Shepherd
07-10-2015, 04:12 PM
Celebrity vintners like Paul Hobbs and Ken Wilson are like movie star Tom Selleck--water thieves. Today's PD has a brief on p. A5--"Selleck settles with water company." It reports that in Ventura County he was "accused of illegally transporting water." Such celebrities feel they are above the law--entitled to take all the water they want, while the rest of us are supposed to conserve. In fact, Sonoma County vintners are allowed to use as much water as they want to--for free, without conserving--which they transform into wine and then transport most of it all over the world.
Meanwhile, the few real small family food farms in the West County are supposed to reduce our water use, or we will be fined. Meanwhile, the pro-wine industry PD publishes two articles on Thursday celebrating the wine industry, leaving out critical information from the Wine Advisory Group meeting this week.
Fortunately, hundreds of West County people have attended Water Board meetings this week, many of whom have complained about having to reduce their water use, while Big Wine can continue its abuse. Perhaps some of them could add comments on this thread to what they experienced. We need stronger legislation and enforcement to require the Wine Barons to share the water.
I want to share a link below with you to a long 2011 research article by Will Parrish on Ken Wilson, who has been in the wine news recently, and Paul Hobbs. AVA (Anderson Valley Advertiser) in Mendocino published it, as they have much of Will's work. They have done an excellent job, over the years, of covering the North Coast Wine Empire, rather than merely reporting the few crumbs that they give to the rest of us. The link below should lead you to the entire article. Or you could google Will Parrish for his recent articles in the "East Bay Express" and elsewhere. So it is out with the natural Redwood Empire and in with the commercial Wine Empire, if we let these travesties continue.
Back in 2013 the Apple Roots Group (ARG) showed up at a Hobbs wine tasting with signs to protest his new vineyard on Watertrough Ave. in the Sebastopol countryside, next to schools with over 500 students. Hobbs shut that tasting down. ARG and members of the Watertrough Childrens Alliance dogged Hobbs and called the Water Board when we noticed that he was doing illegal things that lead to soil erosion. Hobbs settled for a mere $100,000 for those violations, which could have cost him millions of dollars in fines. This article raises basic questions about how just a legal system we have in this county. The Wine Empire rules.
These issues are likely to be settled "on the ground," if our elected representatives and their appointees do not listen carefully to the rural rebellion rising on the North Coast against the abuses of the bloated Wine Empire.
https://theava.com/archives/1113
Meanwhile, the few real small family food farms in the West County are supposed to reduce our water use, or we will be fined. Meanwhile, the pro-wine industry PD publishes two articles on Thursday celebrating the wine industry, leaving out critical information from the Wine Advisory Group meeting this week.
Fortunately, hundreds of West County people have attended Water Board meetings this week, many of whom have complained about having to reduce their water use, while Big Wine can continue its abuse. Perhaps some of them could add comments on this thread to what they experienced. We need stronger legislation and enforcement to require the Wine Barons to share the water.
I want to share a link below with you to a long 2011 research article by Will Parrish on Ken Wilson, who has been in the wine news recently, and Paul Hobbs. AVA (Anderson Valley Advertiser) in Mendocino published it, as they have much of Will's work. They have done an excellent job, over the years, of covering the North Coast Wine Empire, rather than merely reporting the few crumbs that they give to the rest of us. The link below should lead you to the entire article. Or you could google Will Parrish for his recent articles in the "East Bay Express" and elsewhere. So it is out with the natural Redwood Empire and in with the commercial Wine Empire, if we let these travesties continue.
Back in 2013 the Apple Roots Group (ARG) showed up at a Hobbs wine tasting with signs to protest his new vineyard on Watertrough Ave. in the Sebastopol countryside, next to schools with over 500 students. Hobbs shut that tasting down. ARG and members of the Watertrough Childrens Alliance dogged Hobbs and called the Water Board when we noticed that he was doing illegal things that lead to soil erosion. Hobbs settled for a mere $100,000 for those violations, which could have cost him millions of dollars in fines. This article raises basic questions about how just a legal system we have in this county. The Wine Empire rules.
These issues are likely to be settled "on the ground," if our elected representatives and their appointees do not listen carefully to the rural rebellion rising on the North Coast against the abuses of the bloated Wine Empire.
https://theava.com/archives/1113