November 2006 Archives
California voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 84, a $5.4 billion bond measure for clean water and coastal protection that I would have pushed hard for were I not playing journalist these days. And I was worried about it -- 84 had been polling inauspiciously.
Coincidentally, the story I wrote about Jessica Hall and her search for L.A.'s buried streams is on the cover this week. Money from 84 could go to some of the projects discussed in this story: It's been earmarked for projects that prevent toxic runoff from entering the ocean -- which in many ways means returning natural waterways to as close to their natural state as possible. Nature already did what infrastructure continually fails to do. I began researching this story thinking that Hall's ambitions were sort of far off and visionary, but over the six months I spent figuring it out, daylighting streams began to seem like an utterly sensible way to fix our urban water problems. I'm hoping people get that from the story.
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With over 70 percent of the vote counted in California, the water bond (84) is winning with 53 percent and change; the developer-serving Prop 90 is going down with less than 47 percent, and Rep. Richard Pombo, chairman of the House Resources Committee and foe since the early '90s of kit foxes, spotted owls and ethical behavior, is losing handily to newcomer Jerry McInerney in District 11. Sure, the oil tax is failing -- people vote their pocketbooks, after all -- but where it counts Californians have voted for green and open space, clean water and environmental responsibility. All the infrastructure bond bills are sailing through, too. Kinda makes you proud to live here, Republican Governor and all.
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Archives
- CHIODOS, EMERY, SCARY KIDS SCARING KIDS AND THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA11/1 at Avalon
- PHIL LESH & FRIENDS JACKIE GREEN, LARRY CAMPBELL, JOHN MOTO AND STEVE MOLITZ9/22 at Santa Barbara Bowl
- 10/14/07 THE CURE POSTPONED HOLLYWOOD BOWL LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA10/14 at Hollywood Bowl
- GRAND OL' ECHO12/30 at Echo
- HAPPY HOLLOWS MONDAY NIGHT RESIDENCY9/24 at Echo
- DJ SET WITH MANDALA11/28 at Amoeba Music
