Local Education Carol provides administrative support to the Team and ensures that the office runs smoothly. At the center of the controversy, a physical barrier stopping Sandridge Partners, the diversified farming and water giant owned by Santa Clara County native John Vidovich, from constructing a water pipeline in southern Kings County. All rights reserved. Kings County is small by San Joaquin Valley standards only 1,392 square miles, or just about the size of Rhode Island. Ben also has experience working in the investment banking division of Credit Suisses general industrials team. Will this pipeline move water out of Kings County to farmers in Kern County? })(); Ghana Business News Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved, Inside the News by Mpakoo All pieces appearing in this column are satire. The Water Board began holding hearings on the issue this past summer. Sunridge Partners (UK), LLP acts as the investment advisor for the Sunridge funds that invest in agribusinesses globally. The agencys role is simply to review groundwater plans to see if theyre adequate. Previously, Michael was an investment professional at RJI Capital, a boutique private equity and Weather. All rights reserved. Sandridge Partners, controlled by Silicon Valley developer John Vidovich, is a relative newcomer to the region, making large land acquisitions in the last three decades. Designed with by Trinity Mobile Apps, use of the heavy equipment to stop the pipe project is not a protected tactic under the law., Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), Gov.s proposed $40 million for farmland retirement is welcome but more needed, Boswell bulldozers allowed to stay put, blocking Kings County pipeline project, SJV Water about this new pipeline, Vidovich. Muriel joined in 2022 and provides executive assistant support to the partners. Proposition 1 is a $7 billion bond passed in 2014 that would pay for a host of projects from flood control to water quality. There, a company he controls, Sandridge Partners, grows . Ag Giants Boswell, Vidovich Sling Mud at Each Other, Tulare Man Convicted on 20 Counts of Molesting Two Girls and a Boy, Big Raises for SCCCD Part-Time Faculty 'A Really Good First Step, But Just The First Step', Bud Light Sales Fall 26% as Transgender Backlash Worsens, Speaker Kevin McCarthy Blasts Russia Over 'Killing of the Children' in Ukraine, Its Farmers vs. Water moves remembered It will likely never be forgotten that Vidovich sold the rights to 14,000 acre-feet of State. But thats water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, not native Kings County water. Water is a key variable smaller farmers have little to no control over. Number one, the settlement agreement between Angiola and Lower Tule/Pixley irrigation districts wont allow Angiola or Sandridge to move the water out of Kings County. Like its neighbors, Kings is intensively farmed. At one point, he was moving nearly 30,000 acre feet a year, according to Angiolas records. Will Pandemic Make or Break the Valley? Im actually not supposed to talk about it.. Boswell and Sandridge are the two biggest kids on the block when it comes to farming and water in Kings County. The Gilcrease family has been growing crops in Kings County since the 1880s. The city sued. 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. From that perspective, it becomes massively economically inefficient, said Zetland. In one battle, the Kings River Water Association, where Boswell is a major rights holder, is suing Tulare Lake Reclamation District 761 and Sandridge Partners, run by Vidovich, for shipping its Kings River water to lands it owns in western Kings County. Angiola agreed not to pump more than 36,000 acre feet a year, or more than 130,000 acre feet in any consecutive five-year period. Though he doesnt seek out media attention, when asked about water under his control, he rarely refuses to talk. Related Story: Groundwater Plan Could Give Corcoran More of a Sinking Feeling. His nephew spun the company into a $2.5 billion international farming and development powerhouse. 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. Theres a mythology out there that Angiola is stealing water, he said. California By comparison, its closest neighbors, Kern, Fresno and Tulare sit at 8,000, 6,000 and 4,800 square miles, respectively. gcse.async = true; Sunridge Partners (UK), LLP (FRN: 821518) is an Appointed Representative of Kroll Securities Limited, (FRN: 466588) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. He ran, unsuccessfully for city council in his hometown of Los Altos Hills in 2006. That leaves smaller farmers with mostly groundwater, which Walker said has dropped 100 feet to 120 feet just this year. 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. The entire San Joaquin Valley, including Kings County, is critically over drafted. Latest Number two, Angiola is trying to maintain the local aquifer by retiring land to limit pumping. And thats the deeper current here. Construction on a controversial water pipeline in Kings County has, once again, halted. Our team includes leading industry operators and executives as well as a seasoned board of advisors from across the food and agriculture industry. Get inside access to SJV Water by becoming a member. I did sell water out of Kings County to an urban user and people didnt like it, Vidovich said. We lose innovation., Still, Zetland didnt fault Sandridge or Boswell. Vidovich dismissed the Boswell letter as "throwing rocks" to distract from the larger issue over-pumping. Except when you plug John Vidovichs name into the equation. Its a $500 million project, of which Semitropic is hoping to get $250 million from Proposition 1 funding. They are now the driving forces behind two major legal battles over Kings River water. Its a decimal point, Vidovich said of state water amounts compared to what farmers use from rivers and groundwater. But farmers Jack Mitchell and Milt Pace are upfront about their distaste for Vidovich and especially Hurley. Why work with Sunridge Partners. So far, the 48-inch pipeline has been trenched and laid out from somewhere north of Lemoore more than 10 miles south near the community of Stratford on private land with no public notice or oversight. gcse.src = 'https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx; The plaintiffs, Kings County Ventures and Green Renewable Organic and Water Holdings, sued after the deal fell through in 2009 for their Quay Valley project. var gcse = document.createElement('script'); Yes, critics agree, but Boswell uses that water to irrigate in the district. Its just smart business. Contributed Developer, farmer and water trader John Vidovich plans to build a beef feedlot and processing plant near Lemoore according to a preliminary application filed with the county. Vidovich owns that land, and Semitropic has already paid him $40 million for an easement. Vidovich has said he only moves local groundwater to other lands he farms in Kings County. We are a specialist agribusiness investment group, with deep industry expertise and hands-on operating experience, helping mid-sized food and agriculture companies grow to become clear industry leaders. The company is run from its Pasadena offices by James W. Boswell, chairman, CEO and great-nephew of the founder. We are at the forefront of investing in and operating food and agricultural companies in a way that is truly sustainable, or ideally even regenerative. Ultimately, he said, even if Boswell and Sandridge did move all their state water out of Kings County, its a fairly minor loss to the county. The GSAs are supposed to set pumping limits to stop overdraft. Vidovich has been buying land in the Central Valley for more than 20 years. Though the project is billed as flood control, the agreement also allows Vidovich to move groundwater. Its not true, he wants to farm.. And its that groundwater part of Semitropics agreement with Vidovich that is raising hackles along with eyebrows. He often points out that water districts, which oversee water allocations and maintain infrastructure, are public entities, and the public has a right to information, as he told SJV Water in an interview for this story. We have also made a commitment to meaningfully contribute to and find solutions in our investments to the SDGs. Putting a blockade on the canal banks was not a legitimate use of that easement, he said. Trucks and heavy equipment emblazoned with the distinctive diamond B logo parked on the banks of the Tulare Lake Canal late last month werent sending a subtle message. With water from the delta becoming more unreliable, he said, farmers have to hoard land for the groundwater. They get some water from the Kings River but rely mostly on groundwater. After Vidovich sold his Dudley Ridge state water, Pace said he drilled several wells in Green Valley, built a pipeline across I-5 and took the valleys groundwater to keep his Dudley Ridge trees alive. Vidovich made headlines - and a lot of enemies - in 2009 by permanently selling rights to 14,000 acre feet of state water from a Kings County water district to southern California for $73 million, according to media reports. Lukas works across all aspects of the firm from business development to portfolio company operations. Before we go much further, you should probably know a little more about Vidovich. Most recently, Muriel started and successfully built her own hospitality business. We further understand that Mr. Vidovich has caused both surface and pumped groundwater to be physically moved via pipeline and canals from and to lands controlled by him, thereby crossing boundaries of counties, GSAs, water districts, subbasins, defined places of use, and perhaps areas that are otherwise regulated.. Transportation, Education SANDRIDGE PARTNERS | 16 followers on LinkedIn. John Vidovich, owner of Sandridge Partners Those plans were posted online and the public comment period recently closed. Second, Im a farmer, Vidovich says. Nor for the man who runs it, John Vidovich, nor for his current pipeline project that will move water from various places in Kings County to various other undisclosed locations. Water from Angiola Water District will also be moved in the line, according to a declaration by Angiola General Manager Mark Grewal. His father, Stephen Vidovich, formed De Anza Properties and helped develop the valley. (Vidovich said he didn't think Sandridge had hit 100,000 acres, total, yet.) Theres nothing hidden about how Sandridge moves water, he said. Work with nature; dont fight it, Avila said repeatedly. Its principals and employees are rarely quoted in the media. Exactly what groundwater would be moved? Enter your email address to receive INSTANT ALERTS of new articles and to be added to SJV Waters WEEKLY NEWSLETTER. Then there was the nail in the coffin for folks like Pace and Mitchell when Vidovich appeared in a National Geographic film called Water and Power: A California Heist, which ran in mid-March and again on June 25. Satellite images from NASA show the area around the well fields Angiola was pulling from is the epicenter for land subsidence in eastern Tulare County from overpumping. 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. Not according to Jeoff Wyrick, Chairman of the El Rico GSA, the largest GSA in the Tulare Lake Subbasin. Local The district has already paid him $40 million for an easement, or right of way, on that land and signed an agreement with him for how the project would operate. The Fresno Bee reported the verdict against McCarthy Family Farms and San Francisco Bay Area developer John Vidovich and Sandridge Partners. We welcome you to contact us to discuss how we might partner to create mutually beneficial opportunities in the agribusiness sector. 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. Kings County Can Prosecute Woman in Fetus Death Case Over Becerra Objection, Proposed Agreement Could Boost Funds To Fix Friant-Kern Canal. Everyone else is just pumping and pumping, he said. Theyve (Vidovich and Hurley) been way out front on SGMA, Mitchell said. Lukas works across all aspects of the firm from business development to portfolio company operations. No, he said. But comments made during a hearing Monday on Sandridges restraining order pulled back the curtain on the real concern. The giant JG Boswell Company has little love for Sandridge Partners. To get there, the pipeline has to cross under a Boswell-controlled canal. (Vidovich said he didnt think Sandridge had hit 100,000 acres, total, yet.). Sandridge filed a restraining order to have the excavators, bulldozers and trucks removed but Kings County Superior Court Judge Valerie Chrissakis denied that request on Thursday. But thats the way it is. Jeff has been involved in the groundwater sustainability planning in his area and is concerned about the out-of-county water transfers hes heard about. By locking up the land, he said, Vidovich will be able to deny smaller farmers like him and Pace the water they need for their own operations. World, Latest Number three, water from Angiola cant physically get to Semitropics proposed storage cells. Boswell and Vidovich are also on opposite sides of whether Kings River flood water is being fully utilized by its rights holders. Mavens Notebook is an excellent daily accounting of California water happenings statewide. The SDGs where we believe Sunridge can have the greatest impact are: We are a proud signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment, the leading global proponent for incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles in investment activities. While the letter was improvident, attorney Whitney said, it certainly wasnt any kind of peak behind the curtain maintaining it wasnt an official indemnification by Angiola. Vidovich says the animus against him goes back to his 2009 sale of State Water Project (SWP) contract rights tied to land he owned in the Dudley Ridge Water District in Kings County. It now retains about 132,000 acres in Kings as well as 3,700 acres in Tulare County and 23,000 acres in Kern County, according to ParcelQuest, a property information database. The giant J.G. That act requires groundwater agencies in areas with critically over drafted water basins to draw up plans to bring aquifers into balance by 2040, meaning more water shouldnt be pumped out than goes back in. 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. Vidovich dismissed the Boswell letter as throwing rocks to distract from the larger issue over-pumping. Judge Chrissakis found the potential involvement of two public entities, the Stratford Public Utilities District and Angiola Water District, could take the line out of the private realm and require a study of potential environmental impacts. Looking back, he said he wouldnt make that sale today. There is some uncertainty by El Rico GSA with regard to this request because of the hidden nature of Sandridges operations. Michael began his career in commodities trading at Dominion Resources, one of the largest physical and financial traders of natural gas in the US. Groundwater and floodwater are two very different things. Its not good in the long term, he said. What Will Become of Fallowed Valley Farmland? The elder Vidovich built a regional real estate powerhouse, which the younger Vidovich grew into a statewide empire. Our unique focus on food and agriculture, allows us to better understand particular agribusiness needs faster and have in-depth sector and sub-sector expertise bringing solutions to your business. Nor the end of the clash of Kings Countys most powerful water titans. 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. Avila, along with his wife and children, grows nearly 100 varieties of fruit trees on multiple small plots of land and sells the produce at dozens of farmers markets from Beverly Hills to San Luis Obispo. Though Vidovich didnt feel state water movement would substantially impact Kings County farming, he still predicted farming will shrink there. But hes also moved his State Water Project supplies south to lands he owns in Kern County. The sale is still considered a blow to Kings water portfolio by other farmers. He owns the land next to the aqueduct where the reservoir would be built and is the one who brought the floodwater project idea to Semitropic a few years ago. Hes a 61-year-old developer who grew up on a farm in Sunnyvale in the heart of what would become the Silicon Valley. SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley. Because, while he does farm thousands of acres of pistachios, almonds and grapes, many believe the only harvest Vidovich is truly interested in is water. Stephen Vidovich retired but kept a watchful eye on the company, getting daily reports and giving advice, John Vidovich told the San Jose Mercury News after his fathers death.
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