Sunday papers

This certainly caught my eye in the Record. Alex Breitler did a good job capturing the essence of the issue. More on this article later.

The water contractors give their Delta point of view in the Sacramento Bee Forum. This article is unbelievable. Apparantly, she thinks the recession was caused by reducing Delta water exports. I guess she missed the whole sub-prime loan thing.

Jim Wasserman convenes a good housing panel in the Sac Bee Business section. I don't agree with every little detail, but overall this is one of the best discussions from people in the business I have seen.

Update 12/22: I just sent this letter to the editor to the Bee regarding the water contractors piece:

Much like the Bush administration used the tragedy of 911 (perpetrated by Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan) to justify the invasion of Iraq, Laura King Moon (Many Delta regulations miss the mark, 12/21/2008) is using the hardships of the recession (caused by sub-prime lending and the housing collapse) to justify environmentally destructive water exports from the Delta.

Ms. Moon implies that this year’s water export reductions to farms is increasing unemployment in Mendota (outside Fresno) and driving families to the food bank. However, a look at the data reveals a very different story.

The most recent employment report released by the state EDD shows the farm sector in Fresno County actually added 200 jobs over the past year, while non-farm jobs in Fresno County declined by 4,000. Construction, real estate and wholesale/retail trade account for 3,600 lost jobs in the past year, directly tied to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and resulting recession.

Since the housing peak, about 5,000 construction jobs have been lost in Fresno County, devastating communities like Mendota. Meanwhile, farming has been the 2nd fastest growing sector in the County, trailing only healthcare.