use by over 30%;
-imposed strict water rationing backed by real penalties;
-raised prices for municipal water;
-developed a foundation for real water trading;
-banned using hoses, washing your car, watering your garden, or filling your swimming pool;
-required installation of rainwater tanks in some locations, and mandatory installation of efficient shower heads and toilets; and
-invested in infrastructure improvements and expansion, such as desalination, efficient irrigation systems, leak detection and elimination practices, and better meters everywhere.
There is also no serious disagreement about climate change. Australians largely accept the science and have moved on to the real discussion: what needs to be done to prepare to adapt to unavoidable impacts on water systems.
In short, under duress, Australians did what they (and we) should have done long ago.
And the results? Urban and agricultural water consumption has been reduced throughout Australia--they've had no choice. In Canberra, water consumption dropped 35% within the space of just one year. In Melbourne, per capita water consumption in 2008 fell to its lowest level since 1934. In Sydney, water use today is at the same level as it was in 1974, despite 1.2 million additional residents. And their use is far, far below our use here in California. (For more details, see the good summary by Craig Windram at his Think Carbon blog.) While a few of the measures used to achieve these immense decreases are extreme (they were in an extreme situation), many of these techniques are no-brainers and are long overdue for California.
Will we, in the western U.S., stop the scrambling for political positioning, move from ideological arguments, look for common ground, and stop misusing data in attempts to gain some political advantage? Maybe someday, when today's "drought" looks like the good old days of plenty. I'd like to think we can do these things before the real pain starts.
Transit chief backs waterways for moving cargo...Rachel Gordon
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/03/BAJE18IDUN.DTL&type=printable
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made a brief stop at the Oakland waterfront Thursday to talk up support for "marine highways" - a program to move more cargo over the nation's waterways to reduce truck traffic and air pollution.
The idea has particular resonance in Oakland, where the diesel trucks that move goods to and from the Port of Oakland foul the air and add to health risks of nearby residents.
"A marine highway will get trucks off the road and clean up the air," LaHood said.
About 1,800 trucks pass through the port every day. A study released last year by the state Air Resources Board found that the diesel truck emissions were a significant culprit in putting nearby residents at greater risk of cancer. Children in West Oakland also have suffered a disproportionate rate of asthma, studies have found.
The port's governing board voted last month to ban so-called dirty trucks starting next year. Up to $10 million was made available by the port and the Bay Area air quality district to equip diesel trucks with special filters to cut down on diesel pollution.
LaHood, who met briefly with reporters at Jack London Square, sat down beforehand with Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, and representatives from the Ports of Oakland, Sacramento and Stockton.
President Obama's transportation point man called for closer collaboration among the ports to expand use of the marine highway concept.
There are already more than two dozen marine highways operating in the United States, such as the corridor between Seattle and Alaska and in the gulf region. LaHood said Northern California could benefit, too, not just by helping to cut greenhouse-gas emissions but by cutting highway congestion.
Stimulus funding is available on a competitive basis to help ports make the necessary improvements needed to participate in a strong marine highway network, he said.
Dellums said Oakland is committed to working with Stockton and Sacramento move the project forward.
Inside Bay Area
Transportation secretary tours port, talks money
LaHood sees a good, green future in Oakland...Chris Metinko, Oakland Tribune
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/
ci_12743875
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and elected officials toured the Port of Oakland on Thursday and discussed the possibility of more federal money rolling on to its docks.
LaHood met with a host of local, state and federal officials in discussing the port's place in the regional and national economies. LaHood stressed the ideas of all of the West Coast's ports working collaboratively to cut down on pollution and talked of creating a "port czar" position that would put together a collaborative plan for the nation's ports.
LaHood also spoke about the possibility of securing for the Oakland port some federal Transportation Investment Generating Recovery Grant money. The $1.5 billion available in the so-called TIGER grants is available to local and state governments for a variety of transportation projects.
"Our ports are our economic engines, and we need these engines to be revving up," said U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, who along Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, joined LaHood.
Both the port and Alameda County face a great "moment of opportunity" to both restart the economy and clean up the environment by creating green jobs, Boxer said.
Dellums said he sees much potential in the port's future.
"I think the future of the port is that of a port of Middle America," said Dellums, adding the Port of Oakland has the advantage of being able to easily move goods outside of the Bay Area.
Lee mentioned the port already has received nearly $24 million in federal stimulus money, but more will be needed to keep the port — with its more than $9.7 billion worth of U.S. exports — growing and becoming more environmentally friendly.
Both Lee and LaHood stressed the importance of not discouraging ports from looking for environmentally conscience methods of moving goods.
The key to creating more environmentally friendly ports, LaHood said, is to transport more goods by ship rather than trucks. He mentioned, in particular, the importance of a "marine highway" along the West Coast.
"We will be putting a good deal of emphasis on the marine highway in order for us to get trucks off the road and get cleaner air," LaHood said.
Bloomberg.com
U.S. Foreclosures to Peak in Late 2010, Meyer Says (Update1)...Kathleen M. Howley
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aAsDvrWg4aJI
July 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. foreclosures will peak in the second half of 2010 and home prices will continue to decline through the end of that year, according to Barclays Capital.
“Home prices are likely to continue to fall, albeit at a slowing pace, even after the economy technically emerges from the recession,” Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital in New York, said in a report today. Prices may drop another 7 percent, she said, based on the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 U.S. cities.
The three-year-old housing slump has slashed U.S. home prices 33 percent since their July 2006 peak, according to S&P/Case-Shiller. Prospective buyers are constrained by rising mortgage rates, the highest unemployment since 1983 and the longest recession of the post-World War II era.
U.S. homeowners trying to sell are competing with a glut of discounted foreclosures. It would take about 9.6 months to sell the nation’s 3.8 million unsold homes at the current sales pace, according to the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors.
Foreclosures probably will rise to a record 2.5 million this year, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors.
Existing U.S. home sales in May rose 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.77 million, lower than forecast, and the median price was down 16.8 percent from the same month in 2008, according to NAR.
Lowest Since 1963
Home resales probably will rise to 5.41 million next year from 4.75 million in 2009, Meyer said in the Barclays report. Sales of new houses may increase to 440,000 next year from 350,000 this year, she said. That would make 2009 the lowest year for new-home sales in Census Bureau records that go back to 1963.
“The slowing in the economic recession, with fewer job cuts and greater consumer confidence, along with improvement in financial conditions, should help support home sales,” Meyer wrote.
CNN Money
Seven banks fail, pushing 2009 tally to 52
Regulators close six Illinois banks and one Texas bank, setting the FDIC back a total of $314.3 million...Catherine Clifford
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/02/news/companies/bank_failure/
index.htm?postversion=2009070300
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Seven banks were shut down by authorities Thursday, pushing the tally of failed banks for 2009 to 52, more than doubling the failures in 2008.
Six regional banks in Illinois and one in Texas closed their doors, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The rash of Illinois failures are interlinked: All six banks were controlled by one family and followed a similar business model that "created concentrated exposure in each institution," according to the FDIC.
The agency said that the six failures stemmed from the banks' investments in collateralized debt obligations and other loan losses.
Twelve banks in Illinois have failed this year. Thursday's failure in Texas was the first for the state in 2009.
Last year, 25 banks failed in the United States.
Local banks have been hard hit as plummeting home values devalued mortgage-backed assets and rising unemployment rates caused an increasing number of consumers to default on their loans.
Larger financial institutions have been helped with government bailouts, but smaller regional banks continue to struggle.
FDIC fund: The total cost of Thursday's bank failures to the FDIC is $314.3 million, bringing the FDIC fund's total cost for failed banks to $12.3 billion this year. That compares with $17.6 billion in all of 2008.
The FDIC, which is funded primarily by fees paid by banks, insures individual deposits up to $250,000. The amount was increased from $100,000 late last year in response to concerns about the stability of the nation's banks.
First bank topples: State regulators shuttered John Warner Bank, based in Clinton, Ill., and named the FDIC the receiver. The State Bank of Lincoln, based in Lincoln, Ill., will assume all of the deposits of the failed bank.
As of April 30, the failed bank had total assets of $70 million and total deposits of approximately $64 million.
The three offices of John Warner will reopen on Friday as branches of State Bank of Lincoln. Customers of the shuttered bank will automatically become depositors of State Bank of Lincoln.
Second bank falls: Later Thursday, state regulators closed First State Bank of Winchester, based in Winchester, Ill., and named the FDIC the receiver. Federal regulators entered into a purchase and assumption agreement for The First National Bank of Beardstown, based in Beardstown, Ill., to assume all of the assets and deposits of the failed bank.
As of April 30, The First State Bank of Winchester had total assets of $36 million and total deposits of approximately $34 million.
The two offices of the failed bank will reopen Monday as branches of The First National Bank of Beardstown. Customers of the failed bank will automatically be transferred over to the new bank.
Over the weekend, customers of the failed bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
Third bank falls: Rock River Bank, based in Oregon, Ill., was shuttered by state regulators. The FDIC was named the receiver and it entered into an agreement with the The Harvard State Bank, of Harvard, Ill., to assume all of the deposits of the failed bank and almost all of the assets.
As of April 30, Rock River Bank had total assets of $77 million and total deposits of approximately $75.8 million. The Harvard State Bank agreed to purchase $72.9 million in assets and the FDIC will retain the rest to dispose of later.
The four offices of the failed bank will reopen Monday as branches of The Harvard State Bank and depositors will automatically be transferred.
Fourth bank goes down: Elizabeth State Bank, based in Elizabeth, Ill., was closed down by state regulators and the FDIC was named the receiver. Galena State Bank and Trust, based in Galena, Ill., entered into a purchase and assumption agreement to take over all of the deposits of the failed bank.
As of April 30, The Elizabeth State Bank had total assets of $55.5 million and total deposits of approximately $50.4 million. Galena State Bank and Trust purchased $52.3 million of assets and the FDIC will retain the rest to dispose of later.
The two offices of failed bank will reopen on Monday as branches of Galena State Bank and Trust. Customers will automatically be transferred over to the new bank.
Number five: The First National Bank of Danville, headquartered in Danville, Ill., was shuttered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC was named the receiver. First Financial Bank, N.A., based in Terre Haute, Ind., entered into a purchase and assumption agreement to take over all of the deposits of the failed bank.
As of April 30, the failed bank had total assets of $166 million and total deposits of approximately $147 million. First Financial Bank, N.A. agreed to purchase $148 million of assets, leaving the remainder for the FDIC to dispose of later.
The seven offices of failed bank will reopen on Monday as branches of First Financial Bank, N.A. and depositors will automatically be transferred over to the new bank.
Number 6: State regulators shut down the Millennium State Bank of Texas, based in Dallas, Texas, Thursday and named the FDIC the receiver. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with an Irving, Texas bank, called the State Bank of Texas.
As of June 30, Millennium State Bank of Texas had total assets of approximately $118 million and total deposits of $115 million. State Bank of Texas will take over all of the deposits and "essentially all of the failed banks assets," according to the release.
The one office of Millennium State Bank of Texas will be open Monday as a branch of State Bank of Texas. Depositors of the failed bank will automatically be transferred over to the new bank.
The biggest to fall: State regulators shut down Founders Bank, based in Worth, Ill., and named the FDIC the receiver. The PrivateBank and Trust Company, head-quartered in Chicago, Ill., entered into a purchase and assumption agreement to take over the assets of the failed bank.
As of April 30, Founders Bank had total assets of $962.5 million and total deposits of $848.9 million. The PrivateBank and Trust Company purchased all of the deposits of the failed bank and $888.4 million worth of assets, leaving the rest for the FDIC to dispose of later.
The eleven offices of the failed bank will reopen on Monday as branches of The PrivateBank and Trust Company. Customers will automatically be transferred over to the new bank.