Bill Cutting State Red Tape Passes on Floor

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Doug LaMalfa’s (R – Richvale) today announced that Senate Bill (SB) 1526, which exempts federally-tax exempt charities with under $50,000 in annual revenue from state tax forms and filing fees, was passed on the Senate floor with unanimous support. Sponsored by the American Legion – Department of California, the bill eliminates filing requirements that are more strenuous than the federal government requires.

“This bill ensures that organizations like the American Legion are able to spend every dollar helping veterans, rather than on filing fees and red tape,” said LaMalfa. “It’s simply common sense that tax-exempt veterans groups shouldn’t need to file complex tax forms.”

The federal government altered its requirements for such groups in 2010, allowing them to file a “postcard” form with the IRS. However, California still requires charity groups to file complicated forms that are simply unnecessary, as well as pay filing fees. LaMalfa’s bill gives qualifying charities the option to file a simple form online and exempts them from filing fees. The proposal will also lower costs to the state, which currently reviews each form by hand.

“These groups stretch every dollar to help our veterans, so it’s a win to save both their money and that of taxpayers,” LaMalfa added.

Senator Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing the fourth Senate District including Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Siskiyou, Sutter, Del Norte, Placer, Trinity, Yuba and Nevada counties.

PNP comment: This trial was postponed until June 26, 2012. — Editor Liz Bowen

by TIM HEARDEN, Capital Press May 29, 2012

YREKA, Calif. – The trial to determine the Siskiyou County Farm Bureau’s water suit against the California Department of Fish and Game is expected to wrap up this week, but a decision may not come soon.

The group filed suit after the state said landowners need permits for simple water diversions.

The trial resumed May 29 after Superior Court Judge Karen Dixon heard testimony May 8-11 from farmers over the disputed Fish and Game Code Section 1602 dealing with water diversions before setting a recess.

Farm Bureau attorney Darrin Mercier said he planned to call several more witnesses before yielding to California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office, which is defending the lawsuit for Fish and Game.

“I think it was a great chance for the farmers and ranchers of Siskiyou County to be able to tell their story to the court about how this change in a 50-year-old law truly affects their operations,” Mercier said.

Harris’ office did not respond to a message seeking comment about the trial.

It may be autumn before the litigants learn the outcome of the case. The two sides will file closing briefs and reply briefs and the court will have 90 days to make a decision once the briefs are filed, Mercier said. No closing oral arguments will be made, he said.

The suit asks the court to prevent the DFG from enforcing what the Farm Bureau calls its “new” interpretation of Section 1602, which the agency has argued requires landowners to obtain expensive permits for simple diversions.

The suit asserts that farmers need declaratory relief or they could face misdemeanor charges and civil and criminal penalties of more than $25,000 per violation.

The suit was filed as San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith was set to invalidate a much cheaper watershed-wide permit the DFG offered to landowners in the Scott and Shasta valleys in 2010. Goldsmith ruled the agency didn’t prepare the permits in accordance with environmental laws.

The trial in the Siskiyou Farm Bureau suit was scheduled to begin May 1, but Dixon agreed to delay it a week after the state introduced more documents. During a hearing on pretrial motions April 30, Dixon also ruled that Mercier could enter evidence about how DFG’s interpretation of the Fish and Game Code is affecting water users.

During testimony, a trio of farmers said the DFG’s actions would add a new layer of requirements they’d have to meet to irrigate their crops, and a legislative history expert told the court the section in question had more to do with lake and stream alterations than water use, Mercier said.

The Siskiyou Farm Bureau has received several donations to help meet its legal costs, including $7,000 from the group Save Our Scott and Shasta and $5,000 from the Siskiyou County CattleWomen, according to a news release.

   http://www.capitalpress.com/california/TH-siskiyou-water-trial-w-infobox-060112

Online

Siskiyou County Farm Bureau: www.siskiyoucountyfarmbureau.com

California Department of Fish and Game: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/

Plan in place to ease moderate drought, basin irrigation officials say idling will save 10,000 acre-feet of water this summer, H&N 5/31/12. “The first land idling period begins June 15 and the deadline to apply is Tuesday, June 5.”

Salmon decreases explained, by Dr. Richard Gierak 5/31/12.

“In the California Division of Fish and Game 1930 report, Bulletin #34, it states that in 1916 there were 35,000 salmon counted and in 1922, after the dam was built, they counted 90,000 salmon returning to the Klamath. This could be explained in that the reservoir allowed sediments to settle out, supplying cleaner water for spawning salmon.”

Oregon Integrated Water Resources Strategy, by Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett 5/31/12. “…IWRS advisory committee… appear to have placed little emphasis on the development of additional storage for current and expanded agricultural use. Implementation of those public policies can only serve to diminish the supply of water available for irrigation.”

KBC News: the following has been thoroughly researched and documented by Marcia Armstrong 5/31/12:

Part 1 – Siskiyou County: How Water and Land Use Regulations and Litigation Are Destroying Us
http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/MarciaArmstrong/2012/SiskCo_howwtrandlanduseregsandlitigtion053112.htm by Siskiyou County Supervisor Marcia H. Armstrong. Background on Siskiyou County and its Economy 5/31/12.

Part 2 – The Global Agenda –IWRM – a Blueprint for Control, by Siskiyou County Supervisor Marcia H. Armstrong 5/31/12.

Hoopa Tribe petitions feds to speed up dam removal, H&N 5/31/12.

Siskiyou County water suit to be decided by judge, Capital Press, posted to KBC 5/31/12.

Dr. Paul Houser: Curtis Knight attempted to obscure the facts, Houser is an Associate Professor, George Mason University, Siskiyou Daily 5/31/12.

www.klamathbasincrisis.org

PNP comment: Foxes are thick here in Scott Valley. I imagine it was a fox that got my last duck or maybe it was a mountain lion. — Editor Liz Bowen

• By Sean Longoria

• Posted May 31, 2012 at 11:16 p.m

• Redding.com

Siskiyou County Public Health officials are warning of a possible outbreak of canine distemper, a disease that could affect household dogs.

Health Officer Dr. Stephen Perlman said officials are investigating a possible outbreak of the disease in the fox population in and around the city of Weed.

Residents there have reported daytime sightings of disoriented, listless and lethargic foxes during the day, all symptoms of the disease. Foxes are normally active at night, Perlman said.

“We know there’s something wrong if a fox is out there during the daytime and they’re not running away,” said Bill Navarre, the county’s deputy director of environmental health.

The possible outbreak follows another recently confirmed outbreak of distemper in southern Oregon, in and around south Medford and Ashland. Department of Fish and Game officials are investigating whether the two outbreaks are related.

Read it:

http://www.redding.com/news/2012/may/31/disease-outbreak-reported-in-siskiyou-foxes-can/?partner=newsletter_headlines

Yreka Tea Party Patriots

Meeting for Tuesday, June 5^th      

Canceled due to elections.  Next meeting is June 12^th at 6:30 PM

Decision Life Church

Corner of Main

Be sure to vote!

By Tom Rickard Sr.

Siskiyou Daily News

Letter to the Editor

June 1, 2012

Copco Lake — The article written by Mr. Knight and published in the Siskiyou Daily News on May 23 is more of the same rants from the left.

If Mr. Knight attended any of the four meetings that Dr. Houser spoke at, he would have not made the statements that he has.

Yes, the original complaint that Dr. Houser had was that the press release was going to be presenting facts that he felt were not based on the studies and the science that he and his team had developed. He felt that this press release was not consistent with his findings and that it was totally biased for dam removal. Many of the facts that were quoted were not right so he refused to sign off on it.

He did state that dam removal was an option but that he felt it was the last option that should have been considered and that more studies should be done in order to make the correct decision. After all, you will not be able to replace the dams if it is found that it was a mistake to take them out.

Dr. Houser was asked to speak at our meetings and as with many other speakers, his airfare was paid for.

Mr. Knight’s comment about Dr. Houser getting into fields that he is not an expert in is totally false. All of the meetings were handled in a professional manner and when asked a question that was not in his field of expertise, he kindly told the person asking the question that he did not want to speculate on a field that he was unfamiliar with.

When Mr. Knight talks about not going with the facts, there could be nothing more away from the facts than to state that the Department of Interior has handled this whole issue in a very transparent and open decision-making process. Ask the people who were not included in the original talks, like Siskiyou County.

In mentioning what the scientific facts tell us, he mentions that it is not a political issue but an economic one. We have attended almost all of the meetings regarding the dam removal issue and not one time did Pacific Power or any other agency ask the ratepayers what they wanted. We are being charged $1.90 per month on our Pacific Power bill right now for dam removal as well as all of their ratepayers, even though nothing has been finalized. This money is supposed to cover our share of the cost of taking out the dams. Maybe someone should have asked if we would be willing to pay $10 per month to keep the dams in. The rate payers are now and have always been secondary to what the environmentalists and their agenda wants.

The 4,600 jobs that Mr. Knight mentions coming to Siskiyou County are smoke. If you look at the history of what is happening in this country to the promised jobs by the current administration, you will find that these infrastructure jobs are going to the Chinese. Take a look at the current re-building of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, there were over 3,500 jobs available and most of them went to the Chinese. Hard to believe? Take a look at the piece that Diane Sawyer of ABC did a couple of weeks ago about buying American and keeping the jobs in the USA. The unions, when questioned, said yes that this was true. It seems that we as Americans do not have enough qualified welders, etc., to fill the jobs. Anyone think that maybe we should be training our people to handle this work?

If Mr. Knight would check on the quality of the water leaving Iron Gate reservoir compared to the water entering he would find that the dams act as settling ponds and that the water is much cleaner on the exit. He also mentions that the dams do not help with flood control. Maybe he should check with the people who live down river.

There is also no mention of the extreme value that the lakes provide for fire suppression. CDF uses these lakes to draw water from almost every year during the fire season.

My final comment to Mr. Knight is that it is obvious that your ox is not getting gored. You live in a beautiful spot and there is no federal agency or group of people trying to destroy your life or your lifestyle.

We used to consider ourselves environmentalists and were members of most of the groups, i.e.: California Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited, etc., but these groups have been taken over by the extreme element and they no longer serve the common person.

Congratulations to Dr. Houser for standing up for his principals. It cost him his job, but wouldn’t it be great if there were more Dr. Housers out there?

Maybe our country would not be in the mess that it is in.

Read it at:

Response to Knight – Yreka, CA – Siskiyou Daily News

http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/opinions/letters_to_the_editor/x984844574/Response-to-Knight

http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/HeraldandNews/

By LEE JUILLERAT

H&N Regional Editor

Klamath Falls, Oregon

June 1, 2012

     Incumbent Siskiyou County Supervisor Jim Cook and challenger Brandon Criss are vying for a four-year term as supervisor from District 1, which includes Butte Valley and portions of the Tulelake Basin.

    To provide voters with insight the candidates’ stances on various issues, they were asked to answer the following questions provided by the Herald and News. Their responses follow.

   Q: What are on your thoughts on the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement? If opposed, what are viable alternatives?

   Cook:  Both agreements were effectively drafted with only those who agreed to dam removal in the room. The KBRA has portions that do solve some problems. New agreements could be drafted with all stakeholders in the room with an equal say in the outcomes and not conditional on dam removal.

   Criss:  Oregon State Sen. Doug Whitsett asked me to be his legislative aide for the 2010 Oregon Legislative Session because he liked my editorials opposing the agreements. The agreements face large hurdles to receive Congressional funding.

   We do have a voice in federal and state policies which affect our local resource management. Congress and the state legislature pass the laws but the bureaucracies write the rules and definitions. Siskiyou County can petition under a law known as “coordination,” which forces these same bureaucracies to sit at the table with our county and coordinate with Siskiyou County’s plan.

   Coordination allows local governments to check the powers of federal and state bureaucratic decisions, part of my college master‘s thesis was about the process. Even under the Endangered Species Act, these bureaucracies must respect local plans to save a species.

   That is why I visited with Dr. Paul Houser, former Bureau of Reclamation Science Advisor and Scientific Integrity Officer and whistleblower on the Klamath dam removal, about his George Mason University program doing an actual unbiased study of sucker and coho salmon. He liked the idea, and with this sound science, Siskiyou and neighboring counties can adopt a plan that federal bureaucrats must respect.

   The Tulelake Basin has been bullied to believe that the KBRA is the only solution. Siskiyou County has not offered to use coordination for the Tulelake Basin. I’ll actively fight for coordination in ways of gaining our county and its people the respect we are due.

   Q: County Siskiyou recently hired a new chief administrative officer at a salary of $150,000. In light of the layoff of county employees and other countywide funding cutbacks, how is the salary justified?

   Cook:  The county seeks a highly qualified, experienced CAO. In the competitive free marketplace, this salary is not out of line. The compensation for this position has not increased in five years and in fact, we reduced the benefits for this position reducing the compensation. I was opposed to this salary level five years ago. However, I have reviewed regional compensation levels and found this level of responsibility is compensated at a higher level in most regional counties.

   Criss:  Historically, workers made more money in the private sector and made less money but had better job security in the government sector. This has changed so now government sector work for top-level workers provides more money and better job security. I advocate for planning ahead, hiring those you need to do the job, and when the economy is strong, building up a reserve of funds. When the economy dips, utilize those funds to keep those same needed jobs. If we once again provide job security to good government   employees, we won’t have to have such high salaries to attract good people.

   Q: The wolf  known as OR-7 has been seen in Southern Oregon and far Northern California, including Siskiyou County. Are you concerned the wolf and projected wolf populations pose a concern or danger for county ranchers and others?

   Cook:  Based on federal laws protecting wolves, what can, and should, the county do? I have met with representatives of Siskiyou County Cattlemen, Siskiyou County Farm Bureau and the Butte Valley Cattlemen.

   At that meeting, I outlined my proposal which would develop actual legislative language to place wolves in Western Washington, Western Oregon and Northern California as a distinct population so that they can be federally delisted and managed by each state. The California Farm Bureau has suggested the following: A simple process for livestock owners to obtain depredation permits to take wolves threatening or killing livestock, and allowance for livestock owners to take non-lethal preventative action; allowance for USDA Wildlife Services to document wolf kills; and a compensation program for livestock owners with documented wolf caused livestock losses.

   I met with staff of the State Farm Bureau and State Cattlemen’s Association in Sacramento to seek their assistance in drafting the state legislation and Siskiyou County resolutions needed for this action. The county must work with the state organizations to reduce in impacts of possible wolf populations on our local businesses.

   Criss:  Following are the official minutes from the Jan. 10, 2012 Siskiyou County Board of Supervisor meeting. “Butte Valley rancher Brandon Criss voiced concerns regarding the potential negative impact of the presence of wolves on livestock and suggested county demand coordination concerning wolves and participation in coordination training from Fred Kelley Grant.”

   That’s where I stood then and that’s where I stand now. Modoc County has done coordination for about 20 years and has an ordinance on this matter. I would seriously look at their solutions.

   Q:  What’s your vision for Siskiyou County, especially the 1st District?

   Cook:  I want county government efficient and responsive to our citizens. I want to provide an atmosphere for natural resource usage to be economically practical and environmentally sound.

   I want our agriculture community to be viable and ranchers and farmers to be operational without fear of regulatory oppression. And I would like to see a diversification of the economic base of the community of McCloud and an expansion of the base of our other communities.

   Criss:  I’m committed to sound financial management and want to move the county beyond the crisis management we see each budget cycle to long-term budget planning. I want to make our county viable again where the next generation will want to stay because the jobs will be here for them.

   Where the next generation of farmers will see it as possible for them to stay on the farm or start their own farms, because they will once again see a future in this county.

PNP comment: This is not going to go over well with most citizens — restriction of access to their public lands! — Editor Liz Bowen

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest NEWS item

Release Date: May 23, 2012   Gold Beach, Oregon

Virginia Gibbons, Public Affairs Officer, (541) 618-2113

A temporary emergency road and area closure for motorized vehicle use in the Signal Buttes area of the Gold Beach Ranger District was recently signed by Forest Supervisor Rob MacWhorter.

The road and area closure has been put into place to prevent potential damage to the plant Veva’s erigeron (Erigeron stanselliae). This area is one of only two known sites in the world for this newly described plant which is closely associated with serpentine areas and is currently known to occur only on the Gold Beach Ranger District.

Evidence of off-road motorized vehicle use was recently observed in the area around Signal Buttes, and could potentially damage the occupied habitat, or destroy the plants.

“This emergency closure allows the Forest Service time to assess the extent of the plant’s population in the area through surveys and determine an appropriate course of action,” said Gold Beach District Ranger Alan Vandiver.

The closure area includes the entirety of Forest Service Road 3680.195 within portions of T.37S, R.13W, Section 6; and T.36S, R.13W, Section 31 and 32, as identified on the attached map.

The closure will remain in effect up to, August 1, 2012, or until the threat of damage to the plant has been alleviated. Closure orders and maps will be posted at the area closure boundaries.

For additional information contact the Gold Beach Ranger Station at (541) 247-3600.

• Closure Order: 1,981 KB PDF

May 31, 2012

News in Jefferson Country from Pie N Politics.com editor Liz Bowen: For those who do not have internet and are not able to watch the video of scientist Paul R. Houser Ph.D. speak in Yreka on May 7^th, here is the concern Doctor Houser raised and was then fired.

Houser said it is important for public to trust government and asked the Department of Interior to resolve the flawed science issues. They did not. So On February 26^th, Doctor Houser filed a complaint of scientific misconduct with the Department of Interior and a separate whistleblower complaint. As a coincidence, on February 29^th, just three days later, Secretary Ken Salazar of the Department of Interior admitted he had to delay his decision on the Klamath Agreement.

What Secretary Salazar failed to mention is that there are no funds to pay for dam removal. Congress has not approved funding for any Klamath Agreements, which would include dam removal.

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