i know we have a couple people here, one from marin, one from san joaquin. we look forward to hearing about your cca process. supervisor mirkarimi: this is going to work and beautifully. why don't we opened this up to public comment, as our process provides for. is there anyone from the public that would like to comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. we will continue that item to the call of the chair. madam clerk, please call the next item. >> item 4. update on state community choice aggregation issues. >> through the chair, madam president, thank you for appearing at this joint session. this first item is an item that we wanted to start with, dwhich is basically, in addition to our efforts, there are a number of things going on with our sister jurisdiction in the public utilities commission. as we wait anxiously for the results of our rfp process, which will be concluded today, i wanted the sfpuc, through michael campbell, to provide an update on those activities. secondly, dawn weiss is here from the marin energy authority, as well a

there is a natural alliance that can occur between san francisco and the san walking valley -- san joaquinvalley. commissioner mirkarimi: any more comments? seeing on, the happiest holiday to you and the people who work with you. i look forward to san francisco county continuing to build its relationship with you in the valley. i think there are a lot of us thinking there are positive opportunities for us. >> thank you very much. commissioner mirkarimi: thank you very much. colleagues, we will move to public comment. those who would like to participate, one after the other. >> good morning, assembled commissioners. eric brooks, representing san francisco green party. i have worked a lot on this over the past seven years. the first thing i wanted to say is to set and what the commissioner said, which is that we would not want to just focus on the three-year rule. let's see if we can focus on a comprehensive set of legislation. we have got to remember that pg&e is vulnerable. this is our shot to do an omnibus reorganization of that legislation. in 2002, we passed ca after the bankruptcy bail

in san joaquin state prison, linda yee, cbs5. >> how well does the program work?f the co-founders of the healing circle says that a few of the inmates who have served their time and were released have continued to work with the families of murdered children in their support group. >>> cleaned up on "jeopardy." so what is a lowly human to think? >> to be totally honest it is mind boggling to researchers in the field. >> how smart can a computer be? a closer look at the computer that aced the quiz show and what we can learn about our own brain power. >>> doing 1000 things at once. what is that doing for us? new research that suggests not much at all. >>> i'm dennis o'donnell. it was supposed to be just another basketball game. >> i realized it won't come back so may as well get used to it. >> what happened in a split moment that changed his life. coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "deep blue"... and debuted "watson"... a computer that unders >>> last week ib m went beyond its chess playing computer debuting watson. a computer that understands the meaning and context of hum

. >> reporter: back at his death row cell here at san joaquin but his right to appeal is not over.e sometime has the option of a state appeal and that is followed by a federal appeal. >> robert lyles with the latest from san joaquin. thank you, robert. >>> message to council expecting to approve ordinances to protect $40 million in redevelopment funds from the state. the money would be used to help build the stadium. the governor proposing seizing that money because of the deficit. >> it is our hope they will make sure that not only do we position ourselves the best that any local government can to memorialize our money and keep the state's hands off it. >> time for them to pay for their stadium. >> as for whether the 49ers will pick up the rest of the tab if the state seizes the money. the team has only said this deal is far from dead. >>> other bay area headlines now. live pictures from san jose where crews are keeping an eye on an apartment complex that cause fire tonight. a woman that lives in the building tells firefighters that she caught her son playing with matches. it burn

even central san joaquin valley clear and looking at gusty winds. the delta, fairfield, 33 mph. by of a breeze in oakland and in san jose out of the northwest at 14. so from time to time those winds kicking up this morning. and we are looking at temperatures much warmer. parts of the north and east bay but we're cooler in the southern half of the bay. so temperatures here today will be about the same as yesterday but north and east bay valleys, yes, we will be warming up today as much as 5 to 10 degrees. so the clear sky, breezy winds to start. then the winds die back. a warmer afternoon, a colder night tonight. and we'll sort of see temperatures drop a little bit tomorrow. then they're gonna rebound again over the weekend. here's a look at some of the highs. upper 60s santa rosa, oakland. mid-60s you'll notice average highs, upper 50s to around 60s. from 2 to 7 degrees above the average for early february. rainfall, well, santa rosa 111% of normal. you can see down the line still doing okay but we should certainly get some more rain in february. doesn't look like it's going to

you know the state's greatest dried plum production actually happens here in the sacramento and san joaquin valleys? farmers here produce more dried plums than the rest of the world combined. >> right now, we're looking at french prunes about to be harvested. and what i look for to see if they're ripe or not is color. we test for sugar. we look at overall fruit development. and this tree is ready to be harvested. >> here they are harvesting 96 tons of fruit a day. so, to be efficient, almost all the harvesting is done by machines now. a mechanical shaker grabs a tree's main limb and, in a matter of seconds, shakes the fruit onto a fabric catching frame spread underneath. from there, it's a quick conveyor ride to bins destined for the dehydrator. and just in ca you were wondering, they're prus in the field and dried plums after they've gone to the dehydrator. the next step in the life of a prune soon to become a dried plum happens here at the nearby dehydrator. here, the fruit is thoroughly washed and then placed on large wooden trays. then the fruit is wheeled into these huge ovens where th

en cambio el fiscal del condado de san joaquin propone que a los acusados, se les de libertad condicionalomunitario, a cambio de declararse culpables, lo que enfurecio a la familia de maria isabel. sot 1:33 " es muy vergonzoso por que vale mas la vida de un animal cuando alguien lo atropella y hay mas justicia." 1:40 el sindicato de trabajadores del campo esta ayudando a la familia a pelear para derrotar la propuesta del fiscal ... y el proximo 9 de marzo, iran a la justicia para darle voz a quienes, ellos sienten ... no la tienen. cu --merlyn calderon., vice presidente nacional de la ufw se encuentra con nosotros en el estudio. --ustedes estan junto con la familia de maria isabel luchando por que se haga justicia? --asi como hay propuesta para los presuntos responsables de la muerte de maria isabel, existe alguna para la familia de la victima? take vo cu --gracias a merlyn, mas adelante volvemos con sus preguntas o dudas en cuanto a los derechos de los trabajadores del campo... --vaya marcando al 1.866.229.4848 o escribiendo a noticiero48@telemundo.com, tambien contactenos por facebook e

request your approval of the release of funds that were placed on reserve for the construction of the san joaquin pipeline. the original request was for $98 million. the improvements that will build under this project will facilitate system maintenance as well as provide additional operational flexibility. the project includes an distant components. the first three line items are construction contracts that will build improvements and the last element involved will repair the existing line. the construction of the crossover contract was initiated in june of 2010. it will be completed later this year. the contracts for the western and eastern sections involve the greatest portions and will begin very shortly in the next few months to extend through early 2014. and finally, the work on the existing pipeline has been going on for quite some time. the items in front of you today pertain to the contract highlighted in green. the western section portion consists of a new pipeline that will extend all the way down to where we have a connection with the coast range tunnel. the low bid for the contract wa

the san joaquin river barge had about 4,800 gallons of oil and hydraulic fuel when it deliberately ran aground to keep it from sunging. after an exhaustive look, the coast guard estimates less than one gallon may have spilled. >> the coast guard had several overfrights and only seen traces of oil in the water. >> reporter: they noticed two areas where there appears to be an oily sheen. that's when it was spread around the boat to contain whatever might be leaking into the water. now emergency crews are saying that the fact that they were able to limit the spill to less than the average jug of milk was because they were able to move so quickly. many of the agencies attribute that to lessons learned from the oil spill in the bay back in november 2007. it was a 53,000 gallon spill that many say could have been much small her emergency crews acted more quickly. >> since then, we get resources at the problem ship or barge or whatever it is as quickly as possible. and i think that was done today. >> reporter: now, as you can see it is really 100 windy out here. the coast guard was concerned

>>> the man who will decide whether california can resume execution toured the death chamber at san joaquin today. u.s. district attorney jeremy foggal of san jose checked for improvements made to the chamber since he put a stop to the executions years ago. the judge expects to make a decision later this year. >>> a decision has come down tonight in a heated struggle over which schools to close in an east bay school district but there is still some last minute debate over where some kids will end up. robert lyles shows us how things are all shaking out this evening. robert? >> reporter: if you are a parent in the mt. diablo school district or have a child attending one of those schools and did not attend the meeting here at mt. diblo high school here are the results. holbrook elementary school will be shut down in june. so will glenbrook middle school. three schools were saved. monty gardens elementary school. sequoi elementary and middle school. but even those three schools were saved it was not in time to stop the fighting that seemed to pit neighbor against neighbor. >> reporter: for par

we get that experience anything like the level of vacancy that you see in the far east bay and san joaquin valley. the 40% numbers baby about nationally are nothing like what we have experienced here. as relates to vacancy, it is hard to get a real number. euros experience is a guide. we're seeing the highest level of foreclosures in the southeast. the bank on the properties, i see somewhat contradictory data about how many banks owned properties there are. i can get back to you on that. anecdotally, i don't think it is anything like 20%, but on a regional level this is a bigger question, to what extent when we did this planning did we think about all of that vacancy? the problem is an enormous amount of vacancy. it gets to what brad paul talked about. yes, there is a lot of vacancies in antioch, tracy, and stockton, but it comes at a significant cost. the question is whether it is really available for households looking to live in it. i will try to get you better information, but the best i could do on short notice. commissioner moore: i appreciate that, that should factor how we look at

en cambio el fiscal del condado de san joaquin propone que a los acusados, se les de libertad condicional comunitario, a cambio de declararse culpables, lo que enfurecio a la familia de maria isabel. sot 1:33 " es muy vergonzoso por que vale mas la vida de un animal cuando alguien lo atropella y hay mas justicia." 1:40 el sindicato de trabajadores del campo esta ayudando a la familia a pelear para derrotar la propuesta del fiscal ... y el proximo 9 de marzo, iran a la justicia para darle voz a quienes, ellos sienten ... no la tienen. cu - cesar ---- gracias blanca ... ---si usted es trabajador, del campo o de otra industria sabe cuales son sus derechos? ---a las once, en noticiero telemundo 48 ... tendremos en vivo a la abogada del sindicato de trabajadores agricolas, para contestar a sus consultas gratis. cu - bump out ----y al volver de la pausa en el noticiero que mas le ayuda a los hispanos ! .... take vo ---- pilar nino nos dice que hay una oportunidad unica para padres de ninos con problemas medicos cronicos o preexistentes ..... enseguida ! take vo - anchor ---y continue llamando p

cutting funding from the san joaquin restoration, and the biological delta smelt and salmon are steps backwards. the balance we have been trying to achieve in california is a negotiation that must not be thrown off balance. decades of work toward a more certain future in california water is only attainable when everyone works toward a solution, rather than throw up roadblocks that cost us precious time. that road started in the bush administration and continues to this day. i urge you to oppose the language in the continuing resolution and allow the work by key stake holders to continue. i yield back the mans of my time. the chair: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise? >> i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. yarmuth: in my hometown of louisville, kentucky, a provision of h r. 1 will effectively ban new construction on power plants, refinelies and manufacturing facilities. by freezing the environmental protection agency's ability to issue a mission-based -- issue mission-based construc

challenges that we faced in marin -- and i know that you faced challenges in san francisco and san joaquin -- private utility now is really on its heels. they have done a lot of damage to their reputation, and as a result, are having to be more careful about their actions. i was just asked to sit in on a meeting with the cpuc energy division next week where there is a new requirement discussion where they have to comply with, at the legislative level, for them having to show what issues cca's are having with utility, and then getting a response back on how they are complying with the cca. so we have a litany of issues that are poor are not in the process of being addressed. those will be combined into a report that will be submitted to the legislator at the end of january, and there will need to be quarterly reports at the end of the year on how things are progressing. these reports will actually be dating back quite a ways. we will be looking back as far as 2005 to look at areas where pg&e did not cooperate with the law, follow the mandate set forward in ab 117. anytime you are planning a

what we've seen from the california department of water resources for the sacramento river and the san joaquin water heads as well. so we are certainly not alone in this regard. we are seeing of course the decline in the snow pack which others are going to talk about much more later today, but the suggestion that somehow the snow would be replaced by increasing water rainfall in southern areas has not yet emerged. and so picture really does not look great. we have our two largest and most important waste water treatment plants, the hipurian and (inaudible) they treat waste water and 11 other cities and water using agent sis throughout the la area. those plants are located approximately 20 feet above mean sea level. the projections for sea level rise in the last itcc report ranged from about 9 to

the body of 4-year-old juliani cardenas was recovered from the delta-mendota canal in the san joaquin valley. the boy's body was located about 30 miles downstream from where the suspect's car was found last week. juliani was grabbed from his grandmother's arms two weeks ago in the town of patter son. last night, hundreds of people went to the patterson city hall for a vigil. the cardenas family had not planned to attend but decided at the last minute to be there. >> i love you all so much. you guys don't even know. to me, you all my brothers and sisters and it's always been that way with me. >> the body of kidnapping suspect jose rodriguez is believed to be in the canal. >>> pg&e has discovered more leaks in its pipeline system according to results of its own survey. the study was prompted by last september's deadly pipeline explosion and fire in san bruno. they found 59 potentially hazardous leaks including 21 after its initial inspections last october. the utility also says it is in the process of scanning and indexing 1.25 million documents about its pipelines. >>> pg&e also says i

what's happening is that tulle fog is creeping in from the san joaquin. that means we'll see dense conditions up here until noon. then the sunshine will break through those low clouds. we'll see a beautiful second half of the day. this is what's happening. we have a strong ridge of high pressure completely taking the storm track to the north. in fact, it is well north of the pacific northwest at this time. they are not getting any rain as high pressure has firmly built in. sunny conditions for the entire west coast today. temperatures will be above average as we head later into this week. for the most part, we are heading throughout the next couple of days hovering near the 60-degree mark. 60 in napa and concord. 62 in livermore. here's the extended outlook. conditions getting warmer by thursday, but tuesday and wednesday are still going to be mild with temperatures in the 60s. we are close to the 70-degree mark all the way throughout this weekend. let's take a lot of sunshine outdoors. in february we like this, don't we, scott? >>> we do. fantastic. fans

what we've seen from the california department of water resources for the sacramento river and the san joaquiner heads as well. so we are certainly not alone in this regard. we are seeing of course the decline in the snow pack which others are going to talk about much more later today, but the suggestiha

path through peach, plum, apple, orange, and nut orchards shows off the picturesque side of the san joaquin valley's staple industry, agriculture. the colorful tetops set against the majestic peaks of the sierrnevada are part ob a changing landscape re. already, the trail has been altered several times since its 1988 inception to accommodate the region's growing population. >> well, it's important for our area. it's important to fresno unty that we preserve agriculture. >> the trail traces the outskirts of suctiny central valley towns as reedley, selma, and sanger. and as the landscape wakes up around the area, so does business. take simonian farms, for example. just outside thfrno city limits is where you'll find this 20-acre family owned operation that has grown 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables for more than00 years, and doesn't looc to close shop atime soon. especially if the lion of fans the place has earned over the years has anything to say about it. >> oh, my god. just for people to see it. i don't think they've ever seen anything likthis. toee the beautiful blossoms, and the c

. >>> copper thieves mae out with 15 to $20,000 of wiring in a mountain house neighborhood in san joaquint happened this past weekend in northwest of tracy. >>> the justice department is reviewing googles plan to enter the online travel market. a decision on whether google can buy the ita software. it could happen soon according to the associated press. google is offering $700 million for that company. >>> apples ipad is helping the company become the world's leader in portable computer sales. rankings released today by display search show that between october and december, apple had about 17% of the worldwide market for mobile computer sales. apple sold more than 10 million notebook and tablet computers. hp was second with about 15.5%. >>> the wet weather keeps coming. right now, it's widely scattered showers. if you got under one of these hail events or downpours, you got pretty wet. heavy rain beginning to fall. this is what's left of that cell that began to fall through the bay area and pacifica. it's losing a bit of energy. as we go into tonight, it's going to regroup. a disturbance

. >>> copper thieves mae out with 15 to $20,000 of wiring in a mountain house neighborhood in san joaquint happened this past weekend in northwest of tracy. >>> the justice department is reviewing googles plan to enter the online travel market. a decision on whether google can buy the ita software. it could happen soon according to the associated press. google is offering $700 million for that company. >>> apples ipad is helping the company become the world's leader in portable computer sales. rankings released today by display search show that between october and december, apple had about 17% of the worldwide market for mobile computer sales. apple sold more than 10 million notebook and tablet computers. hp was second with about 15.5%. >>> the wet weather keeps coming. right now, it's widely scattered showers. if you got under one of these hail events or downpours, you got pretty wet. heavy rain beginning to fall. this is what's left of that cell that began to fall through the bay area and pacifica. it's losing a bit of energy. as we go into tonight, it's going to regroup. a disturbance

district judge jeremy fobbal of san jose went to san joaquin prison to view the chamber.ecked for improvements made since he halted executions five years ago. prison officials say the chamber is roomier and better lit and staff training has improved. the judge expects to make a decision on executions this year. >>> more and more b.a.r.t riders are cheating the system with their clipper card. the san francisco examiner reports fraud has sky rocketed since a loophole was first exposed back in november. there is a glitch that lets riders buy a $2 b.a.r.t ticket. b.a.r.t has reportedly lost more than $170,000 in revenue. now to address the problem beginning february 25th, there will be a $5 minimum fare. >>> in the meantime over at cal train $30 million in the red and the boss is taking home record pay. $440,000 paid to the ceo a year including benefits. that's the highest pay for any transit boss in california. he also run sam trans and san mateo transportation authority. some former caltrain board members tell the bay area news group it is worth it to keep hill on the job.

protection agency said today it is launching an investigation into pollution level in the sacramento san joaquin delta. epa says the delta critical ecosystem on the brink of collapse now. the agency will focus on pesticide from farms and homes in the area. urban waste water and invasive species. >>> normally when we report on big waves near half moon bay it is news about the maverick surf contest or perhaps surf safety as we did earlier in the hour. but tonight there is a development proposal that is making big waves. plan is to build affordable housing for the developmental disable and big office complex to help cover the cost. and it is dividing a normally peaceful community. >> on sunny weekends the little town of princeton by the sea is crowded with tourists. they come for the seafood and the scenery and just to be near the spot where giant waves draw surfers from all over the worl world. in many ways life on the central coast of san mateo county is ideal. but not if you are a young adult with a developmental disability. >> lack of jobs. lack of affordable housing. lack of care. when the par

one of several new ideas in a newly released report on the health of the sacramento-san joaquin delta. scientists say it's going to be hard to reverse the decline of endangered species like the delta smelt. they said focus should shift from protecting a certain species to creating better conditions for all. >>> right now it's 6:00 is the. go back to sal. >> we're checking a couple different thing, pam and day. traffic is getting busier. this is the time to see more people on the road. it is getting crowded heading to the bay bridge toll plaza. right now they are just about to turn the metering lights on. going to see a bigger crowd here. there's a new crash in fremont northbound 680 i want to update you san francisco 19th and winston an accident. if you happen to be there drop me an e-mail or send me a tweet and let me know what the situation is. this is somewhere between stone and san francisco state on 19th avenue heading south. 6:20. let's go to steve. >>> thank you, sir. if you have any weather information like rain, report for rain in san carlos about half an hour ago. very simpl

it is one of several suggestions in a newly released report on the health of the sacramento-san joaquin delta. scientists say it will be difficult to reverse the decline of endangered species such as the delta smelt. they say the focus should shift from protecting a single species to creating better conditions for all. >>> time now 5:18. hey, sal, is the commute still stretching and yawning and waking up? >>> i think so, dave. people don't usually get on the road unless there's a crash usually right now is a good time to go. i think a lot of people will be going early these days to get a jump on gas mileage anyway. look at 280 northbound nice and clear up to highway 17. no major problems on 17 either. and this morning's drive is okay on the san mateo bridge heading out to the 101 freeway. going to the bay bridge toll plaza so far it's light. we usually don't start seeing a crowd until later on this hour or sometimes earlier in the next hour. 5:18. let's go to steve. >>> all right, sal, thank you. we already have light rain developing in advance of this system. and it's all coming togeth

the search for 4-year-old juliani cardenas ended with the recovery of his body from a canal in san joaquin valley. police say the boy was snatched out of his grandmother's arms in patterson two weeks before the body was found yesterday. hundreds attended a vigil last night in patterson. authorities think the suspect is also dead and his body is in that canal. suspect jose rodriguez was juliani's mother mother's ex- boyfriend. the mother says i want everyone to pray jose's body is found so we can all know he is burning in hell and i don't have to worry about him taking my unborn." >>> tasers for police officers going to be a hot topic tonight. last year, the san francisco police commission said no to considering stun guns for police officers. but it will reconsider now after a number of officer- involved shootings recently including that of a disabled man a month ago. this is video o thanks that incident. >>> we'll check weather and traffic now. first lawrence, our second most popular weatherman behind punxsutawney phil today. >> still behind the rodent. can you believe it after all these y

we have a lot of fog drifting in from the san joaquin kind of pushing off to the west from the east.ht now you are socked in in concord, napa, santa rosa, and a lot of fog is drifting along the peninsula as well. take it easy and plan on a slower than normal commute. it looks pretty good right now in terms of clarity we are expecting later today. clear skies, sunny skies for today and tomorrow. but what's going to happen is as the high pressure system crosses over the state of california it is carrying cold air as it originated in the gulf of alaska. so that's going to keep our temperatures close to 60 degrees for today and tomorrow, but once that cold air mixes out by thursday, we are talking 70s all the way throughout the weekend. 61 degrees in san rafael. 60 in oakland and los gatos. take a look at the numbers heading throughout the rest of the week. i can tell you that 70 is very comfortable. mike inouye, not so comfortable driving through the fog. >>> it is a little stressful out there. we have a couple of things for the area, 680 northbound coming through diablo road. the off-r

don barton is a walnut grower in san joaquin county exporting 90% of the crop up from 33% nine years ago. china is a big customer. >> we'd look at the middle east as excellent opportunities for growth. and they eat a lot of walnuts and almonds in the middle east. >> this economist says cuba is also a potential export market. cuba bought $700 million of u.s. grain poultry and pork last year. >> everything you want to do in cuba is against the law. exception is exporting food. if you're a food company and want to travel there and spend u.s. dollars you can do that. >> negotiating trade agreements will help. >> we're hope thfl will continue to show the way for exports. >> and this kills rodents underground has become a big item. >> we're probably about 55% of the business is exported. >> and there must be a major rodent problem outside of the u.s.. the bay area is a major player in exports. $7 billion in california crops passed through the port of oakland last year. at the world ag expo david louie abc 7 money scope. >> thank you. >> and still ahead tonight at 6:30 the tragic death of a

that should take that fog south towards the san joaquin valley or burn it off much sooner.e will cool it down a little tomorrow. but much more pronounced by saturday and sunday. if you already have the sun, great. if the -- the fog makes 4 challenging. a lot of 62s including coast. >>> if you are one of those people who watched the -- who watched the super bowls for the commercials. we have a sneak peek of some of the ads you will be seeing on sunday. >> i wonder if he will lose his hair. i wonder if he wants kids. >> pepsi is back after a one- year hiatus. this is one of the four ads for pepsi max. >> honey, now blow them out and all of your wishes will come through. >> there's one of the five dorito advertisements that will air on saturday. advertisers are paying about $3 million for 30 seconds of air time. >>> there's one rather large football fan who has already picked the winner of this sunday's super bowl. jenny, the elephant, made her choice at the dallas zoo yesterday. she had her pick of watermelons painted with each team's colors. she stomped on the watermelon tha

body of a child they believe is juliani cardenas was recovered from the delta-mendota canal in the san joaquingrandmother two weeks ago. the body of the kidnapping suspect is also believed to be in the canal. >>> pg&e has discovered more leaks in its pipeline system. survey results found 59 potentially hazardous leaks including 21 found after its initial inspections last october. the utility began that study after the deadly pipeline explosion in san bruno. >>> and today the san francisco police department will revisit the taser debate. last year the police commission rejected the department's proposal to arm officers with stun guns. they decided to reconsider that option following a string of officer-involved shootings. >>> traffic and weather coming right up. stay with us. ,, ,,,,,, ♪ ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ ♪ oh, do it ♪ oh, do it ♪ ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] coffee's like life. it's better when you add your flavor. visit us on facebook to find out how you can get a free bottle of coffee-mate on february 4th. >>> good morning. let's head to marin county. fir

for instance, consider the farmers in the san joaquin valley. those were businesses. those businesses were making money. they were paying the banks and buying land and employing people, they're buying fertilizer. . but what we can't to keep alive, a judge declared we are going to regulate the water away from the people and to the minnows. those people aren't making the payments on their land and not feeding their families. instead of being productive members of their families, they have scooted to the top, when we kill jobs through taxation and regulation policies, we transfer more costs to the top of the equation and that's the reason we are in such imbalance. 9.5% unemployment means we will have more people on welfare, food stamps and public assistance. we have a moral obligation to fix the jobs and we need to find a balanced point in regulation. i don't want to see the minnow go extinct but i don't want to see our jobs go extinct. the spotted owl was a regulation that was put into effect and in new mexico alone, we lost 20,000 jobs because of the spotted owl regula

personal to me, i live in the sacramento san joaquin delta. we're dependent on the levees for floot protection system of we go to the army corps of engineers and say, we need to have these systems designed. well, we can't do it right now. why can't we do it right now? we don't have the personnel. where are the personnel? their building things in afghanistan and iraq. ok. life's about choices. this floor, this congress is going to make some real serious choices in the weeks ahead. those choices are going to be before us. as this issue, the deficit, as of this issue of the budget cuts comes into focus, what will be cut? pay attention. pay attention to this. when we do a tax policy that gives billions of dollars, $750 billion tax break to the wealthiest 1% of americans, don't come back to this floor and tell me that that's a good thing and a bad thing to educate our children. when we're on this floor an we want to spend $100 billion or more fighting what will ultimately be an unsuccessful war in afghanistan and tell me we cannot build our infrast

administration has supported with holding valuable water from communities in california's san what wean callie. prior -- joaquin valley. prioritizing the needs of fish over workers and their families. this government and manmade drought cost hundreds of thousands of acres to dry up and that has resulted, mr. speaker, in an unemployment rate that exceeds 40% in that area. so this is just one example of how the implementation of the endangered species act, which i might add hasn't been reviewed for almost 20 years, is being used to block or delay job creating projects. mr. speaker, the goal of the e.s.a. was to consider -- conserve key domestic species. but today unfortunately it's being used by special interest groups to file lawsuits and drain resources away from the real recovery efforts of those species. the national environmental policy act or nepa, and other environmental regulations are going far beyond their original intent and they, too, are being used to place unnecessary and costly burdens on economic development projects throughout the country. nepa has become a tool for litigation sometimes resulting