Reading Phil Dirkx’s recent column today on drought and water in Paso Robles, I noticed that he ignores the elephant in the room: big capital investors are mining and depleting the North County’s rich groundwater resource at an alarming rate, turning the water into wine. When the water is gone, they will leave, seeking another natural resource to exploit, another community to impoverish (this has been going on for a few centuries, but only recently arrived at our own doorstep).

Perhaps Mr. Dirkx ignores this because at this time everyone in Paso seems to think that the water-into-wine act is divine. Unfortunately, it will prove to be diabolical.