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Thursday, December 13, 2007
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Colorado Confidential: "In this political and social climate of anti-immigration hysteria, Latinos in the United States are feeling increasingly vulnerable and discriminated against - negative effects outlined in a new study by the Pew Hispanic Center. The lack of federal immigration reform, compounded by a dramatic increase in the number of deportations, workplace raids, and restrictive new state and local immigration laws take the hardest toll on foreign-born Latinos, the report finds. Two-thirds of foreign-born Hispanic adults worry they, a family member or a close friend could be deported, and nearly three-in-four say that due to Congress' failure to pass immigration reform, life is harder for all Latinos. More than half of native-born Latinos say life is more difficult now, and nearly a third worry someone they love could be deported."
"2008 pres"
6:51:06 PM 
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Denver Business Journal: "Nearly 1.1 million Coloradans are in families that will spend more than 10 percent of their pre-tax income on health care costs in 2008, according to a study released Thursday by FamiliesUSA, a Washington-based advocacy group. The study says that the cost of health care is becoming less affordable for Colorado families and consuming a greater portion of their budgets."
"2008 pres"
6:46:51 PM
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Political Wire: "The latest Rasmussen Reports survey in New Hampshire finds Mitt Romney still leading the Republican presidential race with 33% support, followed by Sen. John McCain at 18%, Rudy Giuliani at 15% and Mike Huckabee at 14%. As a result, the Granite State is one of the few places not seeing a Huckabee surge. Romney has held a firm lead there for months. Most stunning result: Fred Thompson at 2% has fallen so low that he now trails both Ron Paul (8%) and Tom Tancredo (3%). Just three months ago, Thompson got 19% in the same poll."
Political Wire: "A new American Research Group national poll shows Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee are tied for first place in the Republican presidential race with 21%, followed by Sen. John McCain at 18%, Mitt Romney at 16% and Fred Thompson at 6%. Just a month ago, Huckabee was in fifth place in the same poll with just 6% support. Among Democrats, Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with 41% support, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 22%, and John Edwards at 13%."
"2008 pres"
6:28:18 PM
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TalkLeft: "Live-Updates on Democrats debate here."
Political Wire: "Reactions to the Democratic debate."
"2008 pres"
6:18:30 PM
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Dirk Kempthore, as expected, inked the drought deal for the Colorado River today, according to The Las Vegas Sun. From the article:
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and officials from seven Western states signed a sweeping agreement Thursday to conserve and share scare Colorado River water, ending a divisive battle among the thirsty rivals. "This is the most important agreement among the seven basin states since the original 1922 compact," Kempthorne said, referring to a water-use agreement covering California, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. The 20-year plan, which took effect with Kempthorne's signature, resolved several legal disputes among water agencies in the states and formalized rules to cooperate during the ongoing drought gripping the region. The states also commit, Kempthorne said, "to address future controversies on the river through consultation and negotiation before ... litigation." Saying he was "determined not to get ensnared in the politics of the issue," Kempthorne called it "a simple fact that the Earth is warming."..."We have to figure out how this is going to affect our water supply," he said.
A cornerstone element of the drought plan affecting more than 30 million people lets the lower-basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona use the vast Lake Mead reservoir behind Hoover Dam to store water they conserve or don't need for use later. For the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, that arrangement could mean storing almost 1.5 million acre-feet of conserved water in Lake Mead, said Timothy F. Brick, the chief of the MWD board. The district is the water wholesaler to 26 cities and water districts serving some 18 million people. "That additional storage is equivalent to building a reservoir that is almost twice the size of Diamond Valley Lake," Brick said, referring to the district's largest reservoir near Hemet in Riverside County.
The agreements - six formal documents bound together by a federal record of decision - fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, with four key elements. They specify how and when agencies will face reductions during drought, and set new rules allowing the reservoirs of lakes Powell and Mead "to rise and fall in tandem, thereby better sharing the risk of drought," Kempthorne said. The agreements also establish rules for handling surplus water in times of plentiful runoff, and they encourage water conservation.
Another agreement lets the Las Vegas-based Southern Nevada Water Authority build a reservoir just north of the U.S. border in California to capture excess water that would otherwise flow into Mexico. In return for funding the project, expected to cost more than $175 million, Las Vegas will be allowed to draw up to 400,000 acre-feet of water to slake the thirst of a fast-growing region that has reached the limit of water it can draw from Lake Mead.
Thanks to the Water Information Program for the link. More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"colorado water"
6:01:31 PM
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Here's an article about S. 2156: Science and Engineering to Comprehensively Understand and Responsibly Enhance Water Act [SECURE Water Act], from The Albuquerque Tribune. From the article:
The last time there was a comprehensive federal study of water in the West -- 1978 -- even Al Gore had not yet started talking about global warming. New Mexico's senators, Silver City Democrat Jeff Bingaman and Albuquerque Republican Pete Domenici, want a new survey that will look at the projected impact of climate change on water resources in the West as well as offer new federal aid for communities to conserve and develop water resources. On Tuesday, they held a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on their bill, the Secure Water Act. "Water has always been a priority in the West," Bingaman said. "Nonetheless, the stakes are higher now as the confluence of drought, climate change, population increases and environmental needs are testing water manager sin unprecedented ways."[...]
The government now allocates grants of up to $300,000 to assist western communities with water, but the most that has ever been appropriated for the program is $11 million while there are usually between $30 million and $40 million worth of requests. Although the bill would authorize new federal studies and aid, it would not override any state water laws or jurisdiction. That brought an amen from New Mexico State Engineer John D'Antonio, representing the Western States Water Council, an advisory group to 18 western governors. He said they strongly support provisions for federal grants to assist states in developing a database on water usage and supplies.
The president of the Family Farm Alliance also endorsed the bill. Patrick O'Toole, a farmer from the Wyoming-Colorado border, said, "We're seeing things on the ground that tell me as a farmer that there are changes." Sen. Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, quoted one study as predicting that a two degree increase in temperate would result in a 6 percent increase in drought and a 12 percent decrease in water supply. "The science of the impact of climate change is still in its infancy," said Robert Hirsch, associate director for water for the U. S. Geological Survey.
The only serious objection came from freshman Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican. He said the bill is focused too narrowly on the impact of climate change on water and authorizes too many new federal grant programs -- five. He predicted the measure could lead to environmental lawsuits. Although it's still possible the Energy Committee could act on the bill this year, it's unlikely see any action by the full Senate until next year.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
"2008 pres"
6:38:51 AM
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Here's a recap of yesterday's final GOP event in Iowa ahead of the caucus from Bloomberg.
"2008 pres"
6:28:45 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 1:51:16 PM.
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