Friday, February 14, 2014

President Obama Brings Aid for Central Valley Drought

President Obama toured farms in the drought-stricken Central Valley today and announced a broad package of immediate measures to aid farmers, ranchers, farm workers and water stressed towns. The action is intended to provide relief for a state and region suffering a third straight year of low rainfall. Reservoirs throughout California are at historic low storage levels, and San Joaquin Valley farmers have been told to expect no allocations of water from the state and federal water projects. The President’s visit comes amid controversy over Governor Jerry Brown’s plan to build two large tunnels designed to divert water from the Sacramento River under the Bay Delta and into the state’s water infrastructure that delivers water to farms and cities to the south. Vic Bedoian reports from Fresno.