DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Multi-billion dollar water measures headed for state ballot; Rural CA grapples with ‘green rush’ of pot growers; Rising reservoirs, less room for error this winter on San Joaquin River; Storm to unleash mountain snow and gusty winds over CA; and more …

In California water news this weekend, Multi-billion dollar water measures headed for state ballot; Rural California grapples with ‘green rush’ of pot growers; From thousands of miles away; Rising reservoirs: Less room for error this winter on San Joaquin River; A rare plant and a renegade environmental activist could derail Ballona wetlands restoration; Storm to unleash mountain snow and gusty winds over California, southwest US; and more …

In the news this weekend …

Multi-billion dollar water measures headed for state ballot:  “With a five-year drought and then a winter of floods having exposed the limits of California’s vast network of reservoirs, dams and canals, voters are likely to have the chance next year to decide whether to pay for major upgrades to the state’s waterworks.  Two multibillion-dollar bonds are expected to go before voters that promise to boost water supplies, offer flood protection and restore rivers and streams. One measure, sponsored by the Legislature, also would fund new parks and hiking trails. The second, a privately backed initiative, would go further to improve the infrastructure that moves water to cities and farms. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here:  Multi-billion dollar water measures headed for state ballot

Rural California grapples with ‘green rush’ of pot growers:  “The four young men had just started their marijuana harvest in rural Northern California when a dozen sheriff’s deputies swooped in with guns drawn, arrested them and spent the day chopping down 150 bushy plants with machetes.  “I could do this every day if I had the personnel,” Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio said during the operation near the Sierra foothills town of Copperopolis, about two hours east of San Francisco. Authorities this year have cut down close to 30,000 plants grown without permits in a county that is reconsidering its embrace of marijuana cultivation on the eve of statewide legalization. ... ”  Read more from the Appeal-Democrat here:  Rural California grapples with ‘green rush’ of pot growers

From thousands of miles away:  “They’ve traveled thousands of miles to be here. You need only to drive a few miles to take a look at the annual influx of migratory waterfowl.  Lori Dieter, with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, said now is a great time of year to see and hear a wide variety of birds as they seek refuge in wetlands and other prime habitat like rice fields, which are abundant throughout the area.  “From Thanksgiving to Christmas is considered the time frame when the wintering, migratory waterfowl reach peak numbers in California’s Central Valley,” Dieter said. “The best viewing days are the sunny, windless days, on loafing grounds such as at Gray Lodge.” … ”  Read more from the Appeal-Democrat here:  From thousands of miles away

Rising reservoirs: Less room for error this winter on San Joaquin River: “It was our saving grace: Last winter, a mostly empty New Melones Lake swallowed up torrents of water that otherwise would have had to be dumped into a lower watershed that already was flooding.  Without all of that room at New Melones, the damage along the lower San Joaquin River and in the Delta could have been much worse.  Today, that cushion is mostly gone. New Melones holds four times as much water as it did at this time last year. That’s good news if the state shifts back into a dry pattern. But if California gets hit with another string of atmospheric river storms this winter, there won’t be enough room to hold it all back. … ”  Read more from the Stockton Record here:  Rising reservoirs: Less room for error this winter on San Joaquin River

A rare plant and a renegade environmental activist could derail Ballona wetlands restoration:  “With his long ponytail, floppy sun hat and a peace symbol dangling from his neck, retired federal biologist Robert “Roy” van de Hoek looks like a man bent on saving the environment.  And when he’s crawling through a hole in the fence to sneak into the Ballona Wetlands, it’s clear he’s intent on doing it on his own terms.  He has, after all, released parasitic native plants into the park in a personal strategy to battle flora he considers invasive. And van de Hoek, 60, has faced vandalism charges and a temporary ban from Ballona for taking pruning shears to other plants he believed were crowding out rare native species. ... ”  Read more from the LA Times here:  A rare plant and a renegade environmental activist could derail Ballona wetlands restoration

Storm to unleash mountain snow and gusty winds over California, southwest US:  “California will face a brief burst of rain and heavy mountain snow while gusty winds whip up over the Southwest through Monday morning.  The storm could pose disruptions to those journeying home from Thanksgiving destinations into Sunday night and heading back to work on Monday.  Rain will push inland across Washington, Oregon and Northern California into Sunday night.  The threat for localized flooding and mudslides will be highest across western Washington where the soil remains saturated from recent rain. … ”  Read more from Accu-Weather here:  Storm to unleash mountain snow and gusty winds over California, southwest US

The sea level threat to cities depends on where the ice melts – not just how fast:  “The world’s oceans are rising. Over the past century, they’re up an average of about eight inches. But the seas are rising more in some places than others. And scientists are now finding that how much sea level rises in, say, New York City, has a lot to do with exactly where the ice is melting.  A warming climate is melting a lot of glaciers and ice sheets on land. That means more water rolling down into the oceans.  But the oceans are not like a bathtub. The water doesn’t rise uniformly. ... ”  Read more from KPCC here:  The sea level threat to cities depends on where the ice melts – not just how fast

The sinking cities and rising seas of (near) future tomorrow“In a chance encounter, author and climate journalist Jeff Goodell found himself standing face-to-face with a man he had been trying to interview for months: billionaire Miami developer Jorge Pérez. Goodell was attending an art show at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, named after the developer, and Pérez happened to be there. “I’m standing in line and there he is,” Goodell says. “Being a journalist, I couldn’t help but walk up there and start talking to him.”   At the time, Goodell was reporting for his new book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World (Little Brown, October 2017), a potent examination not of whether seas will rise in our lifetimes, but of the fact that they will rise, how fast it could happen, and how coastal cities around the world are poised to drown. Miami is the epicenter of that story.  …   Read more from Sierra Magazine here:  The sinking cities and rising seas of (near) future tomorrow

And lastly …

Nearly frozen waves captured on camera by Nantucket photographer:  “Photographer Jonathan Nimerfroh found himself staring at an ocean full of Slurpee. The waters of the Atlantic Ocean looked like it due to the unusually cold temperatures that were making it freeze. Lakes freeze every year, but oceans freezing is a rare sight.  The photographer/surfer/ocean enthusiast set out to capture the beauty of this rare event. While the partially-frozen waves churned and hit the shore, they appeared to be made out of something thicker than water. Jonathan describes the sight as follows, “The wind was howling from the southwest which would typically make rough or choppy conditions, not so good for surfing. But since the surface of the sea was frozen slush, the wind did not change the shape. They were perfect dreamy slush waves.” The pictures below show this bizarre phenomenon. … ”  Read more and see pictures/video from the Beauty of Planet Earth here: Nearly Frozen Waves Captured On Camera By Nantucket Photographer

Precipitation watch …

Catch up on the news over the long holiday weekend …

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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.

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where California water news never goes home for the weekend

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