The water wars + Psychedelic decriminalization a no go + College vaccine mandates
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
CALIFORNIA CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS PITCH NEWSOM ON SHASTA DAM EXPANSION
California’s Republican congressional delegation, led by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, has opened up a new front in the state’s ongoing water wars, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to support the expansion of the Shasta Dam.
“Raising Shasta Dam would improve water supply reliability for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental uses, improve Sacramento River temperatures and water quality below the dam for salmon survival, increase the generation of hydroelectric power, and reduce the risk of flood damage,” the letter reads in part.
It notes that despite support from past Democrats, ranging from then-Gov. Gray Davis to then-President Bill Clinton, Newsom’s opposition to the dam enlargement appears to be “because it is presumed the project would have an adverse effect on the free-flowing condition of the McCloud River, or on its wild trout fishery.”
The letter says that there has been no “objective, scientific analysis” that raising the dam 18.5 feet would impact the free-flowing condition of the McCloud.
In light of Newsom’s recently stated goal of increasing above-and below-ground water storage by 3.7 million acre-feet, the letter makes three recommendations to the governor:
- Reconsider its opposition to the Shasta Dam enlargement project.
- Allow local water districts to partner with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to advance the project.
- Work with the Legislature to amend state law if necessary to make sure the project can be advanced as quickly as possible.
WIENER VOWS TO TRY AGAIN WITH PSYCHEDELICS DECRIMINALIZATION
A bill to decriminalize possession and use of small quantities of certain psychedelic drugs has met the ultimate buzzkill: The Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The committee used the suspense process to amend the SB 519, behind closed doors, so that now it simply authorizes a feasibility study.
The bill’s author, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, was not happy with the decision but refused to declare defeat.
“While I am extremely disappointed by this result, I am looking forward to reintroducing this legislation next year and continuing to make the case that it’s time to end the War on Drugs. Psychedelic drugs, which are not addictive, have incredible promise when it comes to mental health and addiction treatment. We are not giving up.”
KILEY CALLS ON HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS TO END VACCINE MANDATES
The University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges systems should lift the requirement that students, staff and visitors be vaccinated against COVID-19, Rocklin Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley said in a letter to their offices.
Kiley, who is running for Congress, said that recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance makes it clear.
“To maintain mandates at any California college or university is to enforce a policy of exclusion without any rational basis,” Kiley wrote
Kiley is referencing an Aug. 11 CDC memo which said that “COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections occur.”
The CDC continues to promote the importance of of being up to date with COVID-19 vaccination “to protect people against serious illness, hospitalization, and death.”
Kiley notes in his letter that California lawmakers have held off on imposing a vaccine mandate in educational settings, and the Newsom called off plans for a mandate in K-12 schools.
“There is a word for a policy that lacks a rational basis: Discrimination. And it should not go on at our institutions of higher learning for another day. I request that you rescind all COVID-19 vaccination requirements for students and staff immediately,” Kiley wrote.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Lotta talk about education & ‘choice’ from these GOP governors. Let’s look at the ‘choices’ they’re making. When states received new federal money, CA gave 3.5 million kids college savings accounts. Alabama spent it on two super-sized prisons. Actions speak louder than words.”
- Gov. Gavin Newsom, via Twitter.
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