2017 March PASO Magazine

PERSPECTIVE from page 34
California will step in and manage
our water themselves.
The groundwater basin in question
extends from Santa Margarita,
nearly to Cholame, and up to San
Miguel, so lots of folks reside under
that sword.
Two districts have been formed;
Estrella-El Pomar-Creston, and Shandon-San
Juan, with a few smaller
parcels pending – their petitions
have been submitted. 66 big parcel
properties and more than 190
smaller ones are part of those water
districts, yet they still only represent
a small percentage of all property
owners.
The water districts’ seemingly
miraculous rise from the dead reflects
a June 30 deadline: miss it
and landowners risk defaulting to
state regulators, with no local say or
voice. The districts already have fee
for-water-use-proposals; good or
bad, they’re likely preferable to the
unknowns of state control.
The map of district members
looks like a checkerboard, but district
1 supervisor John Peschong
has inferred the county could step
in and manage things for the remaining,
uncommitted owners. It’s a
big deal; the area has until 2020 to
demonstrate sustainability. That’s a
lot shorter than it seems.
Seismic Shift: With one board
member joining an anti-Trump
street march and three others voting
him out of the big chair, the county
board of supervisors seems to be
polarizing in ways that resemble
post-election America.
On January 10, fresh from the
election, Debbie Arnold, Lynn
Compton and John Peschong voted
3-2 to appoint Peschong as
chairman, touching off angst from a
vocal group supporting Adam Hill.
Hill, no stranger to controversy,
having been accused of using
intimidation against a competing
election candidate, called the move
a “petty political ploy.”
“I do not feel he should be
awarded the bully pulpit for being
a bully,” Creston resident Bev Phifer
offered.
Will the board solidify along
partisan lines, or will the county’s
business move more amicably?
Don’t worry, I’ll be your eyes and
ears, watching…always watching.
Liquid Love: Without El Niño, nobody
could have predicted the deluge
of the past six weeks; nobody
did. Lake Nacimiento went from
26% capacity to 81% with a spillway
release to give the lake a good
flood buffer.
What a difference a year makes,
but what a hassle for public safety
and emergency crews, dealing with
a prolonged hwy 41 closure, mud
slides and pot holes popping up…
or down?
At any rate, county supervisors
proclaimed a state of emergency,
joining a similar state declaration.
Those mean the county can apply
for federal emergency assistance
and you should let the county Office
of Emergency services know if you
sustained damage to your home
or business. You may be eligible
for reimbursement. Too bad they
won’t give me money to buy new
avionics for my plane.
March 2017, PASO Magazine 37