To say that it is unpopular in northern California when the state ships water from north south is to understate things. So here’s a fun little bit of history on the willingness of the Record Searchlight, in Redding, to buck the will of its readers. From Bruce Ross, the paper’s current editorial page editor, great moments in editorial persuasion:

Northern California fiercely opposed the Peripheral Canal, and our area was no exception. The referendum on the issue, Proposition 9, was as one-sided as I’ve ever seen. The vote was 94.5 percent against in Trinity and Siskiyou counties, 89.5 percent against in Shasta County. November’s vote to lock up sex offenders for longer wasn’t that lopsided.

Anyway, I also found our editorial on the subject. Bucking 90 percent of readers, we endorsed Prop. 9, for a rather subtle set of reasons involving protection of North Coast rivers. Well, maybe our endorsement explains the 5 percent larger vote in favor in Shasta County. Hey, we get results.