Newsletter

Feb 02, 2012
This Is Kinda Scary!
78% of all Californians don't know what the Delta is. 86% of Southern Californians do not know about the Delta.

Feb 01, 2012
Nobody Wants To Pay!
We don't think any one entity should have to shoulder the burden of the Delta's problems, but there's only one group being penalized year after year.

Jan 27, 2012
Keystone Pipeline vs. California High-Speed Rail
Does anyone doubt that had this exact same route been for high speed rail, rather than a pipeline, it would already have been approved?

Jan 24, 2012
Demolish O'Shaughnessy Dam?
It's amusing to watch the enviros in San Francisco defend their source of water after spending most of their political careers trying to destroy ours.

Jan 19, 2012
Trains vs. Dams
A dam at Temperance Flat is estimated to cost $2 billion, 1/50th of the projected cost of high-speed rail, yet there are no concrete plans to build it.

Jan 17, 2012
The Spain Train
Why bother sending a reporter all the way to Spain if you're not going to listen to the evidence he brings back?

Jan 09, 2012
Sham Science Vindicates Sham Scientists!
If we told you the President of Resolve is the former Executive Director of GreenpeaceUSA, you might have some doubts about how neutral they would be.

Jan 06, 2012
High-Speed Denial
Predictably, officials at the California High-Speed Rail Authority reacted as they always do, with high-speed denial

Dec 29, 2011
Young Farmers?
Why would a young person want to get into a business that doesn't allow you to know how many acres you will be able to plant next year because you don't know how much water you will have?

Dec 27, 2011
Delta Stressors: Where to Begin?
If they think ranking Delta stressors is a tough job, they should try farming where you have to deal with what Mother Nature gives you, what politicians take from you, and what scientists claim to be the 'truth'.

Dec 23, 2011
High-Speed Rail Jobs Estimate Too Good to Be True!
"First, they counted every year of work as a separate job. So if one person were to work 10 years, that would count as 10 jobs."

Dec 22, 2011
We Have to Pass It to See What's In It!
Silly to think we have to pass a bill to find out what's in it, isn't it? Not really. It's actually the way things work.

Dec 20, 2011
The Water War Is Still On!
You can read the letter below and see how the Congressmen implore Secretary Salazar to make sure the "new Delta Smelt biological opinion be clearly grounded in the best available science, not just the best science the federal agencies have to offer."

Dec 19, 2011
Whether You Like It Or Not!
The City of Bakersfield just voted to oppose the project, and what was the reaction of the High-Speed Rail Authority? The usual arrogance they display for all who quesiton their infinite wisdom

Dec 15, 2011
Double-Crossed Again!!
The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to give a 5.4 mile stretch of the San Joaquin River 'scenic river' status.

Dec 06, 2011
Wanger & Westlands
It appears that the editorial boards can't find anything wrong with what he's doing, but they just don't like it.

Nov 18, 2011
FPV Board Member Helps Secure Bush for Farm Show
When Families Protecting the Valley Board Member Mark Watte gave a helicopter tour of Valley ag

Nov 17, 2011
How to Build a Healthy Economy
California's bureaucracy needs to get out of the way, and we need to elect people that can make it happen.

Nov 14, 2011
There's A Lot Worse Than Pork in the Water Bond!
All we hear about regarding the Water Bond is the pork, but pork is only the beginning of the problems in this legislation.

Nov 07, 2011
The High-Speed Rail Outreach Program in Action
What has this country come to when the Occupy Wall Street protesters are allowed to take over communities and trash them without consequence, but in this case, the citizens in Central California are threatened with police actions when trying to express th

Nov 03, 2011
Shouldn't We Really Vote Again?
We would suggest, as others do below, that since this isn't what we voted for in 2008 that we get a chance to vote again

Nov 01, 2011
OKV: Occupy Klamath Valley
While you keep one eye on the Occupy Wall Street movement, we recommend you keep the other on events surrounding the removal of four Klamath River Dams.

Oct 28, 2011
'Zealot' Scientist Receives Award for Her Work!
Instead of going back to the drawing board and re-doing their bad science, the Fish & Wildlife Service gave one of the scientists their Star Award

Oct 27, 2011
Community Colleges Cheerleading for HSR!
Should not the function of an educational system be to objectively study and evaluate this project instead of being a cheerleader for it?

Oct 26, 2011
Water=Jobs, Now Air=Jobs!
But a cost-benefit analysis is necessary when implementing something as draconian as AB32 which is an effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions with the cap-and-trade emision system.

Oct 24, 2011
2030
The funny thing is that even as recently as five years ago we would have laughed at this possibility, but it doesn't seem so far fetched now, does it?

Oct 20, 2011
Who's Not Bringing Their Water to the Table?
These diversions are bigger than the water pumped from the South Delta to farms and urban areas in the southern half of the state.

Oct 19, 2011
Economics & Water
That's why we pay attention when we see headlines like the following: Lowes to Close 20 Stores (affecting 1950 employees), Gap to Close 189 US Stores, Expand in China, Walmart Plans Smaller Stores, Best Buy to Reduce Square Footage by 10%, Mall Vacancie

Oct 18, 2011
The Dam Problem!
There are always the expected lawsuits over endangered fish and scenic rivers not to mention climate change.

Oct 14, 2011
Is It Rain or Pumping Restrictions?
You can believe the NRDC or you can believe Judge Wanger

Oct 12, 2011
When The Rubber Hits The Road!
The train will cut a 20-mile diagonal through the heart of the city, impacting 15-20% of land area.

Oct 11, 2011
The River vs. The Dam
The Merced River has 122.5 miles of Wild and Scenic River designation. This modification of the Exchequer Dam would impact 1/2 mile of it.

Oct 07, 2011
Water Police
The U.S had the right to stop him from plowing because it could ruin the ponds and hurt the fairy shrimp and salamanders

Oct 06, 2011
Why Did the Chicken Plant Close and 185 Workers Lose Their Jobs?
Well, it all starts with the benevolent idea of biofuels

Oct 05, 2011
High-Speed Rail: A Better Idea!
Maybe instead of clinging to an idea that just gets worse and worse, it would be prudent to 'think outside the box' for a change

Oct 04, 2011
How Many Water Plans Are There? We Don't Know Either!
"I know of no one who has all of these in his/her head and can see how they fit together."

Sep 28, 2011
230,000 New EPA Jobs!
The cost of all this is being billed at $21 billion, which doesn't include the economic cost of the regulations themselves.

Sep 26, 2011
What Do You Call the Generation That Demolishes What The 'Greatest Generation' Built?
Why is it that if we all loved 'The Greatest Generation' we are so unlike them?

Sep 23, 2011
Job Creation Through Destruction!
They believe in tearing down dams to create jobs.

Sep 22, 2011
Science Gets A Black Eye!
It is ever more apparent to more and more people that scientists are nothing more than politicians in white coats.

Sep 19, 2011
Why The U.S. Economy Is Going To Hell!
It is damn near impossible to keep up with the insanity that passes for economic policy in this country

Sep 17, 2011
Wanger Court: Environmental 'Bad Faith' Exposed Again!
The enviros continue to try to shove the 'bad science' down our throats with the help of the courts

Sep 14, 2011
Who Are These Scientists and What Is Their Agenda?
We're all starting to see that politics might be more important to some scientists than science

Sep 07, 2011
Environmental Money Machine
The vast majority of large, well known environmental groups are nothing more than money machines

Sep 07, 2011
Labor Day Breakfast Dreams
It's necessary to make a point about 'green' energy. It's not about politics.

Sep 06, 2011
Record Income For California Farms!
But when the rain stops, we'll be right back where we started because nothing's been done to fix the problems

Sep 02, 2011
Wanger Retirement: Good News or Bad News?
So, someone is going to have to absorb his caseload including ruling over these very important water issues

Sep 01, 2011
Farrmers Prevail Over Enviro Junk Science Again!
Today we have Judge Wanger's ruling calling environmental junk science and credibility into question once again

Aug 30, 2011
Squeezing A Balloon!
When there are water problems in one area it impacts other areas as well, like squeezing a balloon.

Aug 29, 2011
Reaching Across the Aisle
For all his work with the Democrats his reward is to be removed from the California Water Commission

Aug 25, 2011
Sucker Punched!
We have our Delta Smelt. In Southern California they have their Santa Ana Sucker.

Aug 24, 2011
Water Trumps Rail!
The governor should push ahead with water plans, and sidetrack the high-speed rail proposal before it rolls over taxpayers.

Aug 23, 2011
Obama's Paradoxes
The fiscal and regulatory policies coming out of Washington (and out of Sacramento) have not worked, yet leaders who believe in them want more of the same.

Aug 22, 2011
Rachel Maddow And Hoover Dam
When we saw MSNBC's Rachel Maddow standing in front of Hoover Dam in a t.v. promotion (called 'Lean Forward') proudly extolling the virtues of building dams, we about fell off the couch.

Aug 20, 2011
The ESA in SF
Now if that was a Swainson's hawk nest anywhere in the San Joaquin Valley all human activity within a radius of up to 1 mile would have to come to a dead screeching halt

Aug 19, 2011
EPA Ozone Levels Too Tough For Yellowstone Park!
“As soon as Obama was elected president, the radicals at the EPA are just running wild”

Aug 18, 2011
U.S. Funding New Dam In Pakistan?
Why is it that we can build a dam in Pakistan, but not in California?

Aug 17, 2011
Obama To Unveil Plan To Boost Rural Jobs!
He could boost rural jobs in the San Joaquin Valley at zero-cost by not allowing fish to be more important than people.

Aug 16, 2011
How About A Hearing For People?
There is so much concern for the fish, but not too much for the people who create the jobs and pay most of the taxes.

Aug 15, 2011
Unemployment As Stimulus?
Apparently its hard for even "highly educated" people to think things through, and that's why we are where we are

Aug 12, 2011
Wonder Why The EPA Is The Way It Is?
The Obama administration announces it is expanding a liberals-only internship program that we don't need with money we don't have.

Aug 11, 2011
Regulation Nation!
At a time when deregulation should be the order of the day, it's just the opposite

Aug 10, 2011
Hey! I Have An Idea!
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom thinks something is wrong with the economy of California. Yah think?

Aug 09, 2011
California's HSR Boondoggle Was Predictable - And Predicted!
“This is the first time I am unable to endorse a high-speed rail plan,” he told the senators, saying that he found the California High Speed Rail Authority’s work to be “the poorest I have ever seen.”

Aug 08, 2011
We Can't Let West Side Go Dry!
Victor Davis Hanson writes below about how California's green dreams are colliding with the economy

Aug 02, 2011
Enviros Get 86% of Delta Water and Want Even More!
If 25.4 million acre feet out of 29.6 million acre feet flowed through the Delta and out to sea

Jul 29, 2011
NASA Debunks Global Warming!
It means "far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted

Jul 26, 2011
I'm Here To Help!
Let's just go ahead and put everybody out of business and see how much tax receipts shrink.

Jul 25, 2011
HSR Moment Of Truth!
Does anyone really think if another vote were to be taken on this bond today it would have a chance of passing?

Jul 22, 2011
SoCal & Farmers on Same Side in Water Fight!
Southern California Residents Paid over One Billion Three Hundred Million Dollars ($1,311,300,000) For WATER THEY DID NOT RECEIVE

Jul 19, 2011
HSR Racing To Make Errors?
We don't believe there has ever been a government project that has limped along so stubbornly when the facts are so negative and with this much bad publicity.

Jul 18, 2011
EPA, Enviro Collusion!
Enviro groups get grants, win lawsuits, have their legal fees paid, and you lose water and pay the fees

Jul 15, 2011
Fix The Delta!
How long do people get to try to fix something if everything they do makes things worse?

Jul 14, 2011
No Good News About HSR!
It's difficult to keep up with the never-ending stream of bad news about high-speed rail

Jul 08, 2011
Droughts & Water & Jobs
Some would have you believe farm unemployment wasn't a problem during the drought, but it just isn't true.

Jul 01, 2011
Taxes on the 4th of July!
So, how is it if things are so bad that property taxes are going up?

Jun 30, 2011
FPV's New Signs!
Average citizens don't know that many farmers have to pay for 100% of the water even though they only get 50% or 60%.

Jun 29, 2011
Train To Nowhere!
It is crystal clear that this project will be a mullti-billion dollar albatross on California

Jun 24, 2011
Budget Boondoggle Award!
Even though Congress has already zeroed out new high-speed rail appropriations for fiscal year 2011

Jun 23, 2011
Purposeful Flooding
In other words, they used the dam system to re-create the river as if there weren't dams

Jun 22, 2011
Groundwater Pumping Can Sink HSR!
The Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) project only a few years old is now at risk because of subsidence

Jun 20, 2011
Outnumbered!
It's fair to say that when analyzing coverage by the mainstream media we are simply outnumbered

Jun 16, 2011
Ag Doesn't Matter!
Investors have figured out that the dollar is no place to keep the dollar.

Jun 13, 2011
It's Tough Enough!
So, not only do we have to fight against unfair laws

Jun 09, 2011
Who Started the Water Wars?
They can't stand it when the other side fights back

Jun 07, 2011
High-Speed Rail Meeting Tonight
We hope you can attend regardless of your position on the issue

May 31, 2011
A Deal Is A Deal! Or Is It?
This meant farmers couldn't get the water back they had been promised.

May 26, 2011
David vs. Goliath
California High Speed Rail continues to spend millions of dollars by hiring expensive lobbyists

May 23, 2011
Sloppy Science
While scientists study, farmers go broke.

May 17, 2011
California's Perpetual Water Wars
While farmers get back to growing crops, enviros get back to doing what they always do

May 12, 2011
The San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act
Devin Nunes promised that when he had the chance he would do what he could to repeal it(River Restoration)

May 06, 2011
The Science of Water
Farmers never thought they'd have to get post-graduate degrees in biology and environmental science

May 04, 2011
Connecting The Dots
So is their solution is to shut down more tax-paying businesses that could help balance the budget?

May 01, 2011
Groundwater and Surface Water
Our system doesn't have enough surface storage available to make water banking work

Apr 28, 2011
River Restoration Public Hearings
This is an effort to explain their 3-year study to restore flows to the San Joaquin River

Apr 25, 2011
Chinese Bullet Trains
Today, Liu Zhijun is ruined, and his high-speed rail project is in trouble

Apr 21, 2011
Properly Managed Forests
It could also get back 1 million to 3 million acre-feet or more of additional water

Apr 16, 2011
Too Dammed Expensive!
The problem of underground storage is directly linked to above ground storage,

Apr 14, 2011
Not Dependent On Hydrology
It's not helping the rivers, the delta, the smelt, the salmon or anything else.

Apr 12, 2011
FPV Board Members Testify at Congressional Hearing
Board members Kole Upton and Mark Watte testified before the Congressional Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee

Apr 08, 2011
The Myths of Peter Gleick
Dr. Gleick is an ivory tower guy who as far as we know has never worked in a field in his life, yet is never short on advice on how to farm

Apr 07, 2011
Fresno Hearing on Man-Made Drought This Monday
We encourage all who can attend to go in support of policies

Apr 05, 2011
We Need Dams, Not High-Speed Trains
In recent days, more than 300,000 acre-feet of water is moving through the Delta and out to sea every day

Apr 01, 2011
Drought or Flood: Why Build Dams?
If droughts won't build dams, maybe floods will.

Mar 31, 2011
Facts Are Pesky Things!
High Speed Rail is not fiscally responsible

Mar 30, 2011
The Costa Plan
We suspect his problem will come from his own party.

Mar 29, 2011
Can They Totally Shut Down the Pumps?
They actually say "this case could completely change the game in the Delta, shutting down the pumps"

Mar 24, 2011
Just Had To Get This Off My Chest!
How much rain must the clouds dump on us before we get all the water we need?

Mar 23, 2011
FPV Board Member Testifies!
The problem is that this project was sold under the concept that HSR would use existing corridors

Mar 23, 2011
Is 70 the New 100?
The problem is no longer the amount of water, but the ability to move it around

Mar 17, 2011
Bullet Train Has No Business Plan!
He goes so far as to say that high speed rail lacks a "disciplined, genuine business plan"

Mar 14, 2011
Connecting the Dots Revisited
Here we are in the agricultural capitol of the world and we're begging for money from Walmart

Mar 11, 2011
Some Can't See the Forest for the Trees
Some people are beginning to see that there are many problems in the Delta, but others refuse

Mar 09, 2011
PPIC Report: They are Coming for the Water Rights!
But my consistent, recurring thought as I read the PPIC report was “Oh man, ag is NOT gonna like that”

Mar 07, 2011
It's Not So Complicated!
We have to face the fact that Democrats and Republicans have two very different views on water policy

Mar 05, 2011
What (Who) Is The PPIC?
So, is this really independent, objective, nonpartisan research?

Feb 28, 2011
Every Win Counts!
You could say we've had three wins in three months

Feb 25, 2011
It's Every Fish For Himself!
Yet, the Department of Fish and Game has done nothing to reduce the striped bass population

Feb 23, 2011
FPV To Speak At Madera County Farm Bureau Regional Conference
They will discuss 'The Delta and Our Water', a look at the marketing campaign

Feb 21, 2011
Environmental Wackos With A Plan
The truth is that they are smart and probably five steps ahead of the rest of us.

Feb 16, 2011
Librarians And Farmers
Just in cast they didn't 'connect the dots' between the farm and the library, we are happy to do it for them

Feb 15, 2011
Why Is The EPA In The Delta?
Why after decades of studies has the EPA decided to get involved at this time?

Feb 11, 2011
The Love Train
If just 1/10th of this money were spent on California's water infrastructure, think what it would do for the economy.

Feb 08, 2011
How Many Smelt Does It Take To Shut Down The Pumps? 93!

Feb 04, 2011
The Next Play In The NRDC's Playbook
One of them is the 'reasonable use' clause of the 'public trust' doctrine

Feb 01, 2011
They Finally Admit They Don't Know!
They now say there are over 40 potential causes for the Delta's decline.

Jan 28, 2011
Social Audits For Farms? Where Does It End?
Are you aware that large customers have decided shippers need to undergo "social audits?"

Jan 26, 2011
Train To High-Speed Bankruptcy!
Doesn't all this add up to something that just doesn't add up?

Jan 23, 2011
'No Dam' People!
Because there is no place to put this excess water, it will never be used for families or farms.

Jan 21, 2011
Nothing Reasonable About 'Reasonable Use'
First of all, it doesn't make any sense for farmers, who fight for every acre foot they get, to waste any of it.

Jan 16, 2011
'Public Trust' Next Big Fight(Part 2)
It is a huge mistake for Sacramento to attack Agriculture, its largest industry.

Jan 14, 2011
'Public Trust' Next Big Fight(Part 1)
It means that there is now a new front in the war on ag water.

Jan 12, 2011
Sacramento Bee Publishes FPV Response!
They called Families Protecting the Valley a 'cuddly sounding front group'

Jan 09, 2011
Drought Or Flood? It Looks Like Both!
But, it's no joke as the Board voted unanimously for both the flood and drought emergency

Jan 06, 2011
Who Is John Laird?
The Mercury News calls him an 'environmental advocate' who will have a powerful voice in oversight

Dec 30, 2010
Connecting The Dots
Why are so many people unemployed? Why are so many people homeless?

Dec 15, 2010
Sloppy Is No Way To Run A Delta
Judge Wanger then has to determine if the bureaucrats's interpretation of bad law makes any sense

Dec 11, 2010
SAC BEE Blames FPV For Sewage Decision!
We take full credit for our part in the public relations campaign to spread the word about the damage

Dec 10, 2010
Rare Win In Water Wars!
This has been a long, difficult battle

Dec 03, 2010
We Really Can't Say Too Much About This!
We distributed over 600,00 of the flyers through newspapers in the San Francisco/Sacramento Bay-Delta area

Dec 01, 2010
Train Just Keeps Truckin'
Despite all the bad news almost on a daily basis, the darn train just keeps truckin' down the track

Nov 29, 2010
Important Hearing Next Week!
Families Protecting the Valley, among other water organizations, has been very vocal in educating the public about wastewater

Nov 23, 2010
Water Wars Are Not Over
It looks like the same old story of bringing farmers to the table in an effort to get them to agree to cut their own throats

Nov 16, 2010
Seperate Truth From Fiction
If someone is accused of subsidies, Westlands gets blamed

Nov 01, 2010
Enviros Never Get Billed!
When water is diverted from farms for the environment, farmers are the only ones to pay

Mar 15, 2010
Farmers Also Need Costa's Response On SJ River
We need Congressman Costa and our other representatives to speak up before it is too late

Mar 13, 2010
Newsletter: It Takes Water To Make Mud
The 15,000 farm families do not consider themselves as separate from these communities.

Mar 11, 2010
Is It The Striped Bass Or The Pumps?
Why does one of our government agencies file suit against farmers to protect the salmon while another government agency stocks predator striped bass

Mar 08, 2010
Newsletter: And They Wonder Why We Don't Trust Californians
We found it curious that the California water bill package on the November ballot has $250-million for dam removal

Dec 29, 2009
Newsletter: Here We Go Again
'Where does the Valley think this will lead?'

Nov 15, 2009
Newsletter: Devil In The Details
Although there is supposed to be 3-billion-dollars for surface water storage in the bond, we can find no guarantee that anything will be built.