In CA, billions for high speed rail and illegal aliens, nothing for Oroville Dam

Rick Moran   "The massive evacuation of the area surrounding California's Oroville Dam would not have been necessary if state officials had heeded the warnings of experts a decade ago.

But defenders of Governor Brown claim that fixing the emergency spillway that is now threatening to collapse and cause catastrophic flooding was never a priority and the massive rainfall that has led to the crisis could not have been forseen.

  

"That may be true. But it is also a fact that the state spent billions for the $100 billion high speed rail system and billions more were spent on caring for illegal aliens. A tiny fraction of that spending - $200 million - could have been used to shore up the dam and avoid what could be the most serious flooding in modern California history.

"Washington Times:

In 2005, advocacy groups led by Friends of the River urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order the state to reinforce the dam’s earthen walls with concrete, citing the erosion risk, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
The agency rejected the request on the recommendation of the state Department of Water Resources and local water agencies, which would have been on the hook for improvements that could have cost as much as $100 million.