Jeffrey Kightlinger is general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Before participating in a panel on why we still don’t have clean water in so many parts of the world, he explained what question he gets asked most often about the drought in the Zócalo green room.
What’s your favorite condiment?
I’m going to go with Sriracha hot sauce.
What’s the last live event or performance you watched?
I went to one of those BottleRock concerts. That was terrific, up in Napa.
What question about the drought do you get asked most often?
Why aren’t we doing mandatory rationing?
How do you pass the time when you’re stuck in traffic?
I do a lot of thinking about my day’s work. I used to listen to the radio. Now I just think about things, because it’s the only quiet time I really get.
What do you do to clear your mind?
Read. I like to read.
What’s the last great book you read?
I finished a nonfiction book I really enjoyed called The Boys in the Boat [by Daniel James Brown] about a crew team winning a gold medal in 1936.
What music do you like to dance to?
The Black Keys.
What are you keeping in your garage that you should have thrown out already?
Some pretty antiquated camping equipment.
Baths or showers?
Shower.
What do you love to hate?
Hypocrisy.