Dry spell: Ventura County struggles to refill from Santa Clara River
Farms, industries and municipalities in Ventura County could see a severe reduction in the amount of water they receive from the Santa Clara River watershed and sharply higher prices if a pair of environmental challenges are successful, a top groundwater manager said Nov. 16.
Tony Morgan, groundwater department manager for the United Water Conservation District, said at a symposium in Santa Paula that the district is unlikely to be able to supply anywhere near the water this year that it has in the past because of prolonged dry weather.
McGraths honored at conservation awards
Ventura County’s McGrath family took home top honors at the fourth annual Resource Conservation District awards, in a program that was bittersweet for one of the region’s top farming families. Phil McGrath, a farmer who embraced organics and the farm-to-table movement when others still focused on conventionally-grown crops and global markets, was the winner of Read More →
Special comment: Ventura County’s energy landscape
Ventura County has an diverse array of energy assets, but the rules are going to have to change if innovation is going to flourish in the region.
That was my takeaway after moderating two panels on the future of energy at the Ventura County Economic Development Association’s annual business outlook conference on Oct. 25.
Ratings agencies unfazed as county pension costs rise
Despite dire warnings that future pension costs could cause a fiscal meltdown for tri-county governments, credit ratings for Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo county bonds remain mostly unaffected by looming gaps in their retirement obligation funding.
Standard & Poor’s, a leading rating agency, ranks all three counties near the top of a scale that spans from its highest AAA to C, the lowest rating a bond can have without defaulting. Santa Barbara County carries the agency’s second highest AA-plus designation. Ventura County is assigned a slightly lower AA-rating this year and SLO County is ranked AA-minus.
Editorial: Retired sheriff should consider public perception
He will have a lot more success settling with the county or dropping his complaint.
Letter: Sheriff’s decision to sue reflects poor judgement
The article headlined “Ex VC sheriff sues for supplemental pension” in your Oct. 18 issue got my blood boiling, as I am sure it did with many of your readers.
Precision agriculture is a timely idea, but profits may not grow fast
Farmers are a skeptical lot. And Ventura County farmers have good reasons to be skeptical. They, and their counterparts in the Tri-Counties, grow high-risk, high-yield crops on relatively small plots of land surrounded by housing developments and urban areas. They are subject to heavy regulations on fertilizer, pesticide and water use. Particularly on strawberry fields Read More →
