Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Earlier today, I posted the report on the proposed Bear River Dam, which I’d written about this past weekend. Now Sierra Watch has weighed in with its comments:

“Today the South Sutter Water District released its long awaited ‘Garden Bar Reservoir Preliminary Study.’

“The 37-page report includes some specifics regarding proposed location, possible dam function, potential costs, and projected approval processes.

“But it fails to answer the most basic question about the dam: should the dam be built in the first place?

The report is available at http://gardenbarwater.com/ (under DOCUMENTS AND NOTICES).

In the days and weeks ahead, Sierra Watch and our allies and experts will continue to research the report and review its findings.

In the meantime, here is an initial summary of some of its key points:

Location: The dam would be built in an upstream water district (Nevada Irrigation District) below Garden Bar Crossing on the Bear River; the reservoir would flood land in both Nevada and Placer Counties, including ranchlands permanently protected in conservation preserves.

Size: The preliminary study evaluates four reservoir sizes, ranging from 245,000 acre-foot to 400,000 acre-foot.

Cost: Estimates for the total cost of the dam range from $415 to $674 million.

Partners: The report projects ongoing financial support from its partners in Napa, Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino Counties (Cities of Napa and American Canyon, Castaic Lake Water Agency, Palmdale Water District, and San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District).

Note that last month the Castaic Lake Water Agency pulled its support, citing “(u)ncertainties regarding the ability to transfer water across the Delta and that impact on the cost effectiveness of the project for the Agency would preclude it from recommending further participation in the project.”

Water Availability: The report acknowledges the existence of “numerous issues that would need to be resolved to confirm the availability of this water and the ability to convey a portion of it through the Delta, if so desired”

Next Steps: According to the report, the project partners will now need to determine whether to proceed in financing the next round of planning studies; projected planning costs range from $23 to $43 million.

South Sutter Water District and its partners would then embark on a series of multi-year project approval process, including obtaining a water right permit from the California State Water Board, securing a hydropower license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and full CEQA and NEPA environmental review.

For more information contact Peter Van Zant, Sierra Watch Field Director, at (530) 265-2849.

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“Former Washington Times columnist Eliana Benador, who was fired for writing a piece speculating that former Rep. Anthony Weiner had converted to Islam and was pushing a ‘socialist political agenda,’ has found a new home for her controversial work: Tea Party Nation,” according to Raw Story.

“RightWingWatch.org, a watchdog for conservative media that is part of political activism group People for the American Way, excerpted Benador’s debut column on the conservative social networking site, meditating on the ‘invasion of America’ by ‘non-European immigrants.’

“As we celebrate America’s Independence Day, it’s noteworthy that the percentage reduction of original American voters, might have been a defining factor in the election of someone like the current president, who among other goals, seems to be keen in opening further our borders to endlessly increasing numbers of immigrants who, regardless of their skin color, are bringing in a whole new texture of culture, 100% foreign to what America’s origins were as its wonderful adventure began back in 1776,” Benador wrote.

“Tea Party Nation has previously published writings that warn of the impending ‘extinction’ of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) population.

“Benador has a history of racial and religious alarmist writings, including the ‘Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin: Married to a Muslim agenda?’ column that she was fired from the Washington Times for. Currently, she is a U.S.-based ‘Goodwill ambassador’ for a group of Jewish settlers in the West Bank. In the past, Slate reported, she ran a public relations agency that representative neo-conservative hawks.

The rest of the article is here.

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“For months, Britain’s scandal over scoop-hungry reporters hacking into the cellphones of celebrities and politicians drew shrugs from the general public, which viewed the affair as a rarified dispute between the rich and famous and those who write about them,” according to the L.A. Times.

“Not anymore.

“Revulsion swept the nation Tuesday amid allegations that a sensationalist tabloid owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch also intercepted and tampered with voicemails left for a kidnapped 13-year-old girl whose body was later found dumped in the woods.

“Britons from Prime Minister David Cameron on down declared their disgust over the accusations, the latest to hit Murdoch’s weekly News of the World.

“The disturbing turn in a long-running scandal has raised troubling questions about the media magnate’s relationship with the British political establishment and police. It comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Australian-born Murdoch, who also operates Fox News in the U.S. and is seeking political approval to expand his already massive media empire in Britain.”

The rest of the article is here.

“Why we must cut puppet-master Murdoch’s strings” from the Guardian is here. (Photo credit: Guardian)

Murdoch also owns The Wall Street Journal.

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Nevada City resident and artist Judith Lowry sent along photos of the “flying dog” from the Fourth of July parade in Bend, Ore.

“I guess this is an annual attraction at the Fourth of July Dog Parade in Bend,” Judith wrote. “He was calm and the owners had him secured very well. There were hundreds of dogs in the parade, all well-behaved.”

Judith also sent a photo of her and her husband, Brad, kayaking on Hosmer Lake.

I found a video of the “flying dog” at the bottom:

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Here’s a photo from Evanston’s Fourth of July parade, from a former classmate of mine at Northwestern University’s Graduate Journalism School.

Chicago is much fun in the summer: Swimming and sailing in Lake Michigan, a meal at the Cape Cod Room at the Drake Hotel — and a Cubs game. This year the Cubs have the third to last worst record in baseball, at 35-51, ahead of only Houston and Kansas City. Some things never change after 30 years.

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