Comedian Paul Rodriguez is the first to admit there are flashier celebrity issues than water storage. But there he was Thursday, joining a coalition of small-town Valley mayors at the Capital, lobbying for money for a dam near Fresno.

"My agent tells me that I should have a sexier issue," he joked in an interview. "I should be supporting 'Save the Whales' or should find a disease that will give me press."

Rodriguez was pressed into duty by Orange Cove Mayor Victor Lopez, who helps lead the Latino Water Coalition, which is fighting for the Fresno-area dam. As a youngster, Rodriguez spent time working in the San Joaquin Valley's farm fields -- which the coalition believes could dry up without new water storage.

Lopez has remained friendly with Rodriguez ever since Rodriguez helped raise money to help the small farming town recover from a freeze in the early 1990s.

"Paul's been very supportive of whatever Orange Cove does," Lopez said.

On Thursday, Rodriguez flew up from Los Angeles on a day's notice to try to convince lawmakers to strike a deal on a bond to pay for a dam at Temperance Flat, as well as other state water projects. Negotiations are continuing, but time is running out to reach a compromise before the session ends next week.

Speaking at a news conference in the scorching Sacramento sun, Rodriguez said, "there's nothing funny about running out of water and I know because I need a bottle now."

--E.J. Schultz