Free Republic

nterior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a sharp increase in federal water supplies for California's agricultural Central Valley, further easing drought concerns in a state where El Niño rains have raised the mountain snowpack after three severely dry years. Mr. Salazar said water allocations from the Central Valley Project in California, a system of aqueducts and reservoirs managed by the federal Bureau of Reclamation primarily for farmers in the region, would be increased this year to between 25% and 50% of the maximum amount allowed under ideal circumstances, based on conservative forecasts by his agency. That's up from a previous estimate...

SACRAMENTO — A corps of state carpenters and painters spent more than 51 hours on state time preparing an elaborate prop for one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's public appearances, a practice that a watchdog group says is a misuse of government employees. Promoting his plan for budget restraints, Schwarzenegger appeared at the state fairgrounds last month next to a 25-foot model of the Capitol, twisting a "spigot" to shut off a flow of "red ink" symbolizing the state's spending habits. Half a dozen carpenters and painters prepared the model — hauled out of a warehouse for the occasion --snip-- "You're...