More good news for which we can thank the drought.
Now it’s not just that we’re using less water and taking steps to reduce water usage long term. Late in the budget process, Gov. Brown is pushing to give the state new powers to consolidate local water agencies.
The details involve letting the state shut down trouble agencies, but the details aren’t what matter. Yes, that’s yet another reversal for Brown, the Great Centralizing force of California politics, who used to claim to be a decentralizer. But that reversal shouldn’t matter.
What matters is that the state is actually moving to reduce the number of local agencies and governments in California.
And that’s always good news. California has way too many governments on the local level – thousands of them. So many that it’s impossible for even the most responsible citizen to follow – and provide a check – on all the governments that serve her. So many that making changes in crisis is very hard.
I’ve written before that California needs an “extinction event” that eliminates local governments. Maybe the drought, for all the other kinds of damage and stress it creates, will be that happy event.