Imperial County
US county in CaliforniaWikipedia
33
MENTIONS
20
EPISODES
18
PODCASTS
Search complete. 33 mentions across 20 episodes found for "Imperial County".
Oct 16, 2026
Steve HiltonGUEST
I love our farmers.
Steve HiltonGUEST
It's r- throughout the state, Ventura County and down in Imperial County near the border.
Steve HiltonGUEST
Um, it's just everywhere you look we've got these amazing things.
Steve HiltonGUEST
And you're right that I've got a simple ...
Jacob McWhinneyPANELIST
And we're seeing this backlash.
Jacob McWhinneyPANELIST
There was a huge backlash in, in, in Imperial County.
Jacob McWhinneyPANELIST
Crucially, that was a smaller project than what they've said they, they were interested in in this area, which is really interesting.
Bella RossHOST
Yeah, but it's also...
Chris WardGUEST
...
Chris WardGUEST
I'm sure we will.
Chris WardGUEST
Um, but, you know, how you site those is important, but actually the bigger question that's been around for a little while is about water and energy, right? They're incredibly consumptive, and so that was the issue out in Imperial County because they have seen a reduction in water supplies.
Chris WardGUEST
We know we're fallowing land.
Blanca BegertGUEST
Yeah.
Blanca BegertGUEST
It, it, I would say the opposition in California really started in Southern California, um, you know, San Gabriel Valley, and, um, Imperial County, but, you know, as it spread throughout the state, there's, you know, Central Valley, more rural conservative areas that are fighting and putting in place moratoriums.
Blanca BegertGUEST
Um, and there's...
Blanca BegertGUEST
And you know, also the Bay Area, you know, San Francisco, Richmond, Oakland, so it's statewide.
15 MINS LATER
Blanca BegertGUEST
But yeah, I mean, it definitely was part of a broader movement in the region to, uh, restrict the, these facilities.
Blanca BegertGUEST
So, like, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, um, Coachella put in place a ban.
Blanca BegertGUEST
Imperial County, which had one of the biggest proposals in the state for, like, a three hundred-plus-megawatt facility that would've, you know, used a ton of water in that area, they put a moratorium in place.
Blanca BegertGUEST
Um, so it's been spreading, and there's lots of other places all across the state, dozens and dozens of local, um, jurisdictions that have done similar things.
Raider GregHOST
One game does not make a season.
Raider GregHOST
And our next caller, my very good brother, Raider Loon, calling from Imperial County.
Raider GregHOST
And let me just say, I love you, brother.
Raider GregHOST
You got some nice stuff here.
Matthew McKerleyGUEST
And I guarantee you that if Prop 45 passes, data center developers will sue to claim that it covers data centers.
Matthew McKerleyGUEST
We've already seen them try to do this with the advanced manufacturing exemption that was put into SB 131 and AB 130 last year, and we've seen down in Imperial County how the developer of the largest data center in the entire state tried to exempt his project from environmental review altogether.
Matthew McKerleyGUEST
So what will matter in a court of law? Primarily the language of the ballot measure itself, and if a court determines that that language is unclear, the ballot arguments and other materials that were before the voters.
Matthew McKerleyGUEST
not press statements.
Steve HiltonGUEST
So why then, great point.
Steve HiltonGUEST
So why is the f- is the regulatory framework and the financial incentives that come from the regulatory framework hostile to hydropower, which in California insanely is not even classified as renewable, hydroelectric power, um, and geothermal power? So you go to Imperial County, as I've been many times, you go to the round the Salton Sea, you've got geothermal power stations there, which are also producing lithium, which is potentially great for our future and could be a real, you know, income generator for that area and economic growth.
Steve HiltonGUEST
And there's an artificial cap on the amount of geothermal power that can be produced because of the regulations.
Steve HiltonGUEST
You go to Sonoma County, massive geothermal potential there that's not being, um, not being allowed to grow.
Benjamin ValdezHOST
Thank you, James.
Benjamin ValdezHOST
I am the current young professional chair for the American Public Works Association, San Diego and Imperial County's chapter.
Benjamin ValdezHOST
Uh, today we're gonna be shining a spotlight on the future of public works.
Benjamin ValdezHOST
We have Ash from Rick Engineering, and Catherine from Wood Rogers joining us today.
40 MINS LATER
Ash ParanthamanGUEST
And Imperial Valley has been such a, you know, disadvantaged, you know, community that hasn't got its, uh, shine, uh, so to say.
Ash ParanthamanGUEST
So now, you know, that is all gonna happen.
Ash ParanthamanGUEST
Um, and that is just one example of, you know, really cool thing that is going on in San Diego, um, or in Imperial County, and I'm really excited to be part of that.
Ash ParanthamanGUEST
You know, I, I'm right now working on a Lithium Valley specific plan so that, you know, future, you know, um, industry folks can set up shop there and start extracting lithium, right? Um, and I'm, yeah, I'm really excited to be part of that and, you know, just, and more projects like that, uh, in the future.
Dom BettinelliHOST
Yeah.
Jimmy AkinHOST
My drive out from Arkansas was, uh, pretty uneventful until the last three hours, and then I'm coming through Imperial County, about to get to San Diego County, and there's ...
Jimmy AkinHOST
People who are not from here won't know it, but there's this big, huge, um, mountainous area.
Jimmy AkinHOST
It's sometimes called the Mountain Empire.
Dom BettinelliHOST
Yeah.
Jimmy AkinHOST
Out at the edge of San Diego County.
Jimmy AkinHOST
You go from below sea level, which is where Imperial County is, to over, you know, 4,000 feet in just a few miles.
Dom BettinelliHOST
It's like switchback, switchback-
Kori SuzukiGUEST
And what they said is that the reports that we're hearing from Inside Donovan really closely aligned with experiences that incarcerated people across the state prison system face.
Kori SuzukiGUEST
California has 31 state prisons all across the state from as far north as the Bay Area and further to Donovan and to prisons in Imperial County.
Kori SuzukiGUEST
The reports that they hear, they said, closely match up with some of the details that we've been talking about.
Kori SuzukiGUEST
I mean, access to ice water, access to fans, the questions about whether CDCR is consistently applying these protocols.
7 MINS LATER
Katie AnastasGUEST
Yeah, I think...
Katie AnastasGUEST
When I first get in, I kind of look at what we have that's come in the afternoon before from all of our reporters, and I kind of take stock of what we have, what parts of town we're covering in this set of stories.
Katie AnastasGUEST
Something that's very different from working this job in a place like Petersburg compared to San Diego is we have so many little cities and towns and communities here in San Diego County and in Imperial County.
Katie AnastasGUEST
So my first step is to kind of look at, okay, what areas are we covering and where are maybe some places I can try to fill in the gaps a little bit.
Mike MadridGUEST
It's also why the Democratic mapmakers in California made the same mistake prior to that.
Mike MadridGUEST
There was no mapmaker that was saying the Republicans were going to win the Imperial County.
Mike MadridGUEST
They never conceived of that because they're using an old understanding.
Mike MadridGUEST
Mapmakers are very good at understanding yesterday.
10 more episodes mention Imperial County.
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