October 20, 2017
CapitalPress.com
9
California
Water officials seek to improve Wine industry contributes
forecasting of major storms
$220B to economy, study finds
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By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
By TIM HEARDEN
SACRAMENTO
—
With the coming water year
shrouded in uncertainty,
California officials want to
improve their ability to track
“atmospheric river” mega-
storms and plan for them be-
fore they arrive.
But whether that would
lead to faster decisions on
water allocations for agricul-
ture is itself uncertain.
The state Department of
Water Resources is working
with the National Aeronau-
tics and Space Administra-
tion and the Scripps Insti-
tution of Oceanography to
improve sub-seasonal and
seasonal forecasting.
Developing
accurate
long-range forecasting is
“critical for our ability to
plan for California’s highly
variable weather,” DWR di-
rector Grant Davis said in a
statement.
But it would be of less
Capital Press
California Department of Water Resources
This aerial view of Silverwood Lake nestled in the San Bernardi-
no National Forest, formed by the 249-foot-tall Cedar Springs
Dam. California Department of Water Resources officials say that
better long-range storm tracking would improve management
of reservoirs, but whether it would expedite agricultural water
allocation decisions is uncertain.
help in determining wa-
ter distribution, agency
spokeswoman Erin Mellon
said.
The State Water Project
makes its initial allocation
on Dec. 1 based solely on
water in storage. Its updates
during the winter are largely
based on the snowpack, Mel-
lon said. Improving precipi-
tation forecasting helps more
with reservoir management
and drought planning.
Wine production and mar-
keting will contribute nearly
$220 billion to the U.S. econo-
my in 2017, a new study by a
vintners’ association asserts.
While California wines ac-
count for 85 percent of the to-
tal, wine is produced in all 50
states, according to the study
by John Dunham and Associ-
ates of New York for the group
WineAmerica.
The figure includes $84.5
billion in economic contribu-
tions directly attributed to the
wine industry and its nearly 1
million jobs, plus the ancillary
benefits from supplies, invest-
ment, tourism, taxes and other
transactions that come as a re-
sult of the wine businesses be-
ing there, the report states.
All told, wine production
and supporting industries create
more than 1.7 million jobs and
$75.8 billion in annual wages
nationwide, according to Wine-
America.
“I won’t say it was a sur-
prise, but it was a delight,”
WineAmerica president Jim
Trezise said. “I knew the
number would be really big.
I thought it would be in the
neighborhood of $200 (billion),
but to have it be $220 (billion)
... was a nice delight.”
The study was done before
wind-whipped wildfires swept
through California’s prime
growing region in Napa and
Sonoma counties beginning
Oct. 8, destroying several win-
eries and forcing thousands to
be evacuated.
If production in the Na-
pa-Sonoma region is signifi-
cantly curtailed in the next
several years, the study points
a valuable spotlight on produc-
ers in other areas that will meet
consumers’
ever-expanding
demand for wines while the
northern Bay Area recovers.
There are 10,236 winer-
ies in all 50 states, and grapes
are grown on 677,629 acres of
vineyards in 49 states, accord-
ing to the study. The nearly 43
million tourist visits to wineries
nationwide generate more than
$17.6 billion in expenditures,
and the wine industry generates
a total of $36.5 billion in total
taxes, the study found.
“One of the reasons we
wanted to do this study is that
when people think of wine,
they think of California, as
they should,” Trezise said. “But
wine is one of the few agricul-
tural commodities ... that are
made in all 50 states. We want-
ed to get that point across.”
Trezise said he had com-
missioned similar studies on
a statewide level as a former
president of the New York
Wine and Grape Foundation.
He said the national study
aimed to help improve the
business and regulatory cli-
mate for the wine industry ev-
erywhere.
BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR:
Early detection
can save
your life
NAMPA, Idaho — Breast cancer survivor and Capital Press employee
JoAnn Vanderwey wants other women to know that early detection of
the disease can improve their chance of surviving it.
Vanderwey, 52, has survived breast cancer twice, and she credits early
detection with helping her survive both ordeals.
“Do your breast checks, do your mammograms, because early
detection is what’s going to save your life,” said Vanderwey, the
Capital Press advertising representative in Idaho. “Death could be the
other alternative ... if you don’t detect it early enough.”
According to the American Cancer Society, the death rate for female
breast cancer declined by almost 40 percent between 1989 and 2015.
“These decreases are believed to be the result of finding breast cancer
earlier though screening and increased awareness, as well as better
treatments,” the Cancer Society states on its website.
SEAN ELLIS/CAPITAL PRESS
JoAnn Vanderwey, a Capital Press advertising representative in Idaho,
is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She wants other women to know
that the disease can be successfully treated if detected early enough.
“It was deep enough in and so small the doctor couldn’t even feel it,”
she said. “Do your self breast checks but you also have to do a
mammogram because not everything can be detected through self
examination.”
A close friend who accompanied her during her breast cancer-related
surgery this year had a mammogram done the day Vanderwey went in
for surgery and found out she also had breast cancer.
“She did that because of what I was going through. It saved her life,”
Vanderwey said.
Vanderwey’s breast cancers were nine years apart and different types.
According to the Cancer Society, 1 in 8, or 12 percent, of American
women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
“Typically they say five years is your safe point once you’ve had cancer,
and mine were nine years apart and they were totally different types,”
she said. “Always keep checking; always be on top of it.”
Vanderwey was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 after she felt
a lump during a self-examination and then went in for a mammogram
that confirmed the disease.
Vanderwey wants other women to know that breast cancer is not
necessarily a death sentence and can be treated successfully, especially
if caught early enough.
“Not everybody does self breast checks but everybody should,” she
said.
She recommends doing them once a week, at least.
“The first time I had breast cancer, I thought it was a death sentence,”
she said. “I’ve now learned enough about breast cancer in the nine
years that I know it’s very curable with early detection.”
A mammogram confirmed her second case in February of this year but
she did not catch that one with a self breast examination.
The message is simple, she said: “Early detection. Get your
mammograms. Save your life.”
41-2/HOU
By Sean Ellis
Capital Press
42-2/HOU