In this article from the Washington Post yesterday, we see the governmental flood planning failures, peculiar to the United States, underlying the recent flooding in New Orleans, and sure to witness more.
Where 100 year flood protection is lauded in most of the United States (including Sacramento), the article notes: “(The Netherlands and Japan protect their residents against a 10,000-year flood -- and worry that it is not enough.)
That’s taking flooding seriously!
Here is an excerpt.
. . And How to Stop It
By John M. Barry Sunday, May 14, 2006; B01
Someone once said that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Hurricane Katrina was a crisis that has created a real opportunity: to bring some rationality to the way we spend tens of billions of dollars on water projects in this country so we can protect millions of Americans whose lives are at risk.
The problem is that we have no overall policy for setting priorities on water projects. The need for this has been evident since at least the 1993 Mississippi River flood, but nothing has been done. The answer is to create a kind of deus ex machina, an independent commission to leapfrog the political process and define a water policy to manage flood control and development.
Indeed, our approach to water policy up to now has made about as much sense as Alice's trip through wonderland. Consider that, because of an executive order signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, the Army Corps of Engineers can take only economic development into account in its cost-benefit analyses of proposed projects. The value of a life -- or of 10,000 lives -- is not part of the equation, nor is the catastrophic damage resulting from any major flood.
Or consider that the United States protects most areas only against a flood likely to come every 100 years. Yet a person born today has a better than 50 percent chance of experiencing a flood that will exceed that standard, and a 7.5 percent chance of experiencing a 1,000-year flood. It may make sense to insure an individual building against a 100-year flood, but it makes no sense to build levees, as we do, that would protect an entire city such as Sacramento against that standard. (The Netherlands and Japan protect their residents against a 10,000-year flood -- and worry that it is not enough.)
But these are mere symptoms, and fixing them would solve little. The real problems run deep. One is the intrusion of the White House and Congress into Corps decision-making. Another lies within the structure of the Corps itself. Finally, there is the notion that, as one Corps official told me, "all water is local," which leads to a persistently narrow focus on individual projects rather than entire systems.
All these flaws came together in New Orleans to create a perfect storm that exposed the weaknesses of our water policy.
Although hurricane protection was authorized after Betsy hit the city in 1965, it was never finished, partly because the Office of Management and Budget slashed Corps funding requests and partly because Louisiana's congressional delegation put a higher priority on projects with greater economic payoff. When flood control did get addressed, the unintended consequences of 1980s pork reform undermined it. The reform required local interests to share project costs; in New Orleans, local officials saved money by thwarting a flood-control project the Corps wanted and having Congress force the Corps to build the floodwalls that failed during Katrina.
But in building those floodwalls, the Corps itself failed, despite warnings. During Katrina, the floodwalls collapsed in the face of a storm they were supposed to withstand. When outside contractors submitted the initial floodwall design in the 1980s, Corps engineers questioned its safety -- but allowed construction to begin. A separate Corps study predicted precisely how the walls would fail, but it went unread. Then a contractor sued the Corps, warning that the soil was too weak to support the floodwalls as designed. In 1998, the Corps won the lawsuit -- and apparently only lawyers reviewed the claim. Part of the Corps problem may be its move to a business model, replacing engineers with program managers who often lack engineering expertise.
John Koerner, liaison between the city's rebuilding commission and the Corps, described the Corps to me this way: "Organizationally challenged. Silos. No communication internally or externally. Good people individually, motivated. The whole culture hides behind the term 'authorized' [meaning congressional authorization]. They don't even know what each other's responsibilities and duties are. Projects are awarded to unsuspecting divisions. Quite a mess."
Unfortunately, Koerner was describing not history, but how the Corps is functioning in New Orleans today, where, under supposedly emergency conditions, it is trying to restore levees by June 1.
What, then, is the solution? Some recommend privatizing the Corps, or separating it from the Pentagon. That would be a serious mistake. The Corps has unique and extraordinary capabilities; it can build anything from sewer systems to power plants and, as Afghanistan and Iraq have demonstrated, that capacity needs to be in the military. Privatization would not address the OMB or Hill problems and, by giving local officials more control, would make it even harder to integrate projects affecting large areas. Notes retired Gen. Gerald Galloway, author of a highly praised study of the 1993 Mississippi River flood: "We've been talking about basin planning and integration since the 1920s, but we continue to fund individual projects."
A far better idea would be to create what I would call a Water Engineering Board, which would define national water policy, set priorities, integrate projects and apply peer review to proposals. It might, for example, demand that the Corps bring hundreds of miles of Mississippi River levees up to grade and reject expenditures on new flood-control projects that will spur dangerous development -- such as that being planned outside Sacramento on a site 20 feet below sea level.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Mother’s Day Tragedy Averted
In this story from today’s Bee, a horrible tragedy was averted when a family, including a pregnant mother, barely escaped drowning in the fast flowing American River on Mother’s Day.
Unfortunately, these events will occur more frequently, as the area around the river grows with more people unaware a raging, freezing river runs through the center of the major metropolitan area they live in.
Here is an excerpt.
Rafters survive close call on river
By Molly Dugan -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, May 15, 2006
An 18-year old pregnant woman, her husband and her two brothers almost died Sunday on the American River after their raft overturned in rapids.
Christina Mosher, 18, and her husband, Curtis Mosher, 28, paddled to an island in the middle of the frigid river near William Pond Recreation Area in Carmichael.
A Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District helicopter spotted the couple, and airlifted the two to safety. Today is the couple's one-month wedding anniversary.
Christina Mosher was taken to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Sacramento with stomach pain, but she said she and the baby - Mosher is 14 weeks pregnant - are fine.
"It was my first - and last - time rafting, at least while I'm pregnant," she said.
Her brothers, Jonathan George, 22, and David George, 16, scrambled to the riverbank. They found a telephone and called their mother.
"I thought my son was teasing," recalled Kimberly George. "Then he said, 'Mom, if I were you, I would get down here.' It scared the life out of me.
"This was not the way I wanted to spend Mother's Day."
Kimberly George drove to the scene, at the southeast end of Arden Way, then called 911 at 6:46 p.m. Rescuers found the Moshers at 7:13 p.m.
Fire Battalion Chief Anthony Kastros said when the river's current is swift and the water chilled, "The likelihood of a rescue is rare. It's amazing that they made it."
Unfortunately, these events will occur more frequently, as the area around the river grows with more people unaware a raging, freezing river runs through the center of the major metropolitan area they live in.
Here is an excerpt.
Rafters survive close call on river
By Molly Dugan -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, May 15, 2006
An 18-year old pregnant woman, her husband and her two brothers almost died Sunday on the American River after their raft overturned in rapids.
Christina Mosher, 18, and her husband, Curtis Mosher, 28, paddled to an island in the middle of the frigid river near William Pond Recreation Area in Carmichael.
A Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District helicopter spotted the couple, and airlifted the two to safety. Today is the couple's one-month wedding anniversary.
Christina Mosher was taken to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Sacramento with stomach pain, but she said she and the baby - Mosher is 14 weeks pregnant - are fine.
"It was my first - and last - time rafting, at least while I'm pregnant," she said.
Her brothers, Jonathan George, 22, and David George, 16, scrambled to the riverbank. They found a telephone and called their mother.
"I thought my son was teasing," recalled Kimberly George. "Then he said, 'Mom, if I were you, I would get down here.' It scared the life out of me.
"This was not the way I wanted to spend Mother's Day."
Kimberly George drove to the scene, at the southeast end of Arden Way, then called 911 at 6:46 p.m. Rescuers found the Moshers at 7:13 p.m.
Fire Battalion Chief Anthony Kastros said when the river's current is swift and the water chilled, "The likelihood of a rescue is rare. It's amazing that they made it."
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Dam the Cosumnes?
This article in this morning’s Bee might as well be applied to the reasons to consider a dam on the American, though the consequences of not controlling the flooding waters on the American are much more severe than on the Cosumnes, but as development grows and more people move into the area, that will not always be so.
As the beavers have taught us, dams are an ancient and very sound way to control water.
Here is an excerpt.
County studies Cosumnes dam
It's one option being considered to tame and better cope with storm-fed surges along the river.
By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 14, 2006
A lazy summer hum has settled over the pastures of Point Pleasant, where cattle graze beside Interstate 5, bees swirl around white-boxed hives and residents get a rare insurance subsidy from Sacramento County.
This enclave of homes and hayfields southwest of Elk Grove has received government-paid flood insurance for years, and is likely to keep it until someone, somehow figures out how to keep the place dry.
With nearly two decades of discussion behind them, county officials are hoping to make headway this year, in a series of wide-ranging workshops that will look at proposed solutions - including damming the Cosumnes River.
"We've never looked at a dry dam on the Cosumnes," one that would hold water only rarely to prevent floods when the river runs high, said Craig Crouch, a Sacramento County engineer.
"We're doing the analysis to see if it has any legs, from a technical standpoint."
A dry dam, which would fill ranchland in El Dorado and Amador counties with water perhaps a dozen times a century, could be one way to help Wilton farmers, Delta marinas, Point Pleasant residents and reservoir managers better cope with storm-fed surges along the Cosumnes.
As the beavers have taught us, dams are an ancient and very sound way to control water.
Here is an excerpt.
County studies Cosumnes dam
It's one option being considered to tame and better cope with storm-fed surges along the river.
By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 14, 2006
A lazy summer hum has settled over the pastures of Point Pleasant, where cattle graze beside Interstate 5, bees swirl around white-boxed hives and residents get a rare insurance subsidy from Sacramento County.
This enclave of homes and hayfields southwest of Elk Grove has received government-paid flood insurance for years, and is likely to keep it until someone, somehow figures out how to keep the place dry.
With nearly two decades of discussion behind them, county officials are hoping to make headway this year, in a series of wide-ranging workshops that will look at proposed solutions - including damming the Cosumnes River.
"We've never looked at a dry dam on the Cosumnes," one that would hold water only rarely to prevent floods when the river runs high, said Craig Crouch, a Sacramento County engineer.
"We're doing the analysis to see if it has any legs, from a technical standpoint."
A dry dam, which would fill ranchland in El Dorado and Amador counties with water perhaps a dozen times a century, could be one way to help Wilton farmers, Delta marinas, Point Pleasant residents and reservoir managers better cope with storm-fed surges along the Cosumnes.
Discovery Park Flooded Since Christmas
In this article from yesterday’s Bee we see the effects of winter storms that render one of the most popular areas of the Parkway unusable. It is doubly unfortunate as it is an area most utilized by many of the poorer communities adjacent to it, who have few options for recreation.
This is part of the reason we have called for a new dam on the American River, to protect the integrity of the Parkway, and just another small reason, in addition to the very large one of protecting the Sacramento region from major flooding, to consider a dam.
Here is an excerpt.
Waters, debris recede at last
A Discovery Park cleanup clears the way for eager users.
By M.S. Enkoji -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 13, 2006
After months underwater, Discovery Park will emerge from its watery winter hibernation this weekend and reopen for boaters and picnickers eager to get outdoors.
Since Christmas, the park at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers has spent more time underwater than as a regional recreation attraction.
A Sierra snowpack super-sized by heavy winter storms is melting into swollen rivers and reservoirs downriver, and it has kept the park submerged longer than usual.
Things aren't exactly showroom-ready, said Dave Lydick, chief ranger for the Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks. But part of the park will reopen this weekend after county crews spent the week cleaning debris from the park and along the bike trail west of Del Paso Boulevard, he said.
The main portion of the park with access from Richards Boulevard will be open, Lydick said. The boat ramp is also expected to emerge from the receding river.
But some areas are still underwater and other parts are litter-strewn.
This is part of the reason we have called for a new dam on the American River, to protect the integrity of the Parkway, and just another small reason, in addition to the very large one of protecting the Sacramento region from major flooding, to consider a dam.
Here is an excerpt.
Waters, debris recede at last
A Discovery Park cleanup clears the way for eager users.
By M.S. Enkoji -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 13, 2006
After months underwater, Discovery Park will emerge from its watery winter hibernation this weekend and reopen for boaters and picnickers eager to get outdoors.
Since Christmas, the park at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers has spent more time underwater than as a regional recreation attraction.
A Sierra snowpack super-sized by heavy winter storms is melting into swollen rivers and reservoirs downriver, and it has kept the park submerged longer than usual.
Things aren't exactly showroom-ready, said Dave Lydick, chief ranger for the Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks. But part of the park will reopen this weekend after county crews spent the week cleaning debris from the park and along the bike trail west of Del Paso Boulevard, he said.
The main portion of the park with access from Richards Boulevard will be open, Lydick said. The boat ramp is also expected to emerge from the receding river.
But some areas are still underwater and other parts are litter-strewn.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Parkway Planning
The article in this morning’s Bee focuses, essentially, on the discussion between those who feel the Parkway is a natural preserve, and those who feel it is a natural recreational resource. As in all public resources it helps to go back to the founding documents for intent.
In this discussion, it is the latter that are more congruent with the original documented intent, as we can see from the stated goals of the 1985 Parkway Plan, still guiding its daily management until its updating is completed.
“GOALS
To provide, protect and enhance for public use a continuous open space greenbelt along the American River extending from the Sacramento River to Folsom Dam; and
To provide appropriate access and facilities so that present and future generations can enjoy the amenities and resources of the Parkway which enhance enjoyment of leisure activities; and
To preserve, protect, interpret and improve the natural, archeological, historical and recreational resources of the Parkway, including an adequate flow of high quality water, anadromous and resident fishes, migratory and resident wildlife, and diverse natural vegetation; and
To mitigate adverse effects of activities and facilities adjacent to the Parkway; and
To provide public safety and protection within and adjacent to the Parkway.”
American River Parkway Plan, December 1985. (p. 2-1)
The Parkway was designed for the enjoyment of human beings recreating in a natural sanctuary which needs continual enhancement and improvement to realize its dream of providing for all of us, for seven generations and more, the preservation, protection, and strengthening of the vital natural heart of our community.
The related argument’s answer, whether Rancho Cordova has rights to seats on the Update Planning Committee is obvious, of course they do, ( Sacramento city has four and the County has five) and Rancho Cordova should have had at least three seats instead of the one they were given.
The current Parkway management should be happy to receive additional (and effective) help, as Rancho Cordova has proven very effective growing and managing their city, and can bring that same professional perspective to a Parkway in need of it.
Here is an excerpt.
What way's right way for parkway?
Rancho Cordova demands voice in decision
By Ed Fletcher -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 13, 2006
For Lea Brooks, it's the road home. It's Dave Ford's fly-fishing playground. And Lou Heinrich carries with him childhood memories of nature walks with pioneering local preservationist Effie Yeaw.
Like other area lovers of the outdoors, all of these local residents have things they cherish and things they could live without on the American River Parkway, which extends 23 miles from Discovery Park near Interstate 5 to the fish hatchery at Nimbus Dam.
Unlike others, they're in the position to do something about it.
Brooks, Ford and Heinrich are among two dozen area residents representing different interests who have been debating the parkway's future.
For the first time since 1985, the committee is charged with updating the plan governing the use of the parkway, often referred to as the "jewel of Sacramento." Meeting twice a month, the group of disparate voices reached a consensus on a number of thorny issues, from where dirt bikes are permitted to rejecting dog off-leash areas.
But as the committee prepared to wrap up its work this summer, the city of Rancho Cordova unveiled a list of proposed new uses it wants.
Rancho Cordova's ideas
With 25 percent of the parkway touching Rancho Cordova's boundaries, city officials maintain that it makes sense for the city to have some say on how the parkway is used.
In this discussion, it is the latter that are more congruent with the original documented intent, as we can see from the stated goals of the 1985 Parkway Plan, still guiding its daily management until its updating is completed.
“GOALS
To provide, protect and enhance for public use a continuous open space greenbelt along the American River extending from the Sacramento River to Folsom Dam; and
To provide appropriate access and facilities so that present and future generations can enjoy the amenities and resources of the Parkway which enhance enjoyment of leisure activities; and
To preserve, protect, interpret and improve the natural, archeological, historical and recreational resources of the Parkway, including an adequate flow of high quality water, anadromous and resident fishes, migratory and resident wildlife, and diverse natural vegetation; and
To mitigate adverse effects of activities and facilities adjacent to the Parkway; and
To provide public safety and protection within and adjacent to the Parkway.”
American River Parkway Plan, December 1985. (p. 2-1)
The Parkway was designed for the enjoyment of human beings recreating in a natural sanctuary which needs continual enhancement and improvement to realize its dream of providing for all of us, for seven generations and more, the preservation, protection, and strengthening of the vital natural heart of our community.
The related argument’s answer, whether Rancho Cordova has rights to seats on the Update Planning Committee is obvious, of course they do, ( Sacramento city has four and the County has five) and Rancho Cordova should have had at least three seats instead of the one they were given.
They should also have sign-off power on the final plan, as does Sacramento city and county.
The continued attempts to keep their voice from being heard, with 25% of the Parkway within their city limits, is very unfair, and a continuance of the ineffective management of our most precious natural resource.The current Parkway management should be happy to receive additional (and effective) help, as Rancho Cordova has proven very effective growing and managing their city, and can bring that same professional perspective to a Parkway in need of it.
Here is an excerpt.
What way's right way for parkway?
Rancho Cordova demands voice in decision
By Ed Fletcher -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 13, 2006
For Lea Brooks, it's the road home. It's Dave Ford's fly-fishing playground. And Lou Heinrich carries with him childhood memories of nature walks with pioneering local preservationist Effie Yeaw.
Like other area lovers of the outdoors, all of these local residents have things they cherish and things they could live without on the American River Parkway, which extends 23 miles from Discovery Park near Interstate 5 to the fish hatchery at Nimbus Dam.
Unlike others, they're in the position to do something about it.
Brooks, Ford and Heinrich are among two dozen area residents representing different interests who have been debating the parkway's future.
For the first time since 1985, the committee is charged with updating the plan governing the use of the parkway, often referred to as the "jewel of Sacramento." Meeting twice a month, the group of disparate voices reached a consensus on a number of thorny issues, from where dirt bikes are permitted to rejecting dog off-leash areas.
But as the committee prepared to wrap up its work this summer, the city of Rancho Cordova unveiled a list of proposed new uses it wants.
Rancho Cordova's ideas
With 25 percent of the parkway touching Rancho Cordova's boundaries, city officials maintain that it makes sense for the city to have some say on how the parkway is used.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Auburn Dam: A Solid & Sensible Idea, Part Four
In today’s Contra Costa Times we learn the wonderful news that the Congress has added more money to study the relocation of Highway 49 so the planned multipurpose Auburn Dam can have room to store water; which will eventually allow the historic stabilization of the American River water flow and temperature to preserve the Parkway’s integrity for human use, and protect the salmon by providing optimal health conditions.
And, in a much larger sense, go a long way towards removing the flood danger in our region.
Here is an excerpt.
And, in a much larger sense, go a long way towards removing the flood danger in our region.
Here is an excerpt.
House committee advances revival of an Auburn dam The Appropriations Committee's energy and water subcommittee OKs a bill that includes $3 million to study feasibility By David Whitney McCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON - A key House committee set the course for the possible revival of an Auburn dam Thursday, voting to include $3 million on a feasibility study for the huge public works project as part of a spending bill that generally accelerates flood control work across the Sacramento area.The measure also includes $1 million to update studies on relocating Highway 49 because the current roadway would be permanently inundated if a multipurpose dam is built in Auburn.
"These are just the first steps," said Rep. John Doolittle, R-Granite Bay, the architect of the earmark and a relentless supporter of a dam that would provide water storage, power generation and recreational opportunities in the population center of his sprawling district.
"But it is grand, after so many years, to be moving in a positive direction," he said. "This will do wonders for the region."
The money for the two studies was included in a $30 billion spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee's energy and water subcommittee. That measure funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Doolittle is the panel's vice chairman and its only California member.
Earlier this year, the subcommittee chairman, Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, endorsed a "dry" dam at Auburn -- one that would retain water only when the American River is in flood -- after participating in a flood-related helicopter tour of the Sacramento area.
But Doolittle said Hobson has come around on that issue to his point of view, and that the money to revive studying the feasibility of building a multipurpose dam was written by the Ohio Republican.
Inclusion of the money comes in advance of a report due in August from the Bureau of Reclamation updating cost estimates under a $1 million provision Doolittle inserted into the bureau's 2006 budget. Cost estimates have ranged up to $3 billion and more for a huge dam.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Water Supply Planning
In this story from today’s Modesto Bee, a recent water planning workshop pointed out again, how important it is to find solutions to a reliable water supply in our state, and the importance of working together to accomplish it.
Here is an excerpt.
Water plans key to future
By MICHAEL G. MOONEY BEE STAFF WRITER
SACRAMENTO — Regional planning — based on cooperation and finding common solutions — forms the backbone of the state's latest strategy to ensure a reliable water supply for its burgeoning population.
That message was underscored Wednesday during a morning workshop sponsored by the Modesto-based Great Valley Center. The workshop, titled "Water Will Shape the Valley's Future," was one of dozens scheduled as part of a two-day conference assessing challenges facing the Central Valley.
"No region in the state can be an island unto itself," said Kamyar Guivetchi of the state Department of Water Resources. "We have a lot of choices. We have a lot of strategies."
The key, Guivetchi continued, is to find a way to bring together all the players to develop water plans that focus on the needs of a region, rather than individual entities.
Guivetchi, in outlining the "California Water Plan Update 2005," said the state needs to invest heavily in conservation and management and to discover ways to improve overall quality if residents want to enjoy a strong economy, a healthy environment and an improved standard of living.
Here is an excerpt.
Water plans key to future
By MICHAEL G. MOONEY BEE STAFF WRITER
SACRAMENTO — Regional planning — based on cooperation and finding common solutions — forms the backbone of the state's latest strategy to ensure a reliable water supply for its burgeoning population.
That message was underscored Wednesday during a morning workshop sponsored by the Modesto-based Great Valley Center. The workshop, titled "Water Will Shape the Valley's Future," was one of dozens scheduled as part of a two-day conference assessing challenges facing the Central Valley.
"No region in the state can be an island unto itself," said Kamyar Guivetchi of the state Department of Water Resources. "We have a lot of choices. We have a lot of strategies."
The key, Guivetchi continued, is to find a way to bring together all the players to develop water plans that focus on the needs of a region, rather than individual entities.
Guivetchi, in outlining the "California Water Plan Update 2005," said the state needs to invest heavily in conservation and management and to discover ways to improve overall quality if residents want to enjoy a strong economy, a healthy environment and an improved standard of living.
Quake could break levees
In this story from the San Jose Mercury News we are reminded of the impact even a small earthquake could have on aging levees, and points up the necessity to consider earthquake resistant large concrete dams as a stronger back-up for any flood conditions rising from earthquakes.
Here is an excerpt.
Quake could break levees
LIKELIHOOD SMALL; EFFECT WOULD BE HUGE
By Lisa M. KriegerMercury News
Even a moderate earthquake could cause California's aging levee system to collapse, flooding 400,000 homes and sending brine into the drinking water of homes across Northern California.
According to a computer-generated study presented Wednesday at Stanford University, a 6.5 magnitude quake in the area of Antioch and Rio Vista could trigger the breaching of as many as 50 levees in the southwestern regions of the Sacramento Delta.
``Your levees are not seismically safe. They're just piles of dirt,'' said retired Brig. Gen. Gerald Galloway of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Drinking water and farm water exports to Santa Clara County from the Delta would halt immediately. Damage could cause the aqueducts that carry water to the Bay Area from the Sierra Nevada to fail.
Two-thirds of Californians depend on the Delta for at least some of their drinking water. While Santa Clara County could rely on its reservoirs for a while, they are insufficient to serve the entire population indefinitely, said Martin McCann Jr., a consulting professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford.
McCann helped lead the study, which the California Department of Water Resources launched after Hurricane Katrina. The goal was to help the state calculate the effect of a major earthquake or winter flooding in the Delta region.
Here is an excerpt.
Quake could break levees
LIKELIHOOD SMALL; EFFECT WOULD BE HUGE
By Lisa M. KriegerMercury News
Even a moderate earthquake could cause California's aging levee system to collapse, flooding 400,000 homes and sending brine into the drinking water of homes across Northern California.
According to a computer-generated study presented Wednesday at Stanford University, a 6.5 magnitude quake in the area of Antioch and Rio Vista could trigger the breaching of as many as 50 levees in the southwestern regions of the Sacramento Delta.
``Your levees are not seismically safe. They're just piles of dirt,'' said retired Brig. Gen. Gerald Galloway of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Drinking water and farm water exports to Santa Clara County from the Delta would halt immediately. Damage could cause the aqueducts that carry water to the Bay Area from the Sierra Nevada to fail.
Two-thirds of Californians depend on the Delta for at least some of their drinking water. While Santa Clara County could rely on its reservoirs for a while, they are insufficient to serve the entire population indefinitely, said Martin McCann Jr., a consulting professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford.
McCann helped lead the study, which the California Department of Water Resources launched after Hurricane Katrina. The goal was to help the state calculate the effect of a major earthquake or winter flooding in the Delta region.
Parkway Rose Garden Memorial for Fallen Deputies
In this story from today’s Bee, we learn about a new memorial to the highest public service.
The crown jewels of public service truly are the first responders, those who literally place their lives at risk for us, and how fitting that a memorial for those sheriff’s deputies who have fallen, is placed within the embrace of the crown jewel of our community, the American River Parkway.
How completely fitting.
Here is an excerpt.
Floral tribute to deputies who gave all
By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 11, 2006
As the crowd began to gather last week to dedicate a rose garden to honor fallen officers, Lucille Hamilton approached the new memorial with her family.
She took a Kleenex from her pocket and leaned down to gently polish the memorial plaque for her grandson, Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Blount.
The gesture was one grandmother's personal expression on a morning of official tribute.
Ten months ago, Deputies Joseph Kievernagel, 36, and Blount, 29, died in the crash of a Sheriff's Department helicopter - the latest officers in the department to die in the line of duty.
Blount's mother, Kathy, said the memorial was pretty, situated on a hill surrounded by grass and trees. Her son's individual plaque, which included his picture, was beautiful, she said.
"We didn't expect it to be so elaborate," she said. "We can't believe how they honored both Kevin and Joe."
About 150 people were on hand for dedication of the rose garden memorial for fallen members of the department, dating back to Sheriff Joseph McKinney in 1850.
"When you look at this monument, you will see 14 plaques, 14 officers who died in the line of duty," Sheriff Lou Blanas said to those who gathered. "I hope and pray we will never have to add another plaque to this monument. Believe me, these officers will never be forgotten by the community and members of law enforcement."
The memorial is at the Sheriff's Department training ground at 1000 River Walk Way in Carmichael, along the American River Parkway bicycle trail.
The crown jewels of public service truly are the first responders, those who literally place their lives at risk for us, and how fitting that a memorial for those sheriff’s deputies who have fallen, is placed within the embrace of the crown jewel of our community, the American River Parkway.
How completely fitting.
Here is an excerpt.
Floral tribute to deputies who gave all
By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 11, 2006
As the crowd began to gather last week to dedicate a rose garden to honor fallen officers, Lucille Hamilton approached the new memorial with her family.
She took a Kleenex from her pocket and leaned down to gently polish the memorial plaque for her grandson, Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Blount.
The gesture was one grandmother's personal expression on a morning of official tribute.
Ten months ago, Deputies Joseph Kievernagel, 36, and Blount, 29, died in the crash of a Sheriff's Department helicopter - the latest officers in the department to die in the line of duty.
Blount's mother, Kathy, said the memorial was pretty, situated on a hill surrounded by grass and trees. Her son's individual plaque, which included his picture, was beautiful, she said.
"We didn't expect it to be so elaborate," she said. "We can't believe how they honored both Kevin and Joe."
About 150 people were on hand for dedication of the rose garden memorial for fallen members of the department, dating back to Sheriff Joseph McKinney in 1850.
"When you look at this monument, you will see 14 plaques, 14 officers who died in the line of duty," Sheriff Lou Blanas said to those who gathered. "I hope and pray we will never have to add another plaque to this monument. Believe me, these officers will never be forgotten by the community and members of law enforcement."
The memorial is at the Sheriff's Department training ground at 1000 River Walk Way in Carmichael, along the American River Parkway bicycle trail.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Schrag on Infrastructure Politics
In Peter Schrag’s column from today’s Bee, we see the benefits from the work of the California environmental community, government, and the nation's manufacturing community, which encouraged and created the technology that has resulted in cleaner air and water; as well as using other resources efficiently, in creating the quality of life Californian's treasure.
Important as these gains are, there is a continuing need to utilize technology wisely, and not allow one side of the equation to skew our vision, and see the natural growth which responds to migrating population increases to slow to the point of not being able to adequately support its evolution.
Here is an excerpt.
Peter Schrag:
Gas prices, infrastructure bonds and pander politics
By Peter Schrag -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 10, 2006
While the pander bears on Capitol Hill were falling all over each other last week with proposals for gas tax moratoriums, $100-pass-go checks and other silly ideas purportedly designed to ease the pain of the great gasoline crisis of 2006, California offered a simple lesson: Use less.
Washington's dumber ideas were quickly dropped, but much of the California lesson seems to be lost - even on our own representatives.
Californians, according to the state Energy Commission, burn less gasoline per capita than drivers in all but eight other states. We use less electricity per capita than people in any other state - barely more than half the national average (in 2001).
We consume less water than we did in 1975, even though our population is 60 percent larger and our gross state product is 2.5 times greater.
In at least two of those three examples, the shorthand explanation for this remarkable, though still imperfect, record is policies fostering conservation.
Important as these gains are, there is a continuing need to utilize technology wisely, and not allow one side of the equation to skew our vision, and see the natural growth which responds to migrating population increases to slow to the point of not being able to adequately support its evolution.
Here is an excerpt.
Peter Schrag:
Gas prices, infrastructure bonds and pander politics
By Peter Schrag -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 10, 2006
While the pander bears on Capitol Hill were falling all over each other last week with proposals for gas tax moratoriums, $100-pass-go checks and other silly ideas purportedly designed to ease the pain of the great gasoline crisis of 2006, California offered a simple lesson: Use less.
Washington's dumber ideas were quickly dropped, but much of the California lesson seems to be lost - even on our own representatives.
Californians, according to the state Energy Commission, burn less gasoline per capita than drivers in all but eight other states. We use less electricity per capita than people in any other state - barely more than half the national average (in 2001).
We consume less water than we did in 1975, even though our population is 60 percent larger and our gross state product is 2.5 times greater.
In at least two of those three examples, the shorthand explanation for this remarkable, though still imperfect, record is policies fostering conservation.
Walters on the Levee Board
In Dan Walters column from today’s Bee, we see a good recap of recent history related to the state Reclamation Board, and the encouraging news that it favors wise growth and responsible development; as that is the financial driver allowing counties, cities, and towns the wherewithal to preserve, protect and strengthen the quality of life attracting people to the Golden State.
Along with this, it is also important that government, environmental, and development interests; the community building partnership largely responsible for present day California, work together to ensure the appropriate technology is being developed to protect the valley from its historical flooding, in support of community building there.
The appropriate flood control technology includes dam building, unfortunately left out of the infrastructure bond deal.
Here is an excerpt.
Dan Walters:
Schwarzenegger's new levee board shows its pro-developer tilt
Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Last year - on Sept. 16, to be precise - the state Reclamation Board, a relatively obscure state agency that oversees flood protection levees, approved a potentially far-reaching policy to intercede when local governments and developers propose residential subdivisions behind levees designed to protect farmland.
Spurred by the devastation of New Orleans when levees failed during Hurricane Katrina and an appellate court decision declaring the state liable for damages from levee failures in California, the board activated powers that it had long held under state law, but rarely exercised, to review developments behind levees for flood safety.
"I believe if you're going to urbanize the land, you've got to urbanize the levees," said one board member, former Sacramento City Manager Bill Edgar. "That's the bottom line."
The decree didn't sit well with development-hungry local governments and developers who had subdivision plans pending, especially those in the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Ten days later, before the new policy could be finally adopted, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fired the entire board and replaced it with seven new appointees, most of whom had strong ties to land developers. Ever since, skeptics of building homes behind agricultural levees - including deposed members of the Reclamation Board - have wondered aloud whether the new board would be more favorably disposed toward development interests.
Along with this, it is also important that government, environmental, and development interests; the community building partnership largely responsible for present day California, work together to ensure the appropriate technology is being developed to protect the valley from its historical flooding, in support of community building there.
The appropriate flood control technology includes dam building, unfortunately left out of the infrastructure bond deal.
Here is an excerpt.
Dan Walters:
Schwarzenegger's new levee board shows its pro-developer tilt
Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Last year - on Sept. 16, to be precise - the state Reclamation Board, a relatively obscure state agency that oversees flood protection levees, approved a potentially far-reaching policy to intercede when local governments and developers propose residential subdivisions behind levees designed to protect farmland.
Spurred by the devastation of New Orleans when levees failed during Hurricane Katrina and an appellate court decision declaring the state liable for damages from levee failures in California, the board activated powers that it had long held under state law, but rarely exercised, to review developments behind levees for flood safety.
"I believe if you're going to urbanize the land, you've got to urbanize the levees," said one board member, former Sacramento City Manager Bill Edgar. "That's the bottom line."
The decree didn't sit well with development-hungry local governments and developers who had subdivision plans pending, especially those in the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Ten days later, before the new policy could be finally adopted, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fired the entire board and replaced it with seven new appointees, most of whom had strong ties to land developers. Ever since, skeptics of building homes behind agricultural levees - including deposed members of the Reclamation Board - have wondered aloud whether the new board would be more favorably disposed toward development interests.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Jane Jacobs: Remembered Again
This April 30th essay by David Warren is delightful, and captures the essential intellectual curiosity and wonder underlying Jane Jacob's productive life and achievements.
She really helped us to think about how we live in cities, why a little chaos and jumble of business, art, faith, and living (which embraces all that) is as important as letting the locals do the planning.
Here is an excerpt.
Jane Jacobs
April 30, 2006
I last saw Jane Jacobs struggling up Albany Ave., where she lived in Toronto, with one of those walkers we give to the oldies these days. Her head was in the clouds. More precisely, that magnificent white-topped head was trained at the third-storey level of the houses along Albany.
I said hello to her, timidly, thinking, what if she doesn’t remember who I am. (We had been co-conspirators in my Idler magazine days.) She remembered my name and was very warm.
She told me to look towards a turret on one of the houses. “Isn’t that wonderful!” she said.
I thought, yes, turrets are nice, I like Victorian houses, too. But she wasn’t referring to that.
Rather, she was pointing to a course of decorative brickwork, about 20 feet above ground-level.
“I’ve lived on this street for decades, and I never noticed that brickwork!”
She proceeded to extol the advantages of her walker, which, because it assured she would not trip forward, left her free to tilt up her head.
I suddenly remembered, and so did she, that we had once talked about how to look at shops, and other small commercial buildings hugging the sidewalks along urban streets. I had mentioned being driven in a station wagon, flat on my back with a slipped disc. From my automotive bed of pain, I could not see the street level of any building, only the floor above. The unusual angle made Toronto more attractive. It restored the Victorian fabric of downtown. This was because shopkeepers had long since altered their street-level facades, to make them louder -- installing nasty display windows, screaming signs, and all kinds of unmatching appliqué.
She really helped us to think about how we live in cities, why a little chaos and jumble of business, art, faith, and living (which embraces all that) is as important as letting the locals do the planning.
Here is an excerpt.
Jane Jacobs
April 30, 2006
I last saw Jane Jacobs struggling up Albany Ave., where she lived in Toronto, with one of those walkers we give to the oldies these days. Her head was in the clouds. More precisely, that magnificent white-topped head was trained at the third-storey level of the houses along Albany.
I said hello to her, timidly, thinking, what if she doesn’t remember who I am. (We had been co-conspirators in my Idler magazine days.) She remembered my name and was very warm.
She told me to look towards a turret on one of the houses. “Isn’t that wonderful!” she said.
I thought, yes, turrets are nice, I like Victorian houses, too. But she wasn’t referring to that.
Rather, she was pointing to a course of decorative brickwork, about 20 feet above ground-level.
“I’ve lived on this street for decades, and I never noticed that brickwork!”
She proceeded to extol the advantages of her walker, which, because it assured she would not trip forward, left her free to tilt up her head.
I suddenly remembered, and so did she, that we had once talked about how to look at shops, and other small commercial buildings hugging the sidewalks along urban streets. I had mentioned being driven in a station wagon, flat on my back with a slipped disc. From my automotive bed of pain, I could not see the street level of any building, only the floor above. The unusual angle made Toronto more attractive. It restored the Victorian fabric of downtown. This was because shopkeepers had long since altered their street-level facades, to make them louder -- installing nasty display windows, screaming signs, and all kinds of unmatching appliqué.
Doom and Demography, Wilson Quarterly
This article from the recent issue of the Wilson Quarterly looks at the doom-is-coming-any-day-now crowd and the always fascinated public’s response to it, with a particular focus on population and the “impending demographic doom”.
Ehrlich’s book, The Population Bomb, was one of the first I remember reading way-back-when, that focused on environmental disaster issues and the doom that awaited us, and though shocking at the time, we have learned how wrong it was; but mostly we have learned how dramatically the explosion of knowledge and technology, particularly in the medical field, has been of benefit to humankind and will continue, even as population continues exploding.
Here is an excerpt.
Doom and Demography
by Nicholas Eberstadt
For decades, the world has been haunted by ominous and recurrent reports of impending demographic doom. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich’s neo-Malthusian manifesto, The Population Bomb, predicted mass starvation in the 1970s and ’80s. The Limits to Growth, published by the global think tank Club of Rome in 1972, portrayed a computer-model apocalypse of overpopulation.
The demographic doom-saying in authoritative and influential circles has steadily continued: from the Carter administration’s grim Global 2000 study in 1980 to the 1992 vision of eco-disaster in Al Gore’s Earth in the Balance to practically any recent publication or pronouncement by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
What is perhaps most remarkable about the incessant stream of dire—and consistently wrong—predictions of global demographic overshoot is the public’s apparently insatiable demand for it. Unlike the villagers in the fable about the boy who cried wolf, educated American consumers always seem to have the time, the money, and the credulity to pay to hear one more time that we are just about to run out of everything, thanks to population growth. The Population Bomb and the Club of Rome’s disaster tale both sold millions of copies. More recently, journalist Robert D. Kaplan created a stir by trumpeting “the coming anarchy” in a 2000 book of the same name, warning that a combination of demographic and environmental crises was creating world-threatening political maelstroms in a variety of developing countries. Why, of all people, do Americans—who fancy themselves the world’s pragmatic problems-solvers—seem to betray a predilection for such obviously dramatic and unproved visions of the future?
Perhaps this American fascination is just a cultural foible—a penchant for a certain type of vicarious entertainment, no different in kind from, say, the famous British love of the murder mystery, and every bit as harmless. On the other hand, Miss Marple’s British devotees did not actually believe that Britain was in the grip of a crime wave being stymied by little blue-haired ladies, whereas many Americans appear to take quite seriously each new warning about imminent and catastrophic fallout from a global population explosion.
But maybe the obsession has to do, rather, with America’s hunger for—at times, near worship of—numbers. After all, the United States was a country of statistical pioneers. One of the very first acts of the newly formed U.S. government was a national population count. Yet this fondness for figures can veer from the pragmatic to the preposterous. Pitirim A. Sorokin, the Russian émigré who became the first chairman of Harvard University’s newly formed sociology department in the early 1930s, had a term for the problem. He called it “quantophrenia,” a psychological compulsion to grasp for the numeric. Victims of quantophrenia, in Sorokin’s wry diagnosis, obsess over numbers as descriptors, no matter how dubious their basis or questionable their provenance.
Ehrlich’s book, The Population Bomb, was one of the first I remember reading way-back-when, that focused on environmental disaster issues and the doom that awaited us, and though shocking at the time, we have learned how wrong it was; but mostly we have learned how dramatically the explosion of knowledge and technology, particularly in the medical field, has been of benefit to humankind and will continue, even as population continues exploding.
Here is an excerpt.
Doom and Demography
by Nicholas Eberstadt
For decades, the world has been haunted by ominous and recurrent reports of impending demographic doom. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich’s neo-Malthusian manifesto, The Population Bomb, predicted mass starvation in the 1970s and ’80s. The Limits to Growth, published by the global think tank Club of Rome in 1972, portrayed a computer-model apocalypse of overpopulation.
The demographic doom-saying in authoritative and influential circles has steadily continued: from the Carter administration’s grim Global 2000 study in 1980 to the 1992 vision of eco-disaster in Al Gore’s Earth in the Balance to practically any recent publication or pronouncement by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
What is perhaps most remarkable about the incessant stream of dire—and consistently wrong—predictions of global demographic overshoot is the public’s apparently insatiable demand for it. Unlike the villagers in the fable about the boy who cried wolf, educated American consumers always seem to have the time, the money, and the credulity to pay to hear one more time that we are just about to run out of everything, thanks to population growth. The Population Bomb and the Club of Rome’s disaster tale both sold millions of copies. More recently, journalist Robert D. Kaplan created a stir by trumpeting “the coming anarchy” in a 2000 book of the same name, warning that a combination of demographic and environmental crises was creating world-threatening political maelstroms in a variety of developing countries. Why, of all people, do Americans—who fancy themselves the world’s pragmatic problems-solvers—seem to betray a predilection for such obviously dramatic and unproved visions of the future?
Perhaps this American fascination is just a cultural foible—a penchant for a certain type of vicarious entertainment, no different in kind from, say, the famous British love of the murder mystery, and every bit as harmless. On the other hand, Miss Marple’s British devotees did not actually believe that Britain was in the grip of a crime wave being stymied by little blue-haired ladies, whereas many Americans appear to take quite seriously each new warning about imminent and catastrophic fallout from a global population explosion.
But maybe the obsession has to do, rather, with America’s hunger for—at times, near worship of—numbers. After all, the United States was a country of statistical pioneers. One of the very first acts of the newly formed U.S. government was a national population count. Yet this fondness for figures can veer from the pragmatic to the preposterous. Pitirim A. Sorokin, the Russian émigré who became the first chairman of Harvard University’s newly formed sociology department in the early 1930s, had a term for the problem. He called it “quantophrenia,” a psychological compulsion to grasp for the numeric. Victims of quantophrenia, in Sorokin’s wry diagnosis, obsess over numbers as descriptors, no matter how dubious their basis or questionable their provenance.
Leaking Arena?
Today’s Babin cartoon in the Bee shows a connection between the recent flood protection money, approved as part of the bond deal to be sent to voters in November, to the need for a King’s arena.
We hope it is what it appears to be, funny, rather than true, though truth is often both.
We hope it is what it appears to be, funny, rather than true, though truth is often both.
Bond Deal Editorial
Today’s Bee Editorial is an out-of-Egypt look at the bond deal approved for November which includes a little over $4 billion for flood protection, [though the legislators included none for dams], is commented on.
Here is an excerpt.
Editorial: Out of bondage
Lawmakers invest in public works, image
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, May 9, 2006
State lawmakers knew that April was a make-or-break month for negotiating a public works bond proposal. If they had dawdled too long, the politics of budget revisions and the June primary would have overwhelmed everything else.
To their credit, Assembly leaders Fabian Núñez and George Plescia and Senate leaders Don Perata and Dick Ackerman kept their eye on the prize and the ticking clock. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, provided just enough distance - and put a lid on the "girlie man" comments - so lawmakers could get the job done.
Californians in November will vote on the most ambitious modernization blueprint for the state's infrastructure since the 1960s. The $37.3 billion plan calls for $19.9 billion in transportation spending. That includes much-needed funds for transit and fixing 470 bridges across the state in danger of collapsing.
Another bond would raise $10.4 billion for schools, including $5.2 billion for new buildings and $3 billion for universities and community colleges. The specter of a Katrina-style disaster in California prompted nearly all lawmakers to support $4.1 billion for flood protection, including stronger levees around Sacramento, Marysville and Yuba City.
Here is an excerpt.
Editorial: Out of bondage
Lawmakers invest in public works, image
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, May 9, 2006
State lawmakers knew that April was a make-or-break month for negotiating a public works bond proposal. If they had dawdled too long, the politics of budget revisions and the June primary would have overwhelmed everything else.
To their credit, Assembly leaders Fabian Núñez and George Plescia and Senate leaders Don Perata and Dick Ackerman kept their eye on the prize and the ticking clock. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, provided just enough distance - and put a lid on the "girlie man" comments - so lawmakers could get the job done.
Californians in November will vote on the most ambitious modernization blueprint for the state's infrastructure since the 1960s. The $37.3 billion plan calls for $19.9 billion in transportation spending. That includes much-needed funds for transit and fixing 470 bridges across the state in danger of collapsing.
Another bond would raise $10.4 billion for schools, including $5.2 billion for new buildings and $3 billion for universities and community colleges. The specter of a Katrina-style disaster in California prompted nearly all lawmakers to support $4.1 billion for flood protection, including stronger levees around Sacramento, Marysville and Yuba City.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Saunders & Senators
In Debra Saunders’ column from yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle, we get another look at the California levee funding currently in Congress, with the most interesting quote being:
“Coburn [Senator who tried to stop the levee funding in the bill] spokesman John Hart happily pointed me to the Citizens Against Government Waste pig book which lists $733 million in 2006 California pork projects -- including $3.6 mil for grape research. "If Sacramento was about to be destroyed by a cataclysmic flood," Hart asked, "why was the California delegation securing funding for grape research instead of levee construction?"
Why indeed?
Here is an excerpt.
DiFi and Boxer at the trough -
Debra J. Saunders Sunday, May 7, 2006
AS IF you needed more proof that the U.S. Senate is completely out of control, the Senate voted last week to pass a $109-billion emergency spending bill for on the war in Iraq, Katrina relief and to fight avian flu -- despite President Bush's pledge to veto a bill that spends more than $94.5 billion.
Federal debt exceeds $8 trillion. Polls show that voters are sick and tired of Washington's pork-barrel spending. Still Senators can't stop larding bills with earmarks for local pet projects.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., -- a family doctor who still delivers babies and prefers to be addressed as Dr. Coburn -- introduced some 19 amendments to cut spending in the emergency measure. A small cadre of senators -- including John McCain, R-Ariz. and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. -- is allied with Coburn, but those good senators could not stop the emergency bill from ballooning by an extra $14 billion. They managed to kill only one measly earmark -- $15 million to promote Gulf Coast seafood.
Coburn also tried to cut $11 million from a $22.5 million earmark to repair 29 sites on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta levees. His bid failed. As the Chronicle reported, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Ca., hectored Coburn for being "penny-wise and pound foolish," while Sen. Dianne Feinstein warned that without these levees, "100,000 people could be killed."
One big problem: Feinstein and Boxer repeatedly vote as if people will die if they don't burn through buckets of tax dollars.
Feinstein voted to throw some $200 million at giant defense contractor Northrop Grumman for Katrina-related losses insurers would not reimburse. She also voted for a $700 million earmark to bankroll the rebuilding of a Mississippi rail line -- that had already been rebuilt after Katrina.
Last year, Feinstein voted against a Coburn bid to reallocate $452 million in transportation earmarks -- including the infamous Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere" -- so that the money could be used for Katrina relief. She also voted to protect a $950,000 parking garage in Oklahoma and a $500,000 sculpture park in Seattle. Feinstein at least did vote to cut the $15 million seafood pork.
“Coburn [Senator who tried to stop the levee funding in the bill] spokesman John Hart happily pointed me to the Citizens Against Government Waste pig book which lists $733 million in 2006 California pork projects -- including $3.6 mil for grape research. "If Sacramento was about to be destroyed by a cataclysmic flood," Hart asked, "why was the California delegation securing funding for grape research instead of levee construction?"
Why indeed?
Here is an excerpt.
DiFi and Boxer at the trough -
Debra J. Saunders Sunday, May 7, 2006
AS IF you needed more proof that the U.S. Senate is completely out of control, the Senate voted last week to pass a $109-billion emergency spending bill for on the war in Iraq, Katrina relief and to fight avian flu -- despite President Bush's pledge to veto a bill that spends more than $94.5 billion.
Federal debt exceeds $8 trillion. Polls show that voters are sick and tired of Washington's pork-barrel spending. Still Senators can't stop larding bills with earmarks for local pet projects.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., -- a family doctor who still delivers babies and prefers to be addressed as Dr. Coburn -- introduced some 19 amendments to cut spending in the emergency measure. A small cadre of senators -- including John McCain, R-Ariz. and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. -- is allied with Coburn, but those good senators could not stop the emergency bill from ballooning by an extra $14 billion. They managed to kill only one measly earmark -- $15 million to promote Gulf Coast seafood.
Coburn also tried to cut $11 million from a $22.5 million earmark to repair 29 sites on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta levees. His bid failed. As the Chronicle reported, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Ca., hectored Coburn for being "penny-wise and pound foolish," while Sen. Dianne Feinstein warned that without these levees, "100,000 people could be killed."
One big problem: Feinstein and Boxer repeatedly vote as if people will die if they don't burn through buckets of tax dollars.
Feinstein voted to throw some $200 million at giant defense contractor Northrop Grumman for Katrina-related losses insurers would not reimburse. She also voted for a $700 million earmark to bankroll the rebuilding of a Mississippi rail line -- that had already been rebuilt after Katrina.
Last year, Feinstein voted against a Coburn bid to reallocate $452 million in transportation earmarks -- including the infamous Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere" -- so that the money could be used for Katrina relief. She also voted to protect a $950,000 parking garage in Oklahoma and a $500,000 sculpture park in Seattle. Feinstein at least did vote to cut the $15 million seafood pork.
John Nolen, City & Park Planner
In this biographical history of John Nolen, we learn he was an early, influential member and thought leader of the city planning and landscape architecture professions in the United States, and had a strong California connection, including Sacramento.
In September of 1911 he worked for the Committee on Parks of the Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento to do a plan for Del Paso Park; in December of 1913 he worked for the Board of Park Directors in Sacramento to create a Park System; in June of 1914 he worked for the City Commission in Sacramento on City Plans (this plan drawing still exists and includes a drawing of the Parkway)
Here is an excerpt from the biographical history:
John Nolen (1869-1937)
When in 1907 Philadelphia native and city planner John Nolen was hired by merchant George W. Marston on the recommendation of landscape architect Samuel Parsons, Jr. to prepare a comprehensive development plan for San Diego, he was comparatively unknown in city planning or landscape architecture circles. He had opened his office in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1903. two years before he received his A.M. from the Harvard School of Landscape Architecture in 1905 at the age of thirty-six, the same year he became a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Also, in 1907, he had obtained a commission to survey potential park sites for the state of Wisconsin; in 1915 and 1923 respectively he was given commissions to design towns in Kingsport, Tennessee and Mariemont, Ohio; and in 1917 he was appointed to survey Charlotte, North Carolina. By 1919, Nolen had written two books, edited two others, and published scores of articles and plans. His standing had so increased that in 1927 he was elected president of the National Conference on City Planning.
As most of these achievements were in the future, his plan for the City of San Diego, completed in 1908, was a "make or break" effort. In commenting on the problems of a growing metropolis, he was far removed from making plans for the small "garden cities" of Kingsport and Mariemont. He had entered the domain of such distinguished city planners as Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and Clarence Stein. He recommended that San Diego build a civic center plaza on D Street (Broadway since 1912) between Front and First Sreets and develop its bayfront with a "paseo" joining the bay to City Park (Balboa Park since 1910). Marston, Women’s Clubs, and Chamber of Commerce officials supported these proposals, but they never got beyond the argument stage. Passage in 1911 of a bond issue to build two long piers at the foot of Broadway did away with Nolen’s terminus for D Street; public resources were diverted to the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park; and George W. Marston, Nolen’s champion, was defeated in mayoralty contests in 1913 and 1917, in which Marston’s opponents, Charles F. O’Neall and Louis J, Wilde, ridiculed Nolen’s vision of a palatial Mediterranean-like city instead of a city of factories and docks.
As a by-product of the Panama-California Exposition, the U.S. Navy and U. S. Marine Corps settled in San Diego. While factory and commercial promoters thought of the military as its natural ally, this proved to be a delusion. As San Diego was not-equipped to deal with the intra-structural problems of expanding military installations, a need for centralized city planning became imperative. Accordingly, in 1924 the City Council invited John Nolen back to San Diego to update his 1908 plan. To further Nolen’s plans, the Council in 1925 appointed Kenneth Gardner, from Nolen’s Cambridge office, as "planning engineer."
Nolen’s second San Diego city plan in 1926 broadened the goals of the 1908 plan. The emphasis was still on the waterfront, where civic buildings would be located and a "recreation island" would be created, an airport would be placed on tidelands, and a "paseo" would link to Balboa Park. Seeing more than San Diego’s downtown, Nolen proposed traffic connections to outlying regions. This new focus may have reflected changing standards in City Planning, which at the time were dividing into specialized and overlapping departments in colleges and cities throughout the country. On the other hand, the necessity of providing industrial and commercial traffic arteries to the rest of the nation and to Mexico was too pressing to ignore.
In September of 1911 he worked for the Committee on Parks of the Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento to do a plan for Del Paso Park; in December of 1913 he worked for the Board of Park Directors in Sacramento to create a Park System; in June of 1914 he worked for the City Commission in Sacramento on City Plans (this plan drawing still exists and includes a drawing of the Parkway)
Here is an excerpt from the biographical history:
John Nolen (1869-1937)
When in 1907 Philadelphia native and city planner John Nolen was hired by merchant George W. Marston on the recommendation of landscape architect Samuel Parsons, Jr. to prepare a comprehensive development plan for San Diego, he was comparatively unknown in city planning or landscape architecture circles. He had opened his office in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1903. two years before he received his A.M. from the Harvard School of Landscape Architecture in 1905 at the age of thirty-six, the same year he became a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Also, in 1907, he had obtained a commission to survey potential park sites for the state of Wisconsin; in 1915 and 1923 respectively he was given commissions to design towns in Kingsport, Tennessee and Mariemont, Ohio; and in 1917 he was appointed to survey Charlotte, North Carolina. By 1919, Nolen had written two books, edited two others, and published scores of articles and plans. His standing had so increased that in 1927 he was elected president of the National Conference on City Planning.
As most of these achievements were in the future, his plan for the City of San Diego, completed in 1908, was a "make or break" effort. In commenting on the problems of a growing metropolis, he was far removed from making plans for the small "garden cities" of Kingsport and Mariemont. He had entered the domain of such distinguished city planners as Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and Clarence Stein. He recommended that San Diego build a civic center plaza on D Street (Broadway since 1912) between Front and First Sreets and develop its bayfront with a "paseo" joining the bay to City Park (Balboa Park since 1910). Marston, Women’s Clubs, and Chamber of Commerce officials supported these proposals, but they never got beyond the argument stage. Passage in 1911 of a bond issue to build two long piers at the foot of Broadway did away with Nolen’s terminus for D Street; public resources were diverted to the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park; and George W. Marston, Nolen’s champion, was defeated in mayoralty contests in 1913 and 1917, in which Marston’s opponents, Charles F. O’Neall and Louis J, Wilde, ridiculed Nolen’s vision of a palatial Mediterranean-like city instead of a city of factories and docks.
As a by-product of the Panama-California Exposition, the U.S. Navy and U. S. Marine Corps settled in San Diego. While factory and commercial promoters thought of the military as its natural ally, this proved to be a delusion. As San Diego was not-equipped to deal with the intra-structural problems of expanding military installations, a need for centralized city planning became imperative. Accordingly, in 1924 the City Council invited John Nolen back to San Diego to update his 1908 plan. To further Nolen’s plans, the Council in 1925 appointed Kenneth Gardner, from Nolen’s Cambridge office, as "planning engineer."
Nolen’s second San Diego city plan in 1926 broadened the goals of the 1908 plan. The emphasis was still on the waterfront, where civic buildings would be located and a "recreation island" would be created, an airport would be placed on tidelands, and a "paseo" would link to Balboa Park. Seeing more than San Diego’s downtown, Nolen proposed traffic connections to outlying regions. This new focus may have reflected changing standards in City Planning, which at the time were dividing into specialized and overlapping departments in colleges and cities throughout the country. On the other hand, the necessity of providing industrial and commercial traffic arteries to the rest of the nation and to Mexico was too pressing to ignore.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Parks & Open Space, Humans and Animals
In this article from today’s Bee, we see the oft noted effects of allowing the balance between animal and human use of parks and open space to become awry; and the dilemma created.
The natural settings of parks and open space, and human use of them, will continue to struggle for congruence, not only in Davis, but also in our Parkway.
A wise and early influential member of the city planning and landscape architecture professions in the United States, John Nolen, (who also drafted plans for Sacramento and the Parkway in a still extant 1915 map) wrote about the congruent development of parks in his seminal work, New Towns for Old (1927):
“The keynote in the development of the park should be dignity and simplicity, doing away with large formal areas of elaborate construction, but at the same time having the park full of charm and appeal. Specimen trees and collections of uncommon trees and shrubs, labeled for those unfamiliar with them, would be of educational value and general interest…
“A park should be made for use, and the measure of its success can be gauged by the number of people it serves. Recreation should be thought of in its broadest sense, and facilities provided for the entertainment and enjoyment of young and old, men, women and children.” (p. 39 & 41)
Here is an excerpt from the Bee article:
Nesting herons and egrets endanger a rare oak grove
UC Davis officials face a puzzler as guano from protected birds boosts soil acidity - and drives off visitors.
By Edie Lau -- Bee Science Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 7, 2006
Birds and trees usually go together like fish and water, but in this environmental conflict with a twist, night-herons and egrets might be killing a prized oak grove in Davis.
The grove, formally known as Shields Oak Grove, is at the secluded west end of the University of California, Davis, arboretum. It contains 89 kinds of oaks collected from around the world since the 1960s.
Now filled with mature trees, the grove has become a magnet for leggy wading birds. The birds are nesting and roosting in such abundance that their droppings are turning the soil salty and acidic, possibly threatening the health of the trees.
Last summer, 2,400 adult birds took up quarters in the four-acre grove, producing more than 850 chicks, campus biologists estimate.
By season's end, the ground beneath the trees was white with guano, its musty odor, sharp with ammonia, almost intolerable to the human nose.
A nearby gazebo used for weddings had to be closed to public use.
"It's called 'White Flower Garden,' " said Kathleen Sokolofsky, the arboretum director. "Well, it was a little too white last year to do any weddings!"
As is their habit, the night-herons and egrets migrated to other roosts in the winter. With the return of spring, they are coming back.
Amanda Castaneda, a research assistant at the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, counted 35 nests in mid-April, 60 at the end of the month.
Guano is beginning to coat tree leaves, the breeze wafting a pungent scent.
The case of birds vs. oaks poses quite a dilemma for the arboretum.
The natural settings of parks and open space, and human use of them, will continue to struggle for congruence, not only in Davis, but also in our Parkway.
A wise and early influential member of the city planning and landscape architecture professions in the United States, John Nolen, (who also drafted plans for Sacramento and the Parkway in a still extant 1915 map) wrote about the congruent development of parks in his seminal work, New Towns for Old (1927):
“The keynote in the development of the park should be dignity and simplicity, doing away with large formal areas of elaborate construction, but at the same time having the park full of charm and appeal. Specimen trees and collections of uncommon trees and shrubs, labeled for those unfamiliar with them, would be of educational value and general interest…
“A park should be made for use, and the measure of its success can be gauged by the number of people it serves. Recreation should be thought of in its broadest sense, and facilities provided for the entertainment and enjoyment of young and old, men, women and children.” (p. 39 & 41)
Here is an excerpt from the Bee article:
Nesting herons and egrets endanger a rare oak grove
UC Davis officials face a puzzler as guano from protected birds boosts soil acidity - and drives off visitors.
By Edie Lau -- Bee Science Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 7, 2006
Birds and trees usually go together like fish and water, but in this environmental conflict with a twist, night-herons and egrets might be killing a prized oak grove in Davis.
The grove, formally known as Shields Oak Grove, is at the secluded west end of the University of California, Davis, arboretum. It contains 89 kinds of oaks collected from around the world since the 1960s.
Now filled with mature trees, the grove has become a magnet for leggy wading birds. The birds are nesting and roosting in such abundance that their droppings are turning the soil salty and acidic, possibly threatening the health of the trees.
Last summer, 2,400 adult birds took up quarters in the four-acre grove, producing more than 850 chicks, campus biologists estimate.
By season's end, the ground beneath the trees was white with guano, its musty odor, sharp with ammonia, almost intolerable to the human nose.
A nearby gazebo used for weddings had to be closed to public use.
"It's called 'White Flower Garden,' " said Kathleen Sokolofsky, the arboretum director. "Well, it was a little too white last year to do any weddings!"
As is their habit, the night-herons and egrets migrated to other roosts in the winter. With the return of spring, they are coming back.
Amanda Castaneda, a research assistant at the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, counted 35 nests in mid-April, 60 at the end of the month.
Guano is beginning to coat tree leaves, the breeze wafting a pungent scent.
The case of birds vs. oaks poses quite a dilemma for the arboretum.
ARPPS Letter to Editor Published
This letter to the Editor was published in today’s Bee on the Forum’s Editorial Page.
Proper water planning
Re “General: Integrate solutions on floods,” April 30:
The interview with the Army Corps division commander was a real gem, reminding us how important it is to maintain balance in the discussions about flood control.
Public leaders who accomplished California’s flood control planning many years ago knew this, which is why they included an Auburn Dam, a higher Shasta Dam and a peripheral canal in their planning to control floods, store and move water to deal with the dry years California sees regularly, and the substantial growth they knew would continue, as people migrate to the lifestyle and weather that makes California a premium place to live.
Achieving balance in our approach to flood protection is a crucial aspect of the public discussion, and we are glad to see it presented so well in your interview with Brigadier General Schroedel.
-David H. Lukenbill, Sacramento
Senior Policy Director, American River Parkway Preservation Society
Proper water planning
Re “General: Integrate solutions on floods,” April 30:
The interview with the Army Corps division commander was a real gem, reminding us how important it is to maintain balance in the discussions about flood control.
Public leaders who accomplished California’s flood control planning many years ago knew this, which is why they included an Auburn Dam, a higher Shasta Dam and a peripheral canal in their planning to control floods, store and move water to deal with the dry years California sees regularly, and the substantial growth they knew would continue, as people migrate to the lifestyle and weather that makes California a premium place to live.
Achieving balance in our approach to flood protection is a crucial aspect of the public discussion, and we are glad to see it presented so well in your interview with Brigadier General Schroedel.
-David H. Lukenbill, Sacramento
Senior Policy Director, American River Parkway Preservation Society
Walters on the Bond Deal
In his column from today’s Bee, Dan Walters shows us what really happened, and he nails it.
Here is an excerpt.
Dan Walters:
Governor scores win, but there's less there than meets the eye
By Dan Walters -- Bee ColumnistPublished 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 7, 2006
True to form, the Capitol's politicians are congratulating themselves mightily for placing a $37 billion package of bonds for transportation, education, flood control and housing on the November ballot.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, not surprisingly, is playing the loudest trumpet. He seized on infrastructure improvements as a popular cause after taking a shellacking from voters on his "year of reform" ballot measures last November and proposed a $222 billion, 10-year plan in January, including more than $60 billion of new bonds. Infrastructure, he believed, would get him back in the good graces of voters as he sought a second term.
"Today is an important day for all California," Schwarzenegger said in a statement at 3:21 a.m. Friday, just moments after the Assembly gave final approval to the bond package. "For the first time in a generation, we are making a real investment in our state's future."
More important to Republican Schwarzenegger than his own words, however, were those of Democratic legislative leaders that gave him at least some of the credit for making it happen - just the sort of thing that the governor might use in a re-election campaign ad....
....Politics aside, a final word about the package itself. Like all such highly trumpeted political accomplishments, there's less there than meets the eye. Infrastructure has been sadly neglected, and this is a significant amount of money, but it's really just a fraction of what's needed - especially for transportation. It ignores such pressing needs as water storage while adding to the state's already immense general obligation debt without imposing much-needed revenues to offset the cost, such as higher gas taxes or flood control fees.
It is, in other words, a down payment with borrowed money, not the miraculous panacea that it will be depicted as being.
Here is an excerpt.
Dan Walters:
Governor scores win, but there's less there than meets the eye
By Dan Walters -- Bee ColumnistPublished 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 7, 2006
True to form, the Capitol's politicians are congratulating themselves mightily for placing a $37 billion package of bonds for transportation, education, flood control and housing on the November ballot.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, not surprisingly, is playing the loudest trumpet. He seized on infrastructure improvements as a popular cause after taking a shellacking from voters on his "year of reform" ballot measures last November and proposed a $222 billion, 10-year plan in January, including more than $60 billion of new bonds. Infrastructure, he believed, would get him back in the good graces of voters as he sought a second term.
"Today is an important day for all California," Schwarzenegger said in a statement at 3:21 a.m. Friday, just moments after the Assembly gave final approval to the bond package. "For the first time in a generation, we are making a real investment in our state's future."
More important to Republican Schwarzenegger than his own words, however, were those of Democratic legislative leaders that gave him at least some of the credit for making it happen - just the sort of thing that the governor might use in a re-election campaign ad....
....Politics aside, a final word about the package itself. Like all such highly trumpeted political accomplishments, there's less there than meets the eye. Infrastructure has been sadly neglected, and this is a significant amount of money, but it's really just a fraction of what's needed - especially for transportation. It ignores such pressing needs as water storage while adding to the state's already immense general obligation debt without imposing much-needed revenues to offset the cost, such as higher gas taxes or flood control fees.
It is, in other words, a down payment with borrowed money, not the miraculous panacea that it will be depicted as being.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Record Infrastructure Bond Deal, Follow Up
In this story from today’s Bee, following up on the bond deal made by the legislature yesterday, one legislative leader’s comment stands out: "It would appear that we've made a major down payment on 40 years of neglect in California's infrastructure.", calling forth the obvious question, where has the public leadership been for those forty years?
Here is an excerpt.
Putting aside partisanship: Bonds package sparks rare cooperation between parties
Democrats, GOP both celebrate
By Andy Furillo -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 6, 2006
California's biggest public works project in generations has made it to the November ballot, thanks to one of the most stunning displays of bipartisan cooperation Sacramento has seen in recent years.
Politics bubbled near the surface of Friday's $37.3 billion predawn deal, but Democratic and Republican leaders did not let them boil over - resulting in a package for roads, schools and levees that figures to favor the interests of all the plan's key architects. "To some extent, the Democratic leadership stepped up," said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute, named for the late governor whose support for water and public university projects some 45 years ago gained him a legacy as the godfather of California infrastructure.
"The fact is that the Republicans have not been carping as much as they otherwise might have and have basically laid back, and of course, the governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was getting the message out in his State of the State speech, even if he was trying to resurrect his career."
Democratic legislative leaders congratulated the Republican governor Friday as well as themselves and their GOP colleagues on a day they characterized as a California milestone in bipartisan accomplishment.
"Today is a good day for California," Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, told reporters. "I believe that as we look forward to what's to come, (the) ...ideological differences that continue to tear us apart are going to be a thing of the past in Sacramento." "It's a fabulous piece of work," said state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "It would appear that we've made a major down payment on 40 years of neglect in California's infrastructure."
Here is an excerpt.
Putting aside partisanship: Bonds package sparks rare cooperation between parties
Democrats, GOP both celebrate
By Andy Furillo -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 6, 2006
California's biggest public works project in generations has made it to the November ballot, thanks to one of the most stunning displays of bipartisan cooperation Sacramento has seen in recent years.
Politics bubbled near the surface of Friday's $37.3 billion predawn deal, but Democratic and Republican leaders did not let them boil over - resulting in a package for roads, schools and levees that figures to favor the interests of all the plan's key architects. "To some extent, the Democratic leadership stepped up," said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute, named for the late governor whose support for water and public university projects some 45 years ago gained him a legacy as the godfather of California infrastructure.
"The fact is that the Republicans have not been carping as much as they otherwise might have and have basically laid back, and of course, the governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was getting the message out in his State of the State speech, even if he was trying to resurrect his career."
Democratic legislative leaders congratulated the Republican governor Friday as well as themselves and their GOP colleagues on a day they characterized as a California milestone in bipartisan accomplishment.
"Today is a good day for California," Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, told reporters. "I believe that as we look forward to what's to come, (the) ...ideological differences that continue to tear us apart are going to be a thing of the past in Sacramento." "It's a fabulous piece of work," said state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "It would appear that we've made a major down payment on 40 years of neglect in California's infrastructure."
Legislator Punished for Position on Dams
In this story from today’s Bee we see the punishing consequences for one valley legislator standing by principle, and refusing to vote for the bond bill that didn’t include surface water storage capability—dams—his constituents in the valley (and really all of us) desperately need.
Here is an excerpt.
Speaker puts a dissenter in 'doghouse'
Bonds package sparks rare cooperation between parties
By E.J. Schultz and Jim Sanders -- Bee Capitol BureauPublished 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 6, 2006
Sometimes disagreeing with your boss comes with a price.
After refusing to fall in line with Democratic leadership on the record $37.3 billion bond package passed Friday, Assemblyman Juan Arambula, DF-resno, was kicked out of his office.
"I was told to pack my bags and move out of my office immediately," he said Friday.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez moved the first-term Democrat from a comfortable office suite to shoebox-sized accommodations known to Capitol staff as "the doghouse."
Núñez also stripped Arambula of his chairmanship of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy.
"He's not going to be part of the speaker's leadership team," said Steve Maviglio, Núñez's spokesman. "When the entire football team is headed down the field and one of the players runs to the sideline, that doesn't help move the ball downfield."
Arambula's demotion apparently marks Núñez's first such retaliation since becoming speaker in 2004, but other legislative leaders have taken similar action in years past.
Arambula said he had no hint that Friday's crackdown was coming.
"I knew leadership wouldn't be happy, but I didn't imagine that it would be this severe or this quick," he said.
He knew there was immediate trouble when Jon Waldie, the Assembly's chief executive officer, called Arambula's office to say some moving boxes would be arriving soon. Arambula called Núñez.
"He said that I should move out of my office by Monday, that I was relieved of my chairmanship, and that there might be other adjustments made in the future - in terms of staff or budget," Arambula said.
Arambula said he couldn't muster a vote for any of the four bond measures because they failed to serve the needs of the San Joaquin Valley. He abstained on all four bond votes, which passed the Assembly and Senate by comfortable margins. The bond package will be on the November ballot.
"I felt the Valley was left out and that the needs of the people I represent were not adequately considered," he said.
He said he was most perturbed that none of the measures included money for water storage, specifically a proposed Fresno-area dam at Temperance Flat, upstream of Millerton Lake. "Water is a big issue for farmworkers and farmers, for cities and for businesses," said Arambula, who grew up working the fields of the Central Valley.
Here is an excerpt.
Speaker puts a dissenter in 'doghouse'
Bonds package sparks rare cooperation between parties
By E.J. Schultz and Jim Sanders -- Bee Capitol BureauPublished 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 6, 2006
Sometimes disagreeing with your boss comes with a price.
After refusing to fall in line with Democratic leadership on the record $37.3 billion bond package passed Friday, Assemblyman Juan Arambula, DF-resno, was kicked out of his office.
"I was told to pack my bags and move out of my office immediately," he said Friday.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez moved the first-term Democrat from a comfortable office suite to shoebox-sized accommodations known to Capitol staff as "the doghouse."
Núñez also stripped Arambula of his chairmanship of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy.
"He's not going to be part of the speaker's leadership team," said Steve Maviglio, Núñez's spokesman. "When the entire football team is headed down the field and one of the players runs to the sideline, that doesn't help move the ball downfield."
Arambula's demotion apparently marks Núñez's first such retaliation since becoming speaker in 2004, but other legislative leaders have taken similar action in years past.
Arambula said he had no hint that Friday's crackdown was coming.
"I knew leadership wouldn't be happy, but I didn't imagine that it would be this severe or this quick," he said.
He knew there was immediate trouble when Jon Waldie, the Assembly's chief executive officer, called Arambula's office to say some moving boxes would be arriving soon. Arambula called Núñez.
"He said that I should move out of my office by Monday, that I was relieved of my chairmanship, and that there might be other adjustments made in the future - in terms of staff or budget," Arambula said.
Arambula said he couldn't muster a vote for any of the four bond measures because they failed to serve the needs of the San Joaquin Valley. He abstained on all four bond votes, which passed the Assembly and Senate by comfortable margins. The bond package will be on the November ballot.
"I felt the Valley was left out and that the needs of the people I represent were not adequately considered," he said.
He said he was most perturbed that none of the measures included money for water storage, specifically a proposed Fresno-area dam at Temperance Flat, upstream of Millerton Lake. "Water is a big issue for farmworkers and farmers, for cities and for businesses," said Arambula, who grew up working the fields of the Central Valley.
West Sacramento Riverfront
In this story from today’s Bee we see West Sacramento beginning to embrace their river waterfront, (part of which is planned to become like the Parkway) and make the Sacramento River a more integral part of their community.
Here is an excerpt.
West Sac plan stirs imagination
Development plans for the waterfront on the west bank of the Sacramento River raise expectations.
By M.S. Enkoji -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 6, 2006
As a child, Dean Unger dined with his parents at the Captain's Table restaurant on the bank of the Sacramento River. He remembers his imagination drifting across the water to West Sacramento.
"The sun would bounce off the water and almost blind you," he said.
He wondered what it was like on the other side of the river. "You get that sparkling view of Sacramento," he said. "All those little things intrigued me."
They still intrigue him.
Unger has sunk his money into a rough-hewn patch of riverfront sandwiched between the Tower Bridge and Pioneer Bridge in West Sacramento. And amid the industrial squalor of old railroad tracks and sheds, he still envisions sparkling views.
Thirty years after Unger dined along the river with his parents, a landmark plan to transform the Sacramento River's west bank is moving toward a 2007 groundbreaking. Unger's 14.5 acres with its 1,500-foot stretch of waterfront would be part of the crown jewel.
The West Sacramento City Council recently backed a specific design plan for the major portion of a roughly 3.5-mile promenade and trail rimming the city's riverfront. The walkway would be anchored by an expansive, open plaza and would feature artful lighting, sculpted designs and fountains on a bluff overlooking the water for about a mile between the two bridges.
In the less urban neighborhoods beyond the Pioneer and Tower bridges, the outer portions of the promenade would be more rural in character, much like the American River Parkway.
Here is an excerpt.
West Sac plan stirs imagination
Development plans for the waterfront on the west bank of the Sacramento River raise expectations.
By M.S. Enkoji -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, May 6, 2006
As a child, Dean Unger dined with his parents at the Captain's Table restaurant on the bank of the Sacramento River. He remembers his imagination drifting across the water to West Sacramento.
"The sun would bounce off the water and almost blind you," he said.
He wondered what it was like on the other side of the river. "You get that sparkling view of Sacramento," he said. "All those little things intrigued me."
They still intrigue him.
Unger has sunk his money into a rough-hewn patch of riverfront sandwiched between the Tower Bridge and Pioneer Bridge in West Sacramento. And amid the industrial squalor of old railroad tracks and sheds, he still envisions sparkling views.
Thirty years after Unger dined along the river with his parents, a landmark plan to transform the Sacramento River's west bank is moving toward a 2007 groundbreaking. Unger's 14.5 acres with its 1,500-foot stretch of waterfront would be part of the crown jewel.
The West Sacramento City Council recently backed a specific design plan for the major portion of a roughly 3.5-mile promenade and trail rimming the city's riverfront. The walkway would be anchored by an expansive, open plaza and would feature artful lighting, sculpted designs and fountains on a bluff overlooking the water for about a mile between the two bridges.
In the less urban neighborhoods beyond the Pioneer and Tower bridges, the outer portions of the promenade would be more rural in character, much like the American River Parkway.
New Orleans, Lest We Forget
In this story from this week’s Sacramento News & Review, (lest we forget what happened in New Orleans) from the perspective of one reporter traveling there recently, we are reminded of the consequences of major flooding as Sacramento is now ranked number one in the country in greatest danger of massive flooding due to our continued lack of sufficient protection.
A Sacramento photographer journeyed to his boyhood home and found mile after mile of abandoned streets and deserted homes and a widespread uneasiness about the upcoming hurricane season By Noel Neuburger
After the flooding of New Orleans, I was afraid that the city and culture I had grown up in would be largely washed away in the receding waters. I imagined that what little was left would be bulldozed and plowed under, leaving only memories and whatever artifacts survived the floods and the exodus. Worse yet, I feared that after the D-8s and dump trucks had had their terrible way with the devastated neighborhoods that what would be constructed in their place would be the Disney Corp. or Las Vegas version of New Orleans. New Orleans World! I feared that the complex culture of New Orleans--the way time and circumstance had interwoven the sacred and the profane, misery and joy, existence and communion into a way of life that could be enjoyed, on some level, by everyone--would be lost forever.
I didn’t want to see it, yet I wanted to see it.
When I finally had the time and the opportunity to go to New Orleans, I took it. The first thing I packed was the container that held my father’s ashes; it had been sitting on a closet shelf in my Sacramento home since his death in 1994. I would put them in the Mississippi River. Dad--a musician whose career earned him a spot in the New Orleans Jazz Archives--had been a New Orleanian through and through. He needed to go home, and I did too. I packed my cameras.
I approached New Orleans by air, and the first thing I noticed were the bright blue tarps covering many of the roofs. It was like noticing a child covered with Band-Aids. Louis Armstrong Airport was not terribly busy. Quiet even! Normally, the tourist trade is fairly brisk in the spring; the weather can be good, and there aren’t the huge crowds that come for Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.
I was joined shortly by my sister, Linda, who arrived from Texas. This would be a first trip back to New Orleans since the floods for both of us. We arranged to meet up at the airport and spend a few days discovering what had become of the places where we had grown up, the city that we loved.
Driving to my cousin Gail’s house in suburban Metairie, a large, rambling suburb west of New Orleans, where we would be staying, we passed many large debris piles and damaged houses with white, 180-square-foot FEMA trailers in the front yard. My cousin’s house, a brick ranch on a slab, had had 18 inches of water in it but looked fine now, with new landscaping and brick floors. I asked her why there were still so many FEMA trailers in the area, and she told me how long it takes to get anyone to do repair work, especially roofs. She pointed to the blue roofs in the neighborhood.
Here is an excerpt.
Return to New OrleansA Sacramento photographer journeyed to his boyhood home and found mile after mile of abandoned streets and deserted homes and a widespread uneasiness about the upcoming hurricane season By Noel Neuburger
After the flooding of New Orleans, I was afraid that the city and culture I had grown up in would be largely washed away in the receding waters. I imagined that what little was left would be bulldozed and plowed under, leaving only memories and whatever artifacts survived the floods and the exodus. Worse yet, I feared that after the D-8s and dump trucks had had their terrible way with the devastated neighborhoods that what would be constructed in their place would be the Disney Corp. or Las Vegas version of New Orleans. New Orleans World! I feared that the complex culture of New Orleans--the way time and circumstance had interwoven the sacred and the profane, misery and joy, existence and communion into a way of life that could be enjoyed, on some level, by everyone--would be lost forever.
I didn’t want to see it, yet I wanted to see it.
When I finally had the time and the opportunity to go to New Orleans, I took it. The first thing I packed was the container that held my father’s ashes; it had been sitting on a closet shelf in my Sacramento home since his death in 1994. I would put them in the Mississippi River. Dad--a musician whose career earned him a spot in the New Orleans Jazz Archives--had been a New Orleanian through and through. He needed to go home, and I did too. I packed my cameras.
I approached New Orleans by air, and the first thing I noticed were the bright blue tarps covering many of the roofs. It was like noticing a child covered with Band-Aids. Louis Armstrong Airport was not terribly busy. Quiet even! Normally, the tourist trade is fairly brisk in the spring; the weather can be good, and there aren’t the huge crowds that come for Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.
I was joined shortly by my sister, Linda, who arrived from Texas. This would be a first trip back to New Orleans since the floods for both of us. We arranged to meet up at the airport and spend a few days discovering what had become of the places where we had grown up, the city that we loved.
Driving to my cousin Gail’s house in suburban Metairie, a large, rambling suburb west of New Orleans, where we would be staying, we passed many large debris piles and damaged houses with white, 180-square-foot FEMA trailers in the front yard. My cousin’s house, a brick ranch on a slab, had had 18 inches of water in it but looked fine now, with new landscaping and brick floors. I asked her why there were still so many FEMA trailers in the area, and she told me how long it takes to get anyone to do repair work, especially roofs. She pointed to the blue roofs in the neighborhood.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Record Infrastructure Bond Deal
In the Bee's report on the state legislator today, it appears they have acted to provide $4.09 billion for flood control projects, as part of a record infrastructure bond deal, if voters approve it in November.
Stay tuned.
Here is an excerpt.
Lawmakers send record bond deal to voters
By Andy Furillo -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 5:26 am PDT Friday, May 5, 2006
By large majorities and sometimes with heavy bipartisan support, the California Legislature completed one of its most significant achievements in recent memory early Friday by putting a $37.3 billion package of infrastructure bonds on the November ballot.
"It's nice to get something accomplished," said state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "This is probably the biggest accomplishment certainly I've seen in this building in quite awhile, just in terms of our commitment to the future of the state's economy and its infrastructure.
"It's also a textbook example of what bipartisanship can look like."
The Senate moved the four-piece infrastructure package - $19.925 billion for transportation projects, $10.416 billion for K-12 education and colleges, $4.09 billion for flood protection and $2.85 billion for affordable housing - on separate, two-thirds votes that were completed at 12:30 a.m.
The Assembly followed by approving the same package of bonds, the largest in state history, by 3:30 a.m.
Stay tuned.
Here is an excerpt.
Lawmakers send record bond deal to voters
By Andy Furillo -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 5:26 am PDT Friday, May 5, 2006
By large majorities and sometimes with heavy bipartisan support, the California Legislature completed one of its most significant achievements in recent memory early Friday by putting a $37.3 billion package of infrastructure bonds on the November ballot.
"It's nice to get something accomplished," said state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "This is probably the biggest accomplishment certainly I've seen in this building in quite awhile, just in terms of our commitment to the future of the state's economy and its infrastructure.
"It's also a textbook example of what bipartisanship can look like."
The Senate moved the four-piece infrastructure package - $19.925 billion for transportation projects, $10.416 billion for K-12 education and colleges, $4.09 billion for flood protection and $2.85 billion for affordable housing - on separate, two-thirds votes that were completed at 12:30 a.m.
The Assembly followed by approving the same package of bonds, the largest in state history, by 3:30 a.m.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Flood Protection Funding, Part Six
In today’s Bee, another story on the legislative work, at the state level, to secure funds for infrastructure work, $3.1 billion of it designated for flood control, still winding its way through the system.
Let’s continue to hope that it makes it through and hopefully the amount directed towards flood control will increase, even though the dry weather may cause some forgetfulness of the recent wet.
Here is an excerpt.
Bonds set for vote in Legislature
Lawmakers could put four measures totaling $35.3 billion on ballot.
By Andy Furillo -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
In a sign of an impending agreement, legislative leaders scheduled floor votes for tonight to put $35.3 billion in bonds on the November ballot to build roads, housing, levees and schools.
Legislative leaders worked into the evening Wednesday on the details of the package, but broke shortly after 10 p.m. without announcing an agreement.
"We're close, but there are a million little pieces to the puzzle," said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles. "Three or four don't fit, and the puzzle's not done."
State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, scheduled a vote for 5 p.m. today, while Núñez planned to call his chamber into session at 5:30 p.m.
Sources said the package would include $19.2 billion for transportation, $10.4 billion for schools and universities, $3.1 billion for flood control and $2.6 billion for affordable housing - with Republicans still expressing deep reservations in meetings Wednesday afternoon and evening about the housing component.
Let’s continue to hope that it makes it through and hopefully the amount directed towards flood control will increase, even though the dry weather may cause some forgetfulness of the recent wet.
Here is an excerpt.
Bonds set for vote in Legislature
Lawmakers could put four measures totaling $35.3 billion on ballot.
By Andy Furillo -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
In a sign of an impending agreement, legislative leaders scheduled floor votes for tonight to put $35.3 billion in bonds on the November ballot to build roads, housing, levees and schools.
Legislative leaders worked into the evening Wednesday on the details of the package, but broke shortly after 10 p.m. without announcing an agreement.
"We're close, but there are a million little pieces to the puzzle," said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles. "Three or four don't fit, and the puzzle's not done."
State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, scheduled a vote for 5 p.m. today, while Núñez planned to call his chamber into session at 5:30 p.m.
Sources said the package would include $19.2 billion for transportation, $10.4 billion for schools and universities, $3.1 billion for flood control and $2.6 billion for affordable housing - with Republicans still expressing deep reservations in meetings Wednesday afternoon and evening about the housing component.
Purple Martins in the Underpass
An interesting story in today’s Bee about the adaptability of birds as we find purple martins living under an underpass, sharing space with illegal campers.
Here is an excerpt.
Carlos Alcala:
Purple martins nest under bridge that some people call home
By Carlos Alcalá -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
Birds and broken bottles: About 20,000 cars a day zip over the bridge that takes El Camino Avenue from North Sacramento over the railroad tracks and on toward the Capital City Freeway. It may be that everyone in those 20,000 cars and trucks is unaware of an interesting natural phenomenon going on a few feet below their tires. Purple martins, rare enough in the West to be considered a species of special interest, are nesting in the underside of this bridge. They didn't used to. Dan Kopp was a student when he discovered them here while volunteering to help wildlife biologist Dan Airola with an ongoing survey of the birds. Airola is a one-time biologist for the U.S. Forest Service in the Lassen National Forest. While there, he kept his eyes open for the birds and then was stunned when he moved to Sacramento and found them nesting under freeways in midtown. "That's what really intrigued me," Airola said. So he started studying the urban bird. He and Kopp have found, happily, that they seem to not only be surviving, but expanding to new underpasses. Unlike most birds their size, they are good at the aerial maneuvers required to zip into the small space on the undersides of bridges. Now, like spotted owls need old growth, they seem to thrive on concrete housing in proximity to cars and trains. "It isn't just pristine habitats that are important," Airola said. In fact, it's downright trashy under El Camino, with old mattresses, toilets and detritus from illegal campers, who also like living under bridges, out of the rain. "What's one of the indicators of purple martin habitat?" Airola asked, rhetorically. "It's homeless people." ...
Here is an excerpt.
Carlos Alcala:
Purple martins nest under bridge that some people call home
By Carlos Alcalá -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
Birds and broken bottles: About 20,000 cars a day zip over the bridge that takes El Camino Avenue from North Sacramento over the railroad tracks and on toward the Capital City Freeway. It may be that everyone in those 20,000 cars and trucks is unaware of an interesting natural phenomenon going on a few feet below their tires. Purple martins, rare enough in the West to be considered a species of special interest, are nesting in the underside of this bridge. They didn't used to. Dan Kopp was a student when he discovered them here while volunteering to help wildlife biologist Dan Airola with an ongoing survey of the birds. Airola is a one-time biologist for the U.S. Forest Service in the Lassen National Forest. While there, he kept his eyes open for the birds and then was stunned when he moved to Sacramento and found them nesting under freeways in midtown. "That's what really intrigued me," Airola said. So he started studying the urban bird. He and Kopp have found, happily, that they seem to not only be surviving, but expanding to new underpasses. Unlike most birds their size, they are good at the aerial maneuvers required to zip into the small space on the undersides of bridges. Now, like spotted owls need old growth, they seem to thrive on concrete housing in proximity to cars and trains. "It isn't just pristine habitats that are important," Airola said. In fact, it's downright trashy under El Camino, with old mattresses, toilets and detritus from illegal campers, who also like living under bridges, out of the rain. "What's one of the indicators of purple martin habitat?" Airola asked, rhetorically. "It's homeless people." ...
Bike Trail Moving Towards Repair
This story in today’s Bee indicates part of the bike trail by CSUS may be getting closer to repair so that those having to take the detour for the past year may soon be back on the smooth rubberized trail.
The work being done is crucial as it will expand the sewer capacity for the area, important to have completed by the time of the next high water.
Here is an excerpt.
Area cyclists are climbing levee over bike trail detour
The section between the Guy West and H Street bridges across the river from CSUS has been closed for about a year.
By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
After about a year of being out of commission, a particularly busy stretch of the American River Parkway bicycle trail is still off-limits.
But officials promise that access to the verdant stretch of the bike trail will be available to cyclists and pedestrians in a couple of months.
The spot in question - roughly between the Guy West and H Street bridges across the river from California State University, Sacramento - has been closed during construction of a big sewer pipe project.
Pedestrians and bikers were prevented from using the smooth bike path that courses next to the river under tall trees.
Instead, parkway enthusiasts were detoured to the top of the levee that parallels the trail for about four-tenths of a mile.
"On the plus side, at least we have had a way to get through," said Lea Brooks, president of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. "On the downside, this has just gone on and on and on.
The work being done is crucial as it will expand the sewer capacity for the area, important to have completed by the time of the next high water.
Here is an excerpt.
Area cyclists are climbing levee over bike trail detour
The section between the Guy West and H Street bridges across the river from CSUS has been closed for about a year.
By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
After about a year of being out of commission, a particularly busy stretch of the American River Parkway bicycle trail is still off-limits.
But officials promise that access to the verdant stretch of the bike trail will be available to cyclists and pedestrians in a couple of months.
The spot in question - roughly between the Guy West and H Street bridges across the river from California State University, Sacramento - has been closed during construction of a big sewer pipe project.
Pedestrians and bikers were prevented from using the smooth bike path that courses next to the river under tall trees.
Instead, parkway enthusiasts were detoured to the top of the levee that parallels the trail for about four-tenths of a mile.
"On the plus side, at least we have had a way to get through," said Lea Brooks, president of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. "On the downside, this has just gone on and on and on.
Flood Protection Funding, Part Five
In this story from today’s Bee we learn that the funding for local flood protection is moving forward, though expected opposition will arise, as the criteria for federal funding is different for each legislator.
This is the time that local congressional leaders need to be unified, and lets hope they are and remain so.
Here is an excerpt.
Opposition to levee plan is retracted
Oklahoma senator's bid faced defeat; proposed capital-area repair funds grow to $37 million.
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
WASHINGTON - An Oklahoma Republican senator, facing certain defeat on an amendment to strip levee-repair money along the Sacramento River from an emergency spending bill, abruptly withdrew his measure Wednesday as California's two Democratic senators announced that another $13 million for levee work had been added to the swelling $108.5 billion measure.
The Senate was nearing completion of the spending measure Wednesday but will not finish it until today. Where it goes from there is uncertain. None of the Sacramento money is included in a less-expensive House-passed measure, and the total cost of the Senate bill exceeds by about $16 billion the threshold that President Bush has set to avoid a presidential veto.
The additional money brings to $37 million the amount of emergency funding for Sacramento-area flood work included in the package. When added to what Congress approved last fall for 2006 Sacramento-area work, total federal spending on flood control would top $78 million this year.
This is the time that local congressional leaders need to be unified, and lets hope they are and remain so.
Here is an excerpt.
Opposition to levee plan is retracted
Oklahoma senator's bid faced defeat; proposed capital-area repair funds grow to $37 million.
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006
WASHINGTON - An Oklahoma Republican senator, facing certain defeat on an amendment to strip levee-repair money along the Sacramento River from an emergency spending bill, abruptly withdrew his measure Wednesday as California's two Democratic senators announced that another $13 million for levee work had been added to the swelling $108.5 billion measure.
The Senate was nearing completion of the spending measure Wednesday but will not finish it until today. Where it goes from there is uncertain. None of the Sacramento money is included in a less-expensive House-passed measure, and the total cost of the Senate bill exceeds by about $16 billion the threshold that President Bush has set to avoid a presidential veto.
The additional money brings to $37 million the amount of emergency funding for Sacramento-area flood work included in the package. When added to what Congress approved last fall for 2006 Sacramento-area work, total federal spending on flood control would top $78 million this year.
Disaster Perceptions, Survey
This link is to a two-page fact sheet entitled: “Disaster Perceptions and Preparedness”. The facts are results from surveys of California residents by the San Francisco based Public Policy Institute of California, published this April.
Very interesting set of facts.
Very interesting set of facts.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Walters on Water, Part Three
In his column from today’s Bee Dan Walters lays out, both for the long-term and the short-term, what we need to be thinking about and doing to see that our region is protected from flooding, and in a key quote sums it up nicely:
“…over the longer term, California needs to do much more to handle the interrelated issues of flood control and water supply. We should not only be fixing levees, but developing more bypass channels such as the one that protects Sacramento, building more storage to handle heavy winter flows both for flood control and water supply, making local governments shoulder more legal responsibility for approving subdivisions behind levees, pursuing a year-round program of levee maintenance financed by those whose homes and property are protected and compelling those at risk to have flood insurance, just as they have fire insurance.”
An excellent column, and here is an excerpt.
Dan Walters:
As weather warms, snowpack melts - a reminder of perpetual peril
By Dan Walters -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Spring has finally sprung in California, a month later than usual, and with the abrupt change of seasons after a very wet winter, the immense mountain snowpack is beginning to melt rapidly.
The Northern California snowpack is, state hydrologists say, nearly twice as heavy as its historic average. In the main, that's a good thing. It means, for instance, that the State Water Project can do something it can't do very often: deliver 100 percent of the water its customers seek. And that's largely true, as well, of federal dams and reservoirs.
There is, however, another side to the water equation. If the runoff is too big or too fast, it will overwhelm the ability of dams and reservoirs to control it, and downstream flooding will result. Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources, and his aides are closely watching the San Joaquin River system, whose relatively small reservoirs could be overrun should hot weather accelerate the snowmelt.
The numbers of this year's water situation are truly staggering. The state's largest and most important river, the Sacramento, has been running high and fast for four solid months, pushing as much as 700,000 gallons a second past the state capital, enough water since Jan. 1 to fill its three major reservoirs - Shasta, Oroville and Folsom - twice over. Even so, all of those reservoirs, with a total capacity of 9 million acre-feet, are very close to being full and are rising even more as the mercury rises, the snowpack shrinks and reservoir inflows rise above downstream releases.
“…over the longer term, California needs to do much more to handle the interrelated issues of flood control and water supply. We should not only be fixing levees, but developing more bypass channels such as the one that protects Sacramento, building more storage to handle heavy winter flows both for flood control and water supply, making local governments shoulder more legal responsibility for approving subdivisions behind levees, pursuing a year-round program of levee maintenance financed by those whose homes and property are protected and compelling those at risk to have flood insurance, just as they have fire insurance.”
An excellent column, and here is an excerpt.
Dan Walters:
As weather warms, snowpack melts - a reminder of perpetual peril
By Dan Walters -- Bee Columnist Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Spring has finally sprung in California, a month later than usual, and with the abrupt change of seasons after a very wet winter, the immense mountain snowpack is beginning to melt rapidly.
The Northern California snowpack is, state hydrologists say, nearly twice as heavy as its historic average. In the main, that's a good thing. It means, for instance, that the State Water Project can do something it can't do very often: deliver 100 percent of the water its customers seek. And that's largely true, as well, of federal dams and reservoirs.
There is, however, another side to the water equation. If the runoff is too big or too fast, it will overwhelm the ability of dams and reservoirs to control it, and downstream flooding will result. Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources, and his aides are closely watching the San Joaquin River system, whose relatively small reservoirs could be overrun should hot weather accelerate the snowmelt.
The numbers of this year's water situation are truly staggering. The state's largest and most important river, the Sacramento, has been running high and fast for four solid months, pushing as much as 700,000 gallons a second past the state capital, enough water since Jan. 1 to fill its three major reservoirs - Shasta, Oroville and Folsom - twice over. Even so, all of those reservoirs, with a total capacity of 9 million acre-feet, are very close to being full and are rising even more as the mercury rises, the snowpack shrinks and reservoir inflows rise above downstream releases.
Levee Repair Funding Moves Along
In this story from today’s Bee we learn that the ability to move quickly when spurred by the tragedy that occurred in New Orleans, and knowing the inadequate state of our flood protection system, combined with the action of local congressional leadership and the governor, action can occur.
The levees are the final protection in our flood control system, and as desperately as we need to be thinking long-term about first responder protection like dams, it is vital to see that the levees are not breached, so this story is good news.
However, the key item here is that this emergency repair is only needed because the normal maintenance and ongoing repairs of a vital public resource has been neglected as the story notes:
“Snow[director, state Department of Water Resources] cautioned the repairs do not improve flood control. The state estimates billions of dollars are needed to repair and upgrade levees that have been neglected for years.”
This is the same situation on our Parkway, many years of neglect resulting in its almost closing a couple of years ago, and still limping on with ongoing reduced maintenance rather than the strengthening needed to maintain its long-term status as the crown jewel of our region; a label hardly merited at the present time due to the situation in the Lower Reach (see the report on our website www.arpps.org)
Here is an excerpt from today’s Bee story.
Levee repair accord reached
U.S. will let state cut through red tape to get 29 weak spots repaired by Nov. 1.
By Matt Weiser, Bee Staff Writer and David Whitney, Bee Washington Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 3, 2006
An agreement announced Tuesday between state and federal agencies ensures that 29 eroding levees will be fixed by Nov. 1, officials said, and it also ensures the state gets credit for its share of the costs.
The agreement is a result of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's directive to repair the erosion sites under an emergency declaration. He had hoped for a similar declaration from President Bush.
That didn't happen. But various federal agencies agreed to speed up the processing of plans and permits to ensure the work gets done.
"It gives us what we needed. It definitely works for us," said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources. "There is no question we will be in completion of all 29 sites by November."
Snow said Tuesday that repairing the eroding levees is now estimated to cost "less than $150 million." But he said the estimate could grow if falling river levels reveal more damage.
The sites stretch from just north of Colusa on the upper Sacramento River to Cache Slough upstream of Rio Vista in the south. Six of the erosion sites are in metropolitan Sacramento.
Snow cautioned the repairs do not improve flood control. The state estimates billions of dollars are needed to repair and upgrade levees that have been neglected for years.
The levees are the final protection in our flood control system, and as desperately as we need to be thinking long-term about first responder protection like dams, it is vital to see that the levees are not breached, so this story is good news.
However, the key item here is that this emergency repair is only needed because the normal maintenance and ongoing repairs of a vital public resource has been neglected as the story notes:
“Snow[director, state Department of Water Resources] cautioned the repairs do not improve flood control. The state estimates billions of dollars are needed to repair and upgrade levees that have been neglected for years.”
This is the same situation on our Parkway, many years of neglect resulting in its almost closing a couple of years ago, and still limping on with ongoing reduced maintenance rather than the strengthening needed to maintain its long-term status as the crown jewel of our region; a label hardly merited at the present time due to the situation in the Lower Reach (see the report on our website www.arpps.org)
Here is an excerpt from today’s Bee story.
Levee repair accord reached
U.S. will let state cut through red tape to get 29 weak spots repaired by Nov. 1.
By Matt Weiser, Bee Staff Writer and David Whitney, Bee Washington Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 3, 2006
An agreement announced Tuesday between state and federal agencies ensures that 29 eroding levees will be fixed by Nov. 1, officials said, and it also ensures the state gets credit for its share of the costs.
The agreement is a result of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's directive to repair the erosion sites under an emergency declaration. He had hoped for a similar declaration from President Bush.
That didn't happen. But various federal agencies agreed to speed up the processing of plans and permits to ensure the work gets done.
"It gives us what we needed. It definitely works for us," said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources. "There is no question we will be in completion of all 29 sites by November."
Snow said Tuesday that repairing the eroding levees is now estimated to cost "less than $150 million." But he said the estimate could grow if falling river levels reveal more damage.
The sites stretch from just north of Colusa on the upper Sacramento River to Cache Slough upstream of Rio Vista in the south. Six of the erosion sites are in metropolitan Sacramento.
Snow cautioned the repairs do not improve flood control. The state estimates billions of dollars are needed to repair and upgrade levees that have been neglected for years.
Tragedy on the River, Too Fast, Too Cold
This article in today’s Bee reminds us of how powerful our snow-fed rivers are, particularly after the very wet winter (and spring) we have had, and the tragic consequences of getting in, or even near enough to slip in to them right now.
As the story notes:
“The normal flow on the American River below Folsom Dam is about 4,000 cubic feet per second. On Tuesday the flow reached 12,600 cubic feet per second, McCracken said. (A cubic foot is roughly the size of a basketball. In this measure, that many basketballs would flow past a point in one second.)
At Shasta Dam, the Sacramento River normally flows at 8,000 cubic feet per second. On Tuesday it was up to 10,000. And Oroville Dam, on the Feather River, normally trickles at 1,700 cubic feet per second but reached up to 17,000.”
That is fast, cold water, and as much as we treasure it, we need to remember to fear it when appropriate.
Here is an excerpt.
Big snowmelt turns rivers deadly
In a flash, swift, cold waters claimed Roseville teen
By M.S. Enkoji and Carrie Peyton Dahlberg -- Bee Staff Writers Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 3, 2006
In the time it took to bait a fishing line, Robbie Baker was gone.
Maybe he slipped, or maybe he dove in trying to save his best friend. Either way, the fun-loving Roseville teen was sucked below the surface of turbulent Rock Creek near Placerville on Monday, drowning while his father paused for just a moment to fasten a lure on his pole.
"It was only three or four minutes and it was all done, it was all over," said Rob Baker, who had scrambled for yards along the creek bank searching for his only child. All he found was a floating shoe.
A bumper season of Sierra snow piles are now melting into ice-cold rivers and rushing to the Valley floor, swift waters that even a healthy 17-year-old boy cannot survive.
Snow in the Sierra Nevada has accumulated up to 150 percent of what California needs for its water supply. Now that abundance is filling reservoirs, forcing water managers to open dam gates.
Waterways could be especially deadly beyond spring and well into summer. The open dam gates are sending as much as four times the normal amount of water downstream.
Not only is the water fast, it's bone-chilling.
"This is the coldest water you're going to get," said Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The normal flow on the American River below Folsom Dam is about 4,000 cubic feet per second.
On Tuesday the flow reached 12,600 cubic feet per second, McCracken said. (A cubic foot is roughly the size of a basketball. In this measure, that many basketballs would flow past a point in one second.)
At Shasta Dam, the Sacramento River normally flows at 8,000 cubic feet per second. On Tuesday it was up to 10,000. And Oroville Dam, on the Feather River, normally trickles at 1,700 cubic feet per second but reached up to 17,000.
"What that means is there is going to be a lot of very high, very cold, very fast water that will continue into summer," McCracken said.
As the story notes:
“The normal flow on the American River below Folsom Dam is about 4,000 cubic feet per second. On Tuesday the flow reached 12,600 cubic feet per second, McCracken said. (A cubic foot is roughly the size of a basketball. In this measure, that many basketballs would flow past a point in one second.)
At Shasta Dam, the Sacramento River normally flows at 8,000 cubic feet per second. On Tuesday it was up to 10,000. And Oroville Dam, on the Feather River, normally trickles at 1,700 cubic feet per second but reached up to 17,000.”
That is fast, cold water, and as much as we treasure it, we need to remember to fear it when appropriate.
Here is an excerpt.
Big snowmelt turns rivers deadly
In a flash, swift, cold waters claimed Roseville teen
By M.S. Enkoji and Carrie Peyton Dahlberg -- Bee Staff Writers Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 3, 2006
In the time it took to bait a fishing line, Robbie Baker was gone.
Maybe he slipped, or maybe he dove in trying to save his best friend. Either way, the fun-loving Roseville teen was sucked below the surface of turbulent Rock Creek near Placerville on Monday, drowning while his father paused for just a moment to fasten a lure on his pole.
"It was only three or four minutes and it was all done, it was all over," said Rob Baker, who had scrambled for yards along the creek bank searching for his only child. All he found was a floating shoe.
A bumper season of Sierra snow piles are now melting into ice-cold rivers and rushing to the Valley floor, swift waters that even a healthy 17-year-old boy cannot survive.
Snow in the Sierra Nevada has accumulated up to 150 percent of what California needs for its water supply. Now that abundance is filling reservoirs, forcing water managers to open dam gates.
Waterways could be especially deadly beyond spring and well into summer. The open dam gates are sending as much as four times the normal amount of water downstream.
Not only is the water fast, it's bone-chilling.
"This is the coldest water you're going to get," said Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The normal flow on the American River below Folsom Dam is about 4,000 cubic feet per second.
On Tuesday the flow reached 12,600 cubic feet per second, McCracken said. (A cubic foot is roughly the size of a basketball. In this measure, that many basketballs would flow past a point in one second.)
At Shasta Dam, the Sacramento River normally flows at 8,000 cubic feet per second. On Tuesday it was up to 10,000. And Oroville Dam, on the Feather River, normally trickles at 1,700 cubic feet per second but reached up to 17,000.
"What that means is there is going to be a lot of very high, very cold, very fast water that will continue into summer," McCracken said.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Jane Jacob’s Legacy
In this story from today’s Wall Street Journal we have, not only a tribute to the thought of Jane Jacobs, who passed away last week, but an excellent analysis of current urban planning efforts in many areas of the country and much relates to what we are seeing in our area, of particular relevance to the Parkway and other urban space in the region.
Jane Jacobs, without formal training as a planner, remains one of the more original thinkers about American planning, and an authentic voice for common sense and community congruence, with a particular fondness for the energy and creativity exhibited by small town control over their own destiny; just like Sacramento County is now witnessing in the explosion of new cities already formed and more on the way.
Here is an excerpt.
What Jane Jacobs Really Saw
Today's urban planners falsely claim her legacy.
BY LEONARD GILROY Tuesday, May 2, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
Legendary author and urban theorist Jane Jacobs passed away last week at the age of 89. Her classic 1961 book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," delivered a damning indictment of postwar city planning and urban renewal efforts, revolutionizing the way we think about and plan our cities.
A working mother with no formal education in urban planning, Jacobs became an icon in the 1960s when she mobilized citizens to fight the redevelopment and highway-construction plans of New York City planning czar Robert Moses, who wielded almost unchecked power over the city's urban development during the mid-20th century. She famously led the effort that defeated Moses' plan to build an expressway through Manhattan's Washington Square Park and West Village, which would have displaced nearly 10,000 residents and workers and destroyed thousands of historic buildings. Given urban planners' almost universal reverence for Jacobs, it is ironic that many have largely ignored or misinterpreted the central lesson of "Death and Life"--that cities are vibrant living systems, not the product of grand, utopian schemes concocted by overzealous planners.
Modern planners have contorted Jacobs's beliefs in hopes of imposing their static, end-state vision of a city. They use a set of highly prescriptive policy tools--like urban growth boundaries, smart growth, and high-density development built around light-rail transit systems--to design the city they envision. They try to "create" livable cities from the ground up and micromanage urban form through regulation. We've seen these tools at work in Portland, Ore., for more than three decades. But the results have been dismal and dramatic. The city's "smart growth" policies effectively created a land shortage, constricting the housing supply and artificially inflating prices. By 1999, Portland had become one of the 10 least affordable housing markets in the nation, and its homeownership rate lagged behind the national average. It has also seen one of the nation's largest increases in traffic congestion and boasts a costly, heavily subsidized light-rail system that accounts for just 1% of the city's total travel. Not exactly how they planned it.
That's because these planning trends run completely counter to Jacobs's vision of cities as dynamic economic engines that thrive on private initiative, trial and error, incremental change, and human and economic diversity. Jacobs believed the most organic and healthy communities are diverse, messy and arise out of spontaneous order, not from a scheme that tries to dictate how people should live and how neighborhoods should look.
She felt it was foolish to focus on how cities look rather than how they function as economic laboratories. "The main responsibility of city planning and design should be to develop--insofar as public policy and action can do so--cities that are congenial places for [a] great range of unofficial plans, ideas and opportunities to flourish," Jacobs wrote.
Sadly, many in the Smart Growth and New Urbanism movements cite Jacobs as the inspiration for their efforts to combat so-called "urban sprawl" and make over suburbia with dense, walkable downtowns, mixed-use development, and varied building styles. While Jacobs identified these as organic elements of successful cities, planners have eagerly tried to impose them on cities in formulaic fashion, regardless of their contextual appropriateness and compatibility with the underlying economic order. In short, they've taken Jacobs's observations of what makes cities work and tried to formalize them into an authoritarian recipe for policy intervention.
As Jacobs opined in a 2001 Reason magazine interview, "the New Urbanists want to have lively centers in the places that they develop. . . . And yet, from what I've seen of their plans and the places they have built, they don't seem to have a sense of the anatomy of these hearts, these centers. They've placed them as if they were shopping centers. They don't connect."
Jane Jacobs, without formal training as a planner, remains one of the more original thinkers about American planning, and an authentic voice for common sense and community congruence, with a particular fondness for the energy and creativity exhibited by small town control over their own destiny; just like Sacramento County is now witnessing in the explosion of new cities already formed and more on the way.
Here is an excerpt.
What Jane Jacobs Really Saw
Today's urban planners falsely claim her legacy.
BY LEONARD GILROY Tuesday, May 2, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
Legendary author and urban theorist Jane Jacobs passed away last week at the age of 89. Her classic 1961 book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," delivered a damning indictment of postwar city planning and urban renewal efforts, revolutionizing the way we think about and plan our cities.
A working mother with no formal education in urban planning, Jacobs became an icon in the 1960s when she mobilized citizens to fight the redevelopment and highway-construction plans of New York City planning czar Robert Moses, who wielded almost unchecked power over the city's urban development during the mid-20th century. She famously led the effort that defeated Moses' plan to build an expressway through Manhattan's Washington Square Park and West Village, which would have displaced nearly 10,000 residents and workers and destroyed thousands of historic buildings. Given urban planners' almost universal reverence for Jacobs, it is ironic that many have largely ignored or misinterpreted the central lesson of "Death and Life"--that cities are vibrant living systems, not the product of grand, utopian schemes concocted by overzealous planners.
Modern planners have contorted Jacobs's beliefs in hopes of imposing their static, end-state vision of a city. They use a set of highly prescriptive policy tools--like urban growth boundaries, smart growth, and high-density development built around light-rail transit systems--to design the city they envision. They try to "create" livable cities from the ground up and micromanage urban form through regulation. We've seen these tools at work in Portland, Ore., for more than three decades. But the results have been dismal and dramatic. The city's "smart growth" policies effectively created a land shortage, constricting the housing supply and artificially inflating prices. By 1999, Portland had become one of the 10 least affordable housing markets in the nation, and its homeownership rate lagged behind the national average. It has also seen one of the nation's largest increases in traffic congestion and boasts a costly, heavily subsidized light-rail system that accounts for just 1% of the city's total travel. Not exactly how they planned it.
That's because these planning trends run completely counter to Jacobs's vision of cities as dynamic economic engines that thrive on private initiative, trial and error, incremental change, and human and economic diversity. Jacobs believed the most organic and healthy communities are diverse, messy and arise out of spontaneous order, not from a scheme that tries to dictate how people should live and how neighborhoods should look.
She felt it was foolish to focus on how cities look rather than how they function as economic laboratories. "The main responsibility of city planning and design should be to develop--insofar as public policy and action can do so--cities that are congenial places for [a] great range of unofficial plans, ideas and opportunities to flourish," Jacobs wrote.
Sadly, many in the Smart Growth and New Urbanism movements cite Jacobs as the inspiration for their efforts to combat so-called "urban sprawl" and make over suburbia with dense, walkable downtowns, mixed-use development, and varied building styles. While Jacobs identified these as organic elements of successful cities, planners have eagerly tried to impose them on cities in formulaic fashion, regardless of their contextual appropriateness and compatibility with the underlying economic order. In short, they've taken Jacobs's observations of what makes cities work and tried to formalize them into an authoritarian recipe for policy intervention.
As Jacobs opined in a 2001 Reason magazine interview, "the New Urbanists want to have lively centers in the places that they develop. . . . And yet, from what I've seen of their plans and the places they have built, they don't seem to have a sense of the anatomy of these hearts, these centers. They've placed them as if they were shopping centers. They don't connect."
Metro Chamber in Washington
As this story from today’s Bee notes, this Spring’s annual trip to Washington DC set an attendance record, sparked in some part we suspect, by the imminent threat of Sacramento flooding, and the need to get the long-simmering discussion around the proper response to that issue, off the ground and into policy implementation mode.
Here is an excerpt.
Capital chamber lobbies in D.C.
Flood projects top list; funds also sought for depot transit center.
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington BureauPublished 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, May 2, 2006
WASHINGTON - More than 400 members of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce descended on Washington on Monday to lobby Congress and the Bush administration on regional needs ranging from flood control and transportation to education and the arts.
Linda Cutler, vice president of GenCorp and chairwoman of the 36th annual Cap-to-Cap - or Capitol to Capitol - said the lobbying trip set a record for attendance - 416 members in 12 policy teams lobbying on 70 separate issues with 230 scheduled appointments.
This year, securing money for flood protection is the chamber's top priority. But Cutler said transportation improvements and cutting regulatory barriers to development remain high priorities.
Here is an excerpt.
Capital chamber lobbies in D.C.
Flood projects top list; funds also sought for depot transit center.
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington BureauPublished 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, May 2, 2006
WASHINGTON - More than 400 members of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce descended on Washington on Monday to lobby Congress and the Bush administration on regional needs ranging from flood control and transportation to education and the arts.
Linda Cutler, vice president of GenCorp and chairwoman of the 36th annual Cap-to-Cap - or Capitol to Capitol - said the lobbying trip set a record for attendance - 416 members in 12 policy teams lobbying on 70 separate issues with 230 scheduled appointments.
This year, securing money for flood protection is the chamber's top priority. But Cutler said transportation improvements and cutting regulatory barriers to development remain high priorities.
American River Dam on Congressional To-Do List?
In this story from today’s Bee the changing attitude towards resolving the flood problem for Sacramento emerges more clearly as national congressional leadership, with an understanding of basic physics (you stop uncontrollable water by plugging the flow), reminds the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Capitol-to-Capitol trip of that fact.
The chamber, officially in support of the Auburn Dam on the American River, will soon return with ideas and plans gained from their annual spring trip to Washington, and we hope it will include this central concept as part of the long-term strategy, while embracing levee strengthening, spillway enhancement and the raising of Folsom Dam as short-term ones.
Here is an excerpt.
Sacramento Chamber hears pitch for dams
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington BureauPublished 2:00 pm PDT Monday, May 1, 2006
Editor's Note: The headline of this article has been changed to more accurately reflect the remarks of Rep. Jerry Lewis.
WASHINGTON -- The Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce had come to Washington to lobby for levee repairs.
What they got Monday instead was an earful from key Republicans who were pushing their own plan for flood protection - a new Auburn dam.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, never mentioned the Auburn dam by name in his luncheon remarks to the chamber's 416 delegates taking part in the annual Cap to Cap - or Capitol to Capitol - lobbying trip to Washington.
But Lewis said the Sacramento region is at a crossroads in long-range flood prevention, and that "we can get cheaper and longer range flood protection by building dams."
Lewis was invited to give the luncheon address by Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, the leading congressional champion of an Auburn dam, who candidly acknowledged that he is trying to stir debate within the chamber over the dam's construction. Dam supporters so far include only a smattering of Republicans, albeit some in powerful committee positions like the one Lewis holds.
"In the past, Auburn was not really considered by this group," Doolittle said.
But John Lambeth, a real estate attorney serving as chair of the chamber's 80-member flood and water lobbying team, said the six-county business organization is still officially on record in support of an Auburn dam even though its construction is not part of the current agenda.
The chamber, officially in support of the Auburn Dam on the American River, will soon return with ideas and plans gained from their annual spring trip to Washington, and we hope it will include this central concept as part of the long-term strategy, while embracing levee strengthening, spillway enhancement and the raising of Folsom Dam as short-term ones.
Here is an excerpt.
Sacramento Chamber hears pitch for dams
By David Whitney -- Bee Washington BureauPublished 2:00 pm PDT Monday, May 1, 2006
Editor's Note: The headline of this article has been changed to more accurately reflect the remarks of Rep. Jerry Lewis.
WASHINGTON -- The Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce had come to Washington to lobby for levee repairs.
What they got Monday instead was an earful from key Republicans who were pushing their own plan for flood protection - a new Auburn dam.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, never mentioned the Auburn dam by name in his luncheon remarks to the chamber's 416 delegates taking part in the annual Cap to Cap - or Capitol to Capitol - lobbying trip to Washington.
But Lewis said the Sacramento region is at a crossroads in long-range flood prevention, and that "we can get cheaper and longer range flood protection by building dams."
Lewis was invited to give the luncheon address by Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, the leading congressional champion of an Auburn dam, who candidly acknowledged that he is trying to stir debate within the chamber over the dam's construction. Dam supporters so far include only a smattering of Republicans, albeit some in powerful committee positions like the one Lewis holds.
"In the past, Auburn was not really considered by this group," Doolittle said.
But John Lambeth, a real estate attorney serving as chair of the chamber's 80-member flood and water lobbying team, said the six-county business organization is still officially on record in support of an Auburn dam even though its construction is not part of the current agenda.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Salmon, Farmed and Wild
In this story from MSNBC in January of 2004, we learn about the pollutant problem facing farmed salmon, which provides a large part of the salmon eaten in the world, especially in Europe but becoming more prevalent in the United States, grounding the vital importance of protecting our wild salmon as a previous post noted.
Fortunately, most of the farm salmon consumed in the United States comes from Chile, as this report notes, and has pollutant levels lower than those consumed in Europe and closer to that found in wild salmon.
Here is an excerpt.
Study: More pollutants in farmed salmon than wild U.S. market less affected than Europe
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 2:54 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2004
Salmon raised in sea pens, particularly Atlantic salmon farmed in Europe, contain significantly more dioxins and other potentially cancer-causing pollutants than do salmon caught in the wild, according to a major study that tested samples from around the world.
Some health experts urged consumers not to panic, noting that levels were still far below health standards. And one of the study's authors emphasized that consumers should continue to eat plenty of fish but might want to avoid farmed salmon.
In their study released Thursday in the journal Science, the authors tied the chemical levels to fish food used in sea pens. Fish food is typically made from concentrated oil from other fish that absorbed chemicals in their fat during their lifetime. Wild salmon, on the other hand, have a more varied diet.
Eating more than one meal of farm-raised salmon per month, depending on its country of origin, could slightly increase the risk of getting cancer later in life, the researchers concluded.
The researchers urged that farmers change fish feed and that salmon be clearly labeled to indicate whether it is farmed or wild so consumers can make informed choices about which fish to eat.
But the Food and Drug Administration said the levels of pollutants found in salmon are too low for serious concern. The agency urged Americans not to let the new research frighten them into a diet change.
U.S. markets rely on Chile
The debate is sure to confuse consumers, who long have been told to eat fish at least twice a week because it helps prevent heart disease. Indeed, salmon is usually listed as a top choice because it is particularly high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and low in a completely different seafood contaminant, mercury.
Moreover, most farm-raised salmon sold in the United States is domestic or comes from Chile — where the pollutant level was not too much higher than that found in some wild-caught salmon.
Fortunately, most of the farm salmon consumed in the United States comes from Chile, as this report notes, and has pollutant levels lower than those consumed in Europe and closer to that found in wild salmon.
Here is an excerpt.
Study: More pollutants in farmed salmon than wild U.S. market less affected than Europe
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 2:54 p.m. ET Jan. 8, 2004
Salmon raised in sea pens, particularly Atlantic salmon farmed in Europe, contain significantly more dioxins and other potentially cancer-causing pollutants than do salmon caught in the wild, according to a major study that tested samples from around the world.
Some health experts urged consumers not to panic, noting that levels were still far below health standards. And one of the study's authors emphasized that consumers should continue to eat plenty of fish but might want to avoid farmed salmon.
In their study released Thursday in the journal Science, the authors tied the chemical levels to fish food used in sea pens. Fish food is typically made from concentrated oil from other fish that absorbed chemicals in their fat during their lifetime. Wild salmon, on the other hand, have a more varied diet.
Eating more than one meal of farm-raised salmon per month, depending on its country of origin, could slightly increase the risk of getting cancer later in life, the researchers concluded.
The researchers urged that farmers change fish feed and that salmon be clearly labeled to indicate whether it is farmed or wild so consumers can make informed choices about which fish to eat.
But the Food and Drug Administration said the levels of pollutants found in salmon are too low for serious concern. The agency urged Americans not to let the new research frighten them into a diet change.
U.S. markets rely on Chile
The debate is sure to confuse consumers, who long have been told to eat fish at least twice a week because it helps prevent heart disease. Indeed, salmon is usually listed as a top choice because it is particularly high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and low in a completely different seafood contaminant, mercury.
Moreover, most farm-raised salmon sold in the United States is domestic or comes from Chile — where the pollutant level was not too much higher than that found in some wild-caught salmon.
Klamath Salmon Run, Part Two
In this story from today’s Bee we learn that the salmon season begins today, but will be curtailed.
This is of concern as, a related post today indicates, a large part of the world’s salmon is farm raised and has been found to be more polluted with chemicals that wild salmon, making the protection of the wild salmon an important human health issue in addition to the environmental issue of protecting an ancient and important part of the natural aquatic world.
Here is an excerpt.
Shorter salmon season begins
By Matt Weiser -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, May 1, 2006
Commercial salmon fishermen in California are going to work today, marking a bittersweet end to months of brinkmanship between the fishing industry and federal officials.
May 1 marks the traditional opening of commercial salmon season on the Pacific Coast, a $150 million industry. But the National Marine Fisheries Service earlier this year proposed closing the season, along 700 miles of Oregon and California coast, to protect dwindling Klamath River chinook salmon.
On Friday, however, the service approved a severely curtailed season that starts today. In doing so, it adopted a proposal by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council from its April meeting in Sacramento.
All parties hope the limited season allows the industry to survive while Klamath River chinook recover from decades of water diversions and poor water quality.
But it will be a difficult year for fishermen: The season represents only about 40 percent of the usual commercial salmon harvest.
"I'm glad they approved it, but right now, we're not very happy," said Larry Miyamura, a salmon fisherman who lives in Sacramento. "It's really going to be tough on some of us."
The reduced season helps ensure more Klamath fish return to spawn this fall. But it also reduces access to salmon species that are abundant, including Sacramento River chinook.
"We are acutely aware of the impact this rule has on fishermen and coastal communities but feel this is a necessary step to ensure the long-term health of the salmon fishery," Rod McInnis, fisheries service regional director, said in a statement.
This is of concern as, a related post today indicates, a large part of the world’s salmon is farm raised and has been found to be more polluted with chemicals that wild salmon, making the protection of the wild salmon an important human health issue in addition to the environmental issue of protecting an ancient and important part of the natural aquatic world.
Here is an excerpt.
Shorter salmon season begins
By Matt Weiser -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, May 1, 2006
Commercial salmon fishermen in California are going to work today, marking a bittersweet end to months of brinkmanship between the fishing industry and federal officials.
May 1 marks the traditional opening of commercial salmon season on the Pacific Coast, a $150 million industry. But the National Marine Fisheries Service earlier this year proposed closing the season, along 700 miles of Oregon and California coast, to protect dwindling Klamath River chinook salmon.
On Friday, however, the service approved a severely curtailed season that starts today. In doing so, it adopted a proposal by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council from its April meeting in Sacramento.
All parties hope the limited season allows the industry to survive while Klamath River chinook recover from decades of water diversions and poor water quality.
But it will be a difficult year for fishermen: The season represents only about 40 percent of the usual commercial salmon harvest.
"I'm glad they approved it, but right now, we're not very happy," said Larry Miyamura, a salmon fisherman who lives in Sacramento. "It's really going to be tough on some of us."
The reduced season helps ensure more Klamath fish return to spawn this fall. But it also reduces access to salmon species that are abundant, including Sacramento River chinook.
"We are acutely aware of the impact this rule has on fishermen and coastal communities but feel this is a necessary step to ensure the long-term health of the salmon fishery," Rod McInnis, fisheries service regional director, said in a statement.
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