Stapley: Can’t ignore 1,001 Stanislaus deaths; update on state’s water wars
As I write this, Stanislaus County is reporting 1,001 deaths from COVID-19. What a perfectly palindromic punch in the gut.
It seems a lifetime ago that I wrote about our first death, on April 10, 2020. Because we managed to go an entire month with zero deaths, it seemed at the time that Stanislaus might escape the worst ravages of the coronavirus, that maybe we were special. At the time, our national leaders warned that the United States could, if things got really bad, suffer as many as 200,000 deaths — roughly the population of Modesto.
How naive we were. On both counts.
Stanislaus’ death rate is fifth worst among California’s 58 counties. Which means that 53 California counties are doing better than us.
And the national death toll, 553,000, nearly mirrors the entire population of Stanislaus County.
So yeah, it’s bad.
Bad enough that COVID now ends the lives of more Stanislaus people than any other cause except for heart disease — more than cancer, Alzheimer’s, crashes, diabetes and a host of other killers.
Sorry for the negativity. Things really are looking up, with vaccines much more accessible, students returning to schools, business restrictions easing, people getting stimulus checks, local leaders adopting more responsible behavior, and herd immunity somewhere on the horizon.
But losing 1,001 of our neighbors to something that’s mostly preventable remains a tragedy, no matter how you slice it. These were real people with real lives and dreams snuffed out before their time.
If 1,001 of our people died in some horrific disaster, like an earthquake or missile strike, people would rush to build monuments and memorials in honor of the poor victims. TV crews would cover the event for weeks. Everyone across the planet would know.
But that won’t happen, because similar tragedies are playing out everywhere else, with a few exceptions, claiming 2.83 million souls worldwide.
So it’s up to journalists like me to acknowledge milestones like this. And to remind us that despite all reason for optimism, our awful death toll cannot and will not stay at 1,001.
Are CA water wars about to boil?
Not counting long and ugly court battles, the two most likely solutions to California water wars are voluntary agreements or involuntary edicts.
Our Modesto Bee Editorial Board long has favored voluntary agreements, or compromises negotiated mainly between local irrigation districts (representing our farmers) and state and federal officials.
The other side, chiefly represented by environmental and fishing interests, would prefer that the California State Water Board simply take huge amounts of water from our Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers, mostly to benefit fish — what could be called involuntary edicts. It’s an insult to our ancestors who sacrificed to build mountain reservoirs and canals, turning this valley into one of the most fertile agricultural regions in the world.
You haven’t heard much during the three years that things have been mostly on hold. But recently, columns and essays reflecting environmental interests have begun popping up in blogs, publications and opinion pages with more frequency than usual.
Reading between the lines, Assemblyman Adam Gray sees a torpedo.
“These folks are suggesting we should abandon the (ongoing) voluntary agreements, is the message I’m reading in their own words,” said Gray, whose district stretches through Stanislaus and Merced counties. “To see them go on a PR campaign against the voluntary agreements suggests an agreement is close, and their intent in blowing that up.”
On Thursday, an environmental advocacy group approached me with questions about submitting essays. They are welcome to use our opinion pages to advance the public debate, of course — as are office holders, farmers and water agencies like the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts. Let’s have a full and fruitful discussion.
I hope the assemblyman is right, that voluntary agreements finally could be around the corner. Despite enormous pressure from the environmental lobby, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his predecessor, Jerry Brown — Democrats, both — stand behind these negotiations. They represent the best chance at all sides getting something, rather than one side getting everything, and the other, nothing.
A voluntary agreement is always better than an involuntary edict.
This story was originally published April 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
