For years now there’s been a movement underway to build a dam where the Del Puerto Canyon empties into the Central Valley near Patterson, to create more water storage about 15 miles southwest of Ceres.
There is vocal opposition that takes place every time a dam is proposed (Clavey River, raising of Shasta, New Melones, etc). Remember the man chained himself to a tree in an effort to stop the filling of New Melones Reservoir in the 1970s?
Last week Elias Funez, a former Patterson Planning Commissioner and Parks and Rec commissioner who is a volunteer for Save Del Puerto Canyon, voiced his displeasure that county supervisors previously voted to relocate the road through the canyon in light of plans to dam the canyon.
Protests like Funez’s always come up whenever a dam is proposed. It’s the predictable “hey there’s evidence of Indians there” or a “beautiful area will be flooded.” Funez claims the dam would pose a threat of a failure and flooded out the west side and require that Patterson residents buy flood insurance. (Funny that I am not required to buy flood insurance living downstream from Don Pedro).
Many environmentalists are unwilling to acknowledge the value of dams in flood control – even in the Central Valley which was flooded in the winter of 1862-63, between Merced County and Sacramento. The location that was to become Ceres then was at the bottom of a lake because there were no dams to hold back the torrent of water pouring out of the mountains. It was a similar time to the 1997 Pineapple Express when snow melted quickly after days of a warm southern breezee. Only in 1997 the Don Pedro Dam limited the flooding. That was probably before Funiz was born. The Central Valley would have been a new lake reminiscent of 1862 had it not been for water storage at Don Pedro, McClure and New Melones.
Funez claims Patterson already has designs to build in the canyon a “world class regional park that would honor the culture and natural heritage of our community.” Is there not another place for your park given that the true heritage of the Central Valley is agriculture, which, of course, depends on water? In dissing the project, he disregards the benefits of creating storage for 82,000 acre-feet of water for Valley farmers.
If the Sierra Club had managed to stop Don Pedro in the 1960s, we’d be in a world of hurt today.
I love and value history but, come on, protecting a “Native American pathway carved into the historic gateway rocks” over the benefit of storing more water that Central California desperately needed?
Since he states the reservoir would create a lower quality of life, let’s ask Mr. Funez if he’d prefer to see Valley farms go fallow in
dry years.
It’s true that building dams does change things for the area being flooded ... but progress has a price, doesn’t it?
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Last week the Assembly Republicans offered up a bold legislative package to correct some of the ills that plague California and those struggling to make ends meet in this most costly-to-live-in state. Specifically the bills are aimed to make housing more affordable and target the rising costs of food, gas, housing, insurance, health care and utilities — key issues that have driven families and businesses out of the state.
Key proposals include cutting utility rates by 30 percent, suspending the gas tax and future increases, and eliminating state income tax on tips received.
Key Bills in the Affordability Package:
• AB 12 (Wallis, Gallagher, Patterson): Voids recent amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).
• AB 286 (Gallagher): Requires the Public Utilities Commission to reduce electric rates by 30 percent.
• AB 490 (Tangipa): Provides a tax deduction for the interest on auto loans.
• AB 547 (Tangipa): Provides a tax credit to help reimburse families who are paying out-of-pocket costs for IVF.
•AB 658 (Gonzalez): Stops unaffordable vehicle tax hikes.
•AB 780 (Castillo): Creates an opportunity for businesses to correct issues before they can be hit with a costly ADA lawsuit.
• AB 838 (Ta): Increases the renter’s tax credit to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers.
• AB 856 (Chen): Eliminates state sales taxes on manufacturing equipment.
• AB 1058 (Gonzalez): Suspends gas tax, uses general fund to pay for transportation projects.
• AB 1219 (Wallis): Provide the largest middle-class tax cut in California history.
• AB 1268 (Macedo): Stops any further increases to the gas tax.
• AB 1282 (Gonzalez): Allows Californians to deduct medical costs, up to $5,000, from their income taxes.
• AB 1443 (Castillo): Eliminates the state income tax on tips.
These proposals reaffirm Assembly Republicans’ commitment to lowering everyday costs and ensuring California becomes a place where families and businesses can thrive.
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Democrats continue to double down in the insanity of coddling criminals – even though the voters are tired of it and passed Prop 36 in every county.
Democrats opposed the measure but Californians embraced it.
What is Newsom doing in response? He is not crafting his budget to provide the funding for the extra court caseload and prisons from prosecuting more criminals.
AB 1333 makes it a crime to kill someone as they are breaking into your home, in other words, your rights to defend your castle. It has been authored by Democrat Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur of Los Angeles. The bill would substantially narrow the legal justification for homicide in California. Homicide refers to any killing of a person by another while murder is the term for an illegal homicide. As it stands today, there are justifications for killing another person in the criminal code, largely linked to self-defense.
Under his bill, homicide would no longer be justifiable when committed in defense of property or habitation alone.
The bill requires you to retreat from your home if someone is breaking into your house or window before using deadly force.
So let me get this straight. Imagine you’re a mom, at home alone with all your kids, and some dude is entering through a window with a knife in his teeth. She is supposed to go round up all her kids and flee before she can legally shoot the immediate threat to her family?
These kinds of laws were crafted not in Sacramento but in hell itself – which California is becoming under one-party rule.
Zbar’s bill also states that homicide is not justifiable when a person uses more force than reasonably necessary to defend themselves.
You would not be able to use the “self-defense” claim for persons who initiate a fight or engage in mutual combat.
This sorry excuse for a legislator had this to say in defending his bill: “White supremacists and other extremists have hidden behind self-defense laws to fire a gun and turn any conflict into a death sentence.”
Oh really? So only white supremacists and other extremists have killed others in self-defense? Shut the front door! Why would he use that kind of despicable rhetoric and single out white people when most of the killing in California is committed by Latino and black people? According to state crime stats from 2022, 46.3 percent of homicide arrestees were Hispanic, 30.1 percent were black, 18.4 percent were white, and 5.2 percent were of other race/ ethnic groups.
Put an end to this nonsense and elect a sensible governor again. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is running for governor and aptly condemned this bill, saying “Sacramento Democrats have spent the last 15 years tying the hands of law enforcement and coddling criminals, using and abusing ordinary Californians in their attempt to make criminals the real victims. Now, they’re actively trying to tie the hands of our residents, who have had to defend themselves against re-released career criminals far too often.”
In the criticism and backlash, Zbar suggested his bill is not intended to limit a victim’s right to defend their self, family and home but is to “prevent wannabe vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse from provoking violence and then claiming self-defense after the fact. We will be amending the bill to make this crystal clear.”
Let’s review the Rittenhouse issue. He was acquitted of murder charges following the shooting deaths of two at a BLM protest in Kenosha, Wisc., and that’s what irks progressives.
Rittenhouse was armed and Joseph Rosenbaum grabbed for his gun and believed he would be killed. Of that, I am sure that would have been the case, Rittenhouse was then chased by a “mob” that included Anthony Huber who struck him with a skateboard, and grabbed his gun. Rittenhouse shot him once in the chest, killing him.
Wisconsin law allows the use of deadly force only if “necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.” Rittenhouse’s attorneys claimed self-defense, so state law required the burden to fall on prosecutors to disprove Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
In Zbur’s universe he would have preferred that Rittenhouse be killed rather than his two black victims.
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How has your PG&E bill been lately? For the past two months mine has been above $440 each month. That’s on top of about $120 each month for electricity (thank God we have irrigation districts that generate power at the Don Pedro Dam).
After a record-setting freeze for much of the country recently, electric and gas bills have skyrocketed as Americans tried to stay warm in their homes. Unfortunately not all will be able to pay. Did you see the report that I sent that found the average monthly total cost of utilities is $473 and over one in four Americans missed at least one utility payment in the last year?
Americans say their electric bills increased by an average of 11% in the last year to $232, yet 61% don’t understand why the rates are going up. To continue to keep the lights on, one in four are reducing their food and grocery spending, and one in 10 are skipping or delaying medical care.
This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
