If you’re like me, you’re up to your neck in tomatoes and loving every minute of it! Do you have a favorite variety? Black Cherry is mine and we have two plants spitting out more than we know what to do with. They are the perfect cherry tomato. Dark, sweet, not too acidic. And they’re big for cherries. Those tiny little Gems - you can pick for an hour and end up with one pathetic bowlful - feh. Not Black Cherries. They are substantial. I grow them every year and have a basil plant in a container on the deck. Add a little fresh mozzarella and a splash of balsamic and it’s caprese salads well into October.

We did not go crazy in the garden this year. Six tomato plants (including the two Black Cherries), six jalapenos, a bunch of pumpkins, sunflowers, and one zucchini plant, which is one too many. There’s a thai pepper plant in a container keeping the basil company that will move indoors when it gets cold to continue on for a little longer. It’s all pretty manageable.

We’re keeping up with our hiking schedule after a late start out of the gate. We hiked East Prospect Peak Thursday. It was a nice cool day in Lassen Park and the trail up Prospect is mostly forested with minimal Dixie Fire damage. The trail is black sand sprinkled with pine needles, which has pros and cons. It’s soft, but uphill is like walking up a down escalator made of jello.

The views from the top are unmatched. To the south there’s Butte Lake below, Cinder Cone, and Snag Lake. To the west Lassen Peak looms over the rest of the Park.

To the north you can see Mt. Shasta, SETI’s Allan Array Radio Telescope (think the movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster) in Hat Creek, and Hat Rim. To the east, you can see Honey Lake on a clear day. Get out there and enjoy.

I listened in on the Board of Supervisors meeting for a while Tuesday and was surprised to see our United States Congressman, James Gallagher, at the lectern. In person! Not an assistant telling us the Congressman is “very invested in little ol’ Tehama” just weeks before an election. Nope. This was our actual sitting member of Congress and he came with a request for the Board of Supervisors.

He asked for a letter of support for AJR23, another far-fetched idea to split the state. Not a Jeffersonian split north from south, but coastal from inland. That’s new. An east-west split would definitely help balance the number of California D and R Representatives in Congress if that was something we actually wanted. Gallagher had introduced the bill a year ago - prior to Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s shocking and untimely death. Gallagher was a member of the State Assembly at the time and apparently he’s still proud of his baby, even though he is not still listed as its author.

Of course this new push for it to pass has NOTHING to do with him wanting to remain in Congress, which would be more likely if the inland region became its own little red state, so don’t even think that (wink wink). The Prop 50 redistricting almost guarantees Former Carpetbagger Democrat Mike McGuire’s election to CA-D1 in November.

Why do I call McGuire a “Former Carpetbagger”? Because when he ran in the June Primary to finish out the rest of LaMalfa’s term, he lived outside District 1 in the Pre-Prop 50 Congressional District boundaries. That was one of two congressional races on the ballot. The other race was for the full 2 year term that begins in January. Gallagher, McGuire, and Chicoan Audrey Denney ran in both races. Gallagher won the special election for the rest of LaMalfa’s term, making him our current Congressman. McGuire and Gallagher are in the Top Two run-off in November for the full term. And now Gallagher is the Carpetbagger because he doesn’t live in Post-Prop 50 CA-D1. Are you ready to stick knitting needles in your eyeballs rather than read another word of this confusing gobbledygook? Imagine having to type it.

Congressman Gallagher made national news recently when, after winning the June primary, he quietly removed President Donald J. Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement from his website and has not put it back up. Was it a “clerical error”? No - it has been gone since July and has been featured on The Daily Beast and Yahoo News. I just checked again this morning and it’s not back.

While I love a good DJT humiliation as much as the next comedian, especially by one of his sycophants, the logic behind the endorsement’s removal is sound. If Gallagher can make himself appear less MAGA-affiliated in a Post-Prop 50 CA-D1, he might have a chance with non-MAGA Republicans, some Independents, and even a few Dems who don’t like McGuire. Gallagher is not the only Republican distancing themselves from the president, but you knew that.

To my knowledge, DJT has not responded to this insult, which is not like him at all. One wonders if he even knows. Or maybe he’s in on it and having a Trump-friendly Congress for his final two years in office is more important to him than a personal slight. If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn on special this week.

Congressman Gallagher, it was great to see you in the Supe Chambers. Maybe next time come with a laundry list of things you’re doing for us in Washington rather than begging for support for a pipe dream scheme to keep you there.

Mr. Standish and I headed over to the Butte Lake area of Lassen Park on Wednesday. We had planned on doing the East Prospect Peak trail, but it was so dang hot we decided to just hike along the south shore of Butte Lake.

Having the lake right there means you can jump in any time you want and it was clear and refreshing. Butte Lake has lots of little beaches you can hike to and big ones right next to the parking lot. There were a few kayakers exploring the Fantastic Lava Beds and one intrepid fisherman who traversed a boulder field to get to his Special Spot. Whether you want a lazy day swimming and reading on the beach or a challenging hike, Butte Lake has you covered. Enter from Highway 44 past Old Station.

Mr. Standish was considering a bicycle ride to the top of West Prospect Peak soonishly. Neither he nor his biking buddy, Cam Redwood (owner of Manton’s Redwood Seeds with his amazing wife Kalan), had ever been to the top and had no idea what they would be in for, so we drove up to check it out.

West Prospect Peak is in Lassen National Forest, sister to East Prospect Peak which is within Park boundaries and which we hike every year. There is a fire lookout on top of WPP and a dirt road to access it by car. It is pretty well maintained, for dirt, but you might want AWD for the steep and hairy parts.

We drove to the lookout after our Butte Lake visit and the panoramic views from the top are incredible. Highly recommend. The boys nixed the bike ride idea, however. Hellaciously brutal steepness and no shade the last 6 miles.

I got home late last Sunday night from Cotati, so I had to listen to Monday’s Flood Control and Water Conservation District meeting over the phone. The video stream has an annoying 30-180 second delay, so I just caught glimpses of the action online while unloading the car, doing laundry, catching up in the garden, etc...

BTW, the Cotati Accordion Festival did not disappoint and never does. Perfect weather, lovely setting on grass under trees, every type of music imagineable, colorful performers, and an appreciative crowd of all ages. If you ever have a chance to attend, do so. You won’t be sorry.

The FCWCD meeting was more of the same. Chair Tom Walker was absent, and Vice Chair Greg Jones did a good job facilitating. Both Jones and Walker appear to be interested in what people say during the Public Comment periods lately. That is very much appreciated.

Gail Wallace brought more facts and figures to the board and it is admittedly difficult to follow everything she says. Not because she’s inarticulate, but because anyone without a thorough understanding of the budget and the various accounts, (like the board and me,) has to learn on the fly. She is way ahead of everyone.

There was an agenda item to discuss the FCWCD putting out a Request For Proposals from consulting agencies because our current contract with Luhdorff and Scalmanini Civil Engineers ends in April of 2027. There were lots of Public Commenters on this item and the board clearly wants to explore what other firms could do for us going forward. Good.

One woman spoke at the lectern about her lack of confidence in the board, the consultants, everything involved in groundwater management. She noted that nobody seemed to have a clue and invited everyone to get their acts together and this was only her third meeting. Clearly a quick study. She did not give her name, but she got a big round of applause from those in the room. I hope we haven’t seen the last of her.

I called in to remind them of just one of the glaring errors LSCE had made in all our plans and later Director/Supervisor Hansen pointed to that info again. While discussing the “mistakes” that had been made, he said he shared everyone’s confidence concerns and (paraphrasing here), “If Liz Merry can find these mistakes, ANYBODY can.” He quickly followed up with, “She’s not a hydrologist, but she does a pretty good job of looking at these things.”

Um…thank you? I do love a backhanded compliment. Hansen is also the only Director/Supe whom I’ve heard sound the alarm about the Super El Niño being forecast for this coming winter. You know how this works, right? An El Niño starts in the warm waters of the western Pacific Ocean. Warm water travels eastward in a Kelvin Wave. That forces the jet stream, now also warm and wet, southward, pushing moisture and warmth down from the Pacific NW to CA. That’s in a normal El Niño year. A SUPER El Niño, like is being forecast for this year, can do either or both of the following. 1. It can bring a TON more precipitation to NorCal than usual. 2. Or it can push the moisture SO far south that NorCal stays dry and SoCal floods. We won’t know for a while, because it depends on where the jet stream goes. It could be flooding or drought.

Maybe we’ll get the perfect amount of precip, but we should not be counting on that. Instead, we should be asking what plans and infrastructure are in place to take advantage of potential extra water, to store it, and to help people in flood-prone areas? What’s that you say? None? And there’s no money to make anything happen? All gone to the consultants and a handful of failed recharge projects? Bummer.

The groundwater fees will not make it onto this year’s property tax bills. The budget needs to be carefully examined first by people who do not stand to profit from it. I hereby nominate Gail Wallace. If we are to be blessed with crazy amounts of water, we’d better figure out how we’re going to keep it from running right back into the ocean.

Last week we started to discuss the marathon Flood Control Board and Water Conservation District meeting of August 5. We’ll finish up with that, but mark your calendar because there’s another one scheduled for this Monday, August 17 at 10am. I will be getting home from Cotati late Sunday night, so won’t be there in person, but I will be watching online with an annoying 30-90 second delay while listening over the phone in real time. Because this is what our county offers. Welcome to 2003.

There were several bombshells at the 8/5 meeting. First, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act program for the whole state, Paul Gosselin, assured the board of directors of the FCWCD, aka the county supervisors, that the Department of Water Resources would not be stepping in to take control of our groundwater if the fee structure on the table wasn’t approved. We have been threatened with this non-stop, so it was nice to hear the truth from someone other than me.

Gosselin also implied that our annual reports don’t need to be as detailed and intensive as we have thought. We need to report on conditions. Are they improving or not? What steps are we taking to improve them? 

Our answers are not good. Our conditions are not improving and we have not taken any substantive actions towards improving them. That is what will draw the attention of the state - not our funding structure. Our Demand Management Plan details some nebulous voluntary actions, but let’s be real. We will not stop overdraft through voluntary actions. The unlimited, unrestricted, unregulated water orgy is going to have to stop at some point. Reasonable prophylactic measures will need to be taken. 

We are going to have some hard conversations about Sustainable Yields, allocations, and prohibiting certain crops in vulnerable areas, but for now funding is the red herring distracting us from taking real steps towards sustainability.

And maybe we don’t need as much funding as we are being told. Our extremely well paid consulting firm, Luhdorff and Scalmanini Civil Engineers, made a bunch of errors leading up to the 8/5 meeting. They provided lists of property APNs and what each one would be charged under the fee structure that was on the table. Many properties were missing from those lists and entire parcel books were absent. Other properties showed calculation errors. Fustercluck.

Then, literally in the middle of the night between 8/4 and 8/5, LSCE sent out new lists which they claim corrected the errors of the lists attached to the agenda. The directors (supes) were given copies. The public was not. Director Matt Hansen had a lot to say about this and he was right on all counts. 

Everything was tabled and two ad hoc committees were formed, which was the right thing to do, IMO. The ad hocs will report back often and take public comment on the proceedings. They should be broadcast as webinars like the Demand Management Working Group meetings were. I hope someone is making that happen. No more secrets, please.

Another huge bombshell was that the Dry Well Mitigation Fund, which had $1 million in it, had been raided to pay bills. The fund was formed when the county received $12 million in American Rescue Act Funds. That is in addition to the $6 million we got in CARES Act money. Yes, Virginia, there WAS a Covid Santa Claus.

One million dollars was earmarked to help people whose wells had gone dry due to overdraft. In 2023, the board voted to float a loan from that fund to the Groundwater Sustainability Agency. It has not been paid back and fund 603 account is over $600,000 in debt. Only one member of the current board was in 2023 - Matt Hansen. The rest of the men now serving appeared surprised and I wonder if Hansen even remembered because he looked shocked, too.

If you look at the GSA’s bills, the lion’s share always goes to our consultants, LSCE. Many millions of dollars have been spent for them to create our Groundwater Sustainability Plans and Annual Reports since 2021. Those plans show a huge increase in domestic use without a corresponding rise in population. 

They also report declining Ag use, although the TC Farm Report shows vastly expanded acreage in those thirsty little nut orchards. It doesn’t add up and DWR’s numbers tell a different story. 

This is probably why there is such a rush to get fees implemented. The Dry Well Mitigation Plan was approved months ago but apparently there is no money to actually help the people with dry wells. 

We need to take a hacksaw to the GSA budget, starting with LSCE, and pivot to using our local DWR folks and the Groundwater Commission, which has served as a rubber stamp instead of an involved and integral advisory body. The 5 year overview is due in January. I assume LSCE has been working on it, but who knows?

Next, implement reasonable fees to the Ag Community. Fees that won’t put half of them out of business. Cutting the budget, (which was never accurate anyway,) will get those fees into the doable range and the Ag Community seems ready to pay their fair share. Domestic users and the cities should be exempted, because all together they use a negligible amount of groundwater - maybe 1%-4%. 

Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting has an interesting item where it will become County Policy to ignore people who, in someone’s opinion, ask too many questions. Shall we just call it the Jenny Alexander Clause? Also more on the Public Guardian/Public Administrator position. The House of Cards is blowing down, folks.

Ants are fascinating. I like to watch them out in the pasture - running in and out of their compounds carrying bits of vegetation, moving their nurseries, working together for the better good. They share information on where good food is available. Everyone pitches in and does their job. They help each other. Communists!

When they are in the house, however, my feelings toward them turn from admiration to horror and revulsion. There are a couple of entrances they have found, but I hit ‘em with cinnamon or put packing tape over the spot. It’s a constant battle at the hummingbird feeders, of which we have 16 or so. The little ant moats work, but they’re as much of a pain to fill as the feeders. Plus the hummers like a little protein snack mixed in with their all-carb diet, so…

I’ve started using the liquid ant killer stuff, which they appear to love and supposedly will take back to the nest with them like little Trojan ants to unknowingly spread death and destruction to their families. We shall see…

This week we have two major topics to discuss - the November ballot measure for County Supervisor raises and another marathon meeting of the Groundwater Sustainability Agency Board of Directors (aka supes).

Let’s do the raises first. Should future supes have a higher salary to entice qualified people to run? Definitely. Does the current board deserve a raise? That’s the question.

Some board members insist that they are doing this for future boards. Really? Then why not write it for future boards? You could have made it effective January 2029, but you chose January 2027. Also, why did you wait until after the June primary (when two of you were voted back into office) to even mention the idea?

Supervisor Rob Burroughs made another eloquent speech on service to community and how he does not want a raise while county employees are struggling to make ends meet. That is servant leadership, my friends.

This requires consideration and I hope you’ll really think about it. On Tuesday, I told the board that I would be voting Yes on the ballot measure, but now I’m vacillating and will probably go back and forth a few more times. Every time there has been talk of a charter amendment to give the supes a raise, it has been for the sitting board. Each attempt has failed miserably. But if we wait around for a board full of Burroughs-like servant leaders who actually want a better future for the county and will ask for a raise for the next board, we may never get them. So I was leaning towards Yes. Who cares if they make extra dough in the meantime? (You? Oh. Duly noted.)

However, the way the measure is written gives the supes an automatic raise every time CA’s minimum wage is increased, which seems to be often. When the current salary was added to the charter almost 40 years ago, the authors made sure to keep the voters involved in any raises.

This measure removes that involvement and ties the salary to minimum wage at an assumed number of 40 hours per week, 52 weeks a year (as if). Supervisors are not hourly workers and do not punch a time clock, so this is inappropriate. And the voters should probably stay involved in deciding their salary. We are their bosses, after all.

Which leads me to a funny side story. During the discussion on this item, Chair Tom Walker blurted out that he thinks people who don’t know how much the minimum wage is should not be voting. Um…excuse me? How many people who voted for him don’t know that? Do you, dear reader? And did you know it’s going up in January - just in time for the Supes’ raise if it passes? Pivoting back towards No now.

We might as well have had a slumber party in the Supes chambers, because we were back the next morning for the GSA meeting, which was 4.5 hours long, informative, shocking, and really demonstrated how screwed up everything related to groundwater is in this county. Failures on every level. Directors, Commission (my homies), Staff, and especially Consultants. So much to dissect - this will be a two column story at the very least.

DWR’s Paul Gosselin, the Big Cheese of SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act) was on hand to give an overview of the probationary process for subbasins whose plans are not showing how sustainability will be achieved. I had never met Gosselin in person, but have read a million things he has written or said.

He was invited to answer questions about the probationary process, but instead made it clear that we have nothing to worry about. Regular readers of this column know that the county has been using potential state probation and intervention as a scare tactic to try to get the fees passed. Gosselin pretty much validated everything I have written about this, which is that the state is NOT taking us over, that they would give us plenty of notice if we were heading in the wrong direction, and that they want to help us stay on track. Gosselin answered all the questions affably and even got a few laughs. I was Fan Girling hard!

Were the directors upset knowing they (and we) had been lied to all this time? Or were they in on it? We’ll never know, but if any of them had simply looked into the subbasins currently or formerly under probation (or read this column), they would have known we are under no threat and would have to go a fair distance down the wrong path to get there.

The fee structure is a complete mess, with our consultants sending new lists of charges for each parcel the night before the meeting, many of which appear to be wrong. It was interesting to me that NOBODY from Ludhorff and Scalmanini was in the room. LSCE’s Jacques DeBra participated via Zoom with his camera turned off. Interesting.

Director Rob Burroughs motioned to exempt de minimis (domestic) users from fees. A couple of other board members had previously said they thought that was a good idea, yet Burroughs’ motion died for lack of a second. These are the same people who want a raise - except Burroughs. Much much more on this meeting next week, including the formation of two new ad hoc committees and the million dollars that was “borrowed” from the Dry Well Mitigation Fund to pay bills. We haven’t even scratched the surface.

The Groundwater Commission is supposed to meet Wednesday morning at 8:30, but there has been no agenda posted nor cancellation notice. So, maybe we’ll be there? I’ll update this when I find out for sure. Last month’s meeting was cancelled - hope we’re not going for a twofer!

Last week Mr. Standish and I finally got to Lassen Park for a hike. This is the latest we have started our weekly escapes - it’s the end of July fergawdsakes! We’ve had so much going on. Ripping up the kitchen floor (an entire column in itself), Roland passing away, a summer cold that kept me off the trails for 3 weeks with a lingering cough, gardens, work, groundwater stuff, LIFE.

We finally got in the car and made it happen. It was during the cloudy rainy stormy couple of weeks in the high country, but who doesn’t love a summer mountain rain? Hold the lightning, please.

There are a couple of trails we like to do when it’s cloudy or raining because they lack shade, either due to fire or just the geological formation itself. Cinder Cone has no shade and Lassen Peak is exposed above the tree line.

Last week we started out in the pouring rain, but it soon turned to scorching sun and we switched trails from Nobles Emigrant Trail east from Hat Creek to get some shade between Kings Creek and Sifford Lakes.

This week we did a “Putter in the Park”. A 5ish mile not terribly challenging forested and rarely used section of NET. Then we walked around Manzanita Lake which is always too crowded for me, but it was fun and easy. Then we visited Subway Cave which was nice and cool as usual. Next week we will tackle something challenging. Get up there before the California tortoiseshell butterfly invasion is over!

Now on to Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Item 20 specifically. The Supervisors want a raise. Well, not all five of them. Supervisor Rob Burroughs spoke at length about how he was against the idea of them getting a raise when people in the community were struggling, rank and file county employees were barely getting by, and the fact that all of them ran for their seats knowing the salary. Two of them were just re-elected in June - they clearly knew the time commitment and pay. One wonders how that election would have turned out if they were asking for a raise prior to the primary.

The version of the ordinance that was attached to the agenda was discarded quickly, because it included other elected officials. They cannot be on the same ballot measure as the Supes. Who wrote it, anyway? Our overpaid, underqualified County Counsel? How did they not know this wasn’t kosher? They voted on a substitute version they happened to have on hand but not made public until the meeting. Nice.

Retired County Assessor Ken Brown spoke during the item, finding fault with much of the ordinance, the attachments, and the way the whole thing came about, which was from an allegedly illegal Closed Session discussion. Thank you, County Counsel, for continuing to ignore the Brown Act and leaving the county vulnerable to more litigation.

You can read Brown’s statement here or watch the video here. The biggest takeaway from all this is the misleading and disingenuous way they are trying to sell this raise to the voters. They are asking, “Don’t the Supes deserve to make minimum wage?” They are floating that everywhere, as if they were making $1045 a month with no other benefits, which is not true.

Brown did the research and found that the Supes receive a yearly base salary of $12,540, car allowance - $8,400, Cell phone - $1,200, 2% deferred compensation - $250.80, health, vision, dental, vision, and life insurance - $26,470. Total - approximately $48,861.00 to each Supe and a total cost to the County of $51,113.18 when you count Medicare, PERS and other contributions. How many minimum wage jobs do you know that include a $26,000 insurance package? Did you say none? Ding ding ding! You win! FYI, Supervisors Burroughs and Hansen do not take the insurance package.

As I have stated before and will repeat, the Supervisors need a raise. A living wage would entice a great variety of candidates. However, this particular board doing it now is the worst timing I’ve ever seen. They still haven’t dealt with mobile home park rent stabilization, they’re asking de minimis users to pay for a negligible amount of groundwater use, they’re handing out hefty settlements in secret to their buddies, giving backdated raises to top tier employees who then leave for other jobs, conspiring against a colleague, violating the Brown Act on the reg, encouraging County Counsel and Departments to ignore requests for Public Records, the list goes on and on.

We should be grateful they didn’t spend another $40,000 for some consultants to do a survey to gauge support for this like they did with the ill-fated Safety Tax. Just put it on the ballot and see what happens. How much will that cost? We should start a pool where people guess the percentage by which it will lose. 70-30? 80-20? In 2014, the last time a Supervisor raise was on the ballot, it lost 65% to 35%. One wonders how many of the current supes voted for it then?

It makes sense for them to postpone implementation until January 2029, when the next board will be seated. But they want it now, of course. They can always put it on the 2028 ballot when this attempt fails. And I hope they do - I will vote Yes then. Final approval of the measure will happen at Tuesday’s BOS meeting, where you will be able to speak about it.

The next Flood Control Board meeting is Wednesday at 10am, where groundwater fees will be discussed again. A quick perusal of the agenda seems to indicate domestic users using less than 2 acre feet of groundwater a year MAY be excluded from paying any fees. Which is what some people have been asking for all along. If you’d like to encourage them to do that, please attend.

Happy anniversary, dear readers. This week marks the 6th anniversary of The Merry Mantonian in The Red Bluff Daily News - only a year and a half here on Substack. It is also the 300th column - the math doesn’t work because I took a couple of months off a few years ago. The late, great Robert Minch and his awesome sister Lizann suggested to late, great RBDN editor Chip Thompson that I might be a good fit for the Saturday space left empty when the late, great educator and community leader Joe Harrop left this world. I am grateful to all those folks and my “new” editor Rick Silva. And of course all of you. Thank you.

Monday’s marathon groundwater fees meeting, covered by Ace RBDN Reporter Heather Taylor (read it here), was packed with residents who had questions and strong opinions. The fee letters they received did not tell them how much they would be charged.

That turned out to be a fatal flaw. When it was my turn at the lectern, I asked the audience to raise their hands if they were homeowners with domestic wells. Almost every hand went up. City dwellers and farmers - a handful of hands. The vast majority of attendees would be charged around $5 a year. I doubt any of them would have taken off work or rearranged their schedules over $5. It would have been a much shorter meeting, but not a better one.

Excluding de minimis users completely would solve a lot of problems. They cannot legally be charged without being specifically regulated and that is not the case here. Exclude domestic users and the angry mobs disappear along with their pitchforks and torches. They would just have some angry farmers - nothing new there. Some overdrafted basins even exclude small farmers. I doubt that would happen here but wouldn’t it be nice?

Once it became clear the board couldn’t push the fees through in time to get them on this year’s property tax bills, they wisely chose to take a closer look at all of it and will meet twice a month to discuss it. And maybe even have a water lawyer on hand. Good - we need one.

What you may not know is that both litigators from the Garst Appeal attended. I saw Michael Colantuono in the lobby and asked him to autograph a copy of the $10,000 opinion letter he wrote advising the county NOT to charge the 29 cents per acre fee for the Well Registration Database in 2022. He chuckled a bit and signed it like a good sport.

And why wouldn’t he be a good sport? He made $10,000 to write a letter advising the county. They ignored his advice, then paid him and his firm somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 to defend them in court because they did the opposite of what he advised. One wonders what he was paid to be at Monday’s meeting in person at $400 an hour. Not to mention the drive from Grass Valley. I believe he was there to explain the illegalities of the resolutions and the meaning of the Garst decision, which ruled people on city water cannot be charged individually. That’s probably why the resolutions were tabled for more discussion.

Adam Pressman, who represented David Garst at the trial and appeal, was also in attendance. He spoke during the general Public Comment period at the beginning of the meeting, requesting the board consider placing an item on a future agenda to discuss the possibility of refunding all the 29 cent fees they charged illegally. The Appellate Court ruled that they didn’t have to give us back that money, so it would show the board wanted to do the right thing, which would be shockingly refreshing.

When Board Matters were being discussed, Director/Supe Rob Burroughs requested that agenda item. Chair Tom Walker said he did not wish to discuss it. D/S Steve Zane said he would like to, and D/S Greg Jones agreed. Consensus achieved. If they vote against it when discussed, don’t worry. There is a legal process (5097) through which we can request refunds, so it appears we’ll be able to get it back one way or another. More on that to come if necessary.

I subscribe to Aquafornia and Maven’s Notebook newsletters, two terrific resources for water issues, and not just in CA. They cover the Colorado River crisis, legal news, snowpack reports, and more. If you’d like to see the Big Picture on Water, I highly recommend getting both newsletters - they’ll come right to your Inbox and they’re free.

One article on Maven’s Notebook caught my attention recently and I shared it at the meeting. Eddy Teasdale, Vice President and Lead Hydrogeologist at Luhdorff and Scalmanini Civil Engineers, our handsomely paid consultants, is a frequent guest and speaker at Tehama groundwater meetings. He was caught being less than truthful at The Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Adjudication Court. He and other “experts” hired by the Large Pumpers down there fudged data to enable more pumping in overdrafted basins. Read the press release here.

LSCE (and Teasdale) inflated Tehama’s domestic numbers in our Annual Reports, because they used an inappropriate metric in their calculations. Domestic numbers went up drastically over the past 5 years while Ag numbers decreased, even though planted acreage increased. When called out on it, Teasdale admitted the metric led to inaccurate numbers. Do you see a pattern here?

For 2025, Teasdale actually went back in and corrected the Rural Residential numbers, but all he did was copy and paste from 2024. What is happening here? Was this intentional? Are they dishonest or inept? Either way we need a new consulting firm.

This coming Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors’ Agenda Item #20 is an ordinance for a special election coinciding with the Nov. 3 election to amend the County Charter to give raises to the Supes and certain elected officials. Yes, raises for the Supes. I swear I am not making this up.

Our Supes make $1045 a month for full time work. They definitely need a raise. But after the groundwater fees fiasco and not wanting to give us back our 29 cents per acre, plus the Safety Tax (on the back burner for now), plus countless raises and settlements and other questionable expenditures, I doubt the voters will be feeling generous. Timing is everything, gentlemen. This is not a good time to be asking us to give you a raise.

If the verbiage could be amended to start in January of 2029, when three new Supe terms will start, (and might as well give it to the other two also,) passage becomes possible. As written it just looks like a money grab.

“All through the day
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine
All through the night
I me mine, I me mine, I me mine…”

~George Harrison

.

Thank goddess for the All-Star Break - amirite Giants and Athletics fans? Mets Nation is right there in the cellar with you. Both NorCal teams are playing .427 ball, Mets a dismal .412. Only the Royals, Rockies, and Angels are doing worse halfway through the season. Pathetic.

Typically, I hate the AS Break. In recent years, I was concerned Alonso would be injured during the Home Run Derby or some other stupid injury will remove a key player for the season. Most years, we’re rolling into July on a high and the week off breaks up our flow. This year, our flow needs to be destroyed and our Polar Bear is an Oriole. Sigh. I’m still not over it and may never be. Yes, I’m still whining about the 1977 Midnight Massacre Tom Seaver trade.

News from nearby: The Chico City Council voted Tuesday to create an Entertainment Zone in downtown Chico and in South Chico’s Meriam Park, copying downtown Redding’s successful experiment in embracing alcohol. Adults of drinking age will be able to get a wristband and take an alcoholic beverage out of an establishment and onto the sidewalk, like New Orleans or Savannah. Civilized.

Chico has been trying to eliminate alcohol from its downtown for 40 years. Chico State University is immediately adjacent to downtown and being crowned “Number One Party School In America” in 1987 by Playboy Magazine only added to the Town vs. Gown tension. Downtown wanted to be attractive to the Ladies Who Lunch, not the college students, apparently unaware that Chad and Tiffany had Dad’s Visa card.

They put an end to Pioneer Days, destroyed Halloween, and pressured CSUC to schedule Spring Break so it included St. Patrick’s Day. They got what they wanted - no students or their money in downtown Chico. Throw in the Camp Fire and Covid, and you have a recipe for an abandonment. Nature abhors a vacuum, so the homeless moved in.

Zucchini and Vine, (Mecca of the Matrons of Mansion Park,) closed. Then the other anchor corner spaces on 2nd and Main were vacated and stayed that way for YEARS. 7-11 closed. Shocking. Then recently, Starbucks. Careful what you wish for. With venerable dive bars like Duffy’s hanging on by a thread, an Entertainment Zone might help save downtown Chico.

This Monday, July 20, the much anticipated Public Hearings over Groundwater Fees will take place in the Supes’ Chambers at 727 Oak St. in Red Bluff at 10am. The Farm Bureau will hold its quarterly tailgate meeting at 9 in the parking lot and they’re bringing coffee and donuts, so come early. They’ll be collecting protest vote letters, too, to be presented in public at the hearing so they don’t get “lost”.

Not that a protest will make a difference, even if enough letters are presented, which is a long shot. The District will just switch to “regulatory” fees. Remember Ordinance 9-2022 that required groundwater extractors to register their wells and pay 29 cents per acre per year for three years for the privilege? Sure, you do! That’s what the Garst case was all about.

Requiring registration by law gives them the idea that they are “regulating” groundwater extractors. However, the nexus of the so-called regulation to the activities that will be performed by the Groundwater Sustainability Agency is distant and weak, IMO.

Water Code 10730(a) says “A groundwater sustainability agency may impose fees, including, but not limited to, permit fees and fees on groundwater extraction or other regulated activity, to fund the costs of a groundwater sustainability program, including, but not limited to, preparation, adoption, and amendment of a groundwater sustainability plan, and investigations, inspections, compliance assistance, enforcement, and program administration, including a prudent reserve. A groundwater sustainability agency shall not impose a fee pursuant to this subdivision on a de minimis extractor unless the agency has regulated the users pursuant to this part.”

Requiring de minimis (domestic) users to register their wells is a one time activity with no burden on the GSA after the well is entered into the database, so to require ongoing fees is not relevant. A one time data entry is not “pursuant” to ongoing activities that have nothing to do with registration.

No groundwater extractor, large or small, is currently required to meter, report use, or comply with allocations or restrictions of any kind in Tehama County. We have some voluntary measures for ag folks. Those are not regulations either.

I’ve been reading the fee structures of many GSAs around the state and the three that keep coming up in my google searches are the three GSAs (out of 14 subbasins) in Sonoma County. They have similar fee structures and all three charge de minimis users under their well registration “regulation”. We copied, apparently.

The GSAs used the registration ordinance to satisfy the regulatory requirement of 10730. They stated as much in writing while looking for outreach consultants. “In 2019, the Santa Rosa Plain GSA approved development of a Groundwater User Registration Program (“GRP”) to enable, per SGMA, the GSA to charge groundwater use fees to de minimis users in the groundwater basin.”

At least they were honest about it. They received significant pushback from the public when their fee structures were presented back in 2019, but nobody sued. They do not have a David Garst over there.

There are significant differences between Sonoma and Tehama. Sonoma has a population of over 7 times that of Tehama and agricultural groundwater use is less than half. Here, agriculture is around 95%. De minimis is 1-4% - negligible.

Another huge difference is that all the GSAs in Sonoma charge the incorporated cities directly because they are the actual well owners and extractors. They sell their water to the customers, domestic and commercial. In Tehama, the GSA wants to charge every city user individually. The Garst Appellate decision left that idea dead in the water, however.

The Garst decision specifically says, on page 12, “we conclude a groundwater fee adopted under section 10730(a) may only be imposed on owners or operators of groundwater extraction facilities.” That would be the Cities, folks. The kitchen faucet is not an extraction facility.

The GSA’s own Ordinance 2026-2 exempts de minimis users “below a board established threshold” from fees. Then that threshold was intentionally left undefined, as Supervisor Matt Hansen gleefully pointed out during a board meeting. No matter - the state has already established that and it’s 2 acre feet a year. Tehama County cannot just make one up.

There are board members who believe everyone should be chipping in to protect groundwater and I totally get that sentiment. But that’s a policy decision, which is separate from what the law says. There are two subbasins in the San Joaquin Valley currently under state control for not complying with SGMA. The state has opted not to charge the de minimis users in those basins because they use a negligible amount of groundwater. You know, like in Tehama.

This fee structure cannot pass as currently written. If it does, there will be lawsuits and the county will lose. Again. With the Garst trial costing almost half a million dollars, can we afford the acceptance of this fee structure and another three years in court?

The Groundwater Commission, which approved the fee structure, was not given all the information by our consulting firm, Luhdorff and Scalmanini, who should have known all this and shared. I still haven’t seen a single example of de minimis users being charged fees in subbasins with heavy ag use, or any use fees at all being charged without meaningful relevant regulations. Until we have those, I don’t see how we move forward with fees.

How was your 4th of July? I spent mine in Mt. Shasta for my annual “workation” and it was downright pleasant, weatherwise. Sunday was overcast, cool, and breezy - delightful.

After putting in a long day on Castle St. Saturday, I headed to my luxurious accommodations at the Tanners’ beautiful home. I was asleep by a little after 9, then woke up with a start when I thought there were bears using my car for a drum circle outside. Nope. Just the fireworks way over at Lake Siskiyou.

Fireworks are beautiful, but the noise is ridiculous. Ask any pet owner or animal shelter worker what happens every 4th. Dogs bolt their homes and end up in the shelter or worse. At best they’re nervous wrecks in their own homes. This year, the folks at Shasta Dam went a different way. Instead of fireworks, they put on a drone show. 200 drones flew in formation creating patriotic and locally inspired images, accompanied by a music soundtrack you could stream from your phone or device. How cool is that?

No smoke, no booms, no missing fingers. No. Fire. Danger. Organizers think 5-7,000 people attended, plus 1,000 boats. Apparently the shuttles and parking were not prepared for such huge numbers, but next year they will be ready for everyone. I love this idea and hope it becomes a trend going forward.

CORRECTION: Last week I mistakenly wrote that the 2025-26 Grand Jury had 18 months to investigate Sheriff Kain, but they “only” had 12. It was actually the prior Grand Jury that had 18 months to devise a way to remove Supervisor Pati Nolen from office. I apologize for the error.

Did you see District 5 Supervisor Greg Jones on Action News Now this week? He joined newscaster Haley Watts on her Straight From The Source podcast. They discussed groundwater, the future of farming in Tehama (and California), the economy, and more. Jones made it clear he was open to considering any type of industry to help the local economy. Watch it yourself here.

They even talked about data centers a bit, but I am of the opinion that having one or more of those in Tehama County is not a great idea. In May, Chief Administrator Gabe Hydrick suggested a Board of Supervisors Study Session on data centers after Senator Schiff introduced legislation to help protect the public from rising energy costs associated with the buildout of data centers nationwide. Note: To my knowledge, no one has approached the county with a proposal to build one here, so put the pitchforks and torches away. For now.

We haven’t seen that study session yet, but I am looking forward to an honest discussion on the pros and cons. We’ve all heard that they are voracious water guzzlers, and that’s true. But honestly, they aren’t as bad as I thought. According to Dr. Google, a medium sized data center uses about the same amount of water as 100 acres of almonds. Since we have over 50,000 bearing acres of almonds and walnuts in Tehama County, that’s literally a drop in the bucket. Large facilities can use many times that much, of course.

The bigger concern is that the aforementioned medium sized data center, according to Google, could use half as much electricity as the City of Red Bluff. On our already strained grid. What could possibly go wrong other than certain PG&E rate increases? Also, Google told me my questions used approximately 2 bottles of water, for cooling and electricity production. Oh, the guilt!

There are other environmental concerns - noise, wastewater, etc. In Wyoming, a Meta (Facebook/Instagram) data center flushed bacteria contaminated water into public sewers during construction. Local officials there are implementing new restrictions on how wastewater will be disposed of in the future. Horse gone - barn door now closed.

You may have read about an unnamed entity approaching the City Manager of Mt. Shasta to inquire about a potential data center in the Crystal Geyser water bottling plant in unincorporated Siskiyou County. The Siskiyou Board of Supervisors would make the final call if the entity pursues it, but the Mt. Shasta City Council is a hard no. And they have the Lemurians on their side, so FAFO amirite?

In Lake Tahoe, nearly 50,000 residents are losing their power supplier, NV Energy, which is diverting power to data centers in the Reno area. Residents have until May of 2027 to find another provider. How nice. What kind of infrastructure investment will be necessary to get power to these people and who will step up to build it? It will end up on their electric bills eventually.

The state of Virginia is experiencing a number of issues because they have welcomed data centers with open arms. Electricity costs have skyrocketed, water consumption is way up, and noise is a major annoyance, with residents near facilities reporting they can’t sleep because of the constant noise.

There are some pros to consider, of course. Construction jobs (temporary) and a few good paying permanent positions. Some centers run with as few as 25 human workers. What if someone fallowed 100 acres of nuts and put a data center in its place? Straight across trade on the water usage, but would it be incentivized as fallowed land? Charged as Commercial? AI and Deez Nutz - working together? We have no guardrails in place for this. Looking forward to the Study Session. I’m Team NIMBY so far. Change my mind.

You’ve already taken July 20th off work to attend the Public Hearings on Groundwater Fees, right? Friday columnist and adventure gal Shanna Long announced that the Farm Bureau will be holding a tailgate meeting at 9am (prior to the first hearing at 10) in the parking lot of the Admin Building at 727 Oak St. in Red Bluff. After coffee and donuts, we’ll mosey inside to the Supes Chambers and listen to citizens’ concerns hopped up on caffeine and sugar. Giddy-up!

Here are some fun things to do this weekend -

In Corning…

In Red Bluff…

And where I’ll be Saturday in Westwood (Lake Almanor)…

Get out and have some fun this weekend!

Happy Independence Day! It’s the Semiquincentennial (half of 500) celebration of our declared breakup with England, which they refused to accept - just like George Costanza’s girlfriend on Seinfeld. We even tried the “It’s not you, it’s US” routine, but King George III got all stalkerish and started following us home, keying our car, calling us drunk at 2am, etc. We were forced to take desperate measures.

I was a 1976 Bicentennial high school graduate and it seemed like the whole country made a much bigger deal out of 200 years than we are with 250. Congress started preparations for 1976 in 1966 - 10 years ahead of time. The idea was to hold one giant celebration in Boston or Philadelphia, but after years of heated debate it became apparent that the whole country wanted to celebrate bigly. Planning really picked up steam in 1975. After Watergate and Vietnam, Americans wanted to feel good about themselves again.

The Bicentennial was a huge deal everywhere, but are 2026 Americans too cynical and jaded to give #250 its due? Or maybe Taylor and Travis’ wedding at Madison Square Garden is overshadowing it. You got your invite, right? Me, neither.

The big news this week was the Third District Appellate Court’s decision to uphold the trial court’s ruling on the Garst case (29 cents well registry fee). I hate to say “I told you so,” but - hah - not really. Read it here.

The three justice panel wrote a detailed decision, pointing out the flaws in the Flood Control and Water Conservation District’s arguments in a not-at-all snarky way, like I’m about to do. They didn’t scold the District for being told in an opinion letter that charging the way they did would likely face “judicial skepticism”, but then going right ahead and doing it anyway.

They likewise didn’t ask bigtime litigator Michael Colantuono how it felt to be paid $10,000 for writing that opinion letter in the first place, then another $200,000 to defend the District when they didn’t heed his advice. I bet his answer would be “Pretty dang good!”

There will be another $200,000 plus 10% interest per year paid to Mr. Garst, who was awarded attorney fees. He’s been paying those all along, so this will be a relief for him. There was another $34,000 in attorney fees awarded when the District was unresponsive to Public Records Requests.

And where, praytell, is the database that was so important the county broke the law to have it made? Has anyone been updating it since 2022 every time a new well completion report is filed with Environmental Health?

Remember, this is completely separate from the groundwater fee discussion that is on the table now, with Public Hearings to be held July 20. However, this decision may have connected them in ways we hadn’t foreseen.

The panel cited Water Code Section 10730(a), which states that local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies cannot impose extraction fees on de minimis (domestic) users unless the GSA has specifically chosen to fully regulate them. Here in Tehama County, nobody has been regulated in any way, including big Ag extractors. The GSA suggested “voluntary measures” for Ag users, but there are still no regulations, restrictions or requirements. So they may not be able to charge anyone legally, unless they’re allowed to count the law that requires us to register our wells. I predict more judicial skepticism in our future.

The Tehama County GSA’s Ordinance 2026-2 states that domestic groundwater users under a “board established threshold” are exempt from extraction fees. Then they got all cute and didn’t establish that threshold. However, the State of California has already established it at 2 acre feet a year. That supersedes any threshold the board wants to create and I haven’t been able to find a GSA anywhere in CA that doesn’t use 2 acre feet to define de minimis.

There are a few GSAs that do charge their de minimis users extraction fees, but it’s because non-agricultural use is a much higher percentage than here. In Sonoma County, agriculture only uses around half of the extracted groundwater. In Tehama, it’s 94-96%. It makes sense that Sonoma regulates and charges all users. Here, not so much.

There was one silver lining for the District - they do not have to refund all of our 29 cent payments. The Appellate Panel wrote that the lower court erred in the trial phase when the Honorable Judge Boeckman ordered an immediate refund. Everyone who paid the well registry fee would have needed to submit an individual Government Claim Form within a narrow time frame after paying the fee.

So, spending all that time and money on the appeal actually worked out well for the District. They saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Slow clap. This is akin to somebody robbing a bank, getting caught and going to trial, being found guilty, but getting to keep the money. However, everyone in the State of California benefits from this decision.

Hearty congratulations and thank yous to David Garst and his attorney, Adam Pressman. They went through hell for years and Mr. Garst is still out his $4,000 in registry fees, so if you see him around, buy him a beer. Colantuono said in court that the $4,000 would be credited against Garst’s future domestic well fees, which will total around $6 a year. The Garsts will be paid up for almost 700 years at that rate, if domestic user fees are approved. And what about groundwater users outside the subbasins who paid? I guess I can kiss my $5 goodbye.

One wonders whether our legal eagles actually read the codes or do they just do whatever they want and hope nobody sues? All this time and money spent and not one drop of water saved. New orchards continue to be planted with wild abandon. We need meaningful regulations to stop the biggest extractors from further depleting our aquifers.

Happy 4th to you all. I will be in Mt. Shasta for my annual “workation”. Come on up and visit - they do it right! It may not even hit 90 degrees up there.

So, the Appellate Court has handed down its decision. We will dive more deeply into this, but just wanted you all to have the case at your fingertips. Essentially, the Court upheld the lower court’s decision that the 29 cent fee was actually a tax, but denied the refund of the illegally obtained funds. This is akin to someone robbing a bank, getting caught, but gets to keep the money. I cannot WTF!? more heartily.

We will do a deep dive in this week’s regularly scheduled column. OK? Thanks.

Garst Decision

Another week gone by already? Before we get down to business, a shoutout and sincere gratitude to the Resource Conservation District of Tehama County for their TinderSmart program. Over a year ago, we signed up for help with defensible space around our home. It was finally our turn to have a crew come out.

Mr. Standish is out there every winter and spring trying to beat the brush back, but it was out of control in some places. A friendly crew of young men showed up bright and early and ripped through the thick overgrowth, doing in a few short days what it would have taken Mr. Standish weeks or months to accomplish.

Best part? It was free and TinderSmart wants to help you, too. They offer defensible space assistance, shaded roadside fuel reduction, hazard tree removal and more! Visit their website for more information. https://bit.ly/TCTinderSmart. Thank you, RCDTC!

It’s been over a month now since the Oral Arguments in the Garst Appeal and I really hoped a decision would be published by now. Since it’s a case that’s being watched by many around the state, the three justices on the panel are probably being very careful and thorough with their wording. Patience is not one of my superpowers, but this is good practice, I suppose.

It would have been nice if we had known for certain whether the lower court’s decision would be upheld prior to Thursday’s Flood Control and Water Conservation District meeting, but oh well. That certainly would have brought the current budget estimates into question.

A parade of Public Commenters showed up at the meeting and one thing is apparent. Nobody is happy about the imminent groundwater fees, the structure of which is still being discussed and questioned by the Board of Directors (Supes) and the public alike.

The only person who appears to have a firm grasp on it all is Deputy Director Justin Jenson. I know he is well paid, but I would not take his job for thrice the salary. He was thrown into a position he was unprepared for, learned as he went along, and has ended up the only person who actually knows how all the parts to this fit together.

The Directors/Supervisors are realizing that their ordinance didn’t say exactly what they thought it did. Director/Supervisor Matt Hansen did some back pedaling and echoed some truthisms members of the public have been stating for some time. That’s a good thing. Thank you, Matt. It’s OK to change your mind as new facts are realized. It’s admirable.

The plan still calls for de minimis users to be charged a paltry sum each, and that is by far the biggest hurdle facing the current fee structure. Concerned citizen Tom Morrison pointed out the ridiculous waste of time, money, and energy to try to make every domestic user pay something. He talked about his own 300 foot domestic well in the southwest portion of the county and how it has lost 100 feet of water in the past 20 years. It is mostly due to the overwhelming expansion of permanent crops into that area. How long before we address that? Hello? Planning Commission?

After decades of unrestricted free groundwater and unregulated expansion, most of the Ag community is ready to step up and fix what they broke. They want to pay their fair share. What’s fair? Still up for debate. You can’t charge correct amounts until you know how close the budget estimates will be (Hint - way off). More to come on this, of course. Save the date of July 20 for the Public Hearings on the fees. Bring popcorn.

On to the Second Annual Lynching of an Elected Official, sponsored by the Tehama County Grand Jury. Sheriff Dave Kain was the sole topic of the 2025-26 GJ Report, meaning there were no other issues as important and urgent as nailing his butt to a wall. This GJ had 18 months to investigate because the schedule was changed to coincide with the fiscal year rather than the calendar year. That’s a long time for one obsession.

The report is as notable for what it doesn’t say as for what it does. In life, there are straight up lies that people tell, then there are lies of omission, where important pieces are left out that put a topic under a different light. This is not the fault of the Jurors, who worked hard for a year and a half. They were clearly not given all the information.

What information? How about the fact that Sheriff Kain invited the State Attorney General to assist in his office’s investigation of Tumblergate. The AG conflicted DA Matt Rogers out of that investigation because he was one of the people being investigated. That’s not in this report.

There is also the tale of a Department Head, also under investigation. She is the one who called the suspected DUI into the Red Bluff Police Department. The Report judges this as the “right thing to do”. It neglects to point out that the Supervisors and County Counsel went back into open session for 11 minutes, during which time any of the 4 or 5 cup-sniffers could have discreetly stopped Supervisor Nolen from driving if they thought she was impaired. None of them did. Public Safety much?

The GJ Report also does not address the DA’s false assertion that a hydrometer found alcohol in Nolen’s cup, when that instrument cannot detect alcohol. It measures sugar content from one sample of liquid at two separate points during the fermentation process. Fail.

Digging up “scandals” from decades ago, an alleged (some might say paranoid) conspiracy with Public Works employees to make Chief Administrator Gabe Hydrick look bad, allegations of bullying, intimidation, and perhaps the worst of all: waiting to give his wife a ride while in - GASP - uniform! My pearls are clutched and my sphincter is clenched. How about yours?

Kain will respond to the report and its findings. Will he be charged with anything to try to remove him from office? It worked with former Supervisor Pati Nolen - why not try again? Sheriff Kain, it’s time to release the Tumblergate investigation. There needs to be an end to this middle school behavior.

Tehama County lost three giants in the last week or so. You probably read about Tehama-Glenn Fire Unit Battalion Chief Brian Wright’s sudden passing June 12. I didn’t know him well, but he was always friendly and smiling when we greeted each other at Board of Supervisors meetings. He somehow made me feel everything was under control even when the hills were burning and people were facing life threatening situations. Calm professionalism in the face of chaos. Our hearts are with his beautiful family, friends, and colleagues. We are all the less for his passing.

Former Red Bluff High School teacher Jennifer Wilhelmi is the second of our tragic trio. As I scroll through the many condolences on her Facebook profile, I am learning how much she meant to a multitude of people. She was “that teacher who made a difference” to countless students struggling to find their place in theatre and in life. She was a natural born mentor and one of the most courageous people I’ve ever known. In a time when transitioning was barely talked about, she did it openly and honestly while working at a high school in a very conservative little town. Meetings were held at RBUHS where she answered questions and addressed concerns from parents and students alike, ultimately gaining the support of the community. Fearless, compassionate, funny, brilliant. We’ll miss you, Jennifer.

The third passing in this week’s column hit Mr. Standish and me like a gut punch. Mercy High graduate, piano virtuoso, beer god, and hilarious comedy right (and left) hand man Roland Allen passed away unexpectedly last Saturday. Remember in April when we attended two weddings in the same month? One was Roland’s. We are just beginning to wrap our heads around this, feeling lost and confused while trying to be there for his bride Flo, daughter Ashley, Mom Sharon, and all three of his brothers.

Roland and Flo on their wedding day...

These three incredible humans are now flying free somewhere with the answers to life’s most elusive questions. Meanwhile, we are stuck here dealing with earthly issues - like groundwater. Last week I shared how to calculate your own upcoming groundwater fees. This week we’re going to talk about why most of you shouldn’t be paying a penny, but maybe you’ll want to anyway.

Deputy Director of the Groundwater Sustainability Agency, Justin Jenson, told me the District sent out 48,000 fee letters. Frequent groundwater public speaker, Gail Wallace, said she learned from Chico’s Creative Composition that they had sent out 24,000 plus letters - around half of what Jenson said. Is it possible that only half were sent out? Why would they use a company in Chico?

Fellow Groundwater Commissioner and olive grower Adam Englehardt and I make up the Outreach Ad Hoc Committee and we sat down with Jenson to figure out a way to put out the fire caused by the fee letters that were more confusing than informative. Here’s the FAQ sheet - not perfect, but better than the letter. FAQs

The top priority, in my opinion, was to stop making the empty threat that the State was coming in to “take control” of our water if this funding mechanism isn’t approved. While it is true that there are currently two subbasins in the San Joaquin Valley on probation, the terms of that designation weren’t shared in the fee letter. However, it’s public information anyone can see on the SGMA GSP Portal. Neither subbasin has sufficiently described how they will achieve sustainability in their plans and have received Inadequates as a result. Our plans were all approved. See the difference? The State will not come in unless we start submitting even worse plans than we already do.

While on probation, Ag users in Tulare Lake and Tule are required to report their usage and the fees are steep. De minimis (domestic) users and Ag folks using less than 20 acre feet a year are exempt from reporting and fees, unless they are within specific areas with severe subsidence. The State is protecting the domestic user and the small farmer, because that use is negligible and it’s the right thing to do. This dubious threat of the State coming in and “stealing our water” to send to SoCal is reminiscent of the hair-on-fire report of subsidence floated in an attempt to pass Supervisor Matt Hansen’s ill-fated well regulation ordinance. That turned out to be a huge exaggeration. Is it any wonder nobody trusts these people?

In our own ordinance 2026-2, de minimis users are exempted “below a Board-established threshold”. When reminded of this, Hansen gleefully announced the Board had not established a de minimis threshold. Hah! Gotcha, smart alecky Liz Merry! Unfortunately for him, the State has already established it at 2 acre feet. Our fee structure estimated Urban use at .75af and Rural Residential at 1.25af. So all of those thousands of people should be exempt. Read the ordinance here - exemptions highlighted on page 3 - Ordinance 2026-2. OTOH, $4 or $5 a year is nothing to ask to fund this mandated agency. But the principle - is it even legal? As you can see, I’m still conflicted. Flood Control Board meeting this Thursday 6/25 at 10am in the Supes’ Chambers. You should come and tell them what you think.

Speaking of Supervisor Hansen, he once again displayed his hatred for all things Nolen by steamrolling Bob Nolen’s removal from the Integrated Waste Management Task Force - a volunteer position Nolen has held for two years. Bob is the husband of former Supervisor Pati Nolen, whom Hansen helped railroad out of office. Hansen said he “wouldn’t have him (Nolen) pushing a broom for the County”, somehow managing to insult Nolen and all housekeeping, maintenance, and janitorial workers in just one sentence. Slow clap.

During the discussion, Hansen interrupted Supervisor Rob Burroughs in exactly the same way he used to interrupt Pati Nolen on the dais. Burroughs was expressing his disagreement with Hansen’s motion to exclude Nolen because of an obvious personal dislike, when Hansen started saying his name over and over. “Mr. Burroughs…Mr. Burroughs…MISTER BURROUGHS…” He didn’t want to hear Burrough’s point of view, no debate allowed. Final vote 3-1-1, with Supervisor Greg Jones standing up for free speech (thank you, Greg,) and Burroughs abstaining because he serves on the task force.

Careful Rob. Next Hansen will be sniffing your cigars.

We lost Roland Allen yesterday, June 13, 2026. He was our comedy partner, hilarious member of Merry Standish Comedy from long before Merry came along. Loving father, beer god, piano virtuoso who added husband to his resume just 2 months ago. We are still trying to wrap our heads around this tremendous loss to his beautiful bride Flo, family, friends, the Chico music and comedy communities, and the world in general. Please enjoy this montage of the first 15 years of MSC, for which he wrote and performed the music. Aaron Standish added the clips. He is irreplaceable on the stage and in our hearts.

Click here - 15 year montage

Here it is two weeks into June and we still haven’t been able to carve a day into our schedules to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park. Disgraceful. Fingers crossed for this week. We need our time in nature - it keeps us sane, or whatever passes for sane these days.

Speaking of sanity or the lack thereof, this county has lost its dang mind over the groundwater fees. While I personally still don’t believe domestic users should be charged anything because we use a negligible amount of groundwater, others think everyone should contribute to manage this shared resource. As long as it’s proportional to actual use, that’s OK with me.

The Flood Control and Water Conservation District is trying to make it fair. Use more groundwater, pay more money. Use less, pay less. Their intentions are good. Their execution sucks.

The fee letters that were sent out - 48,000 of them - left out the most important part. They did not tell people how much they would be paying. For the vast majority of residents it will be around $5 a year, and will increase 3% (15 cents) per year. Is that too much to pay to manage our precious shared natural resource? One less macchiato a year would cover it.

Apparently irate residents have threatened people who work at the Flood Control office. Newsflash - they are not responsible and don’t need you throwing your letters at them or threatening their families. Control yourselves, please.

I’m a member of the Groundwater Commission’s Outreach Committee, which met this week to discuss the backlash from the letters, which apparently were written by consultants and legal folks who lack the ability to write like a normal person speaks. People just want to know what they are being asked to pay. Duh.

A press release will go out next week with information that was lacking in the original letter, including how to calculate your fee, but I’ll give you a quick preview here. Again, these calculations are only for the Administration fee. The Program Fees are different and will be paid entirely by the Ag community in the overdrafted subbasins only. That’s Corning, Red Bluff, and Los Molinos SBs only.

First thing is that only people over the subbasins are affected (you’re safe, Manton). Second, everyone pays the same per acre foot of water use - $2.70. The board decided to charge by volume because that was the most equitable way. Here’s how to calculate what you will pay yearly.

City dwellers - .75(acre feet) x $2.70 = $2.03. Add $1.99 for the Assessor’s fee = $4.02 per year per. If there is more than one residence on the parcel you pay for each dwelling or connection.

Rural Residential - 1.25af x $2.70 = $3.38. Add $1.99 Assessor’s fee = $5.37 per year for each dwelling/connection.

Commercial property owners pay 3.64af x number of acres x $2.70. Example - for a 2 acre lot with a commercial building on it, 2 x 3.64 x $2.70 = $19.66. Add $1.99 Assessor’s fee = $21.65 per year.

Farmers have a more complex calculation and it depends upon what they grow and where they are located. Here’s a chart with their crop usage estimates. Not sure why walnuts are with fruits rather than the other thirsty nuts.

In the Bowman and Antelope SBs, Ag users will pay only the Admin fee multiplied by the crop index number and acreage. Example - 100 acres of prunes in Bowman - 100(acres) x 3.3 x $2.70 = $891.00 + $1.99 Assessor’s fee = $892.99.

In the overdrafted SBs (Corning, Red Bluff and Los Molinos,) there is an added $2 per irrigated acre charge for the Program Fees. So, 100 acres of prunes would be 100(acres) x 3.3 x $4.70 = $1551 +$1.99 Assessor’s fee = $1552.99.

There is an admirable widespread effort to pull off a majority protest of the fees, but since it will take 24,000 plus 1 protest letters to succeed, it’s not likely. Less than 17,000 people voted in the June 2 primary, so getting 24,000 people to do anything in this county would be a miracle.

The bottom line is, our Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) needs to be funded. The state mandates that we have a GSA and manage our subbasins. This funding method is NOT mandated, but how else will we do it? The county has less than zero money (more on that in a minute).

Most people are willing to pony up $5 a year to get a handle on our groundwater situation. We have dragged our feet on this for over 10 years, but we have finally pulled our heads out of the sand and are taking baby steps in the right direction. Not quickly enough for my taste, but I am not a patient person. I will be happy when rezoning to stop expansion of permanent crops and groundwater allocations are being planned.

There’s a lot more to talk about on this topic, but we have to get to the County Budget. Fiscal Manager Orepa Mamea delivered the horrific news of our $11.93 million budget deficit to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Ace Reporter Heather Taylor covered the presentation in detail Thursday in the RBDN.

Mamea is a seasoned professional with a deep understanding of all things budget related. She offered suggestions on how to close the budget gap, starting off with the yearly fund balance carryover of $6 to $7 million, which cuts the deficit in half almost immediately. We never know exactly what the carryover will be until later in the year, so it usually gets fudged around on paper and then settled out when the numbers become clear.

Mamea made suggestions on how to deal with the rest of the deficit. The only one I took issue with was the recommendation to department heads to increase their revenue estimates. With more state and federal funding being cut every day, It might be wiser to underestimate revenues. Better to have a little left over than to fall short.

Mamea reported salaries and benefits increased 6.1% in a year. That is not sustainable. Maybe a freeze on raises for the people already making over X amount? I would suggest a pay cut for the top earners, but this board would never vote to do that to their friends.

Mamea pointed out that there are no new revenue streams in the county and voters are opposed to higher taxes. Ya think? Increasing taxes to pay for poor fiscal planning and decisions by the board? No thanks. The balancing act to come will make the Great Wallendas look like amateurs.

Congratulations, Tehama County. The dismal voter turnout favored the incumbents in our local races. There are still over 5,000 ballots left to be counted, but as of Thursday evening, it appears to be a complete and total butt whooping by the male over the female candidates for Supervisor Districts 3 and 4 and Clerk Recorder. Rarely will late counts affect the final outcome, but once in a while it happens. Remember the Red Bluff City Council election when Cody Strock came from behind and overtook candidates that were leading early on? That won’t happen this time, so don’t get your hopes up.

What do these results mean? Who knows? Every voter has a different perspective, but you can’t help but wonder. Are they supportive of the direction the county is headed? The $11 million budget deficit (not counting the Garst extra mill when that decision is published)? The open hostility toward certain department heads, employees, and the public? Or do they not know about those things because they don’t have time to pay close attention?

It doesn’t matter - we get the board we deserve. The county is facing enormous challenges and we wish the Board of Supervisors the best of luck in tackling them. Why wish luck to people you didn’t vote for? Because when they fail, we all fail. So congratulations and good luck, Boys! You’re going to need it.

By unbelievable coincidence, county residents received their groundwater fee letter in the mail the day after the election. What are the chances? It couldn’t have been timed any better for the incumbents, could it? You don’t suppose…nah. These are government officials!

There have been many posts about it on Facebook and nobody is happy about another hit to the wallet, even though it’s a very small hit. More like a tap, really, unless you’re a farmer. Where have we heard that before? The Garst 29 cents case, of course. It’s the same mindset - charge everyone a little and nobody will pony up the money for a lawyer. It might even work this time.

The letters have a form to fill out for property owners to file for a “majority protest”, which would keep the fee off our taxes if successful. It would require 50% plus 1 protest of all the letters sent. I have been unable to find an example of a successful majority protest against a Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Just so you know, D1 Supe Rob Burroughs voted against all of this.

I have been pushing for domestic users to be exempted from these fees, because we are finding that de minimis extractors are using even less than the 4% that has been reported. But then it would just be Ag paying, and that smaller group might be able to pull off a successful protest. The county couldn’t take that chance. Well played. Pun intended.

People on city water are included, too. In Corning, residents have just received notification that their water and sewer fees are being increased - now this. Instead of charging the cities who actually own the wells and extract the water, the county opted to charge the property owners, because that creates more letters and a tougher road to a successful majority protest.

They had to be creative with verbiage in the ordinance. They used the term “receivers of groundwater” rather than “well owners”. Receivers of groundwater are all property owners who have a connection to a well, even a municipal one. Hello, city dwellers. If you live in a multi-unit apartment, your landlord will almost certainly pass this cost on to you.

The county continues to threaten us with the State stepping in and charging a lot more. “If we don’t do this, you’ll pay $100 per well.” That could happen if we fail to manage our subbasins, but it’s highly unlikely. There are currently only two subbasins under probation in the entire state and they are both in the San Joaquin Valley, which is experiencing severe overdraft and has been for decades. Tule and Tulare Lake subbasins submitted plans that are not sufficient to achieve sustainability. Four subbasins down there had been on probation but got their acts together and were released.

Our plans have been approved and we are finally, after a decade of foot dragging, on our way to using almost every tool in the shed to become sustainable - everything except stopping the continued expansion of permanent crops, which is what we really need to do. The state will not step in just because this funding method is not approved. Read that last sentence again.

However, the GSA does need to be funded and everyone benefits from groundwater management. I fear the budget estimates made by our “expert consultants” fall far short of what will be required. How could we fund the GSA? Maybe stop handing out frivolous settlements to friends, get an in-house County Counsel, stop appealing cases that lose in lower courts, and stop giving raises to high-level county employees. Look what happened when the Health Services Director got a hefty raise which was backdated far enough to increase her retirement. She took a job out of county. Raises do not ensure loyalty.

Could we make better use of grants? Probably, but we don’t have a full time grant writer. When Rescue Act funding - $12.64 million - was being allocated, hiring a grant writer was considered. We could have hired one at a competitive salary, then written that future salary into grants he or she would write. That made too much sense, so it was rejected.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda is useless at this point. The majority protest has little chance of succeeding, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try. Public hearings on July 20.

On Thursday evening, Mr. Standish and I attended the Opening Night of CaptainMan, the hilarious superhero spoof written and performed by Standish and fellow Mercy High grad Steve Ferchaud back in the 1970s. Amazing to see it staged by Theatre on the Ridge, a professional theatre company in Paradise. If you could use a good light hearted laugh - and who couldn’t? - do yourself a favor and go see it. Tickets here.

No time for fun and games this week. It’s all groundwater, baby, and there is a ton to talk about. Tuesday I attended Oral Arguments in the Garst Appeal, held at the Third District Appellate Court in Sacramento. Before we get into the meat and potatoes of that, I need to talk a little about the Courthouse itself. Three of us carpooled to Sac: Groundwater Commissioner Michael Ward, brilliant government observer and commenter Martha Kleykamp, and Yours Truly. We arrived early because we are old and punctual.

The Stanley Mosk Library and Court building is a gorgeous neo-classical temple to justice. If law was your religion, you’d want to worship here. Upon entry, your cell phone and associated electronic stuff are put into little kindergarten cubbies and you are given a tag to retrieve it later.

Wait - my phone? AND my watch? OK, I can be untethered for a few hours. Since we were early, I decided to explore a little. I ascended the cool curved staircase to the second floor and as I neared the top, the Zig-Zag Man appeared on a wall ahead. What?

You remember the Zig-Zag man, right? The Jesus lookalike that adorns rolling papers? Very big in the 60s and 70s. What in the world is he doing on a wall in this venerable building? Turns out he is part of an exhibition of original rock art and posters on display. I ran back downstairs to insist Michael and Martha come up to see them.

Kelley-Mouse, Rick Griffin, concert posters, album art, it was amazing! Suddenly I was missing my phone very much (no photos!) and have thus far been unable to find a link online to share.

There was also a hallway filled with Jim Marshal’s huge original photos of Johnny Cash at his prison concerts at Folsom and San Quentin.

Another hallway had fantastic law related sketches and cartoons by Terry Flanigan.

Good stuff. Also beautiful murals, historic photos, all the things. Check it out next time you’re in Sacramento. 914 Capitol Mall.

At 9:30 the first case on the docket started. Garst was third. Here is my courtroom sketch of the panel of justices for the first hearing. Yes, I know your 5 year-old could do better.

When Garst was called, attorney Michael Colantuono went to the lectern representing the Appellant (Tehama County Flood Control and Water Conservation District). If the name Colantuono is familiar to you, it’s because I have typed it a million times. He is the person who was paid $10,000 by the county to write an opinion letter on the 29 cents per acre fee that Mr. Garst sued over. In that opinion, Colantuono suggests that charging a fee connected only to property ownership would face “judicial skepticism” and would be difficult to defend in court, which is exactly what we are now paying him handsomely to do. Badly. Oh, the irony, right? Refresh your memory here. The highlighted text on Page 4 is the smoking gun.

So, what new arguments has the county come up with to make this unconstitutional tax legal? None. But Colantuono talks a good game, I’ll give him that. He had 15 minutes to voice his arguments and rebut Garst’s attorney, Adam Presman, after HIS 15 minute response to Colantuono. Watch for yourself if you like. It’s about a half hour long.

No new arguments, just the same-old-same-old that lost the case in the trial phase. There were some hilarious new concepts, however. The funniest perhaps was when he called us a “red county” and implied everyone here is a cattle rancher. It’s Calibama up there, Your Honors. Simple folk.

He said the county had to cast a wide net and make anyone who doesn’t use groundwater “pay under protest” and get a refund later. Pressman responded (paraphrasing here), ”Imagine being charged just in case you happen to be running an oil refinery or daycare center and being charged as if you do, then having to prove you don’t.” Or car registration. Pay first, then prove you don’t have a car. Mr. Garst’s 29 cents per acre fee was around $4,000 for his 40 parcels, only two of which have wells, both domestic. He did pay, but not “under protest”. He just sued the bastids.

When questioned by Justice Renner, Colantuono admitted the 29 cent/acre fee WOULD be a tax if it was imposed on parcels that were not contiguous with a parcel that had a well on it. Meaning even if the District violated the law and illegally taxed property owners, they would get to keep the money of anyone who doesn’t individually challenge them.

This is where Colantuono potentially perjured himself. He said that when groundwater usage fees were being collected in the future, Mr. Garst’s $4,000 well registry payment would be credited against those fees. This has never been discussed, much less approved, and appeared to be plucked directly from Colantuono’s nether regions. Colan’s colon?

And since Garst’s two wells are both domestic, he will be paying a total of around $10 a year. It would take 400 years for him to use up his imaginary credits. This is not a thing, but what happens when your lawyer lies to a panel of justices? Shrug emoji.

Colantuono kept implying the fee was for groundwater use, which it was not. It was to create a database of well ownership, which should have been done all along by the county but wasn’t. Or was it? We have heard that well permits going back over 40 years are in boxes in the dusty basement at Environmental Health. But the county thought everyone would be down with filling out a well registration survey and enjoy the honor of paying for the data input. Laughable.

We still have not seen the well registry database, although we have been told for over a year that it’s “almost done”. Does it exist? Will it ever? Does it even matter? Its purpose was never to inform the county on where wells are or how they are used. It was meant to do one thing - postpone any groundwater regulation while they “gathered information”.

Years of litigation. Over a million dollars spent that will need to be refunded. Not one drop of groundwater saved. The court will publish a decision within 90 days, but it will probably be sooner. 99.9% certain Garst will prevail. For him to lose would involve rewriting the CA Constitution.

I got Swamped Monday. We’ve been walking Swamper, our 8 year old Lab/hound adoptee, on a leash in the pasture because foxtail season is in full swing and he is a magnet for them. We check his eyes and ears after every walk, but he still managed to get one in his eye - poor guy. The vet bill was $300, so he is forbidden from running freely out there until the diabolical seed carriers have fallen off the plants.

His “sister” Lucky, a Dutch Shepherd-who-knows-what cross, rarely gets foxtails and is much more interested in her tennis balls, which keep her on the wide trail/firebreak Mr. Standish clears every year.

Swamper and I were moving along at a good clip when he suddenly lunged to the left, knocking my right knee out of place (old meniscus tear) and dumping me on the ground. The knee somehow got adjusted back to the right place and I limped back up to the house. It’s still a little stiff and swollen, so Lassen Park is off the table for this week at least. The park road may be open to cars by this weekend, but check the current conditions page to be sure - Conditions. In the meantime, I am thinking about starting a citizens’ ballot initiative to make people found guilty of breeding Labs to hounds, even accidentally, subject to capital punishment.

Speaking of citizens’ initiatives, the Public Safety Tax initiative has gone by the wayside for now. Signature gatherers apparently had a table at the Red Bluff Round Up and the pushback from the public was enough for them to take the hint. Maybe they will try again in the future. Or find another way to fill the county coffers, like through foresight and planning for sustainable growth.

Meanwhile, Measure S, the Streets Tax, is still on the ballot for Red Bluff residents only, although the rest of the county will also pay when we shop in town. If I lived in Red Bluff, I would vote Yes on this one. Proponents have done their homework and goddess knows the streets of Red Bluff are a disgrace. If you don’t want to pay an extra penny on the dollar to keep your teeth from rattling right out of your head, don’t buy anything taxable in Red Bluff. Fill your big ol’ $7 a gallon diesel pickup and drive to Redding, where their sales tax is only 7.25% instead of Red Bluff’s proposed 8.50%. You will not be able to make that math work, although spite can be a motivating factor.

The Clerk/Recorder position is also on the ballot. Current County Clerk, Sean Houghtby, is being challenged by former District 3 County Supervisor Pati Nolen. You may recall that Nolen was railroaded out of office back in October. If you don’t recall that, you are either new in the area or just awakened from a years long coma. Nolen has licked her wounds and still wants to serve the public - after everything she went through.

She even has a sense of humor about it. She brought her Mt. Lassen Trout Farm tumbler with her to the Los Molinos Candidates Night. Oh no, she di’nt! Oh yes, she DID! The infamous Tumblergate cup. The tumbler her colleagues thought it would be cool to smell the contents of, then proclaim it smelled like alcohol, then call the cops on her for DUI even though the day’s meeting wasn’t over. They all spent 11 minutes more together on camera during which time anyone could have stopped her from driving if they really thought she was drunk, but didn’t. She was pulled over, given a breathalyzer test and blew 0.0. No alcohol in her system whatsoever.

But that’s all in the past now and she has set her sights on the Clerk position, which surprised everyone - even me. Nolen is under no delusion that she will win, although stranger things have happened. Her attention to detail, intelligence, and work ethic would make her a good Clerk, IMO, and I will vote for her. Did you know she trained and certified crane operators and inspected cranes for OSHA? I can’t imagine the regulations and scrutiny that go along with those positions. OTOH, I honestly like Houghtby, too. He’s a nice man. Friendly and professional demeanor. He has served the county in other capacities and was hand chosen by the former Clerk, Jennifer Vise, who offered to train “the right appointee” when she retired a mere two months before the November 2024 election. They are both good candidates for the job, even though one was forced from her position in a devious way and the other was handed his on a silver platter. Fielder’s choice.

On Tuesday, May 26, oral arguments in the Garst appeal will be heard by a panel of three judges in the District Three Appellate Court in Sacramento at 9:30am. After three long years, it may be time for the County to finally face the fact that it charged landowners in a way that was unconstitutional and start making plans to pay back the approximately $1 million in 29 cent “taxes” and Mr. Garst’s attorney fees.

Some of us are making the pilgrimage to Sacramento to watch in person, but you can stream it from home if you prefer. Here’s the link - https://bit.ly/GarstAppeal. I spoke with Garst’s attorney Adam Pressman, who said, “We are looking forward to this hearing at the Third District. Three separate judges in Tehama County sided with Mr. Garst and we believe all three correctly determined that the District’s position has no merit.” Yep.

Here’s something you seldom read in this column - words of praise for Chief Administrator Gabe Hydrick. I was working in the garden Tuesday and listening to the Board of Supervisors meeting on speakerphone, when I heard Hydrick say “data centers”, but missed the context. Data centers are poised to make our groundwater troubles exponentially worse and I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a developer planning to put one in the Corning Subbasin. I emailed Hydrick, and he promptly responded that Senator Adam Schiff sent out an email saying he will be introducing legislation to address the proliferation of data centers, which gobble up power and water and currently are under no obligation to even tell us they’re here. Hydrick brought it to the board for future discussion. Good job, Gabe. Credit where it’s due.

It’s that’s magical time of year, when sections of Highway 89 through Lassen Volcanic National Park are open to hikers and bicycle riders but not to cars. Road crews are still busy clearing the rest of the snow. As of Thursday, May 14, cars may drive to Sulphur Works on the south side (Highway 36) and the road is clear for pedestrians and bikes all the way to the Bumpass Hell and Lassen Peak Trail parking lots.

Entering the park from Highway 44 on the north side, cars may drive 10 miles in to the Devastated Area. The road to Butte Lake is also open to cars. The warm temps this winter kept the snow from getting deep in the high country. That’s not a good thing for our water supply, but we might as well enjoy the side effects, right?

This is our favorite time of year to be in the park, before the “crowds” of summer show up. Walking or biking on the park road allows one to admire the amazing views and the sounds of nature waking from winter slumber. The road will probably be open to cars earlier than usual this year, so try to get up there to enjoy it. We haven’t yet, but are determined to squeeze a day in somewhere. Maybe this coming week.

Hard to believe we’re halfway through May already and our June primary election is just a smidge over two weeks away. Have you voted? Not me. I’m still wading through the dozens of gubernatorial candidate names, mostly looking for a joke. Bingo - Livingforgod Andcountry Demott. Yes, that is his real name and it is the best candidate name since Deez Nuts ran for president in 2016.

Locally, we have two Supervisor races - Districts 3 and 4 - that will be decided in the primary. That’s right - neither of the supe races will continue to November because there are only two candidates in each race. If there were three or more, there would be a Top Two run-off in November unless one of the candidates received 50% plus 1 vote in the primary. But with only two in each race, the primary will decide our future supes on June 2.

I can tell by social media posts and personal conversations that many people do not realize this. We know primaries often have dismal turnouts, but that may be because voters think they’ll have another chance in November. And I guarantee you that in October, we will see multiple posts on Facebook asking who’s running for supervisor. Please make sure your friends understand the importance of this primary.

In District 3, cattle rancher and volunteer firefighter Steve Zane is the incumbent. Zane was appointed when he was the only applicant for the seat left empty when Pati Nolen resigned. Zane is a nice guy and I like him personally. He would be super handy if the Admin Building caught fire during a meeting, like if someone’s pants were ablaze, which I’m surprised hasn’t happened yet.

I attended a Zane meet and greet here in Manton and asked him a bunch of questions. The most important was, “If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during the next four years?” He had no answer, so I rephrased it to, “What will your main focus or priorities be?” He still had no answer and I asked “NOTHING?” He said, “Lots of things.” “Please name one.” “I just want to stop the chaos and for things to go smoothly.” Oooooookay.

He was referring to the whole Pati Nolen Drama, of course, but that “chaos” stopped the minute she resigned. He has been in that seat since December and it’s concerning that he has not found something to run on.

His opponent, former Public Guardian/Public Administrator (and wife of our elected sheriff,) Melani Kain, had a hard time answering that question, too, but for the opposite reason. There are many things she wants to focus on, but she narrowed it down to three.

“First, I’d like to see open communication between the county and the community so people can be informed, heard, and involved. Second, I want to strengthen the culture for county employees so they know they are valued and supported. Third, public safety is vital for communities to survive. Public safety is a main concern for any business or family considering a move to Tehama County.” Good answer.

In District 4, we have former Corning City Councilmember/former Red Bluff City Manager Susie Price challenging retired police officer and incumbent Matt Hansen. Four years ago, I was a huge supporter of Hansen’s. He was running against entrenched Bob Williams on a platform of groundwater protection and the clean-up of the Special Fibers disaster in Corning. How’s all that going? Not well.

Since taking office, he has shown a side of himself we didn’t know existed and it ain’t pretty. Anyone who has read this column for a year or three is familiar with his…ahem…virtues. The personal vendettas, the generosity with our tax dollars towards friends, the FPPC complaint against the sheriff, his inexplicable loyalty to a terrible County Counsel, Tumblergate, and so much more. We are facing an $11 million budget deficit. He has done nothing to improve it except try to get a public safety tax on the ballot this year.

Susie Price has a decades-long history of fiscal responsibility from her many jobs in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Her resume is beyond impressive and she is not afraid to take out a red pen and start cutting expenditures, which is never easy, but definitely needed.

Both women, Kain and Price, have more experience in and knowledge of local governmental structure and procedure than any current supe. They are very different people, with different leadership styles and skill sets. But I think they will compliment each other and balance the Board of Supervisors. Wisdom from experience and the fresh faces and ideas that were elected in 2024. Let’s try it, shall we? What we have now is not working.

Big news! The two parrots at Bob’s Tire on Walnut in Red Bluff are now hanging out together in the same cage. We have been loyal customers at Bob’s for decades and I love engaging with the birds while waiting for my new tires or rotation or whatever I need that day.

One parrot is an African Grey and the other is green (maybe some variety of Amazon? I am not up on my parrots.) They both had “partners” who have passed away over the years and everyone thought different types of parrots would fight, so they have been in huge adjacent cages for years now.

The crew was doing some floor work and they moved the cages back into the office and opened the cage doors so they could get out and walk around. Instead Bob (Green) moved into Lance’s (Grey) cage and that was that. The Odd Couple.

Both birds seem happy with the new arrangement, and Bob was very talkative and blowing kisses when I was there Wednesday, (but I trust neither with my fingers). A lesson for the humans: if these two can put aside their superficial differences, maybe we can, too. Nah, we’re birdbrains.

And speaking of differences, how about this June primary? It’s about as different as they get. I’ll put the local stuff aside for now, because we must discuss the two Congressional races. We have the normal 2-year term Primary and a Special Election to finish the late Doug LaMalfa’s term. There are three main candidates for both of the contests, James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), Audrey Denney (D-Chico), and Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg). Prop. 50 changed California’s Congressional District lines and that’s where it gets squirrelly.

The Special Election adheres to the current lines and McGuire does not live in our district, while Gallagher lives out of district for the 2-year Primary. It is legal for them to run out of district, but it feels wrong to me. Denney is the only major candidate who actually lives within both old and new district lines of CA D-1.

I have problems with McGuire. He allegedly helped draw the new district lines because he wanted LaMalfa’s seat and it was just serendipitous for him when LaMalfa passed away unexpectedly. Lately McGuire has resorted to running a hit-piece tv ad against Denney in which she is accused of having supported State Senator Brian Dahle, which he implies makes her MAGA, which is laughable. And it wouldn’t hurt her in this currently ruby red district anyway. McGuire reminds me of what you’d get if you asked AI to create the typical Democrat. Good looking, polished, inauthentic.

So, who will win which race? One of the male carpetbaggers or the progressive farmgirl who stays in her lane? My guess is Gallagher for the Special Election and McGuire for the Primary. Audrey Denney will have my vote in both. Did I mention she doesn’t take corporate PAC money? If I did, sorry, but it’s important.

Action News Now will broadcast a live debate with McGuire, Gallagher and Denney Sunday at 8pm on Channel 24. Our own Tehama County Supervisor Greg Jones will be one of the moderators along with Addison Winslow of the Chico City Council.

On Tuesday’s Supervisors’ Closed Session Agenda, there is an item for an Interim Executive Director of Health Services. Interim? Our HS Director, Jayme Bottke, is leaving? Say it ain’t so! I have always liked Bottke. We are not personal friends, but she has always been friendly to me and I have great respect for her. She has done a terrific job balancing state and federal mandates with our endless financial crunch in a time where funding has slowed to a trickle or stopped completely. She comes prepared to address the board, often fielding unrelated questions and answering in a way even dummies like me can understand.

However, there are some questions about her departure. In January of this year, Bottke negotiated a raise to her contract which was backdated to November of 2024. It was a mid-contract raise (not a renewal) with a retroactive payment to over a year prior. I personally cannot remember that ever happening on any other contract. Now, a few months later, she is leaving us. The raise, because it was backdated, also raises whatever her pension will be, because it’s been in place over a year. I’m sure someone has a reason why this is not “pension spiking”. I emailed Bottke and asked, but have not yet received a response. But she’s a busy gal and I’m sure she’ll clear this up for us.

My annual fundraiser is in full swing and thank you to those who have already participated. Three terrific organizations will be splitting all commissions from my home-based Neora biz for the month of May.

First is SPOT - Stray Pets of Tehama. Their mission is “Helping Homeless Animals Get A Better Life” by improving the welfare and creating public awareness of homeless animals in Tehama County. They organize fostering and subsidize medical attention and equipment for animals that come to the shelter with special needs.

Second is Deserving Pets Rescue, whose mission is to take in injured animals or those in need of medical care, primarily from our local shelter. They rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome these animals.

Third is a new program called Red Bluff Spay a Stray. It’s a catch and release feral cat spay program and I am so excited to see this! Shout out to Carlene McCaughey who started this one with a very generous donation at Valley Vet. This is not an actual non-profit - just a fund to help pay for the procedures and there are restrictions. Contact them for the skinny.

All these groups have info on their Facebook pages linked above and if you don’t want the skincare or wellness products I swear by and use every day, you can donate directly to them and that is totally cool by me. But if you’d like to look and feel better, visit my website lizmerry.neora.com or email me at lizmerry58@gmail.com and I will help you figure out what might be best for you - and how to get the best deal!

Thank you for helping the critters! And yourself.

Have you got your garden planted yet? I started a bunch of seeds a while back, but they did not fare well and just the sunflowers and one zucchini survived. I picked up some starts of my favorite tomatoes, peppers, and one basil plant at Wyntour Gardens and will direct sow the pumpkins, which will be everywhere I can squeeze them in. Mr. Standish has been rototilling compost into the garden areas between the mowing and weedeating. Busy boy. The critter holes-turned-crevasses by Swamper the hound/lab make every step a potential broken ankle. Country living at its finest!

Last year, we lost a lot of food to critters, but our adorable little kittens are now a year old, so it’s a whole new ball game. Mama Kitty has taught them well and they are ruthless and cunning hunters, as evidenced by the rodent cadavers carpeting the yard. We’ll still gopher cage everything for the subterranean thieves.

This week’s column is being typed at the Public Library in Red Bluff because I had a morning meeting and was scheduled to catch up with some old friends in Los Molinos in the afternoon. The Library was the perfect place to bang out a few paragraphs in between.

I am seated at a long high table in the Teen Room that is against a wall which is literally falling apart before my eyes. Water had pushed through the cinder block walls and interior paint. There are chunks of paint and mortar(?) on the floor.

Inspecting further, there is minor damage to some other walls, but this one, on the south side of the building, is in need of help like yesterday. A wonderful librarian told me moisture is seeping in from outside. They had the entire wall sealed and now the inside walls need to be scraped and repainted. She told me they should be sealing it every year, but their budget will probably only allow for every other year.

There are those who believe all funding of this vital and treasured public resource should be eliminated while we are facing the largest county budget deficit ever. I disagree, but even if the Board of Supervisors chooses to cut some funding, simple maintenance of county assets needs to be a priority. A $3,000 fix can turn into $50,000 in the blink of an eye.

At Tuesday’s BOS meeting, people showed up to complain about the coming water fees, as expected. They were not farmers, who will pay almost all of the Groundwater Sustainability budget going forward. The speakers were regular folks who will each pay the $5.37 a year that all rural residential property owners with one domestic well in one of the managed subbasins will pay, if the fees are passed. Urban users will pay $4.02.

The mailers to explain and offer a chance to protest have not gone out yet, so most people are not even aware of what’s coming. And yes, it’s just a few bucks a year. But these folks are against it in principle, and will eventually be joined by the thousands who ignore the mailers and then freak out when an extra $5.37 shows up on their property tax bills.

I did some quick math and came up with the following. There are approximately 11,000 domestic wells in the county - most of them in one of the managed subbasins. Add all the urban user connections and that’s maybe another 10,000? Subtracting the Assessor’s fee of $1.99 per bill, you get a ballpark average of $2.40 per domestic user. 22,000 (urban and rural users), multiplied by $2.40 gives us $52,800 towards an inadequately estimated annual budget of $1,1178,000 for operations and administration of the Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Ag will pay the remaining $1,125,200.

Do we really need to charge domestic users for such an insignificant amount of groundwater? Are we really going to split up 52 grand into 22,000 pieces? There is no question that everyone who uses groundwater will benefit from its management. Everyone is paying the same amount - $2.70 per acre foot according to assumed volume of use. However, we are finding “assumed volume” is not what our consultants have been reporting.

I got hold of DWR’s groundwater extraction numbers for 2022, the latest year for which they are available, because DWR always runs about 3 years behind. Wait - isn’t that where our consultants, Luhdorff and Scalmanini Consulting Engineers get their estimates? That’s what I thought, Strawman, but I was wrong. DWR’s numbers are more accurate than LSCE’s, of course. They show that countywide domestic use is much less than what has been reported in our Annual Updates. For 2022, domestic use was estimated by LSCE at 14,783 acre feet in just 4 of the 7 subbasins - Corning, Red Bluff, Los Molinos and Antelope. DWR says it was 4,723af for the entire county! That is quite a discrepancy.

While the reported domestic use has risen steadily, the Ag use reported has mostly decreased, even though we know that “bearing acreage” has increased in almost all crops (olives have remained about the same since 2021). That is straight from the Tehama Crop Report, which does not even count baby trees that do not yet produce, but still need water, of course.

So what is going on here? Our consultants tell us they merely estimate use which makes sense. They can;t know actual numbers because most use is not metered. But why aren’t they taking the data from DWR and extrapolating that forward three years, considering precipitation, temperatures, humidity, crops, all the things highly paid experts should be factoring in. Much more to come on this to come, including the fact that the county may not be able to legally charge de minimis users at all. Another rabbit hole into which I will soon descend. EAT ME. DRINK ME. Don’ t mind if I do, Alice.

Every year in May I do a fundraiser with my home-based business. This year I have two non-profits in mind, but I can’t decide between them, so I’m going 50/50. They are both committed to helping critters in different ways, but I haven’t OKd anything with them yet. I will clue you in all about that next week.

Have fun at the Fair!