bakersfield Archives

More lawyers: New legal team joins fight for the Kern River

September 16, 2024

• by Lois Henry, SJV Water

A prestigious, international law firm has joined the legal team representing local groups suing the City of Bakersfield over how it operates the Kern River. Morrison Foerster is well-known in environmental advocacy circles for, among other things, its work on the Mono Lake case that resulted in the “National Audubon Society v. Superior Court” decision….

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Students scramble to study the Kern River as Bakersfield cuts off flows, leaving fish to die en masse

September 4, 2024

• by Lois Henry, SJV Water

The city of Bakersfield announced Tuesday it was cutting back Kern River flows for a maintenance project. But the hundreds of dead and dying fish found Friday near the Stockdale Highway bridge suggest water had already been ratcheted back days earlier. It’s unknown when flows through Bakersfield might return. The rapidity of the river’s dewatering and…

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Appeal of order to keep water in the Kern River moves forward

July 3, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Agricultural water districts with rights to the Kern River filed an opening brief recently on their appeal of a local judge’s order last fall to keep enough water in the river for fish. The water districts insist that when Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp issued a preliminary injunction to keep water in the river,…

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Rehearing on Kern River rejected by appellate court. Next step could be the California Supreme Court

May 24, 2024

• by Lois Henry

The 5th District Court of Appeal denied a petition Friday to rehear the court’s earlier decision to put a hold on a Kern County court’s order that had required the City of Bakersfield keep enough water in the Kern River for fish to survive. Both plaintiffs in the action have said they will likely petition…

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Date is set for hearing prompted by dead fish in the long meandering Kern River case

April 30, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Kern River combatants are headed back to court where a local advocacy group hopes to force the City of Bakersfield to goose up flows, which were cut to a trickle leaving piles of dead fish west of Bakersfield. The hearing is set for May 9 at 8:30 a.m. in Division J before Kern County Superior…

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Kern River bike path northern extension – 12 years in the making – finally gets under way

April 5, 2024

• by Lois Henry

After 12 years of planning, gathering funding then completing and re-doing – and re-doing again – environmental studies, the City of Bakersfield has finally gone out to bid for the northern extension of the Kern River Parkway Trail. “I’m very excited, it’s been a long time coming,” Councilman Bob Smith said of the 6-mile long…

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Dead fish piling up in pockets along the western reach of the Kern River concern Bakersfield residents; may prompt return to court

March 22, 2024

• by Lois Henry

After taking a bike ride along the Kern River recently, Bakersfield resident Jonathan Vegas was dismayed by what he found the farther west he pedaled. “More of the river has dried up, and the smell of death goes on for miles from the dead fish carcasses throughout the riverbed,” he wrote in an email. “It’s…

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MEETING NOTES: Bakersfield accrued the most Kern River water last year since buying its river rights in 1976

February 26, 2024

• by Sonia Lemus, freelance for SJV Water

* “Meeting Notes” is a new feature focused on Kern County water districts, funded through a grant from the James B. McClatchy Foundation. Please consider supporting SJV Water to continue this important coverage. Meeting: City of Bakersfield Water board of directors Date: February 21, 2024. Agenda and Packet: CLICK HERE Operations Report: City of Bakersfield…

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Judge leans toward dismissing some – but not key – actions in ongoing Kern River lawsuit

January 31, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp let the battalion of attorneys in court Wednesday know he was inclined to drop at least one cause of action in the ongoing lawsuit brought by several public interest groups against the City of Bakersfield for dewatering the Kern River. But he likely won’t dismiss one of the…

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“Where’s the river?” Bakersfield lowers required Kern River flows pending interim flow agreement

January 25, 2024

• by Lois Henry

Required flows down the Kern River channel were lowered by the City of Bakersfield on Monday as officials have collected more data on how much water is actually needed for the river to get west of town, according to an email from the City Water Resources Department. The move is part of a larger effort…

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More lawyers: New legal team joins fight for the Kern River

Students scramble to study the Kern River as Bakersfield cuts off flows, leaving fish to die en masse

Appeal of order to keep water in the Kern River moves forward

Rehearing on Kern River rejected by appellate court. Next step could be the California Supreme Court

Date is set for hearing prompted by dead fish in the long meandering Kern River case

Kern River bike path northern extension – 12 years in the making – finally gets under way

Dead fish piling up in pockets along the western reach of the Kern River concern Bakersfield residents; may prompt return to court

MEETING NOTES: Bakersfield accrued the most Kern River water last year since buying its river rights in 1976

Judge leans toward dismissing some – but not key – actions in ongoing Kern River lawsuit

“Where’s the river?” Bakersfield lowers required Kern River flows pending interim flow agreement

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