Water still divides the state

(From the Los Angeles Times) Years ago, pundits and pols began redrawing the California political map with an east-west divide, erasing the historic north-south split. Now they can partition it north-south again, at least in mapping the reignited water war.

In voting patterns and attitudes about social issues and the environment, California generally has become divided east and west — interior and coastal.

“The closer to the ocean, the farther to the left,” notes longtime Democratic political consultant Richie Ross.

But on water, as illustrated by the recent legislative battle, combatants still are lined up north and south.

In fact, a close look shows that it’s even more regional than that. Divvying up water has historically been California’s biggest statewide problem, but it always boils down to a local issue.

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