TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Congressman Kevin McCarthy is not mulling a run for lieutenant governor.

The political paper Capitol Weekly said Thursday in a wrap-up of campaign-finance news that that McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, is "pondering" a run for lieutenant governor in 2014. It didn't cite a source.

It is true that McCarthy has a lieutenant governor campaign-finance account -- he's had it for a long time -- but he said Thursday he's closing it up and not running for the seat. Capitol Weekly didn't talk to him, McCarthy said.

McCarthy created a lieutenant governor account years ago. It contains money raised back in the day for re-election to the state Assembly that he couldn't use for what he decided to do instead - run to replace Bill Thomas in Congress.

As of June 30 the account had $122,453.85. McCarthy's still determining what to do with the money.

TEA PARTY FOLKS HEADED TO SACRAMENTO

Members of the local Tea Party Patriots group will be part of an upcoming Sacramento protest of "oppressive government regulation, over-taxation and the Eco-Tyranny foisted upon the public by their government."

The event on the steps of the California State Capitol will be from noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 28. The "hot topics" will be the federal shutdown of irrigation pumps in the Delta; the state's landmark greenhouse-gas fighting law; and high taxes.

For more information, the public can visit the official event Web site: www.Sac828.com. Locals who want to coordinate a trip up north with others are asked to e-mail bakersfieldteaparty@gmail.com or call 333-7041.

DRY WATERFALL UPDATE

The fate of a bone-dry waterfall at an unfinished city park in northeast Bakersfield's City in the Hills tract remains uncertain.

The partially built water feature -- once a central marketing element of the square-mile development -- has become something of an albatross since the former master developer disappeared from the scene.

City officials recently wrote a letter to the master homeowners association saying the cost of finishing the waterfall and lake would be "much higher" than a rough estimate cited at a community meeting in late June.

How much?

That's still up in the air.

City records show work on the waterfall started before the contractor submitted plans to the city. Inspectors later disapproved the plumbing work.

A more recent city inspection found problems with potential water depth and suction forces.

"Based on these issues, the water feature cannot be approved as presently constructed," the letter says.

That means an engineering firm would have to review system hydraulics and come up with a complete set of new plans.

Residents will eventually vote on whether they want to pay for installation, upkeep and liability costs.

The city won't help with those costs. Officials say doing so would open the doors to liability claims.

The city will, however, demolish the existing waterfall for free.

WATER DISTRICTS NAB STIMULUS MONEY

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, announced Thursday that almost $15.4 million in federal stimulus money has been awarded to water districts in the valley.

His office said the grants are typically awarded to projects allowing water transfers, increasing operational flexibility and reducing pressure on groundwater aquifers.

The funding includes $1 million to the Delano-Earlimart Irrigation District, Turnipseed Groundwater Bank - Phase II; $5 million to the North Kern Water Storage District, Calloway Canal to Lerdo Canal Intertie; $5 million to the Semitropic-Rosamond Water Bank Authority, Antelope Valley Water Bank Initial Recharge and Recovery Facility Improvement Project; $2.2 million to the Semitropic Water Storage District, Pond-Poso Spreading and Recovery Facility; and $2.1 million to the Lower Tule River Irrigation District, Tule River Intertie Project, Costa's office said.