Floods in 1986 and 1997, as well as a levee break in 2004, costing lives and billions in damage, contributed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring a state of emergency due to the threat of major flooding in northern California and San Joaquin Valley in 2006, and current work on Folsom Dam is helping alleviate that threat. The construction of an auxiliary spillway at the Folsom Dam will provide the Sacramento region a greater level of flood protection than it has now. More specifically, it will provide a 200-year level of protection, meaning a one-in-200 chance for flooding in any given year. Friday morning, 25 state and federal workers and even a few spectators gathered at the Folsom D

It was quite the blustery day in Sacramento as winds reached over 50 mph and more than 3 inches of rain fell, according to Fox 40 News meteorologist Kristina Werner. Trees and branches fell in streets, on houses, on cars and power lines went out intermittently through the central city. Streets turned into ponds, traffic slowed making commutes much longer than usual and I-5 was a flooded mess near the boat section despite the recent work by Caltrans. It seemed there wasn't one corner of the city that the storm didn't touch. Businesses such as Temple and Lucky Lefty's (shown below) felt the effects of the storm. It's hard to believe many of us were just wearing flip flops, skirts, short

#1. WEST SAC- West Sacramento police and Davis SWAT served warrants on several locations in West Sacramento related to recent gang activity occurring in the city including the fatal shooting at the Ortega's Night Club. Two people were arrested and a medium sized marijuana grow was located during the operation. #2. SOUTH SAC- A shooting occurred in an apartment on 44th Ave near 39th St in south Sacramento. The victim was shot once in the leg and transported to Kaiser South Trauma Center. Further details were unavailable at the time. #3. SAC COUNTY- A shooting occurred at an apartment complex on Tuolumne Dr near La Riviera Dr in Sacramento County. One victim was shot in the arm while stand

Central Valley flood protection is entering a new era as work on an updated, comprehensive management plan gets underway. This month, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) officially launched a process to coordinate improving the valley's flood control efforts under the Central Valley Flood Management Planning (CVFMP) Program. The process began for the Sacramento area Wednesday, when DWR held a regional forum in West Sacramento as part of the effort to strengthen levees in the state-federal flood management system. The forum's goals were to increase understanding of the area's flood risk, raise awareness of the CVFMP Program and recruit people into the planning process. "We

I love the rain. It reminds me that we are heading toward a cozy and pleasant time of year. And it sure has rained in the last couple of days. So much so that not 50 feet from my front door, I've witnessed the first flood of the year. Admittedly that flood is just a stopped up storm drain, but it reminds me of all the floods we have had in Sacramento and makes me feel at home. Beyond the fun of a few stopped storm drains, the current weather has allowed me to test out a new service available in Sacramento, 311. This was my first call to 311 and it was by and large a great success. A chipper person answered the phone and I was able to find out that the city of Sacramento already has peopl

 R Street has been a railroad corridor for almost as long as Sacramento has been a city, but it was once part of our flood protection system. In 1854, engineer Theodore Judah planned the first railroad in California, the Sacramento Valley Railroad (SVRR), using R Street as its main line through town on its way to Folsom. However, in the 1850s, flooding was a regular occurrence in Sacramento, and our complex series of levees and street raisings was only beginning. In order to keep the new railroad line above water, a levee was needed along R Street.   The original map of Sacramento included plans for streets as far south as Y Street (now Broadway), but when the SVRR was built there were f