VOL.39 • ISS. 14
June 26, 2020
11
the state to deem Delta Tunnel planning
as” non-essential” during the COVID 19
pandemic.
“This is because many rural communities
and Tribes cannot engage in the
process currently. SCS was told that the
scoping comment period is over so there
is no public engagement opportunities
anyway, even though plans for construction
are actively moving forward,” she
said.
“The decision to move forward with
trying to obtain a federal permit using a
set proposal, intakes and tunnel corridor
so soon after the scoping period ended,
and during a Pandemic, shows that state
never had any intention of considering
stakeholder input. This is despite the fact
that thousands of people from all over
California commented against the tunnel.
Only major water brokers have expressed
support,” Chichizola explained.
“Moving forward so quickly at this time
is an insult to the rural communities that
can not currently engage, to everyone’s
who’s land base, water supply and food
supply, are threatened by this proposal,
and to very idea of public processes. It
is also a dismissal of hundreds of local
youth, native people, and others, that had
to fight for a single scoping hearing in
Northern California. We have not had the
opportunity to engage in the process since
the Redding hearing we had to fight to get,
and we still have not had any assurances
that our voices were heard,” concluded
Chichizola.
It is no surprise that Governor Newsom
received a total of $755,198 in donations
from agribusiness in 2018, based on the
latest data from www.followthemoney.
org. That figure includes $116,800 from
Beverly Hills agribusiness tycoons
Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the largest
orchard fruit growers in the world and the
sponsors of the Coalition for a Sustainable
Delta.
By backing the Delta Tunnel, promoting
the agribusiness-sponsored voluntary
water agreements, vetoing SB 1, overseeing
the issuing of a draft EIR that
increases water exports for the state and
federal projects rather than reducing
them, and releasing a controversial water
portfolio that includes fast tracking the
Sites Reservoir, could it be that Newsom
is bending to the will of his agribusiness
donors?
Jolly Jay Sorensen Passes Away
‘Jolly’ Jay Sorensen, 83, passed away
peacefully at home on Sunday evening
after being in and out of the hospital
for the past several months. His will
to live was incredibly strong as he
survived 5 years on tube feeding alone
after surgery for throat cancer in 2015.
The original owner of the landmark
Jolly’s Bait Shop on Pacific Avenue
in Stockton, he was widely considered
as the ‘best bait fisherman’ in
the San Joaquin Delta, and he has
served as a mentor to generations of
Delta fishermen. Sorensen operated
a guide service on the Delta for over
40 years, and he was inducted into
the California Outdoor Hall of Fame
in 2018, the second Stocktonian to
receive this recognition. His last days
were surrounded by friends and family
along with the opportunity to view
many of his numerous awards and
articles from his bedside.
Outside of his reputation
for consistently landing large
fish, Sorensen is perhaps
best known for his advocacy
for his beloved Delta and
its fish. In 1974, while the
proprietor of Jolly’s Bait
Shop in Stockton, he rallied
the troops to start the initial
chapter of the California
Striped Bass Association in
response to the rapid decline
of the striped bass in the
Delta.
“We became very
concerned that the huge
spawning runs in the San
Joaquin River disappeared
almost overnight in the early 70’s,
since you used to be able to go out
on the river at night and watch the
small males bumping the females on
the surface for acres,” said Sorensen,
adding, “The surface of the river was
white from all of the milt.”
Starting with a small group of
concerned anglers out of his bait shop,
the organization elected Sorensen as
the first president, and the club grew
quickly to over 100 members before
FISH SNIFFER
COUNTRY
by
Dave Hurley
Dan Bacher, Fish Sniffer Editor, and Jay Sorensen, founder of the California Striped Bass
Association at the International Sportsmen’s Exposition in Sacramento in 2018.
Photo by DAVE HURLEY, Fish Sniffer Staff
expanding to chapters in Modesto,
Sacramento, Fresno, West Delta, and
Isleton. Growing steadily
from the initial chapter,
CSBA remains a viable
fishing and conservation
club in California’s Central
Valley. In addition to many
years of service as an officer
in the Stockton Chapter,
Sorensen was the president
of the State Board for seven
years.
A Life Member, he
remained an active member
of the West Delta Chapter
based
out of
Antioch,
as he wholeheartedly
supported this
chapter’s emphasis
on the catch and
release of stripers,
particularly at
club-sponsored
derbies.
Sorensen
received the
prestigious Hal
Schell Award
in 2015 from
3813
the Bay/Delta Yachtsman Magazine,
and he is a supporting member of
Restore the Delta, the California Sport
Fishing Alliance, and other fishery
organizations.
Sorensen wrote the weekly “Let’s
Go Fishing’ column in the Rio Vista
Herald/Isleton Journal for over 40
years until the paper was disbanded.
Sorensen has provided many
memorable lines, but perhaps his
most poignant is, “The San Joaquin
River flows by gravity for its first 100
miles, but it flows by politics for the
remainder of its journey to the ocean.”
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