Complex sentence: This syndicate made substantial efforts to support passage of the bond issue that funded the aqueduct, including creating a false drought (by manipulating rainfall totals) and publishing scare articles in the "Los Angeles Times", which Otis published.
Split into simpler sentences: This syndicate made substantial efforts to support passage of the bond issue that funded the aqueduct. This included creating a false drought by manipulating rainfall totals and publishing scare articles in the "Los Angeles Times", which Otis published.