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OPINION: All-Out Effort To Get Twin Tunnels Passed Must Be Stopped

Gov. Jerry Brown’s cheerleading squad was in high-spirits recently with the latest news that his twin tunnels project in the Delta inched a step closer to reality. The state Department of Water Resources gave its approval to the tunnels by certifying the environmental reviews for the project. Really, what did you expect? The DWR answers to Brown and Brown wants to build those four-story tunnels to funnel north state water from the Sacramento River, under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, to farmers and cities in the south.

Emergency Repairs Begin Along Feather River Downstream Of Oroville Dam

Construction is now underway along the Feather River Parkway where nearly 3 miles of levees need emergency repairs. “We saw some alarming distress. So, this was deemed a critical repair project,” Sutter Butte Flood Control Executive Director Mike Inamine said. The repairs will include filling sinkholes and boils. Water seepage was evident on the levees after increased water was released from the Oroville Dam spillways in February and into Feather River. Officials said the levee damage posed a direct threat to Yuba City and Sutter County.

Government Claim Filed Against Department Of Water Resources For Damages From Spillway Flooding

On August 2,2017, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, a law firm specializing in mass damages, submitted a Government Claim Form to the State of California, Department of General Services, on behalf of JEM Farms and Chandon Ranch. JEM Farms and Chandon Ranch operate a walnut farm on approximately 2,000 acres in Butte County. The farm runs on the East and West sides of the Feather River, downstream from the Oroville Dam spillway.

VOSD Podcast: The Big SANDAG Report Came Out and Wowzer

The investigation of the San Diego Association of Governments that came out this week is a doozy. On this week’s podcast, hosts Andrew Keatts and Scott Lewis read excerpts from the independent investigation of the regional transportation agency and break down its most shocking findings. The investigation of SANDAG was spurred by a series of stories by Keatts, who found that the agency knowingly misled voters by using a flawed economic forecasting model.

Agencies Develop Plan to Take Advantage of Snow Levels and Refill OC Basin

The Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) is facilitating a water agreement that will bring surplus snowmelt and storm runoff from Northern California to Orange County and give the Groundwater Basin a chance to rebound from historic lows after the drought. Known as a cyclic storage agreement, the arrangement between MWDOC, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and Orange County Water District (OCWD) will recharge the Basin to its highest level since 2007 and ensure the Orange County Basin is healthy enough to stave off another drought.

Metropolitan Water District Has Paid Almost $88M to Get Out of Risky Swap Deals

The agency that supplies water to most of Southern California has paid tens of millions of dollars since 2008 to exit risky and complex financial deals it made before the Great Recession hit. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California entered two dozen interest-rate swap deals, which, in a convoluted way, aimed to stabilize debt interest rates, but amount to bets on the way interest rates will go. If interest rates move one direction, the swap becomes an asset. If they move the other direction, it becomes a liability.