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Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - 12:00pm
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Press Release

USDA Invests in Innovative Management of California Water Supply

(Maxwell, CA, November 27, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $449 million to help build an innovative water management system that will increase the reliability of the California water supply and create more than 560 jobs in the Sacramento Valley. Secretary Perdue was joined by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Rickey "R.D." James. The announcement follows on President Donald J. Trump’s memo to promote a reliable supply and delivery of water out west.

 

“Modern and reliable water infrastructure is the backbone to prosperity in the Sacramento Valley and across our nation. Under the leadership of President Trump, USDA is committed to being an ally to innovative leaders taking action to rebuild rural infrastructure in California and beyond, which is why we are investing in projects like the Maxwell Water Intertie,” said Secretary Perdue. “By working in a collaborative fashion with our state and local partners, we can balance the needs of everyone involved and ensure that the productivity of water in the Sacramento Valley is around for generations of farmers and ranchers to come.”

"Every westerner knows the saying 'whiskey's for drinking and water's for fighting,' but President Trump, Secretary Perdue and I are trying to make that obsolete. We all share a commitment to storing and delivering water for farmers, families and commercial users in California," said Secretary Zinke. "In order to meet the demands of the future, we need to increase our storage capacity and bring our water infrastructure in to the 21st century. Large-scale water infrastructure projects, like the Maxwell Water Intertie and the Sites Reservoir projects which the Department partners on, will directly benefit from the nearly half-billion dollars that Secretary Perdue is making available."  

“The Army is committed to working with our federal, state and local partners to carefully manage the water resources of the Sacramento Valley,” said R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.  “This project represents the President’s ongoing commitment to rural America to ensure the effective functioning of the nation’s agricultural economy.”

 “The Maxwell Water Intertie will increase the efficiency and reliability of water management in the western Sacramento Valley by adding to and improving existing water infrastructure to facilitate greater flexibility in water conveyance, which would increase the drought resistance of rural communities and help to support our region’s agricultural economy.” said Jim Watson, General Manager, Sites Project Authority.

 

Background:

Made possible through USDA’s Community Facilities direct loan program, the Maxwell Water Intertie (MWI) facilities would connect the existing Tehama Colusa Canal (TC Canal) and the existing Glenn Colusa Irrigation District’s (GCID) main canal. These facilities would increase water management flexibility and improve water supply resiliency for participants during dry years and directly increase the efficiency and reliability of water management in the western Sacramento Valley.

The MWI includes the construction of 3 ½ miles of 12-foot diameter pipeline along with a new pump station that will be used to pump water from the GCID system to the existing Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority’s (TCCA) Funks Reservoir. Exchanges of water from Funks Reservoir to the GCID system will occur through the new pipeline by gravity flow in the reverse direction.  The project also includes the construction of a new 1,200 acre-foot Terminal Regulating Reservoir (TRR) to be constructed adjacent to the GCID Main Canal that will help to regulate flows in the GCID main canal and support the operation of the Maxwell Water Intertie facilities. You may click on the images below to view larger maps online.

(You may click HERE or on the image above to view map online)

(You may click HERE or on the image above to view map online)

In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.

To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

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Dear Dave,

I’ll be graduating from college with no debt in a couple of weeks, and I have a good job waiting for me in January. During the last few years, I’ve managed to save almost $25,000 from my part-time jobs while in school. My car is pretty beaten up and old, so I’ve been shopping at a couple of car dealerships recently. Every time I talk to a salesperson, they tell me I should finance something new instead of paying cash for a used car. What should I do?

Ethan

Dear Ethan,

I hope you’ll keep one very important thing in mind. This is your purchase, not theirs. The only reason they want you to finance something is so they’ll make a lot more money off the deal. Forget what they want. You need to do what’s best for you.

You’ve been a hard-working, smart guy over the last few years. The fact that you’ve been able to save nearly $25,000 is proof of that. I don’t think you want to throw a big chunk of your savings—or your new income—into something that’s going to go down in value like a rock. New cars lose about 60 percent of their value during the first four years of ownership. That means a $28,000 car would be worth around $11,000 after that period. That’s not a smart investment.

If I were you, I’d shop around and pay cash for a nice, slightly used $10,000 car. You can get a great automobile for that kind of money, plus you’ll still have the majority of your savings.

Congratulations, young man. You’ve done a great job!

—Dave

 

 

(Retirement contributions)

Word count: 255

 

 

Dear Dave,

As part of your Baby Steps plan, you always advise people to put 15 percent of their income toward retirement. Would you explain the details of this, please?

Mallory

Dear Mallory,

For starters, Baby Step 4 of my plan involves saving 15 percent of your gross annual pay for retirement. You don’t have to be a complete nerd about this figure. I mean, you probably won’t end up in the poor house if you set aside 12 to 14 percent. The bottom line is you should be able to save $7,500 a year if you make $50,000 annually. That’s just a little over $600 a month.

However, the only way you can do this is by giving up stupid things like credit cards and car payments. When you get out of debt, it’s easy to set aside an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses—which is Baby Step 3—and start throwing 15 percent at retirement during Baby Step 4.

Did you know you can retire a millionaire if you save 15 percent of a $50,000 a year income, and invest it in good growth stock mutual funds starting at age 30? Sounds worth it to me!

—Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 14 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey

To Write Love on Her Arms

Announces "#into19"

Month-Long Giving Campaign

 

Aims to Raise $125k By December 31st

Sets $10k Goal for #GivingTuesday

PayPal Matching All Facebook Fundraising

Campaigns up to $7mil

 

Melbourne, FL - November 27, 2018 - This #GivingTuesday, To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) is launching the #into19 campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise $125,000 by December 31st. The campaign is anchored by the idea that each gift and donation will make it possible for TWLOHA to reach new communities, share more stories, and connect thousands of people to the help they need and deserve.

 

Additionally, on Giving Tuesday, for every fundraising campaign set up through Facebook, the social media site along with PayPal will be matching up to $7mil in donations made to US-based nonprofits.

 

This year TWLOHA sponsored 3,100 counseling sessions and launched a new FIND HELP tool. In just the past two months, the tool saw over 18,000 searches. For every four searches conducted, someone took the next step to reach out to a resource by calling a hotline or scheduling an appointment. Because of the support of people around the world, TWLOHA is making the distance between needing help and receiving help shorter than ever.

 

In 2018, TWLOHA shared 100+ stories on their blog. These honest and vulnerable posts reached millions on their website and on social media each month. They were able to have a presence at 195 events, connecting with people at music festivals, the Vans Warped Tour, yoga events, colleges, and high schools, all to remind people that it's okay to talk about mental health - that it's okay to ask for help.

 

"Our dream for 2019 is to reach more people with the message that they are not alone --that help is real," shares Lindsay Kolsch. "We know it can save a life. The funds raised during this campaign will make it possible for us to do more next year."

 

To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. It exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery. Since its start in 2006, TWLOHA has donated over $2.3 million directly into treatment and recovery and answered over 200,000 messages from over 100 countries.

 

The organization recently wrapped their 7th annual campaign to honor World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) and National Suicide Prevention Week (NSPW). With the help of supporters from around the world, TWLOHA was able to raise more than $200k for treatment and recovery, surpassing their initial goal of $100k, as well as their follow up goals of $150k and $175k. Over 3600 people donated to this year's "Tomorrow Needs You" campaign, in addition to the sale of 4655 World Suicide Prevention Day packs. The money raised will help sponsor nearly 4000 counseling sessions and connect 55,000 people to local mental health resources.

 

As part of the campaign, TWLOHA shared an inspiring video featuring actors Chris Sullivan (from This Is Us) and Jaina Lee Ortiz (from Station 19), country music star Hunter Hayes, who raised $25,000, writer/artist Morgan Harper Nichols, and singer/songwriter  Matt Wertz, along with a number of clips submitted by TWLOHA supporters from around the world. To watch the video, please visit: youtu.be/aEzUMnBHHK0.

 

Additional posts were made throughout the week by Cleveland Cavaliers player Kyle Korver, actor Jared Padalecki, American DJ Bassnectar, US Women's National Soccer Team players  Christen Press and Ashlyn Harris, actress Susie Abromeit, and Norwegian DJ/producer KYGO, who personally donated $30,000 to the campaign, amongst others. Joining them were sites like Billboard, EDM Tunes, Country Music Tattle Tale, Your EDM, Hollywood.com, and more sharing the message of hope and help.

 

For more information on To Write Love on Her Arms, please visit: www.twloha.com