This Billionaire Couple Stole California's Water Supply

[ancianita]

1. Thanks!

Because the more you know about oligarchs...

Turns out Stewart Resnick is the richest farmer in America, and that his almonds are the 2nd largest crop grown in California, with both almonds & pistachios being 2nd highest in water use.

... Through what some sources have called backroom negotiations, in 1994 the water bank was transferred under what's known as Monterey Plus Amendments[9] from the public to the private ownership of the Resnick's.[8] It was passed from the Department of Water Resources to the agribusiness-dominated Kern County Water Authority, and from there to the Kern Water Bank Authority.

The Kern Water Bank Authority consists of four water districts and a private company, Westside Mutual.[7] Westside is a shell corporation owned by Paramount Farming which is a subsidiary of The Wonderful Company.[7] It is primarily through Westside that the Resnicks own 57% of the Water Bank.[10] News outlets, academic papers, and advocacy groups have criticized The Wonderful Company for its possession of what was originally meant to be a public asset, and the monetary benefit they have gained through it.[11]

The Wonderful Company has been criticized for its aggressive consumption of water in the drought ridden state of California. The company has expanded its business even as California residents have faced water shortages and the water ecosystem has been irreversibly damaged.[11] Residents of the Central Valley, while the target of the company's charitable giving, suffer from an acute water crisis. It is also claimed that the company lobbies to privatize the state's water and funds opposition research on the impact of farming on the drought.[11][8]

In 2024, the company sought to halt a new state law that would make it easier for its employees to unionize. The move came after United Farm Workers started representing some of its employees in Kern County under the recent law.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Company

Also raises a question about whether the Resnicks have any connection to the Border Patrol recently arresting undocumented workers in Kern County, which also caused 75% of workers (& their families, maybe) to just disappear...
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143370289
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219893532