Posted on 03/06/2008 5:33:14 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO -- A new water bond has risen from the ruins of two weeks of backbiting and false hope.
Good thing too. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, an influential Democrat, has sent a letter accusing Democrat leaders of blocking progress on negotiations over how to respond to California's water crisis and subtly threatening to back a GOP/pro-business bond if they don't get their act together.
State Sen. Mike Machado, a Linden Democrat who has been actively pursuing a deal and working with Republicans regularly, submitted a $6.8 billion compromise Thursday.
Significantly, Machado's announcement included words of encouragement from Sen. Dave Cogdill, a Modesto Republican who has been the governor's go-to guy for a more controversial $11 billion bond measure.
The ongoing, (never-ending?) talks on a water bond are important to the future of water supplies in San Diego County. The county water authority is looking to raise San Vicente dam to add more storage and could use some state aid to bank even more. Also, a bond would go a long way toward improving deliveries through the troubled Sacramento delta -- a major source of water for the San Diego region.
Feinstein's letter was addressed to Senate leader Don Perata of Oakland and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles. It scolded them for stalling sessions and then not showing up at one key meeting.
Feinstein had met with Democrats and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in late February to help broker a deal. The session ended with promises from all sides to pursue compromise, but talks collapsed almost as soon as her plane departed.
"I left the meeting with high hopes, feeling that there was goodwill and general agreement to try to work out a bipartisan legislative proposal ..." Feinstein wrote in a letter dated Wednesday.
"I am deeply disappointed," she continued. "This is not in keeping with the spirit of our agreement to try to find a way forward."
Strong language, particularly when aimed at her usual allies. But, the worst for Democrats and their environmental friends, came in the closing paragraph.
Feinstein warned "time is running out on a legislative solution." Translation: she could support a Chamber of Commerce proposal that includes dams and a new north-to-south delivery system criticized by many Democrats and environmentalists. The chamber is waiting for the outcome of talks in the Legislature, but has an initiative ready for signature gathering if the governor gives the green light.
Machado is hoping that won't be necessary. His proposal is patterned after the others that have stalled but excludes funding for a new north-to-south channel. He also proposes a competitive grant system for funding storage projects.
In a statement, he said the proposal "is a reasonable place to restart discussions on a legislatively approved bond measure."
Cogdill, his GOP counterpart, agreed. "We're ready to roll up our sleeves and work across the aisle with the goal of passing a comprehensive water bond," he said in a statement included in Machado's release.
Representatives for Perata and Machado may want to forward the Machado-Cogdill peace offering to Feinstein.
Said Steve Maviglio, Nunez's spokesman: "Apparently word travels slow to Capitol Hill. We are --and have been -- at the table." Lynda Gledhill, Perata's spokeswoman, said: "The Senate is working very hard in a bipartisan manner on a bipartisan agreement."
But if they eventually gather around a round table to once again talk, who will be invited?
Both sides have issues with two chief negotiators, which threaten to keep them apart. Some members want the governor to bench his chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, and call in water czar Lester Snow to bring a deal home. On the other hand, some have grown frustrated with Perata's advisor, Kip Lipper, who they see as on the side of environmentalists opposed to a deal.
Tough luck Los Angeles....it's a desert out there.
Oh...and...with all the productive people leaving Kallephornya, surely that will make up the difference.
Problem is that the LA basin has more votes than most mid-size countries and will drip the DemoKool-Aid and pass it for the NoCal folks.
I’am one of first NO votes you will get.
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