Indeed, as president of the board, Vidovich has a great deal of influence in directing much of the water districts business. Between March and May of this year, 25 new sales were recorded in Kern alone, according to ParcelQuest, a web service that tracks real estate deals by county. Mitchell agreed, giving Vidovich credit for seeing where groundwater laws were headed before anyone else. Michael is seasoned agribusiness investment and business development professional with more than a decade of experience. Judge: Kings Co. water pipeline blockade can continue })(); Ghana Business News Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved, Inside the News by Mpakoo All pieces appearing in this column are satire. They point to three new pump stations along Angiolas main canal just north of the county line that have the ability to move 100,000 acre feet a year into pipes that head south and west. Philipp holds a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.. The only water Green Valley got was some surplus state water and natural groundwater, Pace said. Though the project is billed as flood control, the agreement also allows Vidovich to move groundwater. Sunridge Partners (UK), LLP acts as the investment advisor for the Sunridge funds that invest in agribusinesses globally. Independent farmers are selling out, said Kings County farmer Robert Smith, who grows walnuts, almonds, corn and cotton on about 1,000 acres. His nephew spun the company into a $2.5 billion international farming and development powerhouse. It agreed to pay Pixley/Lower Tule $240,000 a year to bring in federal water to recharge the groundwater. The entire San Joaquin Valley, including Kings County, is critically over drafted. His law license is inactive, according to the California State Bar Association website. But its difficult when right next door theyre dropping [water levels] 60 to 100 feet, Russ Freeman, Westlands Deputy General Manager for water resources, said in a previous SJV Water article. You dont know the purpose of this pipeline, Tulare Lake Canal Company attorney Leonard Herr told the judge. A large water pipeline being built near Lemoore in Kings County is raising eyebrows as much for its possible uses as for the name associated with its construction John Vidovich. - John Vidovich, owner of Sandridge Partners. Something Vidovich declared is Really, really not cool, in an area that has already sunk more than 11 feet in the past 14 years because of groundwater extractions. Boswell Company, and Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich, filed a blizzard of court actions alleging the other was trespassing and seeking injunctions to . This is privately owned water being moved on private land, Whitney said, warning that requiring an irrigation pipeline to undergo CEQA review could impact irrigation projects on a wide scale throughout the San Joaquin Valley. And that may be true. Ben holds a BComm in Economics and Finance with first class honours (Deans list) from the University of Melbourne and a BCompSc in Computer Science with first class honours from Monash University. All right reserved. Groundwater agencies up and down the San Joaquin Valley had to file plans with the Department of Water Resources earlier this year showing how they will bring the areas seriously depleted aquifers into balance by 2040 per the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Left, a cracked, ripened walnut skin at Steve Walker Farms in Hanford, California. In addition to inshell and raw natural almonds, a state of the art processing facility provides manufacturing and roasting to your specifications. Ive seen a lot of people come and go out here. World, Latest Combined, the two companies control close to 90,000 acre feet of the total 140,600 acre feet of contracted state water. Sunridge Partners provides patient capital, deep industry expertise and a hands-on approach to achieving outsized returns for all stakeholders. Five key principles guide us in a unified approach across the food and agribusiness investment landscape: Safeguarding and improving the livelihoods and social wellbeing of individuals producing food and processing agricultural products, Conserving, protecting and enhancing our natural ecosystems, Instilling transparent governance within natural and human systems, Fostering holistic innovation and sustainable growth for all stakeholders. Previously, Michael was an investment professional at RJI Capital, a boutique private equity and In exchange, the state would get banking rights in Semitropic, said General Manager Jason Gianquinto. He Toppled Vince McMahon. On 06/28/2019 SANCHEZ filed a Labor - Wrongful Termination lawsuit against VIDOVICH. Theres so many canals and ways it can move; its hard to track, he said. All the rest of that stuff its just jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo, jealousy and innuendo.. Zakaria: These Revolutions May Help India Really Take off at Last, Future of California at Risk if CEQA Environmental Law Remains Unchanged, NBA Playoffs: Star-Studded Round 2 Has Big Names, Intense Rivalries. John Vidovich - President for De Anza Building & Maintenance A judge is set to consider the restraining order at a hearing Thursday. Boswell Farming Company and Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich. If they pass a law saying I cant sell it, then I cant sell it. believe Sunridge can have the greatest impact are: Previously, Michael was an investment professional at RJI Capital, a boutique private equity and. She also found that Tulare Lake Canal Company did not have the right under its easement to block the pipeline with heavy equipment and ordered the tractors off the canal banks. Buttonwillow, California Search Background Check Sandridge Partners, L.P. Business Data 19087 Milan Rd, Buttonwillow, California, 93206 (408) 738-4444 AllBiz Business Profile Background Search FAQ's about John Vidovich Where does John Vidovich work? But this much he knows certain groundwater wells in the county are running practically year round, even in wet years. Though he did sell a chunk of water rights to southern California in 2009, Vidovich scoffed at the idea that hes currently selling water to the southland. The plaintiffs, Kings County Ventures and Green. Boswell has refused requests to answer questions about the companys water moves including how much it pumps. Vidovich isnt the only pumper in that area, his supporters note. . The large, black pipe could be seen . Exactly how much is moving and who is benefitting from it are more murky questions, as water especially river and groundwater in California is notoriously hard to track. The giant J.G. But the purpose of the 48-inch Sandridge pipeline has been the subject of intense curiosity since last November when farmers first noticed excavators gouging a giant trench into the earth from north of Lemoore meandering 12 miles south to Stratford and, presumably, ending in the Blakeley Canal. Weve all seen it, said walnut farmer Steve Walker. For his part, Vidovich said the issue isnt about water transfers, its about over-pumping. A Farmer's Quest to Beat California's Waves of Drought and Deluge The agencys role is simply to review groundwater plans to see if theyre adequate. Fight over Kings County pipeline just the latest clash between water Theres a lot of people who dont like me, but nobody didnt like my dad.. Besides, Pace and others say, overreaching is another Vidovich hallmark. state water?) John Vidovich - Sandridge Partners, L.P., Buttonwillow, California Boswell farming company pumps there too. Though he insists this flood water isnt being used and is, in fact, a nuisance, locals consider it an attempted theft of the Kings River. Farmers in the heart of Californias agricultural belt Kings County sense something is awry with their water supplies. The sprawling Semitropic Water Storage District in Kern County wants Kings River flood water that it says current rights holders are letting flow to the ocean in heavy precipitation years. Get inside access to SJV Water by becoming a member. News, California gcse.src = 'https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx; Site development by. If the State Water Resources Control Board determines that the Kings River Water Association isnt fully using its water rights, it could give those rights away. Im all for moving water around, he said. When asked about the pipeline Wyrick mentions in his June 2020 letter, Vidovich says only floodwater from the Kings River may have been shipped out of the county. But a pipeline, which Vidovich is allowed to build under the Semitropic agreement, could span that distance. SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley. What is indisputable is that over the past 20-plus years, Vidovich has quietly amassed more than 100,000 acres in the Central Valley, gaining footholds on numerous water boards, which has given him control over vast amounts of groundwater the valleys lifeblood. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Because the urban places would pay a hell of a lot of money for it. The district plans to store flood flows on land next to the California Aqueduct, the main artery that moves water from northern to southern California, then pump it south. As for making a major water grab in the Central Valley, Page said Vidovich has nothing on the Wonderful or JG Boswell companies, both of which have far larger land holdings than Vidovich. LOIS HENRY: Water fight between 2 of Valley's largest growers heads to Ghana Business News - The first place for your business news. But thats the way it is. Vidovich dismissed the Boswell letter as throwing rocks to distract from the larger issue over-pumping. The Kings River Water Association, where Boswell is a major rights holder, is suing Tulare Lake Reclamation District 761, controlled by Vidovich, for shipping its Kings River water to Dudley Ridge. . They went to law school together and joined the same program in the Navy reserves. Construction on a controversial water pipeline in Kings County has, once again, halted. It will likely never be forgotten that Vidovich sold the rights to 14,000 acre feet of State Water Project water for $79 million in 2009 to the San Bernardino-based Mojave Water District. But this outwardly unassuming multimillionaire has become a lightning rod of controversy. And Kings County doesnt have an ordinance against moving groundwater outside its borders. Exactly what groundwater would be moved? The GSAs are supposed to set pumping limits to stop overdraft. About 90% of its farms are considered family owned, according to the 2017 US Department of Agriculture farm census. First off, Hurley said, hes not Vidovichs henchman. The Tulare Lake Canal Company, controlled by JG Boswell Company, moved the equipment onto the canal banks in late January to block trenching for a pipeline by Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich. Applicants must be a UK resident aged . He started buying consistently in Kern, Kings and Tulare counties throughout the early and mid-2000s and continues to add properties sometimes at a blistering pace. However, Vidovichs comments do not address whether all the river and groundwater is being used in Kings County or sent elsewhere a question that has become nearly impossible to answer. But he did pass and was admitted to the bar in 1980 at the age of 24. From 2002 to 2017, the most recent USDA farm census, the number of farms in Kings County declined 16.6%. News Boswell Company, and Sandridge Partners, controlled by John Vidovich, will be back in court March 23 where Judge Valerie Chrissakis will decide whether the Sandridge pipeline is subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Both GSAs, along with three others in the Tulare Lake subbasin, submitted a single joint groundwater plan. It wanted an operating agreement and hefty insurance coverage. The website iswww.sjvwater.org. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. SANCHEZ VS VIDOVICH ET AL - UniCourt Groundwater and floodwater are two very different things. News, Politics About Us - De Anza Properties Number two, Angiola is trying to maintain the local aquifer by retiring land to limit pumping. Latest They are now the driving forces behind two major legal battles over Kings River water. Is John Vidovich Planning to Sell Off the Valley's Lifeblood? He sold rights to more than 14,000 acre feet a year to the Mojave Water Agency in San Bernardino County for a headline-grabbing $73 million. The 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno has overturned a $73.4 million verdict against McCarthy Family Farms and Bay Area developer John Vidovich and Sandridge Partners involving a land.
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