But an important thing happened inside the MWD board. It began to focus more on water than politics and all of Cadiz's friends, from Gov. Gray Davis to former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to outgoing state Sen. Jim Costa of Fresno.
It may have been Costa who actually did in the Cadiz deal. He recently publicly warned MWD that he may look kindly on dismembering the agency if it walked away from deals. He didn't cite Cadiz by name. He didn't have to. Some MWD members got the message, and it was cited by one as the reason to kill this deal. Beware of Costa, Davis, Babbitt or any other of the many pals of Cadiz if they dare try anything to resurrect this dumb desert deal.