In 2011-12 a committee of the Kern County Grand Jury investigated complaints about the installation and connection of a private 12-inch line to the district's water supply, by which a developer hoped to bring water to a hotel then planned for construction.
The board voted on January 14, 2014, to open each meeting with a prayer "prior to the Pledge of Allegiance at all future meetings,"[REF] and president Michael Hightower opened the subsequent meeting, on February 11, "with a call to stand for a minute of silence.