After a season when “tons” of water saturated the dry Golden State, filling or overflowing rivers, lakes and reservoirs, California Gov. Jerry Brown finally lifted the drought declaration, notes Grumpy Editor.
Brown declared the emergency in 2014 and officials later ordered mandatory conservation for the first time in state history.
But now, brown grass has given way to green and residents, with lifted restrictions, can now take longer showers.
However, rather than building more reservoirs to cope with increased water usage from growing population and more farming, keeping an eye on conservation will continue, say state officials who don’t seem to be concerned about precious Golden State water being wasted by flowing to the Pacific Ocean.
Over recent months, billions of gallons of water are being released from lakes and rivers, even including the Los Angeles River, to avert flooding. Some areas discharge water to protect endangered smelt and salmon.
Water conservation will be a way of life in California, reminds Felicia Marcus, who heads the State Water Resources Control Board. “This drought has been one for the record books, but it won’t be our last or longest,” she predicts.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
On the campus front: A bill before a Vermont House committee would protect student journalists and their media advisers. It calls for content not to be suppressed because it involves political or controversial subject matter or is critical of the school or its administration. Meanwhile, colleges, seeing an upswing in demand for creative writing courses, are adding writing programs to accommodate interest in that area. The number of schools offering bachelor's degrees in creative writing has jumped to 733 from three in 1975, according to the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, an industry group based at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly's new book Old School: Life in the Sane Lane debuts on top of the New York Times bestseller list amid reports that 21st Century Fox, parent company of Fox News, paid millions of dollars to five women who accused O'Reilly of sexual harassment…How much did you make in your current or last job? The New York City Council votes legislation that bans employers from asking job applicants that question…Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. eliminates 289 jobs at its newspapers amid a decline in print readership and advertising revenue…Oops! A 58-year-old pilot was arrested on suspicion of operating an aircraft while under the influence after he landed his single-engine Piper on the warehouse parking lot of fashion designer Michael Kors distribution center, Whittier, Calif…A global coalition of tech leaders, academic institutions, nonprofits and funders, including Facebook, Mozilla and Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark, are behind a $14 million initiative to combat declining trust in news media and advance news literacy. It will be administered by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism…Adults over 18 years old watched 27.1 billion minutes of cable news in 2016, a 44 percent jump from the 18.8 billion minutes in 2015, according to a Nielsen report…A newspaper at the Mexican border city Juarez is shutting down because rampant killings of journalists in the area have made it too dangerous for operations to continue...Look for bank shareholders stirring at Wells Fargo's annual meeting April 25 after Institutional Shareholder Services says the majority of the bank's board of directors should be removed because of lack of oversight on the recent sales practices scandal...Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein will reunite at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner with a speech defending “a free and independent press”…Added ingredient: A consumer in Florida reported finding a dead bat in a packaged salad mix.
Sharp headline over a Wall Street Journal story on the razor business:
Gillette, in Change, Shaves Prices
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