In a decision bursting with symbolism, the California State Water Resources Control Board recently announced its intention to draw down the main water supply reservoir for a half-million people who live just outside of the state capitol to only 12% of capacity by September 30. Lake Folsom on the American River — the main water source for Roseville, Folsom, and other Sacramento suburbs — will plummet to 120,000 acre-feet by that date, according to a forecast by the water board, which announced the plan at an unusually lively Sacramento workshop on June 24.
Posts published in “Essays”
How many times have you seen TV news reports of people stranded in airports, and thought, “Thank God that’s not me?” Usually the delay is…
It's raining in July at the Macdonald ranch. Here it proves a welcome sight, damping down dusty roads and dry grass. Any rain in drought…
I grew up where men seldom touched other men, beyond a handshake, and everybody was happy with that arrangement. But, when I came out to…
Much ado about the death penalty lately... Some places want to reinstate the firing squad, which is interesting if only because one or more of…
My brother died in 2000. He was 51 years old. We had been estranged for over 20 years. We had lived much different lives. When…
It appears that Native Americans are currently part of the national cultural conversation and I — well, wait. I should probably qualify that by saying…
It's a funny mood around Peggy Templer's house in the northern California woods, a mixture of dread, relief and fear. Shock waves are still in…
The Fourth of July has always been a mixed bag for me. As a boy, I loved the barbecue and fireworks party in our neighbors’ backyard. My friends and I ran around in the dark with sparklers, ate potato salad and burgers and corn and watermelon, and a man smoking a cigarette and drinking a martini set off spectacular fireworks smuggled into California from Montana.