SPOKE EDITOR FUN FACT:
Mike "Willieboy" Willis co-authored a web design book with Vincent Flanders in 1997 called Web Pages That Suck. It was at the beginning of the design renaissance of websites. The premise was Flander's concept, that you can teach someone good design by showing them bad design. It sold 65,000 copies and was translated into Japanese, where it sold an additional 7,500 copies. It is no longer in print. Web design has changed a bit since then.
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Invocation: Bob Burdette
Flag Salute: Ken Secor
Song: Jordan Kaufman
Greeter: Ben Taft and Jerene Battisti
Roving Mics: Kurt Wingate and Michael George
Good News & Announcements:
Jerene Battisti shone the spotlight on The Assistance League's
Operation School Bell. They recently outfitted their 150,000th kid with school clothes. Support them and donate to the Bargain Box.
Jon Sampson invited us to attend
Taste of the Arts at CSUB, Sunday, October 13, 2019. The cocktail hour and raffle start at 4:30 pm in the Doré Theatre Music Building. Free Admission! More information
here.
Mike McCoy announced the opening of a new exhibit at the
Kern County Museum displaying buildings and items from the Dustbowl camps of the 1930's. He thanked our own
Sheryl Barbich for her fundraising efforts that made it happen.
Everyone was super stoked to have piano music back courtesy of Micha (no last name. Like Madonna or Sting) He is self-taught and plays all original tunes. He doesn't read sheet music (at least that's what he claims) so he doesn't have to play our little patriotic ditties. Check him out on
Sound Cloud.
In this week's "Bald and in Business" segment, Ben Stinson was in the spotlight (for what I feel was a repeat performance). President Garro really didn't ask him about business though, it was more about putting him on blast. Apparently, he appeared on national television during the Dodger game, and according to Garro, "wasn't wearing his Rotarian pin". Ben, growing increasingly hostile, asked President Garro why HE wasn't wearing HIS pin. Garro mumbled something about "because he had an embroidered Rotary shirt and didn't have to". The segment went downhill after that.
Justin Leland, running a distant third on the Membership Recruitment Leaderboard behind Ken Beurmann and Sherly Barbich, put another notch in his belt and introduced our newest member, Lizette Patterson, a head hunter for Rand Employment Solutions. Sorry about the empty swag bag.
Program:
Moderator, Ben Taft introduced our Ag panelists for today's symposium. Representing the water district's point of view was Jeevan Muhar with Arvin/Edison Water District and in the farmer's corner was Kevin Pascoe with Grimmway Farms.
The subject of groundwater and surface water sustainability is a hot topic. Presently, farmers have been pumping out more water than what nature is putting back into the aquifers. A lot more. So much so there have been reports of sinking land. Our governor has implemented legislation called SIGMA- the Sustaining Groundwater act. It goes into effect in 2020. Essentially they will dictate how much water each of the farms will be allowed per acre of farmland.
For instance, you might need 4000 acre-feet to irrigate your almond orchard. But the regulator tells you only get 1000. That means you're going to have a lot of firewood the next season and no almonds.
Of course, it may be more equitable than that, but you can bet, big farms are going to try and tie things up in court.
A possible answer to this issue is to start looking for and/or buying surface water.
Consider our HUGE San Joaquin delta, carrying 10 million acre-feet of water down the middle of our farm-rich valley... right out into the ocean. All because of a small, nonindigenous fish called the Delta Smelt. I mean, I get it, I miss the Dodo Bird, but a smelt? Come on.
If the farmers could siphon off just 2 million acre-feet, they wouldn't need groundwater. When asked why farmers and water agencies weren't lobbying for rights to the water, the answer was, in the past, they would go up to the capital as individual agencies and complain to deaf ears. But now they have formed a large and powerful coalition of water districts, farmers, lawyers, etc. to put pressure on Sacramento for compromise.
Kern County is the number the numero uno ag producer in the nation, supplying the US and the world with 7 billion dollars worth of crops. Environmentalists, politicians, and farmers are going to have to work together or the consequences of not having enough water will be profound.
Visitors and Guests:
Chris Sarkis guest of Ken Keller
Danny Johnson guest of Charlie Moe
Kassidy Ellis guest (and daughter) of President Garro
Special Guest appearance of Evelyn Johnson Downtown rotary member since 1958.
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