Pave it

May 28, 2023

Things look good on new sections of the Sacramento River levee. The roadbed gravel is neat and smooth, baking in the summer heat. But wait until winter. Things get ugly when rains come.

I have an idea how much money it costs to repair the levees and bolster them with slurry walls. It’s a big number. The project, which has taken about three years and isn’t finished, carries a price tag of $1.8 billion, paid by taxpayers. Who can bring context to that much money?

People visit the levee to inspect their investment. They walk along the new gravel roadbed and enjoy the views. Sometimes they see new damage, months after Army Corps of Engineers contractors finished another section of seepage walls and levee rehabilitation.

Runway To Safety

Apr 28, 2023

Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move, placing the city’s public safety headquarters at the end of a deadly Executive Airport runway, in a building where a jet crashed and killed 22 people. But so far, so good. The police and fire headquarters survived two decades without incident.

Now Gerald Thomas, a thoughtful Inside Sacramento reader, thinks the runway, known as 12/30 in aviation vernacular, can perform a lifesaving role. With minimal fuss, the runway can transform into an escape route for thousands of residents fleeing high waters from a levee failure.