By KELLY ZITO, San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO -- Worn oxfords, floral flip-flops, in-line skates, sparkly high heels, fuzzy blue slippers.

Each pair of shoes placed early Saturday morning in a neat rectangular block on the green lawn of Crissy Field represented a person -- teenager, artist, mother, doctor, war veteran -- who has taken a fatal jump from the Golden Gate Bridge.

By growing less thirsty crops and investing in more efficient irrigation technology, California farmers could save billions of gallons of water each year -- the equivalent of three dams to 20 dams, according to a controversial new report by an influential water policy think tank.

SACRAMENTO -- Anticipating another bone-dry winter, California is preparing to act as a water go-between next year, buying from water-rich districts in the north and selling to cities and farmers hit hard by drought.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A recycling war is breaking out on the Bay Area's curbsides.

Those ubiquitous, colorful recycling bins set out each week for pickup stand on a battle line between growing numbers of organized crews who snag cans and bottles and the official waste haulers who say "poachers" are increasingly hostile and dangerous.