Fools for a buck

“Fools for a buck”, Monterey Herald – August 31, 2023

So, Santa Clara County wants to build a 320-foot high dam and reservoir at Pacheco Pass (as reported in the Herald recently) but can’t find a water agency willing to help fund the $2.8 billion project. Are the CEO and Santa Clara water board members ignorant enough to think they can do business with China? Think of the control China would have over water rights and the farmers who would need the water. A Chinese businessman already purchased the 12,000-acre El Toro cattle ranch where the dam would be built! Why are California landowners selling precious former historical land grants to Chinese businessmen? Agricultural projects linked to the Chinese Communist Party have been purchased near sensitive sites like military bases and telecom infrastructure areas as well as farmland thus threatening our nation’s security and food supply.  Shame on the landowners who are selling our country to the highest bidder!  Our foreign adversaries are playing the American people for fools!

— Nancy Ponedel Parsons, Pacific Grove