Reporter’s Notebook on the March
Everytime I flip through the notebook I used during last week’s March for Water, particles of dust fly off the pages. (That dust, and my sneezes, remind me of the intense wind and dust that people braved on the first day of the march, from Mendota to Firebaugh.)
So before I discard the notebook, I wanted to share some of the best quotes of the four-day event…
No water, no farms, no food, no America!” — Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) during the opening rally in Mendota last Tuesday morning
“Well, the people of Mendota and the surrounding areas are also endangered species if we don’t get water to this area.” — Assemblymember Juan Arambula on environmentalists who are concerned about protecting endangered species of fish
“Apparently, we’re not smarter then the delta smelt. They got a lawyer. All we’ve got is… unemployment.” — Paul Rodríguez, comedian and chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, on environmentalists and the delta smelt
“I am a migrant farmworker, I support the UFW, they have the right to be wrong, and they are wrong on this issue.” — Paul Rodríguez on the United Farm Workers’ decision to not support the California March for Water
“I want to jump in there, I’m so disappointed.” — Piedad Ayala, referring to the San Luis Reservoir, after the March for Water concluded without a direct commitment to alleviate the water situation
All photos by Daniel Cásarez of Vida en el Valle
