AP California News June 25, 2015 FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Farmers in at least two California irrigation districts are considering whether to ignore a letter from the state calling for historic cuts in water use during the drought, a lawyer said Thursday. Attorney Steven Herum, who represents two Central Valley irrigation districts serving farmers, said…
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette June 15, 2015 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Drought-stricken California on Friday ordered the largest cuts on record to farmers holding some of the state’s strongest water rights. State water officials told more than 100 senior rights holders in California’s Sacramento, San Joaquin and delta watersheds to stop pumping from those waterways. The…
Miami Herald June 13, 2015 Despite California’s drought, Richard and Danna Jones’ cattle grazing pasture has stayed green thanks to water flowing free from a gulch claimed by his grandfather in 1911. Their nearly ironclad right to water was suspended Friday when state regulators ordered them to stop taking the water for their rural property…
More Angst As Water Cuts Approach TRACY — Walnut grower Jim McLeod, 86 hadn’t even been born when farmers just south of Tracy made a deal that they believed would give them a secure water supply forever. In the 1920s, they decided to purchase water rights from neighboring San Joaquin River diverters — rights that…
May 13, 2015 California’s first come, first served, water-rights system is about to be tested. State water regulators are expected to issue curtailment orders to the most privileged water users in California – those with so-called senior water rights, claimed before the state established a permitting process in 1914. Those lucky enough to be grandfathered…
Merced Sun-Star November 25, 2014 Stanislaus County supervisors voted Tuesday to tighten the rules for well permits, requiring farmers outside irrigation districts to show that new wells won’t have a detrimental effect on groundwater. In another change to the county’s groundwater ordinance, pumping data will be collected from private well owners, but officials promised to…
The Ceres Courier July 15, 2014 A Stanislaus Superior Court judge heard arguments Friday in the matter of the challenge against the 2011 approval of the Walmart Supercenter project. The 26-acre Mitchell Ranch Shopping Center – with its anchor tenant of the Walmart Supercenter – was approved by the Ceres City Council in 2011 but…
Sacramento Bee July 1, 2014 Six weeks after ordering thousands of California water users to stop diverting from rivers and streams amid the worst drought in a generation, state officials say only 31 percent have bothered to respond by sending back the required forms. Now, their efforts to force the rest to comply are prompting…
RecordNet May 31, 2014 State officials on Friday ordered 1,634 junior water rights holders in the San Joaquin River basin to stop diverting water, the latest in a series of similar orders as California continues to grapple with a serious drought. Letters were sent to the water users Friday telling them to “immediately stop diverting”…
ACROSS THE BAR 2nd Quarter 2014 STUDENT LOAN DISCHARGEABILITY IN BANKRUPTCY RICARDO Z. ARANDA In the spirit of graduation season, the staff at Across the Bar thought it would be a good idea to discuss an issue that affects recent graduates. In the spirit of being a bunch of lawyers, we picked the most depressing…
