HI there!

It's been a while since I've written a Letter From The Desert, mainly as I have felt much more like doing things other than writing. But life has been very good. La mujer que amo and I tied the knot in February in the presence of family and friends. Work has been consistent and rewarding. And the dog and the desert blossoms (still in progress, though on shrubs rather than herbaceous plants) and the corollary explosion of desert plant-eaters have been delightful.

A few of you have written during my silence to inquire as to my welfare. For that I thank you. I am fine. Just not very writey. I even took my 16-year-old blog off the internet a few weeks back when I realized it was done. But life is good.

However.

There are a couple things we should discuss.

First, and less important: I will be moving this email newsletter to a new home at Substack, which should be a seamless process from your perspective. The difference between this place and Substack is that Substack allows paid subscriptions, which is something I may decide to consider down the road. Having an actual incentive to write may make a difference. That said, setting up a paid version of this will take some deliberation, and those of you who currently subscribe will never be changed to a paid subscription without your affirmative consent.

If you're fine with the change to Substack, you don't have to do anything. If you'd rather take the opportunity to unsubscribe, you can do so by scrolling down to the bottom of this email and clicking "unsubscribe."

Second and more importantly: Stop Cadiz

If you are a California voter, you have a chance right now to make a phone call that might be one of the most important calls you'll ever make. Short version: a bill in the state legislature in Sacramento, Senate Bill 307, would force the destructive Cadiz Water Project to undergo the basic environmental review that the project's backers have so far evaded, with the help of their cronies in the Tr*mp administration.

Right now the bill is headed to the State Senate Appropriations Committee, from which it needs to be sent to the Senate floor by May 16. That decision is largely up to State Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Appropriations Chair Anthony Portantino.

If you live in Senator Portantino's District 25 (roughly the 210 corridor in the San Gabriel Valley, map here) then you can call his office at (916) 651-4025 and say something like:

I’d like to leave a message for Senator Portantino. My name is _____ and I live in _______. I urge Senator Portantino to ensure passage of SB307 and protect our Mojave Desert for all Californians.”

For other Californians, though Senators generally respond only to their own constituents, Toni Atkins -- as President pro tem of the State Senate -- is looking for input from across the state. Reach out to her at (916) 651-4039. Here's the script:

“I’d like to leave a message for Senate President Atkins. My name is _____ and I live in _______. I urge President Atkins to ensure passage of SB307 and protect our Mojave Desert for all Californians.”

If you're on Twitter, you can retweet this. I don't have a sample Facebook post for you, but you can probably manage to put one together from that tweet.

Thanks! And thank you for your patience.

All content Copyright 2019 Chris Clarke, all rights reserved. Please feel free to share via forwarding, but don't spam anyone. If you like what you see you can subscribe. If you really like what you see my tip jar is here.