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Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, trailblazer and champion of liberal priorities, dies at age 90
Feinstein dies
San Francisco's Chief of Protocol Maryam Muduroglu finishes writing a note in a condolence book in memory of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein at City Hall in San Francisco on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. Feinstein of California, a centrist Democrat who was elected to the Senate in 1992 in the "Year of the Woman" and broke gender barriers throughout her long career in local and national politics, has died. She was 90. (AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy)
Published: Sep 30, 2023, 12:26 AM

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MICHAEL R. BLOOD

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a centrist Democrat and champion of liberal causes who was elected to the Senate in 1992 and broke gender barriers throughout her long career in local and national politics, has died. She was 90.

Feinstein died on Thursday night at her home in Washington, D.C., her office said on Friday. Tributes poured in all day. Opening the Senate floor, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that "we lost a giant in the Senate."

"As the nation mourns this tremendous loss, we know how many lives she impacted and how many glass ceilings she shattered along the way," Schumer said, his voice cracking.

Local California Republican Congressman Tom McClintock applauded Feinstein’s “reasonable” stance in the Senate.

“Dianne Feinstein was a titan of the Senate and her passing is an incalculable loss to California, the Senate, and the country.  Though we disagreed on much, I always found her approachable, reasonable and sincere.  She was instrumental in advancing desperately needed forest management reforms, even when it meant bucking strident voices on the left.  Her presence will be keenly missed, but her example will live on,” said McClintock.

President Joe Biden, who served with Feinstein for years in the Senate, called her "a pioneering American," a "true trailblazer" and a "cherished friend."

The Almond Alliance praised her work with the state’s agriculture community.

“Senator Feinstein’s door was always open to our agriculture community here in California and across the country. She built and led a team of some of the most skilled on Capitol Hill, strong on all issues, especially ag and water. We are saddened by her loss but comforted in the knowledge that her work and the legacy she leaves will live on. We extend our condolences to her family at this time of their loss, comforted in knowing Senator Feinstein changed this state and this country for the good,” said Aubrey Bettencourt, President and Chief Executive Office of the Almond Alliance.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint a temporary replacement, and there is sure to be a spirited battle to succeed her.

Feinstein, the oldest sitting U.S. senator, was a passionate advocate for liberal priorities important to her state -- including environmental protection, reproductive rights and gun control -- but was also known as a pragmatic lawmaker who reached out to Republicans and sought middle ground.

Her death came after a bout of shingles sidelined her for more than two months earlier this year — an absence that drew frustration from her most liberal critics and launched an unsuccessful attempt by Democrats to temporarily replace her on the Senate Judiciary Committee. When she returned to the Senate in May, she was frail and using a wheelchair, voting only occasionally.

On Friday, her Senate desk was draped in black and topped with a vase of white roses. Senators gave tearful tributes as members of the California House delegation stood in the back of the chamber and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat in the gallery with Feinstein's daughter, Katherine.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was one of several Republicans who gave tributes to the Democratic icon, calling her his friend. "Dianne was a trailblazer, and her beloved home state of California and our entire nation are better for her dogged advocacy and diligent service," McConnell said.

Biden said in a statement, "Dianne made her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties. "Our country will benefit from her legacy for generations."

Former president Barack Obama also saluted her as "a trailblazer," and former President Bill Clinton called her a champion "of civil rights and civil liberties, environmental protection and strong national security."

She was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and became its first female board president in 1978, the year Mayor George Moscone was gunned down alongside Supervisor Harvey Milk at City Hall by Dan White, a disgruntled former supervisor. Feinstein found Milk's body.

After Moscone's death, Feinstein became San Francisco's first female mayor. In the Senate, she was one of California's first two female senators, the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat.

Although Feinstein was not always embraced by the feminist movement, her experiences colored her outlook through her five decades in politics.

"I recognize that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right," she told The Associated Press in 2005, as the Judiciary Committee prepared to hold hearings on President George W. Bush's nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.

"So I must tell you, I try to look out for women's rights. I also try to solve problems as I perceive them, with legislation, and reaching out where I can, and working across the aisle," she said.

Feinstein's bipartisan efforts helped her notch legislative wins throughout her career. But it also proved to be a liability in her later years in Congress, as her state became more liberal and as the Senate and the electorate became increasingly polarized.

A fierce debater who did not suffer fools, the California senator was long known for her verbal zingers and sharp comebacks when challenged on the issues about which she was most fervent. But she lost that edge in her later years in the Senate, as her health visibly declined and she sometimes became confused when answering questions or speaking publicly. In February 2023, she said she would not run for a sixth term the next year. And within weeks of that announcement, she was absent for the Senate for more than two months as she recovered from a bout of shingles.

Amid the concerns about her health, Feinstein stepped down as the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel after the 2020 elections, just as her party was about to take the majority. In 2023, she said she would not serve as the Senate president pro tempore, or the most senior member of the majority party, even though she was in line to do so. The president pro tempore opens the Senate every day and holds other ceremonial duties.

One of Feinstein's most significant legislative accomplishments was early in her career, when the Senate approved her amendment to ban manufacturing and sales of certain types of assault weapons as part of a crime bill that President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994. Though the assault weapons ban expired 10 years later and was never renewed or replaced, it was a poignant win after her career had been significantly shaped by gun violence.

Feinstein remembered finding Milk's body, her finger slipping into a bullet hole as she felt for a pulse. It was a story she would retell often in the years ahead as she pushed for stricter gun control measures.

She had little patience for Republicans and others who opposed her on that issue, though she was often challenged. In 1993, during debate on the assault weapons ban, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, accused her of having an insufficient knowledge of guns and the gun control issue.

Feinstein spoke fiercely of the violence she'd lived through in San Francisco and retorted: ''Senator, I know something about what firearms can do."

Two decades later, after 20 children and six educators were killed in a horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, first-term Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas similarly challenged Feinstein during debate on legislation that would have permanently banned the weapons.

"I'm not a sixth grader," Feinstein snapped back at the much younger Cruz — a moment that later went viral. She added: "It's fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I've been here a long time."

Feinstein became mayor of San Francisco after the 1978 slayings of Moscone and Milk, leading the city during one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Even her critics credited Feinstein with a calming influence, and she won reelection on her own to two four-year terms.

With her success and growing recognition statewide came visibility on the national political stage.

In 1984, Feinstein was viewed as a vice presidential possibility for Walter Mondale but faced questions about the business dealings of her husband, Richard Blum. In 1990, she used news footage of her announcement of the assassinations of Moscone and Milk in a television ad that helped her win the Democratic nomination for California governor, making her the first female major-party gubernatorial nominee in the state's history.

Although she narrowly lost the general election to Republican Pete Wilson, the stage was set for her election to the Senate two years later to fill the Senate seat Wilson had vacated to run for governor.

Feinstein campaigned jointly with Barbara Boxer, who was running for the state's other U.S. Senate seat, and both won, benefiting from positive news coverage and excitement over their historic race. California had never had a female U.S. senator, and female candidates and voters had been galvanized by the Supreme Court hearings in which the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Anita Hill about her sexual harassment allegations against nominee Clarence Thomas.

Feinstein was appointed to the Judiciary panel and eventually the Senate Intelligence Committee, becoming the chairperson in 2009. She was the first woman to lead the intelligence panel, a high-profile perch that gave her a central oversight role over U.S. intelligence controversies, setbacks and triumphs, from the killing of Osama bin Laden to leaks about National Security Agency surveillance.

Under Feinstein's leadership, the intelligence committee conducted a wide-ranging, five-year investigation into CIA interrogation techniques during President George W. Bush's administration, including waterboarding of terrorism suspects at secret overseas prisons. The resulting 6,300-page "torture report" concluded among other things that waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" did not provide key evidence in the hunt for bin Laden. A 525-page executive summary was released in late 2014, but the rest of the report has remained classified.

The Senate investigation was full of intrigue at the time, including documents that mysteriously disappeared and accusations traded between the Senate and the CIA that the other was stealing information. The drama was captured in a 2019 movie about the investigation called "The Report," and actor Annette Bening was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Feinstein.

In the years since, Feinstein has continued to push aggressively for eventual declassification of the report.

"It's my very strong belief that one day this report should be declassified," Feinstein said. "This must be a lesson learned: that torture doesn't work."

Feinstein sometimes frustrated liberals by adopting moderate or hawkish positions that put her at odds with the left wing of the Democratic Party, as well as with the more liberal Boxer, who retired from the Senate in 2017. Feinstein defended the Obama administration's expansive collection of Americans' phone and email records as necessary for protecting the country, for example, even as other Democratic senators voiced protests. "It's called protecting America," Feinstein said then.

That tension escalated during Donald Trump's presidency, when many Democrats had little appetite for compromise. Feinstein became the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel in 2016 and led her party's messaging through three Supreme Court nominations -- a role that angered liberal advocacy groups that wanted to see a more aggressive partisan in charge.

Feinstein closed out confirmation hearings for Justice Amy Coney Barrett with an embrace of Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a public thanks to him for a job well done. "This has been one of the best set of hearings that I've participated in," Feinstein said at the end of the hearing.

Liberal advocacy groups that had fiercely opposed Barrett's nomination to replace the late liberal icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were furious and called for her to step down from the committee leadership.

A month later, Feinstein announced she would remain on the committee but step down as the top Democrat. The senator, then 87 years old, did not say why. In a statement, she said she would "continue to do my utmost to bring about positive change in the coming years."

Feinstein was born on June 22, 1933. Her father, Leon Goldman, was a prominent surgeon and medical school professor in San Francisco, but her mother was an abusive woman with a violent temper that was often directed at Feinstein and her two younger sisters.

Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955, with a bachelor's degree in history. She married young and was a divorced single mother of her daughter, Katherine, in 1960, at a time when such a status was still unusual.

In 1961, Feinstein was appointed by then-Gov. Pat Brown to the women's parole board, on which she served before running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Typical of the era, much of the early coverage of her entrance into public life focused on her appearance rather than her experience and education.

Feinstein's second husband, Bert Feinstein, was 19 years older than she, but she described the marriage as "a 10" and kept his name even after his death from cancer in 1978. In 1980, she married investment banker Richard Blum, and thanks to his wealth, she was one of the richest members of the Senate. He died in February 2022.

In addition to her daughter, Feinstein has a granddaughter, Eileen, and three stepchildren.

 
Modesto Irrigation District director accused of water theft, board will investigate
MID
Modesto Irrigation District Director Larry Byrd (left) attends a regular board meeting on Aug. 12 (GARTH STAPLEY/The Modesto Focus).
Published: Sep 17, 2025, 5:39 AM

By GARTH STAPLEY

CV Journalism Collaborative

The Modesto Irrigation District will look into accusations that one of its top elected leaders has stolen water, the lifeblood of the public utility.

Speculation that longtime Director Larry Byrd has used MID water to nourish almond trees outside district boundaries near La Grange has spilled into the agency’s boardroom in two recent meetings, including last week.

MID Board President Robert Frobose, whose position gives him authority to commission investigations, cited hopes of shoring up public trust in confirming that the accusation is being taken seriously.

“I expect the district will be conducting a thorough and independent examination of the allegations forthwith,” Frobose said Sept. 12 in response to a Modesto Focus inquiry. “We deeply care about ensuring public trust is maintained along with responsible water management, while also ensuring this is looked at independently and fairly.”

Byrd, a board director since 2011, did not respond to The Modesto Focus’ questions about the allegations or an investigation.

MID has vast impact on Valley life. The district provided farmwater to 2,300 growers with 66,000 acres, and also provides electricity to 133,000 customer accounts in Modesto, Salida, Waterford and Mountain House and parts of Ripon, Escalon, Oakdale, and Riverbank. About half of Modesto’s tap water comes from treated MID river water.

On Sept. 9, members of the audience publicly urged Byrd to address the accusations. Byrd stayed silent, as he did July 8 when an audience member, citing “satellite imaging” evidence, first raised the suspicion.

Since then, Byrd has denied wrongdoing in a series of six articles of the Valley Citizen online publication. They include interviews with a former longtime employee of Byrd casting doubt on Byrd’s version of the story.

Valley Citizen writer Eric Caine says Byrd, who also farms in the Waterford area, and his partners planted 500 acres of almond trees in 2015 on land where Byrd previously ran cattle near La Grange. 

 

Water theft allegations leave a stain on Modesto Irrigation District

Caine quoted two MID officials – Frobose and former board director Nick Blom – repeating the common perception that Byrd’s entire La Grange orchard was entitled to MID water. But more than 100 acres reportedly are outside district boundaries, the Valley Citizen says.

The allegations are “a blemish on MID,” said Bill Lyons, noting his own nine years on the board (1984 to 1993) during the public comment portion of the Sept. 9 board meeting. “There is an opportunity for you, Larry, to clear the record, and I urge you to do so.”

Anthony Ratto also rose to speak from the audience at the same meeting, suggesting that Byrd’s ardent support two years ago for selling surplus MID water to east Stanislaus growers outside district boundaries at a below-market price makes more sense in light of the recent allegations. When such sales were hotly debated in 2023, many assumed Byrd was advocating for his neighbors; now it seems it was for “personal benefit,” Ratto said.

Faced with the sober claims, the MID board has little choice but to investigate one of their own, said Ripon attorney Stacy Henderson. 

She noted MID’s history of holding others accountable when suspected of similar wrongdoing. 

“I don’t see any reason to take any different approach just because it’s a (board) director accused of misusing the district’s water,” she said.

Henderson for years has represented the interests of growers on the west end of MID boundaries in a long-running feud with those on the east, whose pumping of groundwater to sustain millions of nut trees is under scrutiny.

 

East Stanislaus aquifer in danger from overpumping

In 2023, east-side growers pumped a whopping 70,000 more acre-feet of groundwater than seeped into its underground aquifer, records show. By comparison, that’s about the same total amount pumped from wells each year, on average, by the cities of Modesto, Oakdale, Riverbank and Waterford plus MID and the Oakdale Irrigation District combined, according to west side attorneys. The deficit dropped a bit in 2024, to 58,500 acre-feet.

When they have surplus, both OID and MID have offered help to east-side growers in the form of surface water from the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers, respectively, and some have taken OID water at $200 per acre-foot. But none has signed up for MID water offered at the same price, insisting – with Byrd leading the charge – that it be lowered to $60 an acre-foot, to encourage participation.

No other portion of the Modesto subbasin, stretching across much of Stanislaus County, is in danger of depleting the aquifer under it. But the entire area could face consequences for the crisis on the east end when new state groundwater regulations under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act kick in, in early 2027.

The region’s latest plan to address groundwater is being developed, with public hearings hosted by the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers Groundwater Basin Association coming in the fall and a vote expected in January. Outcomes are likely to include pumping restrictions and may feature intrusion by state water officials.

Some observers say the entire area should participate in solving the problem on the east, citing agriculture as the backbone industry of the Stanislaus economy.

Others contend that farming is a business venture like any other, subject to risk. Speculators paid comparatively little for east-side property, much of it former low-value grazing land with no rights to surface water, and turned it into orchards, sometimes without a reliable water source. Why, west-side interests say, should people across the county bail out what they consider unwise investments in the east?

Heavy hitters in east v. west Stanislaus water debate

All three Sept. 9 speakers – Henderson, Ratto and Lyons – represent the west; the latter is a former state agriculture secretary. Advocates for the east include former Congressman John Duarte and his wife, Alexandra, an announced candidate for a state Senate seat in next year’s election.

The west has tried to link eastern interests to Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow, a certified public accountant whose clients include people doing business with Byrd. Withrow has said he has no financial interest in the water feud, but to help facilitate resolution, he convened a rare meeting of the warring parties in August. Many left with increased understanding but no consensus, several told The Modesto Focus.

MID officials in 2015 accused six customers of misusing water, fined them and cut off their irrigation water, but soon after reinstated three of them and canceled their penalties. 

A 2019 court ruling in the case of Nichols v. MID made clear that using district water outside the district is unlawful, even if the land in question is next to the district.

The MID board is no stranger to conflict. Just last month, the board censured board director Janice Keating for mistreating staff, and she lost a gender discrimination lawsuit last year against Frobose. Past boards reprimanded their own and defended lawsuits against claims of discrimination and retaliation.

— Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact Stapley at garth@cvlocaljournalism.org.