Category Archives: water

CA, CEQA, Energy, Farms, food, Politics, water

Calif. farmers bulldoze acres of apple trees after Martinelli’s ends contracts

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By Susana Guerrero : sfgate – excerpt

FILE: California apple farmers in Watsonville are bulldozing their orchards after Martinelli’s abruptly canceled their contracts. The company will continue to grow and source applies in the Pajaro Valley.

Karell Reader’s heart sank when she saw acres of apple trees piled up on her neighbor’s Watsonville farm last month. Her neighbor used to sell apples to California cider empire S. Martinelli & Company, but he was forced to bulldoze dozens of apple trees after the company canceled his contracts…

Lookout reported that the shift in vendors could be a strategic financial move by Martinelli’s as the company looks to find cheaper apples from out of state. According to the most recent Crop Report for Santa Cruz County, apples cost about $400 per ton in 2024. Comparatively, apples from Washington cost $135 a ton that same year. Farmers also relied on Martinelli’s for labor, equipment and chemicals for pest control, according to the Lookout… (more)

Another loss for California farmers who are operating the most expensive state in the unions. How much more of our state’s agricultural business will be replaced by water and power hungry AI computer centers in the name of progress?

CA, Energy, Politics, water

East Bay city hits pause on data center development

By TRD staff :  therealdeal – excerpt

Electricity and water requirements prompt council vote for temporary ban

Oakley, a city in Contra Costa County, has become the first municipality in the Bay Area city to impose a temporary ban on new data centers.

The Oakley City Council’s unanimous vote for a 45‑day moratorium halts all new land‑use applications for data centers, giving officials time to evaluate their long‑term impact, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The ban can be extended in phases for up to two years, allowing the city to craft zoning and environmental rules before the next wave of proposals arrives.

City Attorney Derek Cole said the measure will allow Oakley to “study, deliberate and determine the acceptable scope” of future development. The move follows public opposition to the Bridgehead Industrial Project, where developer JB2 Partners withdrew plans for a data center near Highway 160 after residents raised concerns about power and water consumption.

Council Member Shannon Shaw emphasized the need for a deliberate approach, noting that the city wants to “do it right” before committing to large‑scale infrastructure…(more)

Politics, water

Steyer pushes harder line on AI limits

 : sfexaminer – excerpt

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer said that if elected, he would be much more amenable to setting limits on artificial intelligence and the companies developing it than his predecessor.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken a somewhat skeptical view of regulating artificial intelligence, but in an in interview with The Examiner on Monday, Steyer said he wants to protect state residents “from the potentially dangerous impacts of a new technology.”

“It’s really important that we think about this in terms of protecting people’s livelihoods, protecting people’s safety,” he said.

Steyer laid out his general approach to AI in a plan he released last week, making him the first gubernatorial candidate to offer a comprehensive program for the technology. In the interview, he got into some of the specifics of his plan.

The billionaire and climate activist told the Examiner he opposes the deployment of driverless big-rig trucks; believes humans need to be in the loop with automated systems that can make decisions involving such things as health or safety; and thinks AI systems should be tested before they are deployed, including for whether they might encourage suicide or self-harm… (more)

CEQA, deregulated housing bills, Politics, water

Iconic Calif. cannery bankruptcy leaves hundreds laid off and $550M in farm losses

By Susan Guerrero : sfgate – excerpt (audio)

California peach farmers are expected to take a multimillion-dollar financial hit and lose vast quantities of crops after Del Monte Foods plans to permanently close two state plants.

Del Monte-owned plants in Modesto and Hughson will permanently close and leave hundreds of workers unemployed by April 7, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification that was filed earlier and obtained by SFGATE. Hundreds of employees will lose their jobs, including 571 general laborers at the Modesto plant alone.

But the California farmers who grow fruit for the factory are also taking a financial blow. Farmers in the Central Valley, as well as Yuba and Sutter counties, face a $550 million revenue loss from 20-year contracts to grow peaches with Del Monte, according to the Sacramento Bee. Many farmers haven’t made substantial profits from the orchards that Del Monte asked them to plant just a few years ago. Now, about 75,000 tons of peaches will likely go to waste, lcoathe outlet added.

“Two-thirds of the growers are going to be, basically, just left out to dry,” Sarb Johl, a farmer in Yuba County, told the Sacramento Bee… (more)

If you failed to notice the negative effects of re-zoning all of California yet, this may catch your attention. Food shortages may be coming as farmers leave their farms. If re-zoning farmland and raising taxes on farmers to get them to leave their farms for AI power production and housing concerns you, please make that an important conversation to have with your state and federal representatives and the candidates who are running to replace them. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT !

Pending 2026 bills: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/
Find yorr state representatives:
California State Senators: https://www.senate.ca.gov/senators
California State  Assemblymembers:
https://www.assembly.ca.gov/

Housing, water

More housing and more drought calls for more thought

By Rick Johnson, Special to CalMatters : calmatters – excerpt

Legislators promoting high-density housing need to meet up with state and local water agencies to hammer out realistic approaches to our changing reality.

Although 41 of California’s 58 counties are in drought conditions, legislators are debating bills, such as Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10, that address the construction of housing to meet the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation.

Between 2023 and 2031, the state mandate for the nine-county Bay Area is 441,000 units, representing an expected population increase of 1,102,500. The allocation for Los Angeles County is 1,327,000 housing units to accommodate an expected population increase of 3,317,500.

The state’s propensity to accept the RHNA numbers ignores our drought conditions. Nowhere does the legislation indicate where the additional water for these units will come from, nor does it address impact on infrastructure, such as sewer lines.

Furthermore, none of these bills make mention of the California Department of Water Resources water plan through 2050.

The current version of the plan forecasts an increase of 10 million people by 2050. It also predicts multiple droughts and considers a triad of ways to deal with the state’s water needs.

First, the plan suggests the transfer of agricultural water to urban use. But what effect would that have on farm economy, food supply and prices? A good deal of agricultural land already is lying fallow due to decreased or suspended water allotments…(more)