" This whole flood project has been a sham, a ruse to push an unwanted housing development down the throats of an unwitting small town. In good faith we voted to pay for flood relief, but what we're getting for our 31 million dollars are roads and acres and acres of new housing. The unfortunate people in the surrounding area of this stealth housing development are being flooded so it can be built, and all this is being kept quiet so the pockets of the greedy can be lined with taxpayer dollars. I'm not one of the litigants in the above suit and I think 1.5 million dollars is pretty excessive considering the average price of a mobile home in that park is about $150 to $200,000. On the other hand, I don't wish the litigants ill. The city has treated its residents involved and impacted by this project in the most inhumane way, and in some cases illegal way, for years. I know there's a way to build this project without taking the property values of the few and redistributing it to a couple extremely rich and powerful developers. I'm happy to see the upper management of the is town leaving, because they certainly aren't representing the people who hired them. Hopefully they will be replaced with people of honest merit. "

" The people who bought by the creek should have known it could flood. One thing that hasn't been done for years is the cleaning of the river from Calistoga to Napa. The overgrowth of trees and bushes is the reason it floods so bad in town. The water backs up and then woosh! It's a no brainer. I have lived here all my life and it always flooded in our backyard. Only within the last 20 years (since the overgrowth) have I seen it really flood in town the way it has now. Hmmm, wonder what would happen if the creeks were cleaned out? "

" The headline makes it sound like the residents are seeking damage to the flood wall. "

" $150-$200k for a mobile home? Sheesh! Mobile means they are made to be moved, right? So move if you don't want to look at a concrete wall. I must be missing something.... "

" Rivers sometimes require maintenance in certain reaches, but "cleaning" is not a viable solution. The removal of too much vegetation speeds up the water which causes increased flooding and bank erosion downstream.

A more cost effective approach toward protecting property from flooding and bank erosion is reconnecting the river channel to its floodplain. This reduces water velocity and gives the water a "safe" place to go during major storms. Another major advantage of this approach is that it improves habitat for salmon and steelhead. There are several projects in the Napa Valley that have adopted this approach. It's a real win-win for people and fish. "

" I am with you St.Hell.comNative. I have seen Vineyard Valley flood already once in 95' and I was there a few years ago when it was inches away from flooding again. The residents of Vineyard Valley, involved in the litigation, should be praising St. Helena and all the individuals who have spent hundreds of hours to ensure that Vineyard Valley is safe from flooding again. To say this is a sham is far from the truth. There are no plans in St. Helena for "acres and acres of new housing." There is actually a moratorium on building until water and waste water issues are resolved. "

" Give me a break!
These people live in a trailer park for gods sake!
" a substantial diminution of value"
Ohh Please!
These people think they deserve almost $150,000 each for a wall?
In this economy, I wouldn't think those trailers themselves are worth 50K if they had to give them up.
Sounds like lawyers and trailer trash looking to get something for nothing! "

" cellsitegod,

While I admit that I've probably not been through the trailer park in question, there are several decent people that live in trailer parks. And yes, there are some of them do fit the definition of "traler trash."

But the person I know who lives in a trailer because she sold her million-dollar home to pay for her cancer treatments that her wealthy insurance company executives wouldn't pay for does NOT fit your description. She has ear-marked several hundred thousand dollars for charity and cancer research if and when the disease finally takes her. I don't mean to imply that she lives in the park that appears to soon be victimized by people who don't have their needs in mind. They will need money to pay for defending their homes.

Not all trailer-trash types live in trailers, apparently. There are several people who know that these people don't have the financial means to defend themselves against wealthy steam-rollers. That kind of trash appears to want to take advantage of these defenseless people.

I am glad you have been lucky enough to not be a victim of them, and I hope you're not one who judges people who have been victimized by wealthy people.

I admire and respect someone who you call trailer-trash, and am hesitant to respect people who label people that they don't know. "