David H. Lukenbill comment-61304 2011-12-14T00:15:07Z 2011-12-14T00:15:07Z Sacramento is easily the most flood prone major river city in the country, but, had the initial plans to build Shasta Dam to its originally engineered height (as reported by the Los Angeles Times (archived at: http://www.watershedportal.org/news/news_html?ID=165 )and build Auburn Dam as Curmudgeon wrote, that would no longer be the case, and the inevitability of major floods in the Valley would have been substantially reduced. An excerpt from the Los Angeles Times article. “Raising Shasta Dam has been under on-again, off-again consideration for at least two decades. Some of the most detailed studies date back to the 1980s, when Don Hodel, who served as energy secretary and then Interior secretary under President Reagan, proposed the project as an alternative source of water for San Francisco if Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite National Park were knocked down. “From an engineering standpoint, it’s a piece of cake. The dam, built between 1938 and 1945, was originally planned to be 200 feet taller. At 800 feet, it would have been the highest and biggest in the world. “Sheri Harral, public affairs officer at the dam, said World War II and materials shortages associated with the war effort led to a decision to stop construction at 602 feet. “The thinking was to come back and add on to it if ever there was a need to,” Harral said. “They started looking at raising it in 1978.” “If Shasta Dam had been built up to its engineering limit in 1945, it is arguable that Northern and Central California would not be facing a critical water shortage now. “According to a 1999 Bureau of Reclamation study, a dam 200 feet taller would be able to triple storage to 13.89 million acre-feet of water. “Still, tripling the size of Shasta Lake, on paper at least, would store nine times the projected 2020 water deficit for the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Tulare Lake basins during normal water years.” David H. Lukenbill 2011-12-14T00:15:07Z David H. Lukenbill comment-57158 2011-09-13T18:14:57Z 2011-09-13T18:14:57Z Excellent article Elaine. There is too little attention given to homeless by choice, but, as you noted, it has an ancient and honorable (for those who pracitce it) pedigree. As the founding president of a parkway advocacy organization--American River Parkway Preservation Society--the issue of illegal camping in the parkway, some of it being generational, as you wrote, is one of the most difficult issues we have to deal with. David H. Lukenbill 2011-09-13T18:14:57Z David H. Lukenbill comment-57075 2011-09-12T19:13:40Z 2011-09-12T19:13:40Z Great article Davi! David H. Lukenbill 2011-09-12T19:13:40Z David H. Lukenbill comment-52998 2011-07-07T22:01:35Z 2011-07-07T22:01:35Z I agree with Ali, an awesome enhancement, good work Sacramento Press! David H. Lukenbill 2011-07-07T22:01:35Z David H. Lukenbill comment-50778 2011-05-18T17:58:36Z 2011-05-18T17:58:36Z I could not agree more!!! David H. Lukenbill 2011-05-18T17:58:36Z David H. Lukenbill comment-50635 2011-05-16T20:25:27Z 2011-05-16T20:25:27Z Unfortunately, the funding problems are probably too large for furloughs to have much of a long term impact. David H. Lukenbill 2011-05-16T20:25:27Z David H. Lukenbill comment-50634 2011-05-16T20:24:09Z 2011-05-16T20:24:09Z The nonprofits that are largely funded by government have not done so well, but those receiving most of their funding from philanthropy, have largely managed to weather the storm. David H. Lukenbill 2011-05-16T20:24:09Z David H. Lukenbill comment-48882 2011-04-07T23:56:55Z 2011-04-07T23:56:55Z The latest report on the Auburn Dam, which will answer your questions, was done for the American River Authority, and can be read at http://www.americanriverauthority.org/admin/upload/AUBURN-FOLSOM.SOUTH.UNIT.SUMMARY.REPORT.pdf David H. Lukenbill 2011-04-07T23:56:55Z David H. Lukenbill comment-44075 2011-01-21T14:38:43Z 2011-01-21T14:38:43Z A great story and back-up photos from a devoted and long-term advocate for the Parkway. Thank you Bob Slobe and Sacramento Press! David H. Lukenbill 2011-01-21T14:38:43Z David H. Lukenbill comment-15356 2009-10-12T19:37:31Z 2009-10-12T19:37:31Z You did a nice bit of work on thinking about K Street, (I particularly like the historical suggestions) but I would suggest another model. The model for downtown Sacramento should perhaps be that of what it is; a bustling state capitol of the largest state in the nation, where the preponderance of business comes from the resident state legislature, state administrative offices, and the numerous lobbyists, attorneys, association and organization professionals, and all of the other services connected to them. And we can add to the governmental mix the administrations of the city of Sacramento and Sacramento County. This necessarily imposes some restrictions as to the hours the city is occupied to any degree, but a bustling day-time and early evening city is preferable to what we now have; an uncertain downtown struggling to be something it is not nor probably can ever be, a 24 hour city…the argument underlying the “magical skyscraper fairy” (great term!) The acceptance of the strengths of our fair city—its status as the capitol and its lovely downtown and midtown grid so interestingly mixed with residential and commercial development all beautifully embraced by our two rivers—is long over-due. David H. Lukenbill, CFO & Senior Policy Director American River Parkway Preservation Society (ARPPS) Preserve, Protect, and Strengthen the American River Parkway, Our Community’s Natural Heart 2267 University Avenue Sacramento, CA 95825 Phone: 916-486-3856 Email: Dlukenbill@msn.com Weblog: http://parkwayblog.blogspot.com/ Website: http://www.arpps.org/ The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Robert Louis Stevenson David H. Lukenbill 2009-10-12T19:37:31Z