California Dolphin

Despite California’s drought, a proposed statewide November ballot measure to speed up the construction of new dams and other large water projects — and provide billions of dollars to fund them — has fallen short in its fundraising goals and is likely to be withdrawn by early next week. The initiative would require that 2% of California’s general fund, or about $4 billion, be set aside every year to expand water supplies. Those could include new dams and reservoirs, desalination plants, recycled water plants and other projects such as upgrading canals and pipes. The measure also would streamline permitting for those projects. But the campaign has failed to gain momentum and is far short of the nearly 1 million signatures needed by the end of April to qualify for the ballot. Organizers say to have any chance, they must raise $10 million by Feb. 1 to hire paid signature gatherers and ramp up efforts. As of Wednesday, they had raised only $165,000, nearly all of it from Central Valley farmers. “We haven’t been able to find big donors who have been willing to come in…

Q: I keep reading complaints about Interstate 5. Who can we contact about improving I-5 and other California highways? The governor uses a helicopter and doesn’t know the problems of ordinary citizens who are driving. Perhaps a letter-writing campaign would help get California’s elected officials to prioritize fixing our highways, using part of the state budget surplus. Robert Hull, Scotts Valley A: Folks, it’s time to take action and pepper state elected officials with letters and emails about how bad the stretch of I-5 between Northern and Southern California has become as traffic has increased. I-5 is just two lanes wide in each direction. Readers report many problems with this highly traveled road. Q: Driving continuously in the right lane, given the horrible state of California roads and I-5, in particular, is essentially asking for destroyed suspension, wheels and tires, not to mention the need for a neck and back specialist. Ed Oates A: Here’s what you need to do, if you agree with these and other frustrated I-5 drivers. Contact the 13-member California Transportation Commission (CTC) with your recommendation that a third lane needs…

The 49ers are still stinging from the one that got away, and believe they are built to finish. Finishing games is more of a concept than something printed in black and white in a football manual and distributed by coach Kyle Shanahan. It can be complementary or specific to a phase of offense, defense or special teams. It can be a play made by an individual or something situational set up by superior coaching. Whatever it is, the 49ers didn’t have it when it mattered most on Feb. 2, 2020 in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. They had it in the divisional round when they pulled out a 13-10 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Next up are the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. It’s the last step to take before getting a chance to ease the pain of what happened in Miami two years ago. “It’s all about the finish. We’re still getting haunted by the Super Bowl,” safety Jimmie Ward said. “The last six minutes we lost the game. Coach Kyle…

By Sonia Moghe | CNN A Manhattan restaurant where Sarah Palin was spotted dining indoors while unvaccinated over the weekend confirmed that the former Alaska governor returned to dine outdoors on Wednesday, just a few days after testing positive tor Covid. At issue are current local guidelines that advise people who tested positive to remain in isolation for five days after their positive test. “Our goal has always been to incentivize isolation for those testing positive for Covid and providing them multiple resources,” a New York City Hall spokesperson said. “That being said we hope that anybody who has Covid is isolating for their own safety and the safety of all new Yorkers and find it highly irresponsible that Sarah Palin refuses to do so.” Palin, who is in Manhattan for her defamation trial against the New York Times, tested positive for Covid-19, a federal judge presiding over her case said Monday, delaying the start of the trial. It’s unclear what day Palin first tested positive. “She is, of course, unvaccinated,” said US District Judge Jed Rakoff Monday, according to Reuters. CNN has reached out…

Is California — and its politicians — ready for VAX War II? More pointedly, is Gov. Gavin Newsom ready? Three years ago, the Capitol was wracked by one of the most heated conflicts in its history — legislation to make it more difficult for parents to exempt their children from mandatory vaccinations if they attended public schools. A bill sought to close a loophole that allowed doctors to approve exemptions without specifying reasons, leading to doctor-shopping by anti-vaccination parents. Hundreds of opponents besieged the Capitol, claiming that the legislation would violate parental rights and require vaccines that could trigger autism or other adverse reactions. The measure’s author, Sacramento Sen. Richard Pan, and other backers were accosted and threatened and on the final night of the legislative session, someone in the Senate gallery threw a cup of what authorities said “appeared to be blood” onto the Senate floor. Eventually, the bill passed and was signed by Newsom in his first year as governor, but he engaged in some bizarre political theater before finally acceding. As the bill was moving through the Legislature, Newsom suddenly demanded a number of…