A bit off the beaten track for PEN-L, but interesting nonetheless. The Bass family is buying water rights in the Imperial Valley, California, for sale in turn to Los Angeles, despite popular opposition in the Valley. A former employee of theirs is now the director of the Imp Val irrigation authority, which doesn't hurt. They've bought the rights mainly from farmers who are old and heirless. The farmers see, my source told me, that it's US national policy to shift a lot of agriculture to Mexico, and they see no reason not to take an attractive offer and retire. A new wrinkle: San Diego also wants to the water. But to get it means building a billion dollar pipeline over some rough mountains. Many people in the Imp Val oppose the scheme because it would obviously turn the region into a ghost town almost overnight. Meanwhile, the economic development authorities in the area have opted for the classic strategy of godforsaken rural America: they're luring prisons (2 already) and toxic waste dumps (a nasty one on the way). Doug -- Doug Henwood [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax
