For the first time since the Public Policiy Institute of California began its surveys, Californians' concerns about the ecconomy are not at the top of the list. The new No. 1? The drought.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Water and the lack of it is the No. 1 issue confronting California, and most people across the state believe their neighbors aren’t doing enough to deal with the drought, a survey reported."
"The nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California reported that nearly four in 10 of those surveyed said water and drought was the most important issue, about double those – 20 percent – who saw jobs and the economy as the key concern."
“Water and drought is the most frequently named issue in all regions, but Central Valley residents are the most likely to mention it (53%) (42% San Francisco Bay Area, 37% Orange/San Diego, 36% Inland Empire, 31% Los Angeles). In addition, 69 percent of Californians say the supply of water in their part of the state is a big problem—a record high since the survey began asking this question in 2009,” PPIC said in a statement accompanying the survey."
(Click here to see the full survey and the statement accompanying it.)
There were lots of nuggets in the PPIC's report, and here's one of the most important: There's declining support for changing Proposition 13, the property-tax cutting measure that voters approved decades ago.
The LAT's Phil Willon tells the tale: "Support has dwindled for removing commercial properties from tax limits imposed by Proposition 13, the landmark property tax initiative approved by voters in 1978, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California...."
"The so-called split-roll proposal to change Proposition 13 would require the regular reassessment of commercial properties while keeping tax protections for residences in place. Fifty percent of likely California voters said they favor the split roll, while 44% said they opposed the idea, the poll found. In January 2012, 60% of voters supported such a change.
“This would face a difficult hurdle,’’ said Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute. “Most people believe that, overall, Proposition 13 is a good thing.”
Back to the drought, we're not even into summer yet and the wet season -- hopefully -- is months away, but our heads are filled with dreams of El Niño.
From the Fresno Bee's Mark Grossi: "But there has been no magic here. Winter has been stingy with storms over the last four years. The high school graduating class of 2015 here hasn’t seen a good winter since eighth grade."
"So why are there so many news stories out there right now about the latest El Niño? Because climatologists are saying the shallow blob of warm water in the Pacific Ocean is a little different this year."
"It appears to be building into something bigger. Meteorologists are seeing a connection to the big rains and floods in Texas, and perhaps hurricane season will be a little milder. In Canada, experts are blaming it for early wildfires. How strong is this thing right now?"
Meanwhile, the Contra Costa Water District -- which gets all of its water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta -- is boosting its rates immediately and putting new penalties in place to force conservation.
From Denis Cuff in the Contra Costa Times: "Water rates are going up immediately for 208,000 central Contra Costa County residents in response to a state push to slash water use."
"In addition, customers who water their lawns more than twice a week or flood gutters will get one warning, then be subject to a $250 fine for a second offense and $500 for a third offense."
"The Contra Costa Water District approved the emergency drought rates and fines unanimously Wednesday to help comply with a state order to cut overall water use 28 percent."
From the Bee's Jon Ortiz: "The state GOP has paid $1.6 million for the fourth floor of an office building one block north of the Capitol at 1001 K St., party Chairman Jim Brulte confirmed Wednesday..."
"The property at the corner of K and 10th streets was formerly a Roos Atkins department store. It went through extensive upgrades between 2008 and 2013, according to the real estate firm marketing the property, Turton Commercial Real Estate. Sharif Jewelers anchors the ground floor."
"Like its old headquarters, the new Republican base will be named the Ronald Reagan California Republican Center, in honor of the former governor and U.S. president."
Click here to see Ben van der Meer's story in the Sacramento Business Journal.
Finally, from our "It Came From Outer Space" file, comes word of a UFO over Southern California that was captured in a video and posted on Youtube. It may not be true but, hey, it's very cool. Besides, it brings back memories of all those B&W sci-fi flicks from the 1950s.
"A very unusual UFO video has appeared on YouTube. It looks like a fireball -- an exceptionally large, bright meteor, or space debris -- blazing through the night sky, leaving a long, brilliant trail behind it."
"As the following video shows, a mysterious circular orb appears to eject from the main object. But the orb doesn't travel the same downward path of the meteor -- rather, it appears to almost deliberately fly off in the opposite direction."
"It does look like a meteor, but that white dot going backwards is definitely not normal," said Maccabee, whose long career at the Naval Surface Warfare Center included optical data processing and various aspects of the Strategic Defense Initiative."
Indeed ...
