Monday, April 7, 2014

The Baseline for Drought Impacts: Valley agriculture has expanded a lot in the 5 years since the last drought.

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The economic losses from the drought is the hottest topic in the Valley right now.  It is clear that the 2014 drought impacts will be larger...
1 comment:
Thursday, March 13, 2014

New PPIC Report on the Cost of Water From the Tunnels

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After a quick initial read, my impression of the new PPIC report, Paying For Water , is mostly positive.  It provides a good overview of fun...
Tuesday, March 4, 2014

New Temperance Flat Feasibility Study Claims Salmon Benefits and Delta Earthquake Risk Reduction Justify the New Dam and a Big Taxpayer Subsidy

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I spent a good part of the afternoon reviewing the new feasibility study for the Temperance Flat dam and compared it to the one released i...
2 comments:
Monday, March 3, 2014

What's the value of water to agriculture?

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Over the past month, lots of people have been emailing me the $1,100-$1,200 per acre foot price for price irrigation water is selling for in...
Friday, January 24, 2014

Comparing Immigration Proposals for Detroit and the Valley

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This is an interesting proposal . Michigan Governor Rick Snyder unveiled a proposal on Thursday that calls for the U.S. government to allo...
Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Should there be regulation of economic activity in drought zones?

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There is widespread recognition that historical federal policies such as flood insurance have encouraged undesirable development in areas th...
2 comments:
Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Comparing the Financial Hole in the Delta Water Tunnels Plan to High-Speed Rail

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A comment I made comparing the tunnels to high speed rail was printed in the San Jose Mercury News , "The financial hole in this is at...
5 comments:
Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Detroit bankruptcy process moving much faster than Stockton

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Municipal bankruptcies are rare, so I don't know how long the process takes.  Former City Manager Bob Deis said Stockton's bankruptc...
Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Is the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Blog Proposing an Urban Subsidy of Agricultural Users in BDCP?

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Recently, I have heard Mark Cowin and other state and local water agency officials repeatedly state that there will be no urban to agricultu...
Thursday, November 14, 2013

BDCP Statewide Economic Impact Results Illustrate Why BDCP Is a Disaster for California Agriculture

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According to the BDCP Statewide Economic Impact Report , implementing BDCP would have the following effects on crop revenue in California.  ...
Friday, October 18, 2013

What happens if Measure A fails?

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Measure A and the bankruptcy exit plan are directly linked and have some flaws (my discussion of those flaws has been highlighted by opponen...
3 comments:
Monday, October 14, 2013

Speech at the Restore the Delta Event

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Last week, I gave the keynote speech at a Restore the Delta event.  Below is the speech I wrote for the event.  For context, it was a party ...
3 comments:
Tuesday, October 8, 2013

How Much Would Capping Pensions Help Stockton?

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I participated in an issue forum on Measures A and B, Stockton's proposed 3/4 cent sales tax increase, last night.  I was the economist ...
3 comments:
Sunday, October 6, 2013

A No-Tunnel BDCP, Optimizing Through Delta Water Conveyance

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A few follow-up notes on the no-tunnel BDCP op-ed I authored in today's Sac Bee. 1.  All the calculations in the article assume the BD...
3 comments:
Friday, October 4, 2013

Wow, Assured Guaranty and Stockton Reach a Settlement. The Deal Improves the Case to Voters for Measure A (sales tax increase).

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The City was hinting at a deal, but I guess I didn't believe it given how antagonistic Assured Guaranty has been with the City.  I will ...
4 comments: