Kudos to Mendes for calling out activist

Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes deserves kudos for calling out Janaki Jagannath, a classic activist who’s too lazy to look up the readily available facts (laws, rules, water rates and costs) impacting water deliveries to Fresno County’s water treatment facility serving El Porvenir.

But the county supervisors voting to have Mendes write the federal Bureau of Reclamation to request a price break on water for El Porvenir was a farce – pure politics. The supervisors know or should know that letter has as much chance of success as getting Sen. Feinstein and her Democratic cohorts to back off the scientifically groundless regulatory restrictions limiting Delta pumping.

And The Bee’s Editorial Board’s chastising of Mendes was disgusting. If The Bee put as much time and effort into changing the positions of Sen. Feinstein and other Democrats, there might be progress made on the Delta pumping restrictions that are impacting the entire Valley, including El Porvenir.

Kudos a second time go to Mendes for his excellent Valley Voices article explaining the linkages between groundwater recharge and surface-water storage. He very accurately dispelled the theories of anti-Temperance Flat folks like Fresno State emeritus geology professor Robert Merrill.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Kudos to Mendes for calling out activist."