What the Mainstream News Media Doesn’t Tell You About the Water Pumping

When readers of The Record read an article about Sen. Diane Feinstein proposing to guarantee water to south San Joaquin Valley farmers, do they realize whom the farmers are? In February, Feinstein proposed an amendment to the jobs stimulus bill to modify biological opinions protecting the Delta smelt so these farmers could receive up to 40 percent of their allocations.



Perhaps the Record reader conjures up a mental picture of small family-run farms eking out a living with barely enough water to grow their crops. That may be the case in some water deliveries, but nothing could be further from the truth in this case. These are not your run-of-the-mill average farmers targeted to receive the water -- precious water that could result in the total depletion of the California salmon population.



No, the farmers that will benefit from Feinstein’s proposed amendment are actually corporate giants, such as Stewart and Lynda Resnick, of Beverly Hills. The Resnicks are the largest tree-fruit producers in the world. They own 115,000 acres of almond trees in Kern County. That’s 115,000 acres of trees in an area where no trees will grow without irrigation.



According to a February 17 blog by Dan Bacher in AlterNet, http://ww.alternet.org/water/145721/the_resnicks_manipulate_water_policy_with_big_campaign_contributions_ , the Resnick’s were huge contributors to Feinstein’s and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign funds. Also, Resnick and Feinstein’s husband, investment banker Richard Blum, are close friends.



If newspapers such as The Record put an actual face on these farmers, the average reader might have a better picture of how the corrupt Powers That Be influence our lawmakers.