Stay Awake – there are a lot of issues to watch these next few months

8 Jan

What a week. I’ve been busy trying to stay on top of 2016.

People are still angry about the shooting in Paradise, judging from the searches I’m seeing, they want criminal charges for Feaster.  We’ll see where that goes, but it looks like the DA is just going to fall on the ball and lay there.

There are also a lot of searches and hits on information about city contracts, pension deals, etc. People finally seem to be paying attention to the CalPERS disaster, we’ll see if they come to the polls in June and November to do something about it.  If there’s one thing I’d like to see out of 2016 it would be four new faces on city council – four new faces that are not beholden to public employees. I’d like to see Sorensen, Coolidge and Fillmer sitting on that dais with their thumbs up their asses, getting voted down on everything, that’s what I’d like to see.

Did you read David Little’s editorial this morning? Sorry, I still read the Enterprise Record compulsively, it’s like the back of the cereal box, it’s just there.  This morning I was treated to a huge surprise – Editor Little taking on his old buddy Mark Sorensen over the hike in room fees at city hall. Ooooo, do I sense a little rub between the conservative factions? Little seems to be sticking up for League of Women Voters – which is weird, they’ve always been a little to the left, and I had thought Little was such a staunch conservative. Is his wife a member of the League? He acted the same way about Country Day School when his kids were students there – one word against Country Day and Little would go ape.  The guy has no objectivity if he’s got a dog in the fight.

I got a notice from CARD director Ann Willman about an upcoming Aquatic Facility Committee meeting, next Thursday, Jan. 14, 6pm, at Lakeside Pavilion. She also informed me they’d posted the consultant’s presentations for the previous two meetings on the website. Of course she didn’t give me a link I had to search the website.

I have to wonder why these meetings aren’t noticed on the usual page with the Board and Finance Committee meetings, but Willmann won’t answer me  on that. She’s determined to run this AFAC thing under the table. You won’t find any information about who attended or any remarks made by attendees. But, the consultant’s report is pretty damning – over 60 percent of the cost of this boondoggle will be salaries and benefits, and they will never come close to recovering costs through fees. This monstrosity will have to be almost entirely taxpayer supported, by people who will never even drive by the facility. You can see both of the consultant’s presentations here, but these aren’t “reports.”  

http://www.chicorec.com/About-Card/Aquatic-Study/index.html

I’ve probably missed some important stuff here, things are busy, busy, busy.   Other issues I’ve tried to keep track of are the school district’s plans to put a bond on the ballot, the city’s airport management discussion,  the city garbage deal, and the changes at the county dump, but that will take more nose to the grindstone, I’ll keep you posted. 

 

 

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Mayor Sorensen runs a racket

6 Jan

Last month Chico city council brought the “noise” and “disorderly events” ordinances up for an overhaul. Chico PD complained that both these ordinances were straining their workload but needed to be changed so that they could better enforce them.

The Number 1 problem with the noise ordinance was that most people were complaining about construction sites operating before 7 am and after 7pm. So, they extended construction hours from 6am to 10pm.  This, says our mayor, is to address OSHA rules about extremely hot weather.

Mark Sorensen ought to have to wear a t-shirt listing his sponsors – Chico PD and Franklin Paving.  Franklin Paving was a major donor to former Chief Mike Maloney’s PAC, which paved Mark Sorensen, Reanette Fillmer, and Andrew Coolidge’s path to council, so those three will be forever grateful.  During a construction boom, construction companies just want to get that money as fast as they can – they don’t give a rat’s ass about their employees.

As for the “party” or “disorderly events” ordinance, the cops say they needed to drop the section requiring one or more citizen complaints before they are allowed to wade in like Clint Eastwood and bust up a party. They said, and Enterprise Record editor David Little claimed in an editorial, “The primary flaw with the existing law was it required a citizen to sign a complaint, a step that could and sometimes did result in retaliation.”

Little explains, “The police said the old ordinance wasn’t doing its job. They’d enacted it just 41 times since it went into effect and hadn’t cited anyone, despite averaging more than 1,700 party complaints each year. That sounds to us like the ordinance is working.

But police say they go back to the same addresses night after night, which to them is a sign that the ordinance isn’t working.”

No, Editor, that is a sign that the cops isn’t working!  1700 complaints and they haven’t cited anyone? They say they go back to the same addresses night after night – the old ordinance allows them to cite on the second complaint.

Eliminating the requirement for a complaint allows Chico PD to pull over and investigate any gathering over 20 people that officers suspect to be “out of control.” If they decide to break up the party, they are allowed to bill the “responsible party” for their “response costs” – overtime etc for every city employee who comes on scene.

The responsible party may very well be the person who hosts the party. But if no one steps forward to take responsibility for the party, the homeowner is considered to be the responsible party. In the case of high school kids partying while the parents are away, this is legitimate. But, how can a landlord be responsible for a party when they don’t reside at the house?  The law limits what a landlord can demand of their tenants – it’s not legal to tell your tenants they can’t have their friends over for a reasonable and orderly gathering. The problem being, here, the police get to decide what is “orderly.”  The landlord hears it later – despite what the tenants have to say.

This ordinance also allows the police to notify the landlord of a “disorderly event” by mail.  All they have to do, is say they mailed the notice, and if a second offense occurs at the same address, they can bill the property owner for “response costs.”

The police say they expect landlords to evict after the first offense.

All this to protect neighbors who were harassed after they placed complaints?

After I read Little’s editorial, I wrote him a quick e-mail asking if he knew of any specific incidences of a citizen being harassed or “retributed” against for making a complaint.

He replied, “At the meeting, an officer mentioned that people who called and signed a complaint sometimes were subjected to vandalism. Specifics may be contained in the video, or I can ask Ashiah what specifics were mentioned, but she’s not in the office right now and I don’t want to pass along secondhand information.”

In past, Little has held my letters, demanded I take stuff out, because he didn’t believe something I said had really happened that way.  I don’t know where he gets off treating me that way, everything I’ve ever told him has turned out to be true. In one incident, he got the other party to admit they had been lying when they initially denied my report. I tell what I see and hear, from meetings at which no notes are taken.  I take copious notes, and I keep them stored, anytime anybody wants to see them, I’ve got piles of notes.  I write down names, I ask more questions, I write and write.

I didn’t want to make him mad, but I thought the coverage of this ordinance has been very sloppy journalism. I responded, “Now listen, I don’t mean to be flip, but what’s the difference between that and “second hand,” or “anecdotal” information?”

His excuse: “Ashiah said she has heard it several times during discussions of the noise ordinance. She can’t recall whether that was in a committee meeting, on Tuesday’s discussion of the noise ordinance (before the party ordinance) or in conversations with city officials away from meetings. I too have heard that residents are hesitant to complain.”

Even I was shocked, this is a new low for Editor Little.

Wanting to give the poor beaten down bastard another shot, I e-mailed the police department on the website:

“I have heard there have been retaliations against folks who have complained about their neighbors’ parties – where can I find the record of these complaints?”

I got this response:

 Web PD (web-pd@Chicoca.gov)
 
1/04/16
Hello Ms. Sumner,

I do apologize for the late response to your email.

I am told this is not information that is tracked by us so there isn’t any “record” to refer you to. But you are welcome to look through the media log (public information we provide for the news media, etc) that we have available at our lobby counter.

Regards,

Bret

Chico Police Department”

Well, there you have it – there is no evidence of any complaints of retribution from complainants.  It’s a racket, cooked up by the cops, perpetuated by the mayor, and endorsed by the local daily editor. They are now allowed to bill property owners for doing the job they are already getting paid for.

The city has handed the cops, and fire, very generous contracts. They don’t have the money to pay for the stuff they promised them, so they are turning to the taxpayers.

As a landlord, I screen my tenants, but I still don’t know what I am getting until they have moved into my house. Sometimes they look great on paper, they have friends and relatives who pose as ex-landlords, they use old information that is hard to verify. A couple of the worst tenants I ever had were recommended to me by a former city council member.

What would I do if I found out my tenant was having an out-of-control party? Shouldn’t I, as a taxpayer, be allowed to call the police if the party goers refuse to desist, just as I would call the police if I came home from vacation and found my house had been robbed?

But, for a second incident, I am charged? Here’s the sitch –  I’ve had tenants trash my house as they were moving out because I’d terminated their lease.  I can’t expect taxpayer supported public employees to help me without paying extra?  Would I be charged if my house was robbed twice?

This is another money grab by Chico PD.

And what else really bothers me about this whole thing is the concerted effort on the part of agencies, including the newspaper, that are supposed to work on behalf of the voters and taxpayers.

And then, as if he’s messing with us, Little printed a cartoon Dec. 29 – “The Anecdotal Evidence Detective”.  Ha, ha, ha, joke’s on us.

Public Management Contracts: “FISCAL IMPACT: The PSM Initial Proposal results in a fiscal impact of $82,994 over two years, or $9,222 average cost per employee”

3 Jan
Here's our next Book In Common

Here’s our next Book In Common

It would be so easy at  this time of year to wrap up in a shawl and retire to a rocking chair with a good book. The urge to hibernate through January is almost overwhelming. But, there’s a council meeting Tuesday, and there’s contracts on the table.

The Public Safety Management proposal is available for viewing here:

http://chico-ca.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=231&meta_id=47812

Read it yourself – they want automatic raises and more benefits. Bend over and squeal like a collective pig Chico taxpayers, as if we could stop Sorensen from handing the candy jar to the employees who got him elected. Go down there and shake your fist at that bad, bad man!

Better yet – let’s put our heads together and figure out who we can find to run against Sean Morgan in 2016. Getting rid of Morgan might restore some balance to the council, right now Sorensen and his little friends are on a tear. They are going to lead us into bankruptcy if we don’t do something to curb the salaries, benefits and pensions they are handing to management employees.

I know, you want to hibernate, me too. That’s the best time to make yourself a monster pot of java and stay alert.

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Strap yourself in, 2016 may be a rough ride!

2 Jan

I feel overwhelmed by tv and print news stories about “the year in review.”   I don’t like letting the media tell me what were their most important stories, it smacks of tail-wagging-dog.

I let the readers tell me what were the most important stories of the year.  Looking over my statistics for the past year, I found one of my most hit posts was the recent one about Paradise Police officer Patrick Feaster being related to former Butte County Supervisor Jane Dolan. I’m still getting searches for those names and also “recall Ramsey”. We’ll have to see where that sad story goes in 2016. 

I don’t watch county politics as much as city politics, that story about Feaster was sent by a friend.  I see the posts that usually generate the most traffic here are those related to City of Chico management, or mismanagement, whichever way you look at it.  That’s the way it’s always been, pretty much.  This blog really reached a peak under the liberals, when the general feeling around town was, “why would we want to pay more taxes when our city council buys stuff like ‘Spirit Flags’?!”   We thought it would be different under a group of “conservatives” – boy, when will we learn – they all tell us whatever we want to hear, we’re just too damned easy!

People are slowly figuring that out, and “Brown Act” has become one of the most common searches.   I haven’t covered the city’s – really, Mark Sorensen’s – skirmish with Jessica Allen over the Brown Act, because I don’t understand it. The Brown Act seems toothless to me, really, because it depends on the honesty of the elected people, and the diligence of the voters. Excuse me – guffaw – that is a hoot.  I hooted my way through Sorensen’s assertion that they’re not doing anything wrong, just go back to minding your own business people.

People are also coming here to find out about tax increases, in general, but “sales tax increase” and “assessment” are probably the most common search phrases. Posts about CARD’s proposed aquatic center are specifically the most hit.

I think Bob and Jim speak for everybody when they express concern about the upcoming tax measure tsunami headed our way this year. It’s like, knowing the Dark Forces are massing, somewhere out there beyond the stars, trying to go on with your life with one ear pricked up to the sky, one eye turned to the horizon. 

2016 will be a hostile year for the Taxpayer. We have to figure out whether we are going to sit here and be milked like a herd of shackled bovine or whether we will mount counter campaigns and demand the public employees start paying down their own pension deficit, out of the salaries they currently enjoy. 

As always, I will have one ear pricked to the skies and one eye on the horizon, and a megaphone to my mouth to squeal like a pig as soon as I see the rough beast coming ’round at last. You do same!

 

 

Would more street lights Downtown solve our crime problem?

30 Dec

According to Alexander Thomas of Chico, “There has been numerous accidents, muggings, rapes etc, All over downtown Chico. According to crime statistics, three-fourths of all crimes take place at night, and two-thirds of these occur in dimly light areas. In order to make the city of Chico a safer place, we must implement a lot more street lamps all over the town. Especially so in places often frequented by numerous people like downtown.”

Thomas has launched a petition drive on Change.org to get the city to put more street lights Downtown, and so far, he’s gathered over 250 of the 500 signatures he wants to take to Ruben Martinez.

I know, Ruben Martinez left the city of Chico last Spring – both the city and Martinez said it was a mutual deal, that they didn’t agree over the direction the city should be taking. I saw Ruben at Wittmeier Ford recently, he didn’t look any worse for the wear. Although, I’ll say – he looks a lot shorter as a private citizen.

There are a few things, besides ignorance of city doings, that bother me about this petition drive. For one thing, I read the police and sheriff logs, and I watch the news almost daily – the last rape I saw in the news was the assault of a Chico State student in Olivehurst.  According to Channel 7 News,  “Investigators said the victim told them she got drunk Friday night. When she woke up, she was in an unknown house in the Olivehurst area.”

This assault probably started Downtown, but I don’t think street lights had anything to do with it.

The Chico Enterprise Record selects a couple dozen arrest reports and runs them weekly, but the actual arrest logs are usually pages and pages. The latest one I could find online dated back to the last week of May, 2015. It is 25 pages long, I looked over it, I only found one assault, on page 25. I saw reports of spousal and child abuse, more than I would consider to be “okay”, even “cruelty” to an elderly person. I saw one report of a fight Downtown, which was apparently broken up without arrest. I also saw a few people arrested with weapons – less than half dozen in all those pages.  

We only see the arrest logs, we don’t get the dispatch logs, where people report crimes. I don’t know why the department would keep rape reports a secret. I remember, in the months before they arrested the creep from Enloe Hospital, who was going around grabbing tipsy girls off the streets late at night, drugging and raping them – those attacks turned up in the paper. Why wouldn’t the police and newspaper be quick to report such crimes? 

Here’s the report for the last week of May 2015. If you can find a more recent log,  please send me the link.

http://www.chico.ca.us/police/documents/weeklyarrests.pdf

I’ve posted the sheriff’s department logs for comparison. They post their logs right up to date.  These logs include dispatch reports of everything from accidents to stray goats. If you don’t understand something, cut and paste it into your google search engine, you’ll find out what all those abbreviations stand for. 

http://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/24/Logs/2015_PL/1225-1229pl.pdf

I wonder what is behind this push for more streetlights Downtown. I don’t know Alexander Thomas, but he seems to be genuinely concerned about crime in Chico.  

I would suggest he come up with some specific incidents from the police logs to support this petition. I’d suggest he approach the Internal Affairs Committee, where they’ve been discussing various safety improvements around town, some of which have been brought forth by citizens. And, I’d suggest he might mount some sort of public awareness campaign. A lot of our problems Downtown involve people who get drunk and aren’t paying attention, including pedestrian/car encounters. 

I’ll say the same thing about street lights I’ve said about bike lanes – they’re not some magical force that protects you from Danger, you are still your own best or worst friend.

 

 

Cal Water comes on strong with propaganda blitz in Visalia

29 Dec

I was not surprised that as soon as I found out about the city of Visalia’s plans to look into ownership of their own water system, I also found Cal Water has mounted a mis-information campaign.

Yesterday I posted Visalia Mayor Steve Nelsen’s letter to the Visalia Times Delta, explaining why the city is thinking about buying out Cal Water. Actually, I wouldn’t even call it “thinking about buying out” – how much would any of us know about that? Call a realtor? What?

The city is making a very legitimate effort not only to learn the facts but to get the public involved in the discussion. Of course, Cal Water intends to put their foot in the middle of the facts and grind the conversation out like an old cigarette butt. Independent Thought Alarm!

The first volley is underhanded and sneaky. Letters to the newspaper, not from Cal Water employees, but from employees of a popularly unknown company that serves Cal Water and other utilities by manufacturing and installing the infrastructure by which these utilities “serve” us.

You’ve seen that episode of “Twilight Zone” and you’ve seen the parody on “The Simpsons”. You know what Cal Water means when they say they “serve” people.

After Mayor Nelsen’s letter appeared in late November, these two letters turned up December 11.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/opinion/2015/12/11/visalia-electeds-favor-water-takeover-lose-vote/77118758/

There’s no doubt in my mind that California’s tax-and-spend policies have burdened the middle class and driven business from our state. That’s one reason I chose to make Visalia my home; affordability when it comes to cost of living, and for the most part, responsibility when it comes to decisions made by our elected officials.

Unfortunately, recent actions by our local government could be construed as anything but responsible. Their move to start a takeover of our water system from Cal Water is not only reckless, but has also been done under the table and without public input. This is a mistake and it’s incredibly disappointing.

I will be opposing the water takeover and supporting Cal Water. I will also be thinking very carefully about how I vote when our elected officials are up on the ballot; any councilmember who supports this won’t be getting my check next to their name.

Dylan Byer

Visalia

Wow, Mr. Byer, what a load of manure you’ve shoveled out here. You didn’t come to Visalia for the affordable cost of living, you came as an employee of Western Utilities Transformer Services. Glassdoor reports the average salary at WUTS in the mid $70,000 range, which is more than one and a half times the median income in Visalia. WUTS works for Cal Water and other utility companies, so it’s in their best interests to take public opposition out of the CPUC process. 

Please note that Mr. Byer does not offer any real information regarding this issue, but misinformation. He says this conversation has been had “under the table,” even though the mayor has written a letter to the newspaper about what’s going on a couple of weeks previous.

Here below is a letter from a woman whose husband is employed by WUTS. She threatens that just having a conversation and moving forward with a study is going to “indebt us for years to come.” 

Her grammar alone is enough to send anybody away screaming. How do you talk to people like this, with the childish threats? “water takeover”?

Ratepayers and taxpayers beware: The City of Visalia is about to make a grave mistake and we’ll be the ones who pay for it.

If City Council moves forward and conducts the study to take over our water system from Cal Water, it will indebt us for years to come.

In order to avoid poor service, higher rates and new taxes, join me and stand against the water takeover!

Rachel Telfer

Visalia

Published a couple of weeks later was the following letter, supposedly signed by 57 Cal Water employees, including Utility Workers union shop steward Juan Cisneros:

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/opinion/2015/12/24/city-playing-political-games-lives/77838706/ 

Why is the city playing political games with our lives?

Juan Cisneros12:02 a.m. PST December 24, 2015

Imagine for a moment that one morning there is a knock at your door. When you open the door, the people standing there tell you that they are from the IRS and that they are going to come in to determine how much your house and belongings are worth just in case they decide to seize them from you, but that you really don’t have anything to worry about.

http://ow.ly/d/492T

Of course, their assurance that you don’t need to worry would fall on deaf ears, not only because it obviously isn’t true, but also because you probably wouldn’t have heard much after “we’re from the IRS.”This hypothetical scenario became all too real for the 61 local employees of Cal Water, which has been Visalia’s local water utility since 1926. On Nov. 5, Visalia’s City Attorney sent a cold, emotionless letter to Cal Water notifying it that the city was going to conduct an appraisal of Cal Water’s property and business in Visalia ahead of possibly trying to seize them through eminent domain. City staff told Cal Water that it really doesn’t have anything to worry about.

Does City Council not realize that Cal Water is as much a part of the Visalia community as anything else in our city?A few weeks later, Mayor Nelsen asked in these pages whether Visalia needs Cal Water, and laid out his case for taking over the water system. Worse, he accused each and every employee at Cal Water of being unconcerned about Visalia’s residents and the well-being of the community.

Does Mayor Nelsen not realize that we are residents of Visalia? That we shop at local businesses? That many of us grew up here? That our children go to school here? That we work tirelessly every single day to make sure that everyone in Visalia has safe, reliable and high quality water service?

And just a few days ago, the city issued a press release saying they were going to delay consideration of trying to put Cal Water out of business. The press release made it clear, though, that the city was still going to complete the appraisal of Cal Water’s property and business in Visalia. And Mayor Nelsen all but said that the city hasn’t taken the option of a government takeover off of the table, just that they are going to wait a little while before making a decision. Perhaps the city was just trying to tell us, again, that we really don’t have anything to worry about.

Do City Council and Mayor Nelsen not realize that they are playing political games with our jobs, families, and lives?

Just as you would be rightfully worried if the IRS showed up at your house one morning, we are worried that the City Council is trying to put Cal Water out of business and, in the process, steal our jobs and livelihoods.

We serve this community because it is what we love to do, and ensuring you and your family have safe, reliable water service is what we are here for. We’d normally never ask for anything extra in return. This Christmas, though, would you indulge us with one small gift: Please let City Council know that there are no circumstances under which you will support a government takeover of the water system and that it should stop playing political games with our lives.

We truly appreciate your support! From our families to yours, Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Juan Cisneros, a Cal Water employee since 2006 and secretary/shop steward of the Local 205 of the Utility Workers of America, signed this letter along with 56 other local Cal Water employees.

So now we have the official hysteria campaign from Cal Water. The hyperbole is going to get so thick, you will need a gas mask. 

 

 

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City of Visalia ponders public ownership of their water system

28 Dec

Erma Bombeck said, “The grass is always greener over the septic tank.” She meant, be careful when something looks good, you better know what’s under it.  As I’ve studied the process by which our utility rates are increased, I’ve begun to think about public ownership. It sounds like a simple solution to the ever-increasing rates,  but I’m wondering – is there a cesspool under that lush, green grass? Sometimes it’s a good idea to take a long look and a good sniff.

Recently the city of Visalia, at the direction of their city council, began to investigate the possibility of taking ownership of it’s water system from Cal Water. Having gone through the CPUC rate increase process with past cases, Mayor Steve Nelsen explains in a letter to the Visalia Times Delta, “we realized just how little impact a local government can have on its water supply when the delivery system is provided by a for-profit, investor-owned utility, that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, managed from their corporate office in San Jose, and governed by the CPUC in San Francisco.”

I hear that. While I’m thrilled that the city of Chico and County of Butte have decided to formally protest this latest Cal Water rate increase, I’m worried the system is very heavily stacked against them. I hope they are ready to take it all the way to San Francisco. I believe they can beat back this latest proposal somewhat, but at this point, our rates are already onerous, and Cal Water wants more.

Mayor Nelsen describes how this process will be an opportunity for the public to learn more about utility ownership.  “Recently, the City of Visalia requested an appraisal of the water system in Visalia owned by a Bay Area firm, California Water Service Company (Cal Water). Once we have that information, sometime around the first of the year, the City Council will consider if the City might benefit from owning and operating its own water system. If it could make sense financially, there will be opportunity for public discussion about whether or not the City should pursue acquisition of the system. Our City Council firmly believes the citizens have a right to information about how a city-owned water system would affect them. Getting the appraisal is only the first, but necessary, step.”

Yes, the citizens have a right to information, but it is obviously not in Cal Water’s best interest to share this information. They don’t want the ratepayers to know the real reason behind rate increases – here Nelsen explains the relationship between rate increases, increased earnings per share, and larger dividends.

“What became abundantly clear is that Cal Water’s primary allegiance is to its stockholders: to improve the stock value and to pay out large dividends to shareholders…To that end, the corporate officers at Cal Water have done a good job managing profits: they have had five consecutive years of increased earnings per share, and have given larger dividends each year since 2010. The market price has increased more than 32 percent, and the net income has increased more than 50 percent in that same time period. Of course, we should not be surprised. Cal Water asked for 89.9 percent rate increases for 2011-2015, and the CPUC approved half of the requested increase — 44.1 percent. These rates have actually increased much more due to automatic increases that the CPUC has authorized Cal Water to make, such as the Water Rate Adjustment Mechanism (WRAM). Cal Water is guaranteed to meet its revenue requirements as approved by the CPUC, creating a situation of little or no incentive by Cal Water to inform or educate citizens about conservation. When Visalia conserves, meaning Cal Water sells less water in the Visalia district, Cal Water is automatically allowed to increase rates. Increase rates they have, every year, automatically — on top of the CPUC approved rate increase.”

Another interesting point Nelsen makes, and I agree – Cal Water, despite warnings, does not really seem serious about stopping water waste. 

“Though rates are important, water supply and conservation are critical. In April of this year, the Governor of California issued the mandate to Visalia to reduce water consumption by 32 percent, or face up to a $10,000-per-day fine. Cal Water is responsible for establishing and implementing a plan that will result in the mandated reduction. Unfortunately, there has only been a 26.1 percent composite reduction in Visalia. Cal Water has specific data on water use by household, business, and neighborhood, but they have been either unable or unwilling to share that information with the City. They have also failed in aggressively using the data themselves to target high water users. From July to September, the company reports issuing only 190 warnings and no penalties. During the same time, the City of Visalia could only directly address the issue through windshield surveys and citizen complaints. The City warned 1,222 citizens not to over-water, and issued 170 citations to citizens who continued to waste water. And, if a citizen does get a citation, the City implemented a program where they can avoid first-time fines by attending the City’s water school. The program was initiated by the City in order to inform and educate citizens about conserving one of our most vital resources, water.”

Chico did an excellent job of cutting back – Cal Water reported we cut usage by 43%.  Still we were penalized with onerous tiered rates and fines for going over budget? And if you stay at or below your budget, you get a WRAM charge. 

The CPUC reacted to our complaints about WRAM – they have instituted statutory rate increases that will bypass public participation. 

So, Visalia feels they have nowhere to go but public ownership. I think we should pay attention to this conversation. 

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/opinion/2015/11/23/visalia-need-calwater/76234252/

Story about sports complex built in Santa Rosa with private money – $18 million, self supporting

26 Dec

 I was looking through the Santa Rosa Press Democrat when I found this interesting article posted below.  It makes CARD’s plans for their aquatic center look like a $28 million joke.

CARD wants to put a bond on our homes to pay for a $28 million swimming pool with a roof and stands, to be used mostly for private swim clubs. CARD has already acknowledged, this aquatic center will never be self-supporting, and everybody on the board knows the first bond is only the beginning.

This $18 million center in Santa Rosa will house various sports activities, as well as commercial businesses who will help foot the bills. They will even have meeting rooms for groups.  

As far as I can find, this center is being built entirely with private money. If you can find otherwise, pipe up. 

It’s compared to a similar facility in San Jose which I have actually seen – the Silver Creek Sports Complex. The North Valley Hockey Club has attended many tournaments at this facility, it’s very nice – indoor soccer, hockey, and gymnastics, with a big restaurant right in the middle. Converted from an unused warehouse, that building also houses commercial businesses. It’s in a nice area accessible by bike trail, which doubles as a pedestrian nature trail.

CARD’s plan is for an aquatic center, period. As far as I can tell, no big sponsors have stepped forward, and CARD isn’t recruiting the big corporations like WalMart or Pepsi who offer grants for projects like this. The CARD board has no imagination beyond attaching our homes, for a center the consultant reports will probably be used by less than 15 percent of our town.

When North Valley Hockey came to the city of Chico and the CARD board to ask for such a center as they have since built in Hamilton City,  they were turned away. CARD told them it would be too much competition for Cal Skate, which does not even have a proper hockey rink. Trying to schedule all the groups who wanted to use Cal Skate was getting difficult as well.  I have also sat in conversations with groups like Skatepark Solutions and the group who built the pump track – both were told they must do significant fundraising on their own. You can see on old agendas, CARD has not maintained the skate park properly for a couple of years now – Tom Lando and Michael Worley have both said the community needs to show more support for that facility. The aquatic center people have been given inappropriate  favoritism, anybody with eyes can see that.

Ann Willman, CARD director, has made no bones about her kid being on the swim team.  That’s the kind of ego-centric leadership we have at CARD.  They act as though the aquatic center is a done deal, they just have to figure out a way to put the cost onto the taxpayers, like a booger.

Another thing I notice, this facility in Santa Rosa does not include a swimming pool. Why not? Because, let’s face it, nobody wants to use indoor pools. They’re skanky. In California we swim outside, that’s a no-brainer except for pussies who need heated water. 

Read below, and let us know what you think.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4887157-181/18-million-sports-entertainment-complex?ref=most&artslide=2#

$18 million sports, entertainment complex breaks ground in Santa Rosa

by Bill Swindell
The Press Democrat | December 7, 2015
The project, dubbed Epicenter by its developers, will transform an old wine warehouse on Coffey Lane into a 130,000-square-foot destination for athletes and gamers of all stripes. Developers said it will include three indoor soccer fields, a fitness club, bowling center, laser tag, trampoline playground and a sports bar with a 50-foot video wall.

“It’s one of the few sports and entertainment facilities in the country. … There’s very few that are combined,” said Andrew Rowley, chief executive officer of Sports City, which will be the largest tenant at the complex.

“It’s got some panache to it,” Rowley said after a groundbreaking ceremony for the project Monday.

Rowley’s company will operate the three soccer fields and one basketball/multipurpose court, which are slated to open in April. The new fields will be used as well for other sports such as lacrosse — which is growing in popularity — flag football and volleyball.

“Both our youth and adult leagues and children’s programs continue to grow so having additional indoor field and court space is great for the community, but the real benefits of the additional space is that it allows us to provide better league game times,” Rowley said.

While the soccer and other sports leagues will be a big attraction, Epicenter will house a cluster of businesses expected to draw an estimated 1 million visitors a year, including repeat customers, said Joe Lourdeaux, vice president of the company, which is made up of local investors. All tenants should be moved in by next summer.

The only similar facility in Northern California is the Silver Creek Sportsplex in San Jose, though that does not have the range of entertainment options as the one planned for Santa Rosa.

The goal is to have “cross pollination” among customers so they will visit different areas, Lourdeaux said.

For example, a mother may want to drop her children off at Rockin’ Jump, a trampoline playground, while she exercises at the Anytime Fitness sports club. An adult soccer team finishing its game might want to go to the Victory House restaurant and sports lounge for post-game beers. The latter facility will have a 50-foot video wall and more than 75 flat-screen televisions for sports viewing for events such as the World Cup and NFL games.

More than 300 parking spaces will be allocated for the project, which will also include a pizzeria and a Starbucks, Lourdeaux said.

“We will make this fun for everyone,” said Lourdeaux, who also serves on the board of directors for the Edgewood Cos., a Lake Tahoe development company. His father, Wally, was an investor at the marina at Lake Sonoma.

“We want to put the family back into family entertainment; to build a place where you can have your kid’s birthday party, your own retirement party, date night, bring your kids during the day and your co-workers during the night,” he added.

The developers purchased the warehouse from Woodstock Properties, an affiliate of the Charles M. Schulz family. Woodstock was extremely helpful in helping to get the project off the ground, Lourdeaux said.

“They graciously held on to this (property) for almost a year until we got everything in place,” Lourdeaux said. Jean Schulz, the widow of cartoonist Charles Schulz, is an investor in Sonoma Media Investments, which owns The Press Democrat.
The building, constructed in the 1960s, used to be wine storage facility. The remodeled facility will have solar panels, LED lighting, energy efficient mechanical systems and a natural cooling system.

 Other tenants will include a retail sports shop; a facility to house parties, meetings and banquet rooms; and an upscale bowling center that will house 12 lanes with an additional VIP suite with four lanes that can be rented for parties and events.

There will an area for high-tech games, including a theater motion ride utilizing similar technology to the popular Star Tours ride at Disneyland.

When fully opened, Epicenter and its tenants will employ over 250 people, the developers said. AXIA Architects and Wright Contracting are leading the design and construction teams, while Bank of America is the financing partner for the project.

 The project will allow Sports City to expand from its current pair of soccer facilities, one off Piner Road in Santa Rosa and the other outside Cotati off Stony Point Road.

The Cotati site will remain in operation going forward while the Piner Road one will close. The latter suffered with a lack of parking and showers as well as not being climate controlled, which can be difficult for summer league players in the sweltering heat.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.

The squeaky wheels still gets the grease – state regulators propose an end to The Moonbeam’s draconian water conservation policy

22 Dec

I found the story below on the Fox News website, picked up from Associated Press. A smaller, back page version ran in the Enterprise Record this morning. 

“The state’s overall water conservation target could drop to about 22 percent if all of the 411 eligible water agencies apply for adjustments, he said, adding that the moves come in response to some community leaders who complained that strict conservation targets assigned to individual communities are unfair.”

So what? you say, a drop from 25 to 22 percent. I don’t see that – I see a big old foot in the door. Mine, and yours, city council’s foot, Butte County Board of Supes foot, and other foots from all over the state. We got our foots in the door, and we’re pushing that door, and we ain’t quittin’ any time soon, Bruddah!

Chico cut water usage by about 43 percent right off the bat. But Cal Water set up unrealistic “budgets” – by end of summer, big trees all over town were dying. We kept watering our big trees, having seen our neighbor kill three large, 20 year old redwoods. Those redwoods stood dead next to my house for the entire summer – if they had caught fire, our house would have been a goner. The neighbor finally had them removed, it was sad to watch, and it cost him a pretty penny. 

One day I realized, the honeysuckle hedge that runs about 50 feet down our shared fence was dying because the new neighbor had turned off the drip line the previous owner had set up from his well. It wasn’t even Cal Water, but this neighbor was all on board with the restrictions and killed his yard pretty dead anyway. I realized, I wasn’t just losing a hedge, I was gaining a serious fire hazard, one that would cost money to remove just like the neighbor’s redwoods. I started watering it, regardless of Cal Water’s restrictions – I barely managed to save it. I kept my trees watered – mostly native oaks, but also the evergreens that have protected my house for 50 or 60 years. I was fined about $70 one month, our bill was over $100. 

We are not San Diego, who has no ground water but must depend on transfers from areas like ours, and steal ocean water. When will San Diego learn to live within their means? Southern California and the Bay Area – both with sketchy water supplies, dependent on transfers – flaunted the water restrictions, going over “budget” the entire time. Here in Chico, we were punished with onerous rates and fines even after we’d cut usage by 43 percent.

Fuck you Cal Water, my foot is in the door now, someday it is going to be in your rectum.

From Fox News:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/12/21/california-regulators-propose-relaxing-water-conservation.html

FRESNO, Calif. –  California regulators on Monday proposed relaxing water conservation targets that have required communities statewide to cut use by 25 percent during historic drought.

Communities in hot inland regions and those using new sources, such as recycled water and recently built desalination plants, could be eligible for reduced conservation requirements, said Max Gomberg, climate and conservation manager for the State Water Resources Control Board.

The state’s overall water conservation target could drop to about 22 percent if all of the 411 eligible water agencies apply for adjustments, he said, adding that the moves come in response to some community leaders who complained that strict conservation targets assigned to individual communities are unfair.

“For right now, drought conditions are persisting,” he said. “We’re proposing modest changes.”

California is in its driest four-year span on record, and officials anticipate a possible fifth year of drought. Weather forecasters say a strong El Nino weather system could drench the state, but one good year won’t be enough to rehydrate the parched landscape.

Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this year required communities throughout the state to reduce water use by 25 percent. State water regulators set individual targets for local agencies to meet, varying between 4 and 36 percent compared with 2013, but those targets will expire in February.

Brown recently extended his executive order, giving regulators authority to enforce conservation measures through October 2016, if California still faces drought in January.

Local community leaders have criticized the individual targets as unfair and unrealistic. In Southern California, local governments argued state officials should acknowledge huge investments in new supplies to prepare for drought.

This year, the San Diego region completed a $1 billion seawater desalination plant, the largest in the Americas. Orange County recently expanded wastewater recycling to produce 100 million gallons of drinking water daily.

“It has been difficult to tell our ratepayers that their investments in local supply projects have not resulted in providing the buffer against drought as intended,” Halla Razak, the city of San Diego’s public utilities director, wrote state regulators this month.

Some environmental groups oppose giving local governments credit for new supplies, saying it might discourage conservation.

The state water board will take public comment on the proposed changes for roughly two weeks. Gomberg said the state water board could hold a public hearing Feb. 2.

Who would have known Feaster was so well connected? Well, that’s the way things work around here – you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours!

21 Dec

What do we know about Paradise police officer Patrick Feaster? 

We’ve seen the films – I tried not to watch, but they’ve played it again and again – the body of a living human being being rolled over by a car and left like a mannequin in the road. A head pops out of the top of the car like a jack-in-the-box, jolts violently, and disappears back into the car. 

Something that bugs the hell out of me is that Feaster never once bends over the woman’s body. I mean, she might have been alive still, needed somebody to say something, comfort her a little. I can’t believe he acts as though she’s not even there. 

It’s a snuff movie, I can’t believe Ch 12 and 7 would just play it again and again. We need to see it? I don’t need to see it – I already know, you don’t want to mess with Paradise police. Ask Robert Funk, whose arm was almost twisted off by Paradise police officer Robert “RJ” Pickering.  Mr. Funk was celebrating his own birthday with friends at his Paradise eatery, when he had to use the bathroom out back. Pickering saw him and said he thought Funk was a prowler. He yanked open the bathroom door and forced Funk out of the bathroom, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back as Mr. Funk protested he was the property owner.  I thought that was also incompetence on Pickering’s part. Funk had owned a well-known eatery for years. In a town that size, the cops should know people.  Mr. Funk ended up with a dislocated arm and a pantsfull of his own excrement. He sued the city and won an undisclosed amount, but I just saw RJ in a news piece about a month ago, acting like a spokesman for Paradise PD.

I’ve known little RJ since he was a child, and if anybody had asked me, I could have told them he’s got a suitcase full of problems. But nobody asked me. They really need to do further background checks on these people before they give them the authority to maim, kill or just plain humiliate people.  They should also have to live in the town where they serve, so people know them too.

Patrick Feaster also apparently grew up around here. In fact, he’s very well connected. His dad is with Chico School District – I remembered his name, he’s one of the salaries that adds to the cost of educating your kid, but adds nothing to your kid’s education. But young Feaster has a more well-known relative – former Butte County Supervisor Jane Dolan.

http://m.krcrtv.com/officer-patrick-feaster-wins-madd-award-for-efforts-arrest-drunk-drivers/37022600

This story above is apparently from last year. There is speculation among the comments included in the link that Feaster is getting special treatment, and also that he is too zealous about getting drunk drivers because of the award. I wonder myself – if he saw these folks exit the bar, having been kicked out for being intoxicated and rowdy, why did he let them get in the car? Why didn’t he flash that red light right on the spot? I wonder – did Thomas see the cop car behind him, and lose control of the car? 

And what about the person(s) at the bar, who, knowing Thomas was intoxicated, let him leave in a car? Don’t bars have some responsibility? You’re not supposed to serve an intoxicated person.  It takes some booze for a guy to get that drunk. 

This whole sad affair leaves a lot of questions about how the county deals with their own personnel. We need more outside, non-affiliated oversight here. Butte County is starting to resemble Hazzard County, and Ramsey is starting to look like Boss Hogg. 

UPDATE: This has made a national splash –

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/outrage-police-shooting-drunk-driver-paradise-california-officer-patrick-feaster/

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/12/14/california_officer_shoots_suspected_drunk_driver_in_dashcam_video.html

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/Northern-California-Police-Shooting-Patrick-Feaster-DUI-Suspect-362426641.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/officer-shot-dui-suspect-charges_566b31a9e4b0fccee16e924f

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mistakenly-shot-suspect-not-charged-article-1.2464035

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-california-officer-shooting-20151219-story.html

 

 

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