Back to your regularly scheduled calamity

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Tuesday Mar 29,2022 01:16 pm

Mar 29, 2022

By Jeremy B. White, Juhi Doshi, Chris Ramirez and Graph Massara

THE BUZZ — THE OLD NORMAL: Drought could displace the coronavirus as California’s dominant disaster.

The state’s test-positivity rate and its water supplies have been trending in the same direction: down. The Sierra snowpack has shriveled to somewhere between a third and less than half of its annual average, reservoir levels are plummeting and federal statistics put almost all of the state in a severe drought. An extraordinarily wet December gave way to the driest three months in California history — a chunk of time that followed the two most desiccated years since California began tracking precipitation. The situation is “very bad and getting worse,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot told reporters yesterday.

The dire consequences have already begun playing out. Gov. Gavin Newsom has placed the entire state under a drought emergency, and a corresponding federal drought disaster declaration has been in place for months. The Department of Water Resources announced earlier this month that it was curtailing deliveries to farms and cities from an already-challenging 15 percent to a mere 5 percent of what was requested. The Bureau of Reclamation affirmed earlier this year that federally managed pipes would send nothing to some water users now.

On Monday, Newsom called for more conservation but stopped short of mandatory urban cutbacks like the ones Gov. Jerry Brown ordered in 2015. You’re not required to shorten your shower or turn off the sprinklers — yet.

Instead, the governor directed the State Water Resources Control Board to consider banning the watering of grass around large commercial and industrial properties. Newsom’s executive order also limits well drilling, asks state agencies to suggest budget actions like more assistance to parched households and prods urban suppliers to craft plans for cutting back further.

Newsom had already pleaded with Californians to conserve more, an effort his administration augmented earlier this month with millions more for outreach as part of a $22.5 million emergency drought allocation. So far those exhortations have been to little avail: Californians reduced their consumption by less than half of the 15 percent Newsom asked for, and they used more this January than last year,per the SF Chronicle’s Kurtis Alexander.

Finite water can fuel endless political conflict. Shortages have already complicated the Biden administration’s efforts to wade into disputes over Trump-era allocation rules meant to send more water to farmers (at the expense of protected fish). Clashes over groundwater management, reservoirs and projects like desalination plants — and now, a contested Mojave pipeline — regularly play out in Sacramento. On the campaign side, a ballot initiative to annually divert some of the general fund to water storage projects stalled this year for want of financial resources.

“Water scarcity has become the new normal,” California Environmental Protection Secretary Jared Blumenfeld said Monday. “Our lives in California are really going to be shaped by water scarcity going forward, so everything we do to normalize that is going to help us.”

In other words: Adaptation can allay the effects. But as climate change exacerbates shortfalls, it’s likely one of California’s longest-running conflicts will only intensify.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning. We’re thrilled today to mark Lara Korte officially joining California Playbook as a co-author with Jeremy! An alum of the Sac Bee Capitol bureau (that makes two of us), Korte will be jumping in as election season, budget talks and bill hearings all heat up. Give her a follow. Meanwhile, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is in Southern California today.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte .

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history. … If Dr. Eastman and President Trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit itself to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears Jan. 6 will repeat itself.” Central District of California Judge David O. Carter orders California attorney and Trump counselor John Eastman to turn over emails — after deeming it likely Trump “corruptly attempted to obstruct” election certification.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Rep. @AyannaPressley on Chris Rock’s slap-provoking joke about Jada Smith: “Our bodies are not public domain. They are not a line in a joke—especially when the transformation is not of our choosing. I’m a survivor of violence. I'm a proud Alopecian. The psychological toll we carry daily is real. Team Jada always. That’s that on that.”

BONUS TOTD: How state @SenSusanRubio , a domestic violence victim, saw it: “‘Love will make you do crazy things’ is not an excuse for violence. Chris Rock’s cruel joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s medical condition was awful and clearly crossed the line, but Will Smith’s reaction was inexcusable.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

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Top Talkers

ETHICAL CONCERNS — A Google billionaire's fingerprints are all over Biden's science office, by POLITICO’s Alex Thompson: Eric Schmidt has long sought to influence federal science policy, dating back to his close ties to the Obama administration. While his spokespeople presented his efforts to help Biden as part of Schmidt Futures’ mission to “focus and mobilize these networks of talent to solve specific problems in science and society,” his foundation’s involvement in funding positions for specific figures raised repeated red flags from internal White House watchdogs.

— “ Judge says Omar Ameen’s deportation on hold due to likelihood he could be tortured,” by KCRA 3’s David Manoucheri: “Ameen's attorneys asked for hearings for asylum, claiming that Ameen would be tortured and possibly killed if he was deported back to Iraq. Now, the immigration judge has issued an "order of withholding." That puts a stay on his deportation because he may be tortured if he is deported.”

GROWING WORRIES — “Is American River Parkway safe? Sacramento-area residents rattled after Emma Roark slaying,” by Sac Bee’s Sam Stanton: “Some say the number of camps along the parkway has made them hesitant to use the 32-mile parkway, which for years has been considered the crown jewel of the area’s outdoor spaces.”

— “California wildfire smoke may rise to practically unbearable levels in next decades,” by SF Chronicle’s Kurtis Alexander: “ Residents in the Pacific Northwest and parts of Northern California could see particle pollution from wildfires increase more than 50% by the middle of the century, compared with recent decades, and triple by century’s end, new research shows.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

CRISIS CALLS — “‘People don’t think clearly in crisis:’ California law enforcement turns to mental health clinicians on toughest 911 calls,” by CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff: “Supporters have promoted this strategy as a way to bring more sensitivity and care to some of the toughest, most time-consuming 911 calls, while freeing up officers to focus on their primary crime prevention duties. To succeed, however, these efforts will need to rebuild trust between law enforcement and residents who led the push for change.”

— “ California considers letting election workers hide addresses,” by the AP’s Adam Beam: “The California Legislature on Monday advanced a bill that would add some election workers to the state’s ‘Safe at Home’ program that’s lets some people to keep their physical addresses secret. The program was originally designed to protect domestic violence victims, but has since been expanded to include people who work at abortion clinics and their patients.”

— “Meet the Bay Area mayor who wants to persuade you to get rid of your car,” by SF Chronicle’s Rachel Swan: “His ambitions stretch beyond Emeryville, like getting bike and bus lanes on the Bay Bridge, a dedicated on-ramp for buses heading to the bridge on Interstate 80 and a bicycle network spread throughout Alameda County.”

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS — “The Slums of California,” by the New York Times’ Jay Caspian King: “In the Bay Area and Los Angeles, where thousands of people sleep on the streets or in tent encampments every night, one of the more popular proposals has been to build many new units of temporary shelter. These take many forms: tiny-home villages that provide a shed-size house for two residents, repurposed hotel rooms and “Safe Sleep” sites where people can move into tents.”

REPARATIONS — “ Who should receive reparations in California for slavery? Answers raise more questions,” by the LA Times’ Taryn Luna: “State law directs the group to prioritize those who trace their lineage to African Americans enslaved in the United States. Public attention has also focused on whether all Black people deserve some form of restitution for the lingering effects of slavery in a society that continues to discriminate based on skin color today.”

— “After officials bulldozed a Tijuana tent camp, migrants ended up in shelters, apartments and more tents,” by Kate Morrissey: “Ever since she and hundreds of other asylum-seekers were forced from a camp outside the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Vanessa has worked two jobs — attendant at both a laundromat and a parking lot — to pay for the dilapidated apartment that her family shares with two other families.”

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

— “Vice President Kamala Harris, in her toughest hour, is keeping a tighter circle,” by the LA Times’ Noah Bierman and Melanie Mason: “ Since taking office, the roster of confidants she relies on for advice and support has contracted and tilted away from her long-time home base of California. The narrowing of her inner circle reflects both the demands of the vice presidency, which leave little time for social calls, and her own tendency to be selective in whom she seeks counsel, according to interviews with longtime friends, advisors and current and former staffers.”

— “ Supreme Court Agrees to Review California Law on Pork Sales,” by the AP: “The Supreme Court said Monday it would review a challenge to a California law that set certain conditions for pork sold in the state.”

HOLLYWOODLAND

SMITH’S APOLOGY — “Will Smith Apologizes to Chris Rock for Oscars Slap: ‘I Was Out of Line and I Was Wrong’,” by Variety’s Ellise Shafer.

— “Will Smith’s Oscars slap condemned by the film academy, investigation launched,” by the LA Times’ Josh Rottenberg: “Following Sunday night’s stunning altercation at the Oscars, in which Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, the motion picture academy announced Monday it is conducting a formal review of Smith’s conduct.”

— “Why Disney should rethink its Florida expansion, keep jobs in California,” opines the OC Register’s Jonathan Lansner.

MEDIA MATTERS

— “The Chronicle was provided with inaccurate migration data by a California research group. Here’s what happened,” by SF Chronicle’s Dan Kopf.

MIXTAPE

LUCKY PUP — “Dog rescued after becoming trapped in strong current of LA River near Sherman Oaks,” by ABC7.

— “Omar Ameen’s attorneys say judge has rejected efforts to return Sacramento man to Iraq,” by Sac Bee’s Sam Stanton.

— “ When science fiction became reality at the bottom of the bay: Incredible Transbay Tube construction photos,” by SF Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub.

— “‘A bet on downtown Los Angeles.’ Huge Angels Landing project wins key city OK ,” by the LA Times’ Roger Vincent.

BIRTHDAYS

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) … Casey Wian

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