Liz Writes Life - 1-5-2022 Snow comes down and explaining redistricting congressional boundaries

January 5, 2022

Liz Writes Life

Happy New Year! Hard to believe we are in the year 2022. Time just keeps moving along!

Christmas snow (and now rain) has caused turmoil, but we certainly need the moisture. The south end of Scott Valley didn’t receive nearly the amount of snow recorded by folks in Etna, Greenview, Fort Jones and especially in Quartz Valley. The snow settled between each storm, but some residents reported nearly three feet. One friend that lives in the pines near Kellems Lane said he had 28 inches; and he also mentioned that those who have been praying for snow could stop now! Yep, seems like it is feast or famine.

Here near Callahan, we only received three to four inches at a time and it never built up over five or six inches. But, luckily the mountains are getting hammered. Yay! Skiers are happy.

UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported the December totals surpassed the last snowiest December ever recorded in the Lake Tahoe area, which was 173 inches in December 1970. By comparison, the lab reported 202 inches on Dec. 29, 2021. Its records date back to 1879.

I remember that 1970 winter in Etna. During Christmas vacation, after dinner, I met with friends up at the top of Woodland Street in Etna and we would sled down to Wagner Way and, hopefully, make the turn onto Diggles Street. It was a blast! I think the Etna Police Chief, (who I believe was Mike Hunt), ignored us because there were few vehicles driving after dark and we were not drinking -- just wanting to have some fun. Snow was packed making several inches of ice on the pavement, cuz it also stayed below freezing for days. I remember that Mrs. Fleck even brought out hot chocolate for us one night, so we must not have been too much of a nuisance.

Notice to teens: Probably not a good idea to try this nowadays!

Redistricting

There has been drama, this past month, regarding a little-known or understood legal process called redistricting. Most of the drama has played-out behind the scenes, but some Siskiyou County residents were concerned enough to weigh-in.

The issue that saw a spotlight was the potential of Siskiyou County being split – literally in half – by I-5 with Western Siskiyou being put into District 2, which includes coastal counties from Del Norte south to Marin. The Eastern Siskiyou portion would have stayed in District 1.

The biggest reasoning to keep Siskiyou whole and in District 1 was that I-5 is the life blood for transportation and the economy. Most residents don’t travel to the coast through the rugged mountains for shopping or medical needs. Politics was not necessarily part of the equation, but many conservatives feel Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa has been quite involved in supporting Siskiyou County especially in trying to save the Klamath hydro-electric dams, water issues and exposing the huge illegal cannabis grows by cartels. They didn’t want to lose him as their Representative.

There were some people that wanted Siskiyou to be moved to the coast into Democrat Congressman Jared Huffman’s District. Emails, letters and phone calls were made by both sides up until the deadline on Dec. 20^th. Ultimately, the 2020 California Redistricting Citizens Commission left Siskiyou County whole and in District 1. Yay, something I totally agree with. We are inland agricultural county.

The drama of moving boundary lines has been vicious in other areas of the state. Redistricting is done every 10 years after the U.S. Census count has been accomplished. In the 2020 census, the population in California diminished by nearly 190,000 people. As a result, the state lost one House of Representative (congressperson). There are 39.5 million people in California. Approximately, 770,000 population was the goal for each U.S. Representative District.

Siskiyou County is in the largest congressional district in land mass. It includes ten counties besides Siskiyou. They have been Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama, Nevada, and parts of Glenn and Placer.

With populations moving about during the last 10 years, Nevada, Placer, Plumas and Sierra Counties have been removed from Dist. 1 in the finalized 2020 map.

In contrast to the rural and sparsely populated Northern California, the Los Angeles area boasts nearly 4 million people and has 20 U.S. Congressional Districts! Currently, there are 53 districts throughout the state that elect a congressperson to the U.S. House of Representatives. No wonder rural areas are under-represented.

According to several articles I have read, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission is defending their work claiming there were multiple factors for boundary changes and also included a rise in the Latino population. Both Democrats and Republicans have complained as well as community neighborhoods and ethnic districts. Lawsuits are expected. Also, the issue of an alleged poorly conducted 2020 U.S. Census will likely be a major complaint in a lawsuit.

The statewide map of the new district boundaries should have been “certified” by the Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber by the deadline of Dec. 27, 2021.

To the issue of political bias, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission is made up of five Republicans, five Democrats and four non-affiliated individuals. The Commission is tasked to redraw district boundaries according to population, so each congressperson represents about the same amount of citizens. So, politics is not supposed to be brought into consideration. But, others may disagree.

May peace and calm be with you this week. Smile – just cuz it makes you feel better!

Liz Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

# # #