By George Skelton | Los Angeles Times
At first blush, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest action on water seems fanciful and naive. But it has logic and conceivably could work.
Newsom wants to reexamine practically everything the state has been working on — meaning what former Gov. Jerry Brown was doing — and piece together a grand plan for California’s future that can draw the support of longtime water warriors.
That’s a noble idea, but it seems highly unrealistic. Since statehood, water has historically been California’s most contentious issue — as it has been throughout the West.
There’s a reason why a quote attributed to Mark Twain has become a well-worn cliche: “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.” It’s fact.
