Shock! Herger disagrees with Bush

Residents of Hamilton City are breathing easier these days, now that Congress has overridden President Bush’s veto of a $23 billion water-projects bill—he said it contains too much pork—that includes funding to relocate and rebuild the J Levee that protects their town from Sacramento River flooding.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Rep. Wally Herger did something he has never done before: He voted against the president and with those who wanted to override the veto.

Passage of the bill does not solve the immediate problem of emergency repairs that are needed before rains make the work more expensive. Glenn County is ready to move on it, but bureaucratic hurdles and funding questions involving state agencies are hobbling the effort. The hope is that the levee patch will suffice until the new levee is built, possibly in 2009.