President Trump has said that California will not receive federal aid for recovery from wildfires unless it changes its water policy and voter identification rules.
“I just want voter ID as a start, and I want the water to be released,” Trump told reporters.“After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.”
Would he really hold up aid with losses estimated at $40 billion?
Reaction has been mixed on the Trump demand. Chair of the Kings County BOS Doug Verboon says he backs the demand that includes eliminating FEMA that” has proven to be “extremely \slow to deliver aid in King County.”Bringing more water to Kings County would be beneficial, he says noting there is alway politics involved over these disputes. He blames Gov Newsom.
In a news interview Central Valley Congressman Tom McClintock said he “absolutely” agreed with conditional federal aid to California.
“No federal aid should pass through the hands of Gavin Newsom or Karen Bass or their agencies,” he said. “They’ve proven themselves to be completely incompetent in managing public lands and completely incapable of making good decisions.”
Other GOP legislators took a more moderate tone not wanting to hold LA fire victims hostage to policy disputes.
CalMatters reported that local “Rep. David Valadao, a moderate Republican who in 2021 voted to impeach Trump, urged speedy disaster relief without mentioning any conditions. “The federal government must act quickly to save lives and homes, and once we know how much federal support California will require to rebuild, it is imperative we move as quickly as possible to deliver aid,” he said in a statement.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, who won re-election by 10 points in November, advocated on the House floor for a federal inquiry into “political failures that enabled this catastrophe” but stressed that it should not “stand in the way of getting immediate relief to the victims.” On Friday, he clarified to KCRA that he would not support tying aid to policy changes unrelated to wildfires. “
Also this week,President Trump has signed an order directing federal agencies to “maximize” water deliveries in California and “override” state policies if necessary.
The California State Water Project in 2024, saw the proposed allocation start at 10 percent and increase to 40 percent. Full allocation years, or 100 percent allocation, are rare with only one such allocation in the past decade in the extremely wet year of 2023 say officials.
Jobless rate update
The unemployment rate in Kings County was 8.4 percent in December 2024, up from a revised 7.9 perce November 2024, and below the year-ago estimate of 8.9 percent.
New Hotel planned in Hanford
Hanford’s Planning Commission approved a proposal to build a three-story, 105-room hotel called TownePlace Suites by Marriott. The proposed project is located at 12236 W. Lacey Blvd.
to be reassigned to 1920 W. Lacey Blvd, located next to FoodsCo and across from Planet Fitness.The project required a conditional use permit that passed Jan 28.This is the first Marriott-branded hotel in town.The chain is number three hotel operator by number properties in the US.
Burris Park exhibit of early Kings agriculture
Antique Images from the Collection of Michael J. Semas will be the new exhibit scheduled for the Carnegie Museum of Kings County called “A History of Kings County Agriculture”. The Burris Park Museum has also made contributions to the exhibit that features everyday farm scenes, farmers and farm workers around the turn of the century. The exhibit will open late February.