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Increases in California’s gas tax and vehicle fees approved last week are expected to raise $52.4 billion over 10 years for the state’s backlog of road and bridge repairs. It is, by any measurement, a significant amount of money — Gov. Jerry Brown dubbed the proposal “a hell of a good deal” — but only about half of what the state would ultimately like to put behind large-scale improvements in the Inland Empire and beyond if the federal government is willing.

 

The Sutter County Board of Supervisors approved a letter to be sent to top California officials about concerns surrounding Oroville Dam and its spillways. The “coalition letter” is the result of a pair of meetings guided by Assemblyman James Gallagher and state Sen. Jim Nielsen in the weeks following February’s evacuations. “We convened all these different groups together and compiled all the different issues people were concerned about,” said Gallagher. “The idea was to have a united voice and have the region come together and hone in on what the issues are.”

While you sidestep the puddles and wrestle with your umbrella, be comforted by this: Northern California is going through the wettest rainy season on record. The region broke the 34-year-old record for precipitation in one year, the Department of Water Resources reported early Thursday. The eight-station index for the northern Sierra Nevada, a series of rain gauges positioned from Pacific House to the city of Mount Shasta, showed that 89.7 inches of inches have fallen since the “water year” began last fall.

California’s top water official said Thursday he’s considering releasing redacted copies of safety and progress reports at the troubled Oroville Dam after his office had tried to keep them secret because of terrorism concerns. Bill Croyle, the acting director of the Department of Water Resources, told reporters that his staff met for several hours Thursday with Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea to discuss which parts of the documents should be kept secret and which to release.