Assemblyman glad governor discusses water

Herald and News 1/14/07

Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, whose far Northern California district includes Modoc and Siskiyou counties, was pleased Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Tuesday State of the State address included references to water issues.

“I was very pleased to hear the governor declare water storage to be one of his top priorities,” LaMalfa said. “

Every year another 500,000 to 600,000 people arrive in California.

The mantra of the late ‘70s until recently was, ‘If we don’t build it, they won’t come.’ That was simply wrong because they keep coming. We have not built any new surface water storage since 1974 and now we have reached a crisis due to lack of water and flood protection.

The assemblyman also praised Schwarzenegger’s comments regarding prisons. “The governor’s commitment to deal with our prison crisis is essential to the safety of our communities,” LaMalfa said. “We must take action to build the necessary facilities to meet government’s first responsibility — public safety.”

LaMalfa is a lifelong rice farmer, who represents the Second Assembly District that also includes Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sutter and Yolo counties.