Amid an arid landscape, an aqueduct carries water to Los Angeles. Photo: iofoto, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The California storms that kicked off 2023, bringing flooding and record high snowpack, might seem enough to end a prolonged dry spell. But if history is our guide, we know that wet winters doesn’t always end a mega-drought.
Pat Nolan addresses a 2014 meeting of CPAC <(Photo: Gage Skidmore)Pat Nolan has Southern California credentials that are about as solid as they come. The future Assembly Republican leader was born into a family that had been in the area for generations. One of his great-grandfathers had been an early settler of the area for whom two cities (Agoura and Agoura Hills) are named. Nolan also played a role in one of the Capitol’s darkest episodes – the FBI’s investigation of Capitol corruption, which included a dramatic nighttime raid on the building in the summer of 1988.
The San Ardo oil field, Monterey. Photo: Loco Steve, WikimediaFracking is taking place in urban and rural communities throughout the state, and continues to be a regular practice in California’s ocean waters. Concerned about potential impacts, Congresswoman Lois Capps has called for a moratorium on fracking in federal waters until more is understood about the risks of the practice.