Inside Pitch

Inside Pitch

Residents near the Sacramento River who want to block public access have a big advantage over the 500,000 or so people who will benefit from a new levee bike trail.

The residents have a good lawyer.

One attorney working for property owners shouldn’t matter. After all, the rest of us are represented by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, a state agency whose mission is to serve public interests.

But that’s not how it works.

Documents obtained under the California Public Records Act tell a more complex story. For the past three years, a lawyer hired by property owners near the levee built a relationship with flood board officials.

Paper Trail

Paper Trail

My friend Jim Geary and I race to see who gets danced around more by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. Jim has the lead, but I’m catching up.

For the past year, Jim and I separately asked the flood board for documents about levees and fences.

We want to know why flood board executive officer Chris Lief covertly authorized five temporary private fences to block public access on the Sacramento River levee in Pocket.

The authorizations appear to violate state law. California regulations require public hearings and votes by flood board members for any levee fence.