Photo – Dieterich01 – pixabay.com
Quick. What’s your favorite movie? Don’t overthink it. The question is not which movie you think is the greatest of all time. That is probably not the same as your favorite.
Film buffs often cite “Citizen Kane” or “2001 – A Space Odyssey” as two of the greatest American films, but how many regular people regard either as their favorite? I’m talking about that movie you watch again and again, anticipating your favorite scenes and rooting for your favorite characters.
Mine is “Jurassic Park”. The very first one and don’t you dare judge me. I saw it for the first time with Mr. Standish at the State Theatre in Red Bluff when it was still a movie house. It had been divided into 3 theaters, but by 1993 only “the big room” up in the loge was being used. The two lower theaters were already closed and Al Mitchell’s three headed brontosaurus was facing extinction.
Photo courtesy statetheatreredbluff.com
The State and the dinosaur franchise have both undergone major renovations in the past almost 30 years – one transitioning from Park to World and the other from skeevy cinema to world class performance venue. I have ranked all seven dino-films and none comes close to the original. Let’s just say that the new one, “Jurassic World: Dominion” is not #2 on the list.
Much of it pays homage to JP1, with the reunion of Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and BD Wong making me feel very old, but all mushy to see those characters again. It also takes aim at purveyors of genetically modified frankenfoods, but it felt preachy even though I agree. Still a fun distraction and my first visit to a movie theater since pre-Covid.
And speaking of dinosaurs, the Tehama County Flood Control Water Conservation District met last Monday. Who are they? They are the County Board of Supervisors wearing their water hats. The five supervisors serve as the board of directors of the Tehama Groundwater Sustainability Agency. The other part of the Agency is the Groundwater Commission, which recently took “Sustainability” out of its title. That speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
Normally, meetings of the GC and the FCWC are sparsely attended. This time, however, around 100 people showed up. When that happens, it is never because the attendees want to tell the folks up on the dais that they’re doing a great job. They come because they are angry and this crowd was no different.
Columnist’s interpretation of the meeting attendees – pixabay.com
On the agenda was a Public Hearing on the 29 cent per acre “fee” that will be attached to property taxes and used to create a well registry, because the county has no idea how many wells there are nor the sizes of them. What happened to the money you paid for your permit? Insert shrug emoji. Spoiler alert – the fee passed 3-1, Chairwoman Candy Carlson the lone No and Dennis Garton absent.
Candy Carlson – Tehama County website
The public commented for 2 hours and not one person spoke in favor of the 29 cents, which may actually be a tax. A tax has the primary purpose of raising revenue. By contrast, a fee recoups the cost of providing a service from a beneficiary. Chairwoman Carlson read the difference to the crowd and insisted it’s a tax and therefore must be voted on by the public. Since the registry has not yet been created, costs cannot be recouped. Seems like a simple enough concept, but Carlson was ignored as usual. For the purposes of this column, we will give the GC the benefit of the doubt. Everyone agrees a well registry is needed and the state has required it, so it will happen no matter what we call it.
Who will pay for it is another question. Carlson is also a member of the Rescue Plan Act Ad Hoc Committee and has included the funding for the well registry on the list of items being considered for a piece of that $12 million pie. That would be fair. It’s the county’s fault we don’t already have a registry and to make landowners pay for its creation is shameful. The fee cannot be administered in an equitable manner, as was brought up by at least half the speakers Monday.
There were plenty of cattle folk who use only surface water who want the orchard people to pay for the registry, since they are the ones drawing down the aquifers. District 1 Supervisor and FCWC Director Bill Moule said that would place a burden on the orchard people. We could make it easier for them by everyone chipping in. Normally I’m a fan of socialist programs, but “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” doesn’t apply here.
Photo courtesy almonds.com
The orchard folks were MIA at the Public Hearing, except on the governing agency which is loaded with them. Before we get too far out in the weeds deciding who should pay for the registry, let’s remember all it will do is create a database of where the wells are and how big. Please write or call your Supe and ask them to include the well registry in the RPA funds. That will take care of that.
The bigger question is when will we start monitoring how much water orchardists and other ag folks actually use? Right now, the county’s plan for the future is to charge by the size of the well head, which does not tell us how much they use. It’s only one part of the equation. Other things to consider are the strength of the pump and how often it’s turned on. A speaker at one of the prior meetings talked about his very large well that is only used for his home where two people live. He shouldn’t be charged the same as someone with the same size well who has a 150 HP irrigation pump, should he?
Metering ag wells is the only equitable way for people to be responsible for how much water they use. There, I said it. And it is coming, my friends – make no mistake. Just not quickly enough.
Flow meter – water force.co.nz
The county has no intention of installing meters, because then we’d know exactly who was using what and the GC is made up of people using the most. Plus meters are expensive. However, if any of the sustainability plans submitted by the 58 counties at the beginning of the year are found to be ineffective, the state will prescribe action. Will they “take our water” as lame duck District 4 Supervisor Bob Williams keeps threatening? No, Bob, we’re using it all up ourselves.
I wonder if there might be a mathematical equation that could estimate water use? We know how much each crop uses per acre, so just multiply that by the number of acres. It won’t be exact, and some people might be dishonest, but it’s better than nothing which is what’s being done now. An unfunded state mandate isn’t going to help.
Much, much more on this to come. Until then, remember the words of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), “We not only lack dominion over nature, we are subordinate to it.”
Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm – (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)
