Monthly Archives: October 2007

Algae away!

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 31, 2007 | Comments closed
Several people have asked in recent weeks if this summer’s nasty algae blooms in the Delta have waned for the season. Peggy Lehman of the Department of Water Resources says that the last time she was on the water, the bloom out near Sherman Island was almost gone. “It should be OK now,” she writes. Great news [...]
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goat alert

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 25, 2007 | Comments closed
There are fringe benefits to working the occasional night cops shift, as all reporters must. I’m the lucky guy tonight. Checking the California Highway Patrol Web site, where wrecks and stalled cars and the like are reported, we find a report at 3:03 p.m. today of “long hair goats mating in the roadway” on Highway 88 [...]
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DFG dogs

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 23, 2007 | Comments closed
Got a quagga mussel clinging to the hull of your boat? The Department of Fish and Game will sniff it out. The department today announced plans to roll out a K-9 program to help beef up a thin crew of game wardens. The dogs can sniff out the quagga, a destructive mussel that secrets itself on boats and [...]
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Summer, anyone?

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 22, 2007 | Comments closed
The National Weather Service says to expect high temps topping 77 degrees today, 79 tomorrow and 80 degrees on Wednesday. Not a bit o’ rain in sight, and temps at least in the 70s all week long. Still, in long-range forecasts made last week, the Global Climate Center says to expect two to four days of measurable [...]
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The No. 2 worst environmental cliche is…

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 16, 2007 | Comments closed
… “canary in the coal mine.” (Makes me gag.) For number one, see my blog from last week.
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New enviro laws

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 15, 2007 | Comments closed
The guv signed a couple of interesting pieces of legislation on Sunday, pleasing both clean air and clean water advocates. He approved a bill by Sen. Michael Machado that changes the make-up of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District board. Rather than being made up solely of politicians, the governor now has the authority [...]
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Fish kill alert

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 12, 2007 | Comments closed
Stockton’s annual Smith Canal fish kill is underway, residents report. It seems to happen every year when fall rains flush a summer’s worth of lawn fertilizer and toxic chemicals down Stockton storm drains. Gutter runoff from a good portion of Stockton empties into Yosemite Lake, at the head of Smith Canal, where shad swim with bass and catfish. One [...]
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The No. 1 water cliche is…

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 11, 2007 | Comments closed
“Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over.” It was fresh and funny when Mark Twain wrote it. But if one more water official stands up at a public meeting attempting to raise a few chuckles with this expression, I’m gonna throw up. Forgive me. Maybe I’ve just been to too many meetings.
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Canal controversy

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 10, 2007 | Comments closed
San Joaquin County officials expected to present their anti-peripheral canal case this morning to Tim Quinn, the new executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. One problem: Quinn couldn’t make it. He was too busy with ongoing water negotiations in Sacramento, county officials reported. “We got stood up, all dressed up and ready to go to [...]
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Revel in the rain

By Alex Breitler | Published: October 9, 2007 | Comments closed
Has a 60 percent chance of rain ever seemed so glorious? The National Weather Service this morning says rain is likely tonight, with snow levels in the Sierra dropping as low as 5,500 feet. While not a major storm (the forecasts don’t say how much accumulation to expect), the mere appearance of fall-like weather is sure [...]
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