<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:18pt"><div class="" style=""><a href="http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=26073" class="" style="">http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=26073</a></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; " class=""><h2 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 1.2em; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Economist: Twin Tunnels would spell disaster for California agriculture</h2><div style="margin-top: 0px;
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">by Gene Beley, Delta Correspondente<br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class=""><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">FAIRFIELD <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;
padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">June 15, 2014 9:00pm</div><span class="" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class=""></span><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; border-collapse: separate; " class=""><div
style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">• Jeffrey Michael says BDCP shifts risks to taxpayers</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">• “The financial plan is a mess”</div></div><span class="" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; "><br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;
font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class=""></span><span class="" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; ">The controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan, if implemented, would spell disaster for California agriculture, says University of the Pacific economist Jeffrey Michael.</span><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color:
rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">The massive, 40-foot in diameter twin water tunnels that are the reason more than $100 million has been spent on the BDCP plan could cost $67 billion, including interest on borrowed money, making the cost of any water the tunnels sent south of the Delta too costly for farming. Water for farming is the ostensible reason for the tunnels.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85,
85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">While it may have been a decent sounding project to the state’s water contractors when they started planning it back in 2006, the economics of the world have changed greatly since then, making it a huge financial risk, Mr. Michael told a recent meeting of the Solano County Board of Supervisors.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate;
" class="">“So if these [water district] agencies are looking for good reasons to walk away form the project, I’ve given them a list of five,” he said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Here they are:</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px;
font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">• Construction cost estimates for the BDCP’s twin water tunnels have increased from $4 billion to $15 billion;</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">• Anticipated water exports have decreased from 6.5 million acre-feet to about 5 million acre-feet with no increase in the water supply;</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align:
top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">• Seismic benefit estimates have declined substantially;</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">• Chances of federal and state funding now or in the future have severely declined;</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">• Urban water demand is declining and future population forecasts have dropped significantly.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom:
0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">“How much is this water going to cost?” Mr. Michael asked rhetorically. “Dr. Rodney Smith, a well known consulting economist who works with a lot of these water agencies, has expressed a lot of skepticism about the BDCP financing. Basically, he says, ‘I can’t tell you what the water will cost because no one will tell me what the yield of the product (twin tunnels) will be. It ranges from no extra water to
best case scenario of 1.7 million acre feet of yield.’</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">“According to Dr. Smith, the best assumption is the water will cost over $500 an acre-foot to get it to Tracy. So that doesn’t work well for agriculture. If it doesn’t work well for agriculture, will it work for urban areas?”</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">That’s when Mr. Michael told about his experience appearing at Assemblyman Jim Frazier’s economic accountability hearing on the BDCP project February 12 and interacting with Dennis Cushman, assistant general manager of the San Diego Water Authority. Mr. Cushman told how they would have to pay $1.1 to $1.2 billion and that the “optimistic yield scenario” would be about 76,000
acre-feet.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">So, although they have not opted out of the $67 billion BDCP twin tunnels yet, they opted to spend about $1 billion to build a desalination plant in Carlsbad that is guaranteed to produce 56,000 acre feet of purified water every year. “Basically, they said that the (BDCP) deal can not get any worse for us and keep us in,” said Mr.
Michael.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">“The product is designed as a very marginal product for urban areas and there has to be a lot of shifting of costs from agriculture users to urban users to make it work,” Mr. Michael said. “The financial plan is a mess. They still don’t have one after seven or eight years. The BDCP is counting on two or more water bonds to pass to
finance the habitat.”</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""><b
style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">Risk Reduction – For Whom?</b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">The UOP economist, who is the director of the
university’s Business Forecasting Center, said that when BDCP’s supporters talk about risk reduction, they are talking about a select minority, not all users of water from the Delta, let alone all Californians.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">“My view is most of the BDCP is reducing risk for the junior water rights holders that are customers of the projects and the State
Water Project under the Department of Water Resources and increasing the risks to other users in that process. And that’s pretty important,” he said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">California water rights have been shaped by 150 years of legislation, litigation and violence. “Junior” water rights are much like the term would suggest – other rights holders have more say
on getting water. Many of those getting water from the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project are junior rights holders.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Mr. Michael said if the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta needs more water, it would have to come from somebody else, which increases the risk to upstream users and taxpayers. “All this stuff needs to be
accounted for from a state wide perspective,” he said.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">“Another reason they [the water contractors] are worried is this big flood scenario. I have no idea what the probabilities are for that. In the Delta there are a lot of stakeholders who have an interest in flood control and integrity of those levees. It’s not risk reduction. It’s risk
shifting. Be clear about that. The BDCP’s approach to risk reduction is to create an individual solution to take them out of the puzzle and leave everyone else on their own. If you take the water exporters out of the picture, indeed you’ll have less people there to share the common burden of that flood controls system.”</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Regarding other parts
of the BDCP package, he said the state “doesn’t have to build the tunnels to have that ‘stuff.’ It’s not being financed by the water exporters. It is being financed by bonds and the people of California. The BDCP — whether it is in the EIR [environmental impact report] or in their benefit cost analysis, in my view, shouldn’t be counted as benefits from habitat projects that aren’t financed by the proponents that can be reasonably expected to go forward within the tunnels. Those should be part of the baseline. If the state follows the 2009 Delta Reform Act, it says they have to achieve these co-equal goals, but doesn’t say only if we have a BDCP With or without the tunnels, they have to achieve that stuff. That is the proper baseline.”</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman',
serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">He said in economics, if you want to make a project look good, you set up a weak alternative. “Another issue is evaluating environment,” Mr. Michael continued. “This is a sticky issue to do in economics.” He said he found an error in the BDCP: “Once it starts talking about environmental benefits of BDCP, it switches back to the EIR baseline.”</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new
roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">“I submitted those comments to the author of the report. They said they were going to correct the errors, but I haven’t seen a revised report yet.”</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;
margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Mr. Michael also said there are “lots of optimistic assumptions” about construction by the BDCP — like no delays and everything happening on time. Nor have they factored in that San Diego’s Carlsbad desalinization plant will be on line by 2016, or other technological improvements that will happen in the next 50 years.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;
padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">“I don’t think anybody that has an interest in California agriculture in the Delta or south of the Delta should be excited about the BDCP,” said Mr. Michael.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top;
border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""><i style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">About Jeffrey Michael:</i></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div
style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Mr. Michael received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. His areas of expertise include regional economic forecasting and environmental economics including work on the economic impacts of the Endangered Species Act, climate change, and regulation on land use, property values and employment growth.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">He has been published in scholarly journals such
as the Journal of Law and Economics, Southern Economic Journal, Energy Policy, and Ecological Economics.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Mr. Michael makes frequent presentations to the regional business and government audiences, and is cited over 200 times per year in the local and national press including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times, San
Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, National Geographic, Washington Post, NPR, and PBS.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Before coming to Pacific in 2008, he spent nine years as faculty, associate dean, and director of the Center for Applied Business and Economic Research at Towson University in Maryland.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;
margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""><b style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px;
padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">You can watch Jeffrey Michael give much more detail in his June remarks to the Solano County Board of Supervisors in the following video:</b></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""><iframe
src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/97810274" width="450" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class=""></iframe></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""><a href="http://vimeo.com/97810274" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman',
serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">Economist Dr. Jeffrey Michael addresses the Solano County Board of Supervisors June 3, 2014</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2237027" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">Gene Beley</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">Vimeo</a>.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right:
0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 12px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; border-collapse: separate; " class="">Copyright ©2014 Central Valley Business Times <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">No content may be reused without written permission. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;
padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">An online unit of BizGnus, Inc. <br style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); vertical-align: top; " class="">All rights reserved.</div></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; " class=""><br class="" style=""></div></div></body></html>