After failing for the second time to block federal rules that set aside water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for endangered fish, Secretary Ken Salazar said he will hold hearings in California on the prolonged drought that has turned fields into dust bowls and resulted in a spike in rural crime, high unemployment and low property values.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met last week with a group of frustrated farmers on the edge of a dry, dusty field in Mendota?EUR??,,????'?????<

Mendota?EUR??,,????'?????<

On the west side of Fresno County communities are suffering as the Westlands Water District receives 10 percent of its federal water allotment this year. The cutbacks stem from the three-year drought and are exacerbated by federal protections for the threatened delta smelt.

State officials say that there is a link between the drought and increased crime rates. In some valley towns the crime rates have soared. The link, officials suggest, are the water shortages to farming communities. The drought is said to have lead to higher crime rates in some Valley towns. In the farming community of Mendota, crime is up 100 percent, officials reported. Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan said that the spike is tied to the water crisis.