Grumpy Editor

NO DROUGHT TALK IN CALIFORNIA --- THIS MONTH

Heading into spring, California soon will be concerned (an annual ritual) about its water supply, especially with the influx of millions of new residents since the last reservoir was constructed in 1979, observed Grumpy Editor.

Since that last reservoir --- New Melones in Calaveras County --- went operational, California has added 15 million people.

An upcoming reservoir, the Pacheco Reservoir in southeast Santa Clara County, is in the works but completion is more than a decade away.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack, source of about one-third of California’s water supply, last week was up 161 percent from its historical average for that date and up from just 69 percent on New Year’s Day.

Every major reservoir in California is at or above its historic average, and some, like San Luis, east of Gilroy, were full.

The 10 largest reservoirs in California were built between 1927 and 1979.

Shasta Lake, the massive inland sea on the Sacramento River, was completed in 1945. Oroville, the tallest dam in the country at 770-feet on the Feather River in Butte County, was finished in 1968.

Until more reservoirs are built, much California water runoff continues to flow into the Pacific Ocean.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

SOME STATES EYE DUMPING DST.  With daylight saving time kicking in yesterday, some states were mulling joining Hawaii and most of Arizona to opt out of a system established more than 100 years ago. Considering staying permanently on standard time: California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. 

NORTH KOREA NUKE SITE BACK IN ACTION.  In the wake of summit talks last month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea appeared to restore normal operations at a long-range rocket launch site it partially dismantled last year as part of what was claimed to be disarmament steps, declared U.S. analysts. 

 

TORNADO SENDS BILLBOARD 20 MILES.  A fierce tornado with 170 m.p.h. winds that blasted southeastern Alabama were so strong a billboard sign was sent flying 20 miles into neighboring Hamilton, Georgia.

 

GOAT NAMED HONORARY MAYOR.  Fair Haven, Vermont elected a three-year-old Nubian goat named Lincoln that edged out a victory over Sammie the dog.  As the town's first honorary pet mayor, Lincoln will attend special events throughout the year. 

 

NEW JERSEY CITY FROWNS ON BARKING. Saddle River, N.J. seeks to clamp down on excessive dog barking, proposing an ordinance that would prohibit loud, continuous barking for over 20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.  It would be stricter at night, with penalties kicking in for barking lasting more than 15 minutes from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (Officials didn't say how they plan to muzzle barking canines.)

 

DNC NIXES FOX NEWS ON DEBATES.  The Democratic National Committee nixed Fox News hosting any 2020 Democrat primary debates, citing the network's "inappropriate relationship with President Donald Trump."

 

RECORD WET WINTER.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said from December to February (what it calls winter), the lower 48 states received 9.01 inches of rain and snow --- 2.22 inches more than the 20th century normal. Record or almost record rain and snow fell in the West, Tennessee Valley and parts of the Great Lakes. 

 

MILWAUKEE GREETS NEW SPORTS EDITOR.    Louisa Boardman has been named the third sports editor in the history of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She started her career with Milwaukee newspapers in 1985.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

California lifts ‘drought’ as wasted water continues

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

 

 

 

AP still sees California 'in midst of a drought'

Grumpy Editor observed keeping the California drought “alive” seems to be the goal of some journalists as was the case over the weekend with an Associated Press story with a second paragraph that read: “California is, in fact, in midst of a drought. Last year capped the state's driest four-year period in its history, with record low rainfall and snow.”

“In midst of a drought?” Hey, California’s drought, despite what Gov. Jerry Brown and environmentalists say, is over.

That followed a lead that mentioned Donald Trump, at a Fresno rally, declared, “There is no drought.”  That brought cheers from those attending.

Trump accused state officials of denying water to central valley farmers so they can send it out to sea “to protect a certain kind of three-inch fish,” the AP story pointed out, adding that Trump said, “You have a water problem that is so insane. It is so ridiculous where they’re taking the water and shoving it out to sea.”

Grumpy Editor found the much-heralded El Niño in recent months brought almost the normal average snow pack to California's Sierra Nevada. Snow serves as a reservoir with slow release of water over a long period.

Water from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada is channeled to Southern California via the Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1913.

Meanwhile, going into spring, California's largest reservoir, Lake Shasta in Shasta County, rose above its average level for the first time in three years as did the state's second-largest, Lake Oroville in Butte County.

Other precious Golden State water is wasted.  Billions of gallons of water were released from Lake Folsom a few months ago --- to avert flooding.  Other areas discharged water to protect endangered smelt and salmon.  The dumped water simply flowed to the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific also gets a boost from the Los Angeles area where the Los Angeles River almost overflows from major rainstorms. Its much-sought contents also ends up in the ocean rather than into additional reservoirs that should be, but somehow are never built, to provide water storage for drought periods.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

With Memorial Day today --- honoring those who died in military service --- a Watters' World segment on the Fox News Channel found most people, when asked about the holiday, knew little about what it represents...Vietnam War veterans probably mumbled a few choice words on learning President Barack Obama, on his visit last week to Hanoi, lifted the U.S. embargo on selling arms to the former enemy...So how is the U.S. economy?   A new Fed report found nearly one in four workers juggles two jobs and one in three workers has no retirement savings or pension...With more than five months to the national elections, MSNBC and CNN during the week continued to spend much time with multiple talking heads focusing mostly on anti-Trump chatter that often produces laughs to knowledgeable viewers.  Those two channels also provided heavy coverage of protesters outside of Trump gatherings while other newsworthy national and international happenings were not covered ...Time-consuming work by David Goldstein, investigative reporter for CBS2/KCAL9, Los Angeles, compared millions of voting records from the California Secretary of State’s office with death records from the Social Security Administration and found hundreds of dead voters in Southern California, most in Los Angeles County.  The finding did not make national headlines...The New York Times sent out voluntary buyout packages to some of its employees working in its newsroom and business department...Former governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee faced Fox News cameras again on Thursday, filling in for Sean Hannity...Tribune Publishing nixed a second takeover bid from Gannett Co. --- but said it is open to further talks...Biggest concern with Americans:  economy, jobs, security, taxes?  Guess again.  The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial last week, declared "climate change is the most pressing issue of our time." 

 

Television's highly-rated 1977 newspaper drama “Lou Grant,” starring Ed Asner as a gruff TV news editor, made it to DVD last week. 

 

 

 

 

Calif. gets high precipitation, but 'never enough'

Grumpy Editor finds good news often is followed by a sentence starting with "but."  Such was the case Friday with a story reporting El Niño in recent months brought much precipitation to California's Sierra Nevada, where the snow pack reached 87 percent of the long-term average.

Snow serves as a reservoir with slow release over a long period.

The "but" in this case read:  "But the drought is still far from over especially in Southern California."

The writer overlooked that water from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada is channeled to Southern California via the Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1913.

Other precious water for the Golden State is wasted.  Billions of gallons of water were released from Lake Folsom a few months ago --- to avert flooding.  Other areas released water to protect endangered smelt and salmon.

The dumped water flows to the Pacific Ocean.

In the Los Angeles area, the Los Angeles River almost overflows from major rainstorms as its much-sought contents also ends up in the Pacific rather than into additional reservoirs that should be, but somehow are never built to provide water storage for drought periods.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

Don't read this if you believe in global warming:  Mid-April weekend weather in the Denver area brought up to 14 inches of snow and as much as four feet of the frozen white flakes in the mountains.  However, in weather coverage TV news focused on a tornado in Oklahoma...Not much wound up in print or broadcast reports about the microphone in front of  Ted Cruz suddenly cutting off during his speech, and was never fixed by Fox News, at a New York City GOP gala Thursday night.  Viewers then heard his voice "bounced" in the room with clicking of glasses and table chatter mixed in.  Strange...Billionaire hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen, who heads Point72 Asset Management, pledged $275 million to build clinics offering free mental health care to veterans and their families. Plans call for 20 to 25 clinics across the country in the next three to five years, with the first ones opening in July, reported Stars and Stripes...Fortune said Delta Air Lines abruptly stopped charging extra for booking seats offline.  "It is much simpler for our customers to not have to worry if they will pay a fee for ticketing with Delta," Glen Hauenstein, Delta's incoming president, said...General Motors announced it will move production of a new vehicle out of its Orion township assembly plant in Michigan to a factory in Kansas...Donald Trump said he will not go to this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 30.  The GOP presidential front runner attended the affair in 2011 and was the butt of many of President Obama's jokes in the president’s speech, and again last year...Notice that TV news editors are fascinated with protesters shouting and waving signs outside political rallies, especially when Trump is speaking inside?...The swing away from using coal pushed St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp., largest U.S. miner, to declare bankruptcy...The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved paying $42 million to implode the Riviera Hotel/Casino in two phases, June and August.  The Strip attraction opened in 1955 at a cost of  $8.5 million…Matthew Keys, a former social media editor at Reuters, was sentenced to two years in prison for helping hackers break into the Los Angeles Times website in 2010.

Really?

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted drivers will pay an average of $2.04 per gallon this summer for regular gasoline.

But look for much higher prices at the pump in California and Nevada.

Calif. Gov. Brown pushes for more brown in Golden State

California, known to be first in the nation with new methods to pry extra dollars from residents’ wallets, now is aiming fines up to $500 a day from those who waste water washing cars, watering lawns and landscaping, notes Grumpy Editor.

Obviously dirty cars and brown landscapes will be the “in” look now in the Golden State  --- with the blame pinned on the drought which is gaining much media attention. 

After finding conservation measures failing to achieve a 20 percent water reduction use sought by Gov. Jerry Brown, the State Water Resources Board last week approved fines for urban dwellers who overwater. 

“Out goal here is to light a fire under those who aren’t taking the drought seriously,” said a WRB official.  California’s new public service slogan:  Brown is the new green.

Los Angeles already has overwatering penalties of up to $600.  But in Glendora, 26 miles east of Los Angeles, voluntarily withholding water on outside greenery posed another problem.  A water-conserving couple with a wilted front lawn in Glendora received a letter from that city last week threatening a $500 penalty for not watering their lawn, giving them 60 days to “keep their landscaping looking healthy and green” in order to correct a “potential public nuisance problem.”

Already, though, Santa Cruz is bending for residents socked with hefty water fines.  Overwaterers can attend the “Santa Cruz Water School,” a free class that eliminates all water penalties, if successfully completed.  Among topics: how to read a water meter.

And regarding the much-talked-about drought:

California always has had years of varying precipitation.  Focusing on Los Angeles, while the 2012-2013 rainfall season saw only 5.85 inches of rain, two years prior brought no mentions of drought as 20.20 inches of rain drenched the area.  About double that --- close to a hefty 40 inches of rain --- were measured in 2004-2005, a season that triggered media headlines and photos showing flooded roads, tumbling hillsides and sliding homes.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Drought headlines may soon take a back seat.  Risk of earthquakes rises for one third of the U.S., warned an update from the U.S. Geological Survey.  States with the highest risk of shakers:  California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alaska and Hawaii…Inflation indicator:  A Rasmussen Reports survey tallied 88 percent of American adults said they are paying more for groceries this year than last year, up six points from last month and the highest since May, 2012…Lost among soccer stories:  Baseball still grabs attention as the All Star Game last Tuesday averaged more than 11.3 million Fox viewers to the American League’s 5-3 win.  That’s up from 11 million last year…Politico reported former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney joined the Washington Speakers Bureau which could result in payments of up to $100,000 per speech…A Hong Kong investor group has acquired a majority stake in Forbes Media LLC, which includes Forbes magazine.  Steve Forbes, chairman and editor in chief, will continue with the operation.

 

DOES THE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER READ NEWSPAPERS, WATCH TV?  Despite bold headlines and lead broadcast stories on thousands of illegals crossing the porous border from Mexico, Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declared, “the border is secure.”  Responding to that, Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff Paul Babeu, highly involved with the illegal border crossers, said Reid is “completely devoid of reality.”

Fresh Colorado River water flows from dry U.S. to Mexico

A noteworthy event not getting much media attention in parched Western states dependent on Colorado River for water is the release --- which started March 23 --- of that river’s output through Mexico’s Morelos Dam, near Yuma, Ariz.  That water is now gushing southward from the U.S. border toward the Gulf of California, observes Grumpy Editor. 

The reason?

As an Associated Press story puts it: “Conservationists hope the water will bring back trees, wildlife and aquatic life that were once abundant in the region when it was teeming with water decades ago.”

With recent, heavily-played stories on how the Colorado River flow ---along with a lower water level at Lake Mead near Las Vegas --- is ebbing and residents of the seven dependent “dry” states, including California, Nevada and Arizona, being told to be frugal with water usage, one wonders about the timing of the release, or "pulse," of water that started a week ago, reaching its peak Thursday when water rushed through the south-of-the-border dam at about 4,200 cubic-feet per second.

A Las Vegas Sun story on the Web yesterday paints a glum future of Lake Mead, fed by the Colorado River.  “Lake Mead is drying up. At the rate we use water in the valley, the reservoir — the largest in the country --- could be drained and arid by 2050,” reads the lead.

Earlier, a New York Times story in January focuses on the 1,450-mile Colorado River “being sapped by 14 years of drought nearly unrivaled in 1,250 years” with the writer adding, “many experts believe the current drought is only the harbinger of a new, drier era in which the Colorado’s flow will be substantially and permanently diminished.”

The current water release, expected to last until May 18 into Mexico, stems from an addendum to a 1944 treaty that defines how the U.S. and Mexico share the Colorado River.  The addendum calls for a five-year pilot program to provide a total of 158,088 acre-feet of water to the lower river and its delta. 

South of Morelos Dam, the water channel travels about 75 miles to the Gulf of California.

The fresh release of Colorado River water into Mexico triggers an excited Los Angeles Times writer to report, “The water experiment has gone so well that it's spilling over banks and into secondary canals. The seeds of willows and cottonwoods, which rain down this time of year, have been riding the currents. Normally, they would just collect in the arid riverbed.” 

The writer concludes:  “After the release ends, experts from both countries will study its effects. Will water be left standing or will it be absorbed into the soil? No one knows.” 

 

In case you missed these…

TIMES CHANGE AS CALIFORNIA GOES TO ‘POT.’   As California seeks to ask voters to consider lawful access to marijuana, veteran movie fans may recall Robert Mitchum (appearing in 106 films), regarded as one of the top actors during the movies’ Golden Age, in 1948 was arrested for possession of a marijuana cigarette at a Hollywood party.  It brought front-page coverage for days and resulted in Mitchum getting a week in Los Angeles County Jail plus 43 days at a California prison farm.

 

‘BRIDGEGATE’ EPISODE CONTINUES FOR CHRISTIE.  Friday afternoon saw lengthy live coverage of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fielding media questions as the “bridgegate” saga continues.  Cable channels MSNBC and Fox News go live with the press conference that went on…and on.  Fox finally breaks away, but delighted MSNBC stays on until the end.  And what was CNN doing at that time?  It continues to probe the Malaysian “Mystery of Flight 370.”

 

SEE HARRY, PERHAPS ASK A QUESTION, BUT IT’LL COST YOU.  The Las Vegas Review-Journal is urging readers, via print promotion notices and emails, to attend an April 17 luncheon the newspaper is backing where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will field questions at a luncheon in a major Strip casino’s ballroom.  The fee to view Harry in action:  $40.

 

U.S. MOVIE TICKET SALES CONTINUE DOWNWARD.  It’s no big surprise, considering the quality of most scripts (often cartoons or requiring smashed cars) these days, that the number of movie tickets sold between 2004 and 2013 declines nearly 11 percent.  However, with higher ticket prices, box office revenue rises 17 percent.

 

LONG-TIME CBS CORRESPONDENT TO RETIRE.  Bob Fuss in May exits the CBS Radio Network where he has been Capitol Hill correspondent since 1998. Fuss also covered national political conventions since 1976 and has traveled on presidential campaigns since 1980. 

 

PAPER DELIVERY DELAYED.  Two men are nabbed in Cadillac, Mich. after a night of drunken revelry that includes driving off in a Cadillac News delivery truck, leaving a trail of bundled papers that fell off the open back end.

N.Y. Times story omits Mexico gulps Colorado River water

With “global warming” getting socked following an ice-stuck Russian ship with “warming” followers aboard during summertime in the Antarctic along with record cold over most of the U.S. last week plus Southern California getting another round of earthquake perils stories, media are turning to another periodic nature-triggered standby:  drought, with a lengthy New York Times feature as a prime example, notes Grumpy Editor.

The N.Y. Times story focuses on the 1,450-mile Colorado River “being sapped by 14 years of drought nearly unrivaled in 1,250 years.” 

(One wonders who was measuring the river flow going back to 728 years before Columbus discovered America.) 

N.Y. Times writer Michael Wines relates “many experts believe the current drought is only the harbinger of a new, drier era in which the Colorado’s flow will be substantially and permanently diminished.” 

(The Colorado River depends mainly on Rocky Mountains snow melt.  Precipitation varies from year to year, as any meteorologist will explain.  Thus, a period of low measurement could be followed by an above-average or a record-breaking tally.) 

Most interesting in the N.Y. Times piece is that while citing the Colorado River provides water to Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada and California ---  and that drought-linked possible rationing lies ahead --- a vital missing word in the article is Mexico.

Mexico siphons 1.5 million acre-feet out of the 16.5 million acre-feet per year from the Colorado River and Lake Mead, stemming from appropriations in a 1944 treaty.  That’s five times the allotment of a skimpy 300,000 acre-feet annually for the whole state of Nevada, not just Las Vegas as reported by some media.

 

In case you missed these…

FAST WORK BY MAJOR TV NETWORKS.  Media Research Center President Brent Bozell points out how the big three TV networks jumped on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the bridge traffic case by devoting “17 times more coverage to this story in one day, one day, than they devoted to the IRS scandal in six months."

A NO-NO IN NEWSPAPERS BUT OKAY ON THE BIG SCREEN.  Current showing of the Martin Scorsese-directed film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," contains more than 500 utterances of the f-word.  Now, that’s entertainment and explains why the repeated word contributes to the footage extending to three hours.

“MADE IN CHINA” FOOTAGE STANDS IN FOR L.A.  “Here,” a currently-playing film, snubs the real City of the Angels with scenes of a future Los Angeles --- shot in Pudong, a district of Shanghai.

BUT WHAT WAS ON THE MENU?  In a simple move to offset Washington media’s frustration on the administration’s policy of limiting photos to those taken by the official White House photographer, press photographers last Wednesday were allowed to photograph a weekly President Obama-Vice President Biden lunch meeting.

SUNDAY MORNING NEWS SHOWS REACH MILESTONES.  CBS’ Face the Nation, is now in its 60^th year on the network.  The program expanded to one hour in many markets in 2012 and became the most watched Sunday public affairs program for the 2012-2013 season.  Bob Schieffer has been at the helm for the past 23 years.  NBC’s “Meet the Press,” longest running similar Sunday offering, marks 67 years later in 2014.

TV NEWS VIEWERS FADE.  Pew Research analysis of Nielsen Media Research figures show TV network news viewers fell to 24.5 million last year from an average 48 million in 1985.   The findings note the 18 to 29 age group is the least likely to watch network news regularly --- just 11 percent did so in 2012 --- and 49 percent in that category say they never watch TV news.

MAGAZINE COVER STORIES FOCUS ON CLUTTER.  “Get Cash for Your Clutter” is in Woman’s Day, with a two-pager in the February issue, while Better Homes and Gardens features “Clutter Nightmares Solved” spread over five pages in the January issue.

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