Short Takes: Fiorini on delta council, MID biomass plant,

Randy Fiorini named to delta council

The Legislature still hasn't resolved the state budget issue, but with an Aug. 31 deadline looming to pass bills, there is some activity. A positive step was taken Wednesday when the Senate Rules Committee unanimously voted to confirm Randy Fiorini and two other people to the new Delta Stewardship Council. Fiorini is a former Turlock Irrigation District director and former president of the Association of California Water Agencies. He is a recognized expert on water issues, able to see all sides of the argument. He will be a valuable part of the seven-member council, which is charged with reconciling competing demands for water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Fiorini still must be confirmed by the full Senate. We hope that happens within a couple of days, including before an Aug. 27 meeting where the commission is scheduled to adopt an interim plan. For more information: www.deltacouncil.ca.gov.

MID sets decision date on biomass plant

The Modesto Irrigation District has scheduled a hearing and board vote Aug. 31 on the economic and environmental aspects of a biomass plant proposed in east Modesto. The $80 million project was the subject of our editorial Sunday. We would still like to have seen, before the final vote, another public workshop on the comments and responses on the environmental review. It was posted Friday morning on the MID Web site.

Few good options to fill council vacancy

At this point, it's hard to envision a good way for the Riverbank City Council to fill the vacancy created by the sudden resignation of Danny Fielder. There's only a week left in the 30-day window to make an appointment, but the council has been unable to gather a quorum to even talk about it. Another meeting is scheduled for Monday, and the nine people who have filed for the November election have been invited to attend -- with the prospect that one might be appointed to Fielder's seat. With Councilman Dave White unavailable for medical reasons, Monday's meeting will only have a quorum if Mayor Virginia Madueño and council members Sandra Benitez and Jesse James White all attend. But the chance of the three of them agreeing on an appointment is slim, setting up the possibility of a 2-1 vote on an appointment. That would be an unfortunate development, providing little credibility to the appointee. Without an appointment, the city will have to hold a special election, at a cost of $25,000 to $30,000, next March. There's a real possibility the Riverbank council will have to limp along with three members until after the November election.

Transparency in reservation creation

While California voters supported expanded Indian gaming, they didn't intend for tribes to go reservation shopping to put Las Vegas-style casinos far beyond traditional Indian lands. But that has been the pattern for many gaming tribes. Now Congress is trying to complicate the issue with a rider quietly slipped into an appropriations bill. Gambling tribes and their lobbyists want Congress to "fix" a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that cast doubt on the federal government's authority to permit some bands of Indians to create new reservation land. California is home to 109 tribes, far more than any other state. Some were organized after 1934. Newly reconstituted bands are seeking recognition from the U.S. Interior Department. Once recognized, tribes will seek reservation land where none currently exists. In California, that means new casinos. That makes it even more vital that Congress, working with tribes and state and local officials, hold open hearings on the issue. The California State Association of Counties has raised the correct question: There must be clearly defined public standards for deciding where land can be acquired. Speaker Nancy Pelosi should block the rider pending in Interior's appropriations bill. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer also need to come down on the side of transparency. The public deserves a full vetting of this issue.