Friday, June 30, 2023

Cole Harris Scores Goal in Championship Game

Cole Harris on the fieldCole Harris

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Club Soccer center back Cole Harris scored the only goal for the Orange County Strikers in the national club championship game in Frisco, Texas (Dallas suburb) June 25. After a week of contests in the extreme Texas heat, the Strikers ascended to the final game of the U.S. Youth Soccer National League against the Atlanta FC. They lost 3 to 1, but it was an exciting game to watch Cole score on Apple Television with color commentary. A great start for a young soccer enthusiast.

Southern California Becomes More Disaster Aware

Paradise, CaliforniaA burned neighborhood after the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, on Nov. 15, 2018. Photo: Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty Images file

For half a decade California has been besieged by drought, wildfire, and this winter heavy rains and snow. Now it expects summer floods. And, of course, the state is always subject to earthquakes so it’s not surprising that 74 percent of residents say they are knowledgeable about the steps to get prepared for a natural disaster. More than two-fifths (41%) claim they have a disaster supply kit with food, water, and other essential supplies.

The PPIC survey was conducted on the Ipsos online Knowledge Panel on May 17- 24, 2023, with 1,576 California adult residents. The survey had a margin of error of ±3.2 percentage points.

A majority of Californians (69%) have “a great deal or “some confidence” in state and local governments’ readiness to respond to natural disasters, with 71 percent of Los Angeles County and 72 percent of Orange and San Diego County residents expressing confidence. About a third have “very little or no confidence” in state and local government readiness.

Level of Confidence Poll

READ: PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Californians still support water conservation and cuts to use of Colorado River Water, in spite of wet winter

Metropolitan Water District of Southern CaliforniaAP Photo/Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, File

In the 2022-23 winter, California experienced heavy rains and flooding with record snowfall. But voters remained committed to the state’s water conservation policies (81%) and by 60 percent to 14 percent supported the idea of reducing water delivery from the Colorado River.

The statewide California poll was conducted by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. The IGS online poll was directed by Mark DeCamillo between May 17 and 22, 2023, with 7,465 California registered voters. The margin of error is ±2 percentage points. The LA Times helped fund the poll.

Even in river-water-dependent Southern California, a majority of voters were supportive of cutting water delivery from the Colorado River. However, there were partisan differences, with 69 percent of Democrats favoring cuts but only 47 percent of Republicans. Survey was in the field prior to the recent Colorado River water agreement.

Californians still support water conservation

READ: Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies IGS Poll June 1, 2023

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Berlusconi & Trump – Promotion & Populism

By Quirinale.it, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133092248By Quirinale.it,
Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133092248M

Although their political careers were twenty years apart, many similarities are apparent. Berlusconi and Trump were both masters of promoting their personal brands and whatever they were selling at the time. And as they took up politics, they both approached it from a populist perspective, appealing to ordinary people ostensibly ignored by elites, usually long on slogans and short on accomplishment but frequently entertaining.

They also both crossed legal and ethical lines to promote their businesses and their politics. Berlusconi faced trial at least 36 times in his life, but only a conviction for tax fraud kept him out of office for a time.

Unfortunately for the rule of law and democracy, both men were prepared to go to extraordinary efforts to stay in office and to avoid the consequences of their crimes and misdemeanors. Berlusconi, often beat the charge by running the statute of limitations (or changing them). At 86 the final limitation ran for him.

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Third Party Ticket Will Help Who? The Clinton 1992 and 2016 Experiences

Perot, Bush and Clinton 1992 Presidential DebateClinton, Bush and Perot 1992 Presidential Debate

The public is not happy with the 2024 presidential choices. It looks like a good year for independent candidates. Bill and Hillary Clinton each ran in years that were good for independent candidates. Ross Perot (Reform Party) received 19% of the national vote in 1992. He won no states’ electoral votes but a fractured Republican Party was not able to reelect its incumbent nominee, George H.W. Bush.

In 2016, both parties had contested primaries and the two nominees had high negative ratings. The vote for the two leading independent candidates, Green Party Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson reached more than 4 percent.

In the three states Clinton lost, Stein gained more votes than the margin. Clinton lost Michigan by 10,704 votes (Stein received 51,463); she lost Pennsylvania by 44,292 (Stein 49,941), Wisconsin by 22,748 (Stein 31,721).

Presidential Elections 1992 and 2016

Of course, in the 2000 election Florida was the ultimate battleground won by George W. Bush with 537 votes. Ralph Nader and his Green Party received 2.7 percent of the vote nationally, including 97,488 in Florida.

New polling suggest that a quarter of voters say they will vote for an unnamed third-party candidate against Biden and Trump. Younger voters and self-described independents say they will vote for a third-party candidate by more than 30 percent.

Monday, June 26, 2023

Father’s Day Remembrances

Floyd Ciruli was father to a large family in Pueblo, Colorado. As the oldest boy in a 2nd generation Italian immigrant family from Abruzzi, Italy, he was also the patriarch of the extended Pueblo clan. He was a Colorado sportsman, especially fishing on his favorite water around beautiful South Fork. We all miss you, Floyd.

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Moving Water Around Colorado is Fraught Project

La GaritaPhoto: Dean Krakel, Special to Freshwater News

Whether it’s Colorado River water to the Platte for the Front Range or the San Luis Valley aquifer to the Denver suburbs, the quest to move water from the source to the population in Colorado never ends.

Jerd Smith in Fresh Water News (6-7-23) describes the latest effort.

Real estate developers interested in exporting water they own from San Luis Valley to fast-growing, water-short Douglas County have contributed thousands of dollars to candidates for the Parker Water & Sanitation District board, one of the largest water providers in the county.

Such large contributions are unusual in low-profile water district board elections, where candidates often provide their own funding for their campaigns of a few hundred dollars, rather than thousands, according to Redd, Manager of Parker Water. “That’s a lot of money for a water board race,” Redd said.

Renewable Water Resources, the investor group, continues to search for a local government to help on costs, but I said:

Floyd Ciruli, a pollster and veteran observer of Colorado politics who has done extensive work in the past for Douglas County water providers, said the RWR initiative faces an uphill battle.

“They have resistance at both ends.” Ciruli said, referring to opposition in the San Luis Valley and in the metro area. “It’s interesting that [RWR] is contributing to these boards. It’s a real long shot.”

Source: Developers behind San Luis Valley water export proposal contribute thousands to Douglas County water district races: https://www.watereducationcolorado.org/fresh-water-news/developers- behind-san-luis-valley-water-export-proposal-contribute-thousands-to-douglas-county-water-board- races/