Here's your daily briefing...
Water outflows to be halted at Oroville Dam: Starting at 6:45 am Monday morning, the Department of Water Resources began gradually ramping down outflows from Oroville Reservoir in order to remove the debris pile at the spillway’s base. DWR said in a press release Sunday that the halt of outflows is in hopes to help safeguard the Hyatt Power Plant and allow for its reoperation. DWR expects water outflows to get to zero by noon Monday. DWR Acting Director, Bill Croyle, said during a live press conference Monday morning that the cease in outflows is expected to last for 5 to 7 days. He said, lake levels are currently at 838.5 feet, or 62.5 feet below the emergency spillway maximum and that projected cold temperatures and mild weather over the next week should keep inflows at a minimum while the work is taking place.
Governor Jerry Brown plans to expedite funds for state flood repairs and upgrades: Governor Jerry Brown has said he wants to rush a half-billion dollars in funding to spend on flood projects after this year’s storms. He has also called for deeper examinations of state and federal dams due to the Oroville Dam emergency spillway incident. Brown’s plan would only slightly increase the total amount of money spent on water infrastructure, but it would allow for quicker use of funds that are already set aside.
Fewer undocumented students applying for financial aid: Only 20,000 Dream Act college aid applications have been filed in California compared to 34,000 last year. This has college officials worried that many students will not have the financial resources they need to attend state colleges and universities. College officials believe the downtick is due to students being fearful their personal information will be shared with the federal government – which college officials are trying to reassure is not the case.
Physicians’ probationary status not easily accessed by patients: A Senate Committee will be looking into this issue Monday, as the Medical Board of California has a record of more than 600 physicians being on probation for allegations such as sexual misconduct with patients, performing surgery under the influence of controlled substances and causing a patient’s death. The committee says patients need to be able to more easily access this type of information about their physician.
Latinos 40 percent less likely to call 911 when they’ve been a victim of crime?: Senator Kamala Harris recently made that claim in her first speech on the U.S. Senate floor while blasting President Trump’s recent immigration actions. Capital Public Radio’s Politifact reporter, Chris Nichols, looked into the claim rating it “mostly true,” as it is backed up in one study. Nichols did not give the claim a full true rating because Harris alluded that multiple studies corroborated the statistic. Nichols could only find the sole study.