Monthly Archives: February 2017

Officials in Northern California said Wednesday they are making "great progress" on repairs to the damaged spillways of the nation's tallest dam before new storms hit the area in the next couple of days.

Bill Croyle, the acting director of the California Department of Water Resources, said the lake behind the Oroville Dam continues to drain rapidly, and has dropped nearly 20 feet since overflowing into an emergency spillway Sunday when it reached full capacity.

"We want to keep that rate of release up as we continue to move out of the reservoir to handle wet weather," Croyle said at a news conference.

A series of storms expected Wednesday and later in the week are expected to be smaller than previous ones that filled the reservoir to capacity, according to Croyle. The damaged main spillway "has been stable for a number of days," Croyle said.

Croyle said crews "are still removing more water from the reservoir than we would receive from the storm system coming in."

National Weather Service forecaster Tom Dang told the Associated Press the first two storms were expected to be light. The first could bring 2-3 inches of rain Wednesday followed by an even smaller accumulation from the second storm.

However, the third storm, starting as early as Monday, could be powerful, according to Dang. "There a potential for several inches," he told the AP. "It will be very wet."

The sheriff of Butte County, Kory Honea, reminded residents that while the risk level was reduced to let people back into the area, "this is still an emergency situation."

Honea said that the nearly 200,000 residents allowed to return home should use the time this week before the next set of storms to fully prepare in case another evaluation is needed.

The initial evacuation Sunday was "chaotic," Honea acknowledged.

"People should start planning where they might go and how they might get there to make things more orderly," he said.

There were a number of homes in the evacuation zone that have been burglarized, but arrests have been made, according to Honea.

The sheriff also called on private drone operators to refrain from flying the devices over the dam, which can interfere with repair work.

Dump trucks and helicopters have dropped thousands of tons of rocks and sandbags over the past couple of days to shore up the dam's spillways, and avoid what officials had warned could be a catastrophic failure and flood downstream.

Croyle said teams were working on plans for permanent repairs to the dam's main spillway that could cost as much as $200 million.

Long-term repairs will likely begin after the spring runoff, when crews can close floodgates for an extended period without the lake refilling with melting snow.

President Trump ordered federal authorities to help California recover from severe January storms a disaster declaration that also assists state and local officials with the dam crisis.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Officials making 'great progress' on California dam repairs, remind residents to stay vigilant - Fox News

Forbes

Some Progress On Occupational Licensing But Much More Needed Forbes Occupational licensing, which prevents workers from entering certain occupations without government permission, has received a lot of attention over the last several years. The restrictions usually take the form of costly training requirements that ...

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Some Progress On Occupational Licensing But Much More Needed - Forbes

Markelle Fultz has missed the past two games due to a sore knee, but is expected to practice Wednesday. If all goes well, he'll likely return for Thursday's game against Arizona State.

The Washington mens basketball team needs all the help it can get to snap a seven-game losing streak and potentially gain a little momentum heading into next months Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

To that end, the health status of Markelle Fultz and Malik Dimes suspension are hot topics for a team that has metaphorically lived under dark and rainy clouds all season.

The news from Lorenzo Romars press conference on Wednesday was somewhat encouraging for Fultz, who returned to practice and is listed as questionable for Thursday after missing the previous two games.

Meanwhile, Dime wont play in the 8 p.m. encounter against Arizona State (12-14, 5-8 Pac-12) at Alaska Airlines Arena and will miss his second straight game due to a suspension.

The 6-foot-9 senior center was suspended by Washington following an off-court incident in which he slapped a Colorado student heckler at halftime during UWs 81-66 loss on Feb. 9.

Before the suspension, Dime missed the previous nine games due to a broken pinkie. He sat out UWs 85-61 loss at Utah last Saturday.

Dime has been medically cleared to play, but its unclear if or when hell return this season.

Were still evaluating everything completely, Romar said. So well see. To be determined.

Futlzs status for Thursday depends largely on how he performed during Wednesdays practice and if he has any lingering issues with a sore right knee that caused him to miss two games last week.

The 6-5 freshman guard had been limited in practice, but participated in 5-on-5 workouts for the first time in days.

Hes progressing, Romar said. Hes doing a little more. Still day to day, but hes been doing a little bit with us and hell do a little bit more. Hell still be a pretty much game-time decision.

Each day is different with it. If he continues to make progress, were probably more optimistic than pessimistic.

Fultz, who averages 23.2 points, is on pace to finish with the highest scoring average in the Pac-12 since former California star Ed Gray averaged 24.8 in 1996-97.

Given Fultzs promising future, hes projected to be the No. 1 pick in this summers NBA draft, its fair to wonder if UWs dismal season has any impact on his return.

He has not been allowed to play, Romar said. Youve got to hold him back from wanting to play. If youre playing H-O-R-S-E, if youre playing on the playground, if youre playing on an 8-foot rim, he wants to play. But he was held back from playing.

Where were at in the season has nothing to do with if hes playing or not.

Washington (9-16, 2-13) will finish the regular season with a losing record. If the Huskies fail to capture another win, then theyll have the fewest victories since 1993-94 when they were 5-22 during Bob Benders first year.

Barring a win before the conference tourney, UW would have its fewest league wins since 1960.

Without Fultz, the Huskies were outscored by an average of 19.5 points last week.

Subconsciously, you go out there without your leading scorer and leading (player in assists) and leading playmaker and youre not playing with a full deck, Romar said. But I didnt think we went out there not believing we could win when we were in Colorado and Utah.

Even with Fultz, Washington has obviously struggled.

He had one of his best outings of the season 28 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the first game against Arizona State and UW still lost 86-75 on Jan. 25 in Tempe, Ariz.

He loves to play basketball, Romar said when asked how Fultz is dealing with distractions. He cant wait to get on the court. When hes on the court, its his playground. So not a whole lot is going to distract him. He loves the game too much.

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UW coach Lorenzo Romar: Markelle Fultz making progress but still not cleared to play - The Seattle Times

SHA-1 End Times Have Arrived

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Google Touts Progress in Android Security in 2016 - Threatpost

Jose Mourinho has spoken about United's packed fixture list and Paul Pogba facing his brother, who plays for Saint-Etienne.

Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United will end up "in trouble'' if they continue to fight on all fronts.

Thursday's Europa League round-of-32 first leg against St Etienne kicks off a frantic 11-day period for United as the second leg in France comes after an FA Cup tie at Blackburn and is followed by the EFL Cup final against Southampton.

There will be little let-up if United emerge victorious from that run of matches as more fixtures would leave them with a packed schedule.

Mourinho believes balancing domestic and European commitments will stretch his squad and ultimately hamper their chances of success, though he is not allowing them to take their foot off the gas.

"We cannot choose the competitions at Manchester United,'' he told a news conference. "We know that our situation is really complicated. We know that the Europa League is also a competition where we play on Thursdays and that makes it even more difficult for us.

"The accumulation of FA Cup, League Cup, match postponements is really hard for us. If we progress in the competitions, we will be in trouble in April and May. But we cannot choose competitions, so we play them to win.

"I think it's also a good way to give the team experience and international experience is always a plus. Europa League is not a competition we want to play, but it's a competition we play and we respect it.''

Mourinho is desperate to return United to the Champions League, but believes qualification through the Premier League will be harder to secure than for other teams as cup progress will "create many, many problems."

"We know that it's going to be very difficult,'' Mourinho said, with just four points separating sixth-placed United and second-placed Manchester City. "We know obviously it can have an impact in the Premier League because we are competing against teams in other circumstances.

"For example, Liverpool play only in the Premier League, Chelsea in the Premier League and the FA Cup. We have still Tottenham in a similar situation as us, but we want to progress. That's the point.

"We prefer difficult but progressing to easy and being knocked out of the competitions. We will go seriously tomorrow and seriously against Blackburn on Sunday.''

Luke Shaw will be hoping to be involved at Ewood Park having been overlooked for Thursday's match, while Phil Jones, out with a foot complaint, will want to face his former club.

Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick will not be risked against St Etienne, but Mourinho plans to name a strong side.

Thursday's match pits United midfielder Paul Pogba against his older brother Florentin, leaving the Pogba family hoping for a draw.

"We spoke in a good way, a funny way,'' Mourinho said of Paul. "I think it is a good, nice destiny. I think only mum Pogba is a little bit in trouble, which is normal. It's difficult for the lady to choose -- it's not difficult, it's impossible.

"I know from Paul that the mum wants a draw, but next week one son will be happy and another one will be sad. But I think for the mum it's a bit of a problem, but they will enjoy playing against each other. Paul is excited, Florentin for sure the same. I think it's a good thing.''

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Man United's Jose Mourinho: Progress in cups will create 'many problems' - ESPN FC

MOUNT VERNON Clean Samish Initiative partners discussed Tuesday the progress thats been made on improving water quality in the Samish watershed.

Still, officials said more work remains.

They also said they are hopeful that Samish Bay can be upgraded to allow for shellfish harvesting this year.

Story continues below video

The Clean Samish Initiative is a group of organizations working to find and fix sources of fecal coliform pollution in the Samish watershed.

Fecal coliform is a bacteria associated with human and animal feces. It can be accompanied by other bacteria that can make people sick, particularly if they consume contaminated shellfish.

When the Samish River carries fecal coliform into Samish Bay, shellfish growers are impacted by harvest closures.

Because the bacteria has been a problem in the watershed for several years and high concentrations of the bacteria are more common when the river swells with rain, shellfish harvesting is also closed as a precaution when the river reaches a certain flow.

The state Department of Health evaluates water quality March through June to determine whether the bay qualifies for an upgrade. If pollution does not exceed state limits for shellfish harvesting more than once, the bay may be upgraded.

An upgrade would mean no more harvest closures based on river rise alone.

Skagit County Public Works Director Dan Berentson said upgrading the 4,400 acres of shellfish beds in Samish Bay would help the state reach its goal of upgrading 10,800 acres by 2020.

Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen said he hopes the watershed will be upgraded this year.

Because of a dry spring in 2016, the Department of Health did not have enough information to support an upgrade.

Since the Clean Samish Initiative formed in 2009, the group has identified livestock management and septic system maintenance issues, and has worked with landowners to remedy problems.

Skagit Conservation District Director Carolyn Kelly said she has seen land use evolve over the more than 30 years she has been working on water quality in the watershed.

While the original focus for water quality programs was largely on dairy farms in the area, there are now fewer dairy farms and more rural landowners, she said. Working in partnership with landowners instead of penalizing them has been key to progress.

Over the time we have been addressing problems, I think water quality has improved so much and it has really been a community effort, Kelly said.

Oscar Lagerlund, an area dairy farmer who has provided insight for initiative partners, reiterated that the groups work is not complete.

Dont stop plowing until you get the field done. Were not done yet, he said.

Initiative partners continue to look for pollution sources.

Its not just farmers and its not just septics ... were not pointing the finger at anyone, Wesen said.

On Tuesday, the commissioners brainstormed ways to keep the lines of communication open with area landowners, such as with regular reminders about septic inspections or education programs to get kids involved.

I think continually educating and informing is effective, commissioner Ken Dahlstedt said.

He said most landowners want to do the right thing, but that its easy to forget about something such as a septic system, which he said can be out of sight, out of mind.

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Clean Samish Initiative partners discuss progress - goskagit.com

Evansville and Southwest Indiana continue to make strides in making the state of Indiana a magnet for business and opportunity and that was one of the major talking points today at the Indiana State Capital.

Members from Southwest Indiana's Regional Cities Initiative, including Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, gathered with leaders from other regional areas of the state.

Consider it a statewide progress report.

Indiana Governor, Eric Holcomb, opened the celebration by saying, "So today we celebrate the progress of the three regions which you will hear from now."

Three regions, all reporting where they stand with $42 million each in matching funds to support their region's development.

"It's really important for the legislators to hear positive reinforcement on the Regional Cities bill that they passed two years ago," says Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke.

A five member board of Indiana's Southwest Region has put together a 3 year plan with at least 14 projects in motion to strengthen Gibson, Warrick, Posey, and Vanderburgh Counties.

President of the Southwest Indiana Region, Beth McFadin Higgins, says, "The projects have to be ready to go, well vetted, they have to be well funded. So we won't approve something that does not have their funding really down and secured."

Southwest Indiana's progress report shows six projects out of 14 approved -- with a total planned investment of over $920 million.

"We anticipate that an additional 70,000 people will move to Indiana's great Southwest," says McFadin Higgins.

Meanwhile, Mayor Winnecke says, "It's about growing population and it's about having the workforce available to go into these jobs that we're all competing for and trying to create."

Members say the progress is positive and a good report for legislators is imperative at this time.

McFadin Higgins says, "Right now they're deciding whether or not to create a separate round of Regional Cities and so if there's no return of investment on the first round, the second round seems less likely."

"I think it's important for the legislators to know it's working," says Mayor Winnecke. "You've heard already in each region of the state that the investment of private sector money has been equal to or greater than what they projected so, it's working."

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Indiana Regional Cities Initiative Gets Progress Report - Tristatehomepage.com