Monterey Bay Forum

The city of Glendale is imposing a ban on artificial grass. Notices are going out to homeowners whose front yards are covered in turf.

Geneva Dotson says she was forced to pay crews $3,000 to rip up her brand new front yard after receiving a notice from city hall.

City officials say the concern is related to the plastic and chemicals used in the artificial turf.

When asked why the fake grass would continue to be allowed in backyards, officials had no answer.

City officials say they plan to press criminal charges against those who do not comply.
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A mind that can criminalize front yard turf but not backyard turf is a mind that can sell guns to Mexican cartels.

FirenzeSage48@gmail.com

City Councilman Gordon Wozniak wants to repeal key portions, if not all, of that most hallowed of Berkeley legislation: the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act.

Wozniak is working on an ordinance to overturn the portion of the act that bans the city from investing in U.S. Treasury bonds, notes and bills. In a struggling economy, the city’s finance director should have more flexibility and options for investments, particularly conservative ones like Treasury bonds, Wozniak said.

I’ll fight this in the streets, at City Hall, anywhere it needs to be fought,” said Peace and Justice Commissioner Bob Meola. It “is total nonsense that the act is a relic left over from the Cold War. The threat of nuclear war is very real and, unfortunately, will continue to be so as long as nations and unknown players have possession of nuclear weapons.”
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Do you get it? The government has nuclear stuff so do not invest in government bonds. Where does one go for nuclear medicine? Is any nuclear power used for developing anything Berkeley buys? FirenzeSage48@gmail.com

Undocumented college students in California would be eligible to receive publicly funded financial aid under a controversial bill that passed the Legislature on Friday and that now heads to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown, who is expected to sign it.

The bill, AB131, known as the Dream Act, allows students who have graduated from high school after attending at least three years in California to apply for the Cal Grant program that pays for tuition, fees, books and living expenses for lower-income students.

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Well let’s see. We close the parks and get this.

FirenzeSage48@gmail.com

A persistent scammer named Fofana Mbemba has been prowling the self-service parking lots along the Embarcadero, pretending to be a parking attendant.

He takes money – often from tourists – and hands them a fake tag.

When they return, there’s a parking ticket on the windshield.

“The guy had blue pants and a white shirt with an insignia on it,” said former Mayor Art Agnos, one of the victims. “He says, ‘That will be $10, sir,’ and when I come back, there’s another attendant putting a ticket on my car.

Mbemba was arrested Monday for the hustle, but this isn’t the first time. Mbemba has been arrested at least 14 times for similar crimes and has been convicted and sent to state prison, yet repeatedly has returned to the waterfront to engage in more scams.

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Well, you can understand the ex mayor of San Francisco being taken. But can’t this guy get a new gig or location?

FirenzeSage48@aol.com

Time that states send back federal dollars and, rather get diverted to another state, that those moneys are spent to reduce the federal deficit.

$300 MILLION dangled in front of states’ noses for high speed rail just one example:

High speed rail from San Francisco to Anaheim likely cost at least 67 BILLION and higher if there are construction overruns in metropolitan areas. The only people who want this California Dream are Democratic politicians. State voters approved a $9 billion bond. The first leg of the train track goes from nowhere to nowhere and will have to be subsidized.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he plans to divert to California some $300 MILLION in high speed funds that Florida rejected. Last week California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office warned the state legislature not to approve funds for high speed rail.

Time to tell the California legislature to pull the plug on high speed rail before it blows up on the taxpayers.

Better yet, tell the California legislature to send back the money and require that the money go to bring down the federal budget.

Time that all unspent grant money from stated go to federal debt retirement. The Refund Act by Congressman Denny Rehberg of Montana and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida requires the federal government to dedicate all unspent grant money from states go go debt retirement.

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Tom Honig is the former editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel located in Santa Cruz, California.

Who is Tom Honig?

Though retired, he is still a journalist will always be a journalist. Been around a long time in Santa Cruz County, California.

Tom Honig’s interests are business (redevelopment currently) and politics in Santa Cruz County, California. He was the former editor of the local paper in Santa Cruz. The current editor is Mr. Miller.

Tom Honig has a blog: TomHonig.com

My question to Tom Honig: How can the editorials published by the Santa Cruz Sentinel improve? Any suggestions? Can anyone –or can you Mr. Honig — please improve the syntax if not the content of editorials written by Mr. Miller, the current editor of the paper? It’s easy to fall asleep reading Mr. Miller’s editorials.

The Monterey Bay Forum wishes Tom Honig the best as he continues to be who and what he is: a journalist who has been aroumd Santa Cruz, CA for many years.

About REDEVELOPMENT: Isn’t redevelopment money supposed to be to combat BLIGHT? I do not see blight in Santa Cruz County. So why the rush to spend money on redevelopment? Sounds like just another way to use tax payer money for what ever the government currently wants.

Tom, where was there or is there “blight” in Santa Cruz County California.

So what say you?

Cameron Jackson, Ph.D. DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

A peer-staffed crises residential program located in a three bedroom residence in a toney area of Aptos is slated to open March, 2011 to assit persons with major mental illness. These clients, without a high level of support, would require hospitalization.

The federal government dangles moeny and Santa Cruz County accepts — without prior consultation from the neighborhood or public at large and no imput by taxpayers who pay the bill.

Why did our local Santa Cruz County government representatives purchase 5 years of top of the market residential housing in one of the most expensive areas in Santa Cruz County ($3,900 for a 3 bedroom house with ocean view and two jacuzzis) to provide mental health housing for 1,116 visitors a year? (Someone should find out whether the 5 year lease agreement with the owner picks up the costs of utilities and taxes as well.)

Supervisor Pirie who represents Aptos states that she did not know. So who did decide?

How about some belt tightening by local Santa Cruz government? Did the results of the November, 2009 elections sink in here in Santa Cruz County — that the public wants to cut government costs?

Approximately 1,116 visitors at risk of psychiatric hospitalization due to symptoms of hallucinations (e.g., hearing voices or seeing things that aren’t there), delusions (false beliefs), agitation and impaired functional abilities will be housed at the proposed peer-staffed crises residential program.

At any one time, up to 8 persons will be at 218 Claudius with staff of 7.35 Full Time Equivalent (FTE). So there will be almost a one to one staff to patient ratio at 218 Claudius on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis.

Why 218 Claudius? Well, yes indeed, 218 Claudius in Aptos, CA has a magnificent view of Monterey Bay. It is a quiet, residential neighborhood. A resident at 218 Claudius can readily walk to Rio del Mar Beach which is only a few blocks down the hill. Likewise, it is a short 15 minute walk to Deluxe Market located on Rio del Mar Blvd. Should there be some life endangering situation — some resident goes out of control — the Fire Department is about a mile away and there are no speed bumps in between.

Public transportation to and from 218 Claudius is a bit iffy however. Say a person wanted to get from the River Street shelter in Santa Cruz, CA to 218 Claudius in Aptos, CA using public transportation. The last bus from Santa Cruz to Cabrillo College (#71) leaves at 4:00 pm and a person must catch the 4:45 pm #55 bus to get to Rio del Mar near Claudius. That is the last bus. Thus, people must drive their car or be driven if arriving after 5 pm. And there are few street lights in Aptos.

The Santa Cruz Metro bus telephone number is 831 425-8600. Expect a 15 minute wait if calling as I did around 3:30 pm. That kind of wait is not good for persons suffering from mental illness and seeking immediate crises assistance.

As there is no bus after 5 pm, persons in crises coming to 218 Caudius must either drive, be driven or walk. There are no street lights. And parking is quite skimpy. Will the 7.3 Full Time Equivalent persons working drive their vehicles? Probably.

How well thought out was this decision? Who were the key players making the decision?

written by Cameorn Jackson DrCameronJackson@gmail.com (more…)

Some schools do a terrible job of educating their children. In failing schools in California parents of children in failing schools could exercise “parent trigger”. Parent trigger allowed parents to replace the public school system with a charter school.

Now the powers that protect the adults that run the public schools seek to crush parent trigger.

“Parent trigger” school reform was undermined by Governor Jerry Brown on his first day of office, He replaced seven reform members of the state board of education with UNION ALLIES including a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association. The new board plans to re-write the rules that govern the parent trigger law.

Assemblywoman Julia Brownley and state schools chief Tom Torlakson, both voted against parent trigger last year, plan to amend the law. Expect them to work for appeal of the parent trigger law.

When parents in Compton, CA exercised the parent trigger law the teachers urged parents to rescind their petitions Then, when that did not work, the district required parents to bring official photo identification knowing that some are illegal immigrants. A judge issued a temporary restraining order stopping the verification plan. In response the school administrations declared all petitions disqualified based on technicalities — some petitions were not stapled and some legal code numbers were mistyped. (more…)