SNWA Whistleblower Shows Ratepayers Bilked for Spring Valley Ranches (tags)
The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) has used rate hikes and government subsidies to purchase ranches at six times above market value to appear as landholders for water rights for their proposed pipeline. An employee of the SNWA turned whistleblower has come forward with evidence of bribery of local officials and yearly losses of money on the SNWA ranches. In related news Sen. Mike Roberson introduced SB 232 with bipartisan support to require greater transparency by the SNWA and would require the water authority to obtain approval from the PUC before increasing water rates.
Water Theft from Aquifers Benefit Developers at Expense of Ecosystems (tags)
Water theft from rural aquifers for the short term benefit of Las Vegas developers is a crime against the ecosystems and human communities that depend upon their water for survival. The theft of the aquifer water by SNWA is a sequel of the Owens Valley water grab by LADWP nearly a century ago. Any ELF actvists looking for training sites have over 200 miles of practice targets if this pipeline goes through. Maybe someone should send LADWP a message that water theft can be stopped by preventing transport. When the pipeline is ruptured in numerous places this water theft will become a more costly endeavor! The LADWP and SNWA needs to stop stealing water from aquifers and desert lakes!
BLM Support of SNWA Pipeline is "Pure Folly" (tags)
The decision last week by the BLM to support the SNWA pipeline shows their disregard for science and inability to protect species that are under their watch. The developers who plan projects like Coyote Springs 50 miles north of Las Vegas are dependent upon this pipeline, NOT Las Vegas. Just more hype so that some developers (Whittemore/Seeno/etc...) can profit at the expense of the desert spring ecosystems in Snake and Spring Valleys. There isn't enough water in these aquifers to support the suburban sprawl of Coyote Springs 100,000 homes, golf courses, etc...
Idle No More – Los Angeles (tags)
A common sentiment expressed by speakers was, “if we won't do it, who will?”
LADWP pulls leases under dry lake air monitors (tags)
They’re still doing it. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has, for decades, used its land ownership to manipulate life in the Owens Valley. The latest DWP maneuver cancels leases for land under three of the Air Pollution Control District’s Owens Dry Lake air monitors. LADWP doesn’t like what the air monitors are showing.
Spring Snails Survival Threatened by SNWA Pipeline (tags)
The spring snails of the Great Basin region are threatened by construction of the SNWA pipeline to Las Vegas. Spring snails are vital as primary consumer herbivores to reduce algae and thereby prevent eutrophication, also being the base of the trophic food web pyramid that supports trout, eagles and humans. Spring snails should be protected under ESA and are more valuable than golf courses and sprawl development north of Las Vegas.
Owens Lake Reminders for SNWA Pipeline’s Water Grab from Northern Aquifers (tags)
The recent decision by the NV State Engineer to support the SNWA's proposed pipeline follows the same tactics used by San Fernando Valley developers who removed water from Owens Lake and Valley by using deception and purchasing land and favors from government officials.
Roman (Polanski) Circus (tags)
What Roman Polanski did to a 13-year-old girl one afternoon 32 years ago was disgusting, but the amen chorus of hypocrites calling for his punishment is equally disgusting. Polanski is a victim of a long-standing vendetta against him by Los Angeles County law enforcement that began when they suspected him of the murder of his wife Sharon Tate and their friends, and his arrest in Switzerland and the calls for his punishment now have far more to do with vengeance than justice. It's time to stop the hypocrisy of so-called “feminists” and “child advocates” who claim to be standing up for the “victim” in the case — while the actual victim wants Polanski forgiven and the case forgotten. She’s right and the people howling for Polanski’s head are wrong.