[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the defeat of Proposition 93,which would have extended term limits for state legislators, will proveto be an unfortunate distraction from addressing the budget crisis and other issues facing the state. Jockeying over who will succeedlame-duck leaders in the Assembly and the Senate began as soon as 53%of voters rejected the measure.

The Sac Bee, nevertheless, is excited about the prospect of the first Senate President Pro Tem from Sacramento in over a century, should frontrunner Sen. Darrell Steinberg gain the position. A “nice guy” who’ll fix the levees sounds like a win-win for Sac.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

Why are we so anxious to get a strong flood policy package signed into law this year? Check out these startling flood factoids about the risks that California faces!

Part IV: Flood by the numbers

1: Ranking of Sacramento’s flood risk compared to other metropolitan areas in the U.S.

1 in 4: Chances of a home in a 100 year floodplain flooding within the term of a 30 year mortgage.

High: Rating of the flood risk at the main PCL Office (1107 9th St., Sacramento, CA 95814).

2600: Miles of levees in the Central Valley

1600: Miles of levees for which the State and California taxpayers hold financial liability. (California taxpayers are liable for any damages resulting from failure of State owned levees. In 2005, taxpayers paid $500 million in damages resulting from a 1986 levee failure in rural Northern California)