In news from California, the City Council in Stockton has unanimously voted to undo the privatization of the city’s water utilities. In 2001, Stockton signed a $600 million deal to give the multinational company OMI-Thames control of the city’s water system. It was the largest water privatization deal west of the Mississippi. But for the past seven years local residents and environmental groups have fought for the city to regain control of its water. The campaign was featured in the documentary Thirst. Critics of the 2001 deal said privatizing the water system opened the door to harmful environmental impacts to the surrounding water delta and decreased the public’s say over how the systems were managed.