SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Historical records reveal the late Gov. Pat Brown misled voters about the cost of building Oroville Dam, ignored recommendations to delay construction and dismissed allegations that substandard materials were used to build the ambitious project.
The Sacramento Bee reports that 60 years before a damaged spillway at the nation's tallest dam forced thousands of people to evacuate, Brown's administration overcame labor strikes, worker deaths and other scandals to get Oroville built on time.
The Bee said it didn't find anything in the records that directly foreshadowed the spillway troubles. But experts believe the mess was caused at least in part by design and construction problems decades ago.
