Kings County Superior Court Judge Kathy Ciuffini issued a restraining order to temporarily halt state-mandated probationary groundwater monitoring and reporting requirements for all water users in the Tulare Lake Groundwater Subbasin. The order was issued Monday, July 15. Lawsuit Seeks Stop to State Intervention The order is the first handed down in a lawsuit […]
A judge’s tentative ruling issued Tuesday, July 2, makes it clear landowners in the Eastern Tule Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) are not legally obligated to pay the Friant Water Authority (FWA) a minimum of $200 million in fines for damage to the Friant-Kern Canal. Friant Says Eastern Tule Lax on Overpumping Penalties FWA contends […]
The first really big wildfires of 2024 broke out in California last month. At the start of June, two firefighters were injured, a home went up in flames and parts of Tracy were evacuated as more than 14,000 acres burned in the Corral Fire in San Joaquin County. That was June 1. Two weeks later, […]
Visalia City Hall wants its share of the cannabis tax revenue. But the city council isn’t ready, at least yet, to consider allowing storefront cannabis sales or, growing sites in the city limits. Cannabis Tax Could Go to the Voters in November On Monday, June 3, every member of the Visalia City Council voted […]
Directors of the Kings County Water District (KCWD) voted unanimously to sever the district’s relationship with the embattled Mid-Kings River Groundwater Sustainability Agency at a special meeting Wednesday, May 29. The change will take effect in 60 days on July 28. The departure caused an outcry from members of the agricultural community and municipal representatives. […]
Two swimmers injured during an accidental poisoning at a gym owned by the Tulare Local Health Care District (TLHCD) are seeking compensation for the fallout they say they’ve suffered since the June 27 incident last year. According to a 14-page filing in Tulare County Superior Court, Jose Josh Wee III and Ava Olsen have both […]
A second group of local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) is facing an evaluation by the State Water Board that could lead to a year-long probation and perhaps loss of local control of groundwater pumping in southwestern Tulare county. The first group of GSAs reported to be under consideration for probation was the Tulare Lake subbasin. […]
The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) will consider putting the five agencies that control groundwater in the Tulare Lake Subbasin on probation at a hearing set for 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16 in the state capital. Placing the agencies on probation is the final step before the SWRCB takes full control of […]
What if the return of Tulare Lake during last year’s storms wasn’t just the result of getting too much water too fast for the flood-control infrastructure to handle it? What if – instead of a blow to the local economy affecting the lives of the richest to the poorest – the refilling of Tulare Lake […]
Voters in the Tulare Local Health Care District (TLHCD) may be asked again to approve funding for the stalled hospital expansion project. Bond Plan Doesn’t Raise Taxes At their meeting Wednesday, January 24, TLHCD directors approved a resolution that may eventually lead to voters approving or disapproving $50 million in bond funding to finish […]