Final water arguments heard

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- The fate of Southern California's water supply is in the hands of a Sacramento judge.

U-T San Diego says Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly heard final arguments Nov. 14 in a lawsuit over a 2003 deal on how water agencies share supplies from the Colorado River.

Imperial County authorities claim regional water brokers skirted environmental laws to obtain the hard-fought agreement, which limited the amount of water California can draw from the river and called for the farming region of Imperial Valley to sell water to San Diego.

Critics say the deal could hasten the shrinking of the Salton Sea, an inland lake in Imperial Valley.

The judge could order new environmental studies or even toss out the entire agreement. A decision is expected later this year.

Kansas wheat faring poorly

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- The government's weekly snapshot of Kansas crops shows nearly a quarter of the emerging winter wheat faring poorly.

Monday's report from the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service notes the state continues to receive only scant moisture. The agency says only 13 of 53 reporting stations recorded any precipitation last week, and most of those got only a trace.

Ninety-five percent of the winter wheat had emerged by the end of last week. Twenty-four percent was rated in poor to very poor condition, with 46 percent rated fair, 29 percent rated good and 1 percent in excellent shape.