A bipartisan group of San Joaquin Valley legislators gathered Friday on a Friant-Kern Canal bank to announce their push for state money to fix one of the region’s major irrigation arteries.

Sens. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, and Andreas Borgeas, R- Fresno with Assemblymembers Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, and Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield announced the introduction of Senate Bill 559. It calls for spending $400 million in state general funds on repairs to the Friant-Kern Canal, which runs 152 miles from Friant Dam east of Fresno to Bakersfield. Read more