The Oroville Dam spillway has eroded, and a state of emergency has placed areas of some counties under mandatory evacuation affecting hundreds of thousands of residents.
Sacramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW/SAM STANTON: "State officials have activated hundreds of people to help deal with the Oroville Dam crisis, sending 100 California Highway Patrol officers to the region and placing 1,200 California National Guard members on notice that they may be needed."
"Three CHP helicopters and two aircraft have been dispatched to help with search and rescue, if needed, swift water rescue teams have been sent to the area and military police are being dispatched to help...."
Meanwhile, Mayor Steinberg of Sacramento has said that the capital city is under no immediate threat from a spillway collapse.
Sacramento Bee's ANITA CHABRIA/ELLEN GARRISON: "Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said Sunday night that “there is no imminent threat” to Sacramento if the Oroville Dam emergency spillway fails."
"Steinberg said that he and City Manager Howard Chan had spoken to Department of Water Resources officials about the situation and will meet in the morning with them for an update. The mayor said the city had emergency plans for flooding that could be initiated if the threat escalates, but didn’t currently see a need to deploy those measures."
"Steinberg spokeswoman Kelly Rivas said the city’s Office of Emergency Services expected that any water released in a spillway failure could be diverted from the city via the Sacramento Weir and the Fremont Weir in the Yolo Bypass."
READ MORE related to California Water Crisis: SF must decide future of critical waterway -- The Chronicle's LIZZIE JOHNSON; Drought in pictures: A decade of chasing scarcity across California -- Water Deeply's MATT WEISER
Gov. Brown held an education-related fundraiser over the weekend at the Oakland waterfront's Scott's Seafood restaurant -- a controversial site embattled over a fight for public access under threat from a state-issued near-million dollar fine.
The Chronicle's MATTIER & ROSS: "When Gov. Jerry Brown walked into a fundraiser for his military academy at Scott’s Seafood on the Oakland waterfront the other day, he was also stepping into the middle of a long-running fight over public access to the bay that involves some big names and a $841,000 state fine against the restaurant."
"The luncheon gathering of 265 mostly corporate guests in a pavilion on the waterfront walkway at Jack London Square raised an estimated $2.1 million for the Oakland Military Institute, a charter school that Brown established when he was mayor of Oakland."
Friday's freak derailment of a freight train south of Elk Grove has caused massive delays for the Capitol Corridor.
Sacramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW: "Operators of the Capitol Corridor commuter train that runs from Sacramento to the Bay Area warned Sunday of delays because of Friday’s freight-car derailment south of Elk Grove."
“While our trains will still operate, we do anticipate delays” on Monday and Tuesday, Capitol Corridor officials announced Sunday in an email alert. “We will provide updates as they become available.”
"Meanwhile, rail workers on Sunday continued efforts to move freight-train cars that toppled from the tracks."
READ MORE related to Transportation: High-speed rail taking shape even as opponents seek to kill it -- The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER; Yuba City gas station says it's been 'busy, busy' during evacuation -- Sacramento Bee's ALEXIE KOSEFF; Evacuees jam roads heading away from oroville Dam: 'It's a zoo' -- The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ/LIZZIE JOHNSON/STEVE RUBENSTEIN; Survivors hike for help after plane crash kills one -- Union-Tribune's TERI FIGUEROA
Michael Flynn is under serious fire for a breach of communications in which he allegedly discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with a Kremlin envoy before Trump was inaugurated.
AP: "Embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn's fate as one of President Donald Trump's senior aides is uncertain following reports that he discussed U.S. sanctions with a Russian envoy before Trump's inauguration."
"A top White House official sidestepped repeated chances Sunday to publicly defend him. The president, who spent the weekend at his private club in Florida, has yet to comment on Flynn's status. Nor has Vice President Mike Pence, who previously denied that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S."
The legenday retailer Sears, despite it's declining business, is clinging to life and the chain's grip on the retail sector of the economy is enough to seriously challenge
The Chronicle's THOMAS LEE: "To truly understand the peculiar nature of the department store business, consider that Sears could outlive Macy’s, at least as an independent company."
"Industry observers (and more than a few competitors, I suspect) have longpredicted that Sears would wither away and die. The company, controlled with a tight fist by chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert, has certainly shrunk. But the once-venerable brand has stubbornly clung to life, even as it absorbs huge operating losses."