The following is the Sept. 2 edition of the Abridged by PBS KVIE Yolo County email newsletter, by reporter Daniel Hennessy and the team at Yolo Local. Want it sent directly to your inbox? Sign up here.
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Hey, it’s Daniel! Let’s dive in.
Sea level rise, torrential rain, hammerhead sharks in Southern California. I feel like I haven’t been able to get away from talk of this year’s El Niño weather pattern.
Although it’s already started, a lot of the language I see about the “super” El Niño includes words like “brewing,” “expected” or “forecast.” That’s left me thinking a lot about what our region will look like once the winter rains hit.
When a reader reached out last week with questions about delayed construction on a critical piece of the area’s flood management system, I was happy to make a few phone calls.
I learned a lot about our local flood infrastructure, much of which is located in Yolo County. I also learned that construction on the expanded Sacramento Weir has been delayed by a year, but officials say the current one is capable of handling potential flood events that come this winter.
Also, if you’re interested in fishing but haven’t wanted to buy a license, try it out on Saturday during one of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s free fishing days.
And after taking an extra couple of weeks to ensure its plan complied with state legal requirements, the Davis City Council unanimously passed changes to the city’s Downtown outdoor dining ordinance last night.
Finally, let’s talk transportation. I’m thinking bike lanes, the Causeway, buses, light rail, Amtrak, potholes, Flock cameras and really anything related to how you get to and from the places you want to go.
Abridged by PBS KVIE is having a transportation-related listening session at Tandem Coffee & Wine in East Sacramento where members of our staff will ask questions and pay close attention to your answers to help us shape how we cover this critical issue. It’s totally free, so reserve a spot and come talk to my colleagues and me!
We’ve teamed up with Yolo Local, a civic media initiative of Davis Media Access, to bring you this weekly newsletter. Here’s what you need to know today:
STORY OF THE WEEK
The century-old Sacramento Weir is expanding. When will the flood gates be ready?
Upgrades to the flood-protection system will not be finished until winter 2027.
BY DANIEL HENNESSY | dhennessy@kvie.org
In short: The Sacramento Weir is a crucial part of the region’s flood management system. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began an expansion of the weir in 2023 to increase the capacity of the century-old piece of infrastructure.
A bit more: A construction delay pushed the project back by a year, but officials said the new timeline will not increase regional flood risk heading into an El Niño winter
NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Fishing can take you to beautiful places. Try it without a license this Saturday
The data center backlash is here — and Big Tech is spending big to combat it
Streetcar from Downtown to West Sacramento will have to wait, officials say
DISPATCHES FROM THE FARM
Agriculture is a central part of life in Yolo County, so I’ll be checking in each week with a farmer, rancher or other industry player for the latest ag updates. What are the people who help produce our food thinking about?
This week, I spoke with Catherine Van Dyke, who is the director of water policy for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers.
- Catherine walked me through some of the points brought up in a report that CAFF produced in July about small farms and the push to regulate groundwater depletion through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
- SGMA was designed to address six “undesirable results” in the state’s groundwater system, including lowering groundwater levels, reduction of storage, seawater intrusion, degraded quality, land subsidence and surface water depletion.
- CAFF’s report stressed the need to include widespread loss of small farms as another “undesirable result” of both groundwater overdraft and potentially detrimental management.
- For more, take a look at the full report.
HEARING FROM YOU
This week’s lead story is all thanks to Kevin Jones, who reached out with some questions about the Sacramento Weir expansion project.
“With the reports of and prospect of a “Super El Niño” this coming winter, it would be informative for communities such as West Sacramento to be updated on this important flood control infrastructure,” he said.
Thanks for taking the time to get in touch, Kevin! Let me know if anything else comes up.
UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS
It can be hard to keep up with local government and community events, so we’ll continuously feature a few below. Have something you think we should highlight? Email me.
- The ribbon cutting for Davis’s new Community Park Skatepark is from 5:30-7 p.m. Sept. 18. The $1.2 million upgrade will open with an event that features vendors, free merchandise and music. More information can be found here.
- “Step Aboard the Netherlands Route: An Evening of River History and Steamboat Travel,” is happening at the 1883 Clarksburg Schoolhouse at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 8. Author Gordon Van Zuiden will be discussing his book about luxury steamboat cruises that once ran between Sacramento and San Francisco. More information can be found here.
- The “Glass from the Past” exhibit is on display at the Gibson House is open noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. select Saturdays. The exhibit explores how man-made glass has been used in the 19th and 20th More information can be found here.
Want to discover more events across the Sacramento region, in Yolo County and beyond? Check out Abridged by PBS KVIE’s new searchable events calendar with things to do across the four-county area.
BEFORE I GO,
Thanks for coming back (and signing up) for this newsletter. Remember: I’m accountable to you. If you read a story and think there’s an angle I’m missing, I want to hear about it! Please reach out with your feedback and know that I take it seriously.
See you around,
