The Newberry CSD will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 30, 2018, at 6 P.M. at the CSD's District Offices located at 30884 Newberry Road in Newberry Springs.  The agenda will contemplate two major solar photovoltaic projects coming to the Silver Valley that will total 4,700 acres.

    As covered in the Community Alliance's previous news blog, these are just the first of many solar projects that are expected to blanket the Silver Valley within the next few years.

    The initial development proposed in Newberry will consume an estimated 1,200 acres in the southwest corner of the community.

    With some of the Newberry CSD's directors only becoming aware of the gigantic solar projects within the previous week, the emergency Special Meeting's agenda will focus upon whether the CSD should send a Letter of Opposition to the county supervisors and/or consider other possible actions.

    Perhaps the Newberry CSD directors are finally waking-up now that the wolf is inside the house.  Naively, the CSD Board of Directors has been taking a passive role to anything developing outside its boundary rather than taking a proactive role as a community guardian.

    The Newberry CSD has demonstrated that it doesn't understand the utility-scale solar business psyche.  Being polite and friendly gets trumped on.  The Silver Valley is dealing with sophisticated international corporations that buy off politicians and play dirty.  Newberry Springs is also dealing with what is nationally known as one of the most nefarious county governments in the nation.

    Letters of Opposition are important for the record but they will not change the direction of the county's renewable energy development that was corruptly crafted within the Supervisors' private offices long ago.

    Supervisor Bob Lovingood is playing to his base, the billion-dollar solar industry, not his constituents.  If he needs an extra quarter-million dollars to be reelected, he will get it.  Just like with U.S. Rep. Paul Cook's first election, very little of Cook's campaign funding came from within his district.  It came from those purchasing special interests, with most of the money coming from the Bay Area.

    Is Newberry Springs and the Silver Valley doomed as a blighted solar wasteland?  Chances are that they are.  So far, the CSDs and the residents of the Silver Valley have been out-maneuvered by county betrayal.

    Is all hope lost?  No, it isn't.  There are still important things that the CSDs and the valley citizens can do.  Unfortunately, the consortium of people and organizations that are necessary to turn things around is not likely to happen.  The people of the valley do not appear to be savvy enough to organize and properly strategize.

    The residents of the Silver Valley are invited to attend the Tuesday night Newberry CSD Special Meeting.