Forde Shorts

Water report – "Jacobsen Reservoir held 1,220 acre feet in storage on April 15, which is about average for that date," Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District Manager John Martin reported to the district board on April 20. "Our forecast shows the reservoir peaking at 1,429 acre feet on May 10." The drought, he reported, is continuing into its fourth year. "The State Water Project allocation is currently 45 percent but it could still go up. Northern Sierra precipitation is 121 percent of normal and Tulare Basin precipitation is 98 percent of normal year-to-date. Reservoirs north of the [Sacramento] Delta are full but reservoirs south of the Delta are still below normal. Environmental restrictions on moving water through the Delta result in the water going to the Pacific Ocean rather than to reservoirs south of the Delta. Old and Middle River (OMR) reverse flows have been reduced from 5,000 to 1,500 cfs [cubic feet per second] to protect the delta smelt. The April 1 snow survey revealed a snowpack of 87 percent of normal statewide, but it is melting fast and is now down to only 68 percent of normal year-to-date. Kern County water banking project wells are running at full capacity now that the Aqueduct repairs have been completed."

Prayer Breakfast May 5 – Refresh your body and soul at the 30th Annual Kiwanis Prayer Breakfast, the first of three events in Tehachapi on the National Day of Prayer, Thurs., May 5, 2016. The national theme this year is "Wake Up America," and the scripture reference is Isaiah: 58:1. The breakfast speaker is Marget Willer, director of the Tehachapi Salvation Army Center. A new format features young people assisting in scripture, prayers and song. Linda Pettitt is catering; breakfast starts at 6:45 a.m. Tickets are $10 at Witt's office supply, the Loop Newspaper, any Kiwanis member and at the door. The location is McMullan Hall at St. Malachy Catholic Church, 407 West E Street. For information, call Don Bowman at 661-822-5516.

Awww, no – The original address for the Tehachapi Replacement Critical Access Hospital, 2000 Magellan Drive, was dignified and memorable, if not just plain cool, like One Wilshire or 10 Downing Street. The latest board of directors agenda for the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District, however, lists the address as 1100 Magellan Drive, which is OK but does not have the panache of the 2000. The change came when the city of Tehachapi rearranged the addresses in the Capital Hills area. The construction of the new hospital is expected to trigger significant commercial development on the adjacent properties, and at least one major housing proposal is in the city pipeline.

'Bye!– Pigeons that were roosting in the Tehachapi Replacement Critical Access Hospital hard lid ceilings are gone, Project Manager Stacey Pray reported at the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District board meeting on April 19 at the Tehachapi Area Association of Realtors board room. It took haz-mat professionals a month to clear out the feathered squatters. In another part of the structure, the spacious emergency room treatment bays, Pray said, "rival anything in the LA basin." She said that equipment invoices "are starting to hit," and that Adventist Health is on board with the purchasing. "They have better pricing," Pray said. "They don't go through public pricing." The $65 million in bond funds will be exhausted by the end of May, district CEO Eugene Suksi said.