CA
CA Op-Ed: Kathryn Gray: The Stealth Canal
Author: Kathryn Gray, Donner Summit
Published on Jul 13, 2009 - 8:58:53 AM

July 13, 2009 - Up in Sacramento there's an interesting cabal
doing backroom dealings for the Peripheral Canal.

This isn't something they have wanted to be known,
but I think it's time to tell them that their cover has been blown.

The ditch they're contemplating digging will be a budget buster*
And 'cause it'll drain more water from the Delta, it really won't pass muster.

The Delta is collapsing, the fisheries future looks grim and short
And they're proposing to fix it by taking MORE water to export

To Central California to grow alfalfa and some cotton
to give it to big AG -- Something's surely rotten.

Guys like Joe Simitian and Jared Huffman, they're meeting on the quiet
because if their constituents caught wind, they'd surely have a riot.

The big water problems of our state require communication
discussions of alternatives, plans for conservation.

Not politicos sneaking in conveyances in the stealthy dead of night
Sticking us with this fait accompli, it really isn't right.

The peripheral canal could be a gargantuan disaster
Your fondness for it makes us wonder who's your master

So have some public meetings, and talk about the science
Have genuine discussions on the issues, instead of your reliance

Of shuffling legislative walnuts, pulling wool over our eyes
If you're sticking us with this white elephant, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

* possibly over 40 BILLION dollars -- bond issue anyone?

Editor's note: Kathryn Gray is a Bay Area resident in District 11 (Simitian). She believes that the health of the Delta and the San Francisco Bay are of paramount importance, and that no conveyance should be pushed through without rigorous public scientific debate. For more information on the issue, see Dan Bacher's article, Delta Groups Rally Against The Panama Canal North: http://yubanet.com/california/Delta-Groups-Rally-Against-The-Panama-Canal-North.php

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