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Abandoned shopping carts, for better or worse, are a central component of many parts of Petaluma's urban landscape. So says Frank Simpson of the Petaluma360 blog. Frank has agreed to author a review of his observations on the increasing struggle his city faces with abandoned shopping cart--with a nice photo essay illustrating his points. Please take a read at Petaluma360.
The headline on Tuesday’s DrudgeReport said it all: "California towns begin turning toilet sewage into drinking water..."
Yes, the Orange County Water District has begun to implement its Groundwater Replenishment System, whereby sewage water will be recycled into -- get ready -- tap water. Perhaps not surprisingly, the story’s gaining national attention, and it doesn’t get any more national than Drudge and the New York Times.
Jokes aside, this program, now popularly referred to as (ok, one more joke) “toilet to tap,” could not only spell relief for the long term challenges the state faces regarding its most critical resource, but many cities are jumping on the “T2T” bandwagon...
Continue reading "From Toilet to Tap -- The Solution to the Water Crisis?" »
The LA City Council is asking LAPD to rethink the way it schedules officer's shifts, arguing that the current setup does not provide for adequate visibility and "perception of public safety." The story, carried on KNBC-LA, raises some interesting issues regarding police presence and how crime stats don't tell the whole story when it comes to the public's feeling of safety.
The Eminent Domain Reform Now coalition has submitted over million signatures to qualify their "Homeowners Protection Act," a measure designed to protect the states homeowners. The measure also provides Californians a safer, saner and honest alternative to the Howard Jarvis-funded "Property Owners & Farmland Protection Act" which is really designed to repeal rent control laws in the state.
The Full Press Release is reprinted below, but it's critical to take a moment to point out how different the current Eminent Domain proposals are, and the potential pitfalls the state faces if the Jarvis measure passes. Those of you that followed the Prop 90 battle last year may recall that proponents of that measure highlighted that other states had implemented similar "reforms" to those found in Prop 90, such as Oregon's Measure 37. It's no surprise to learn now that, after close to 10,000 lawsuits, Oregonians cried uncle this month and passed a referendum on Measure 37.
Most telling is that city officals are actively supporting the Homeowners Protection Act, and were engaged in the signature gathering process. Read on about the real efforts to reform Eminent Domain...
Coalition Supporting True Eminent Domain Reform Submits Signatures Today to Qualify the Homeowners Protection Act for June 2008 Ballot
Sacramento, CA – Eminent Domain Reform Now, a coalition of seniors, homeowners, business, labor, environmentalists, local governments, affordable housing advocates and others today announced the submission of more than 1.1 million signatures to county elections officials to qualify their eminent domain reform measure for the June 2008 ballot. The Homeowners Protection Act would prevent governments from using eminent domain to take an owner-occupied home to transfer to a private party. The measure is a direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo v. the City of New London decision from 2005.
“It’s been well over two years since the Supreme Court ruled in the Kelo case, and it’s high time that California enacted strong protections for homeowners against eminent domain for private development,” said Ken Willis, president of the League of California Homeowners. “This measure would provide California homeowners with new, constitutional protections against eminent domain. We’re confident that we’ve collected the necessary signatures to place this measure on the June ballot, and are even more confident that voters will overwhelmingly support our measure when given the chance.”
By Mike Madrid
Having been a public affairs and political consultant for the past fifteen years, it's fair to say I have a pretty fair understanding of the 'crime' issue and how it plays with the voters of the state. There's no question that the issue of crime has evolved over the years and is a much more complex issue for voters than simply promising to "throw more cops on the street."
In fact, most recently, in many of the cities I have been assisting with polling and research in, voters are clearly saying that they do not view more police officers as a sufficient answer to whats going on in their communities. Crime and fear of it is driven by one thing - Gangs.
This should come as no surprise to readers of California City News - we've been reporting on it for months, and no community is spared from the threat of gangs or fear of them. Once the province of large urban areas, gangs and the social problems they bring are now quickly emerging as huge problems for rural and suburban areas. As CCN reported just after this months elections, the region of the state that saw the highest rate of passage for 2/3rds public safety measures was in the central valley. Yes, that's the conservative central valley where taxes are about as popular as birkenstocks. The reason? Gangs. Rural and suburban communities are increasingly viewed as good growing grounds for gangs looking to broaden their reach, build labs for cooking "crystal meth", or escape cities and counties with strong gang injunctions like the county of Riverside.
As gangs grow in influence and size their urban cores have spread to nearly every reach in the state. Polling data suggest that residents are scared out of their wits and see the problem getting worse. They want the problem addressed comprehensively - anti-graffiti efforts, youth activities and parks and recreation programs, vocational training and after school programs - just to start.
Its a problem. It's getting worse. They're affecting even the safest cities. If you dont think so - read this story about San Jose
The City of El Monte has passed an ordinance that seeks to stamp out prostitution. The ordinance is a reversal from many that cities have adopted in the past as it allows for known convicted pimps and prostitutes to be arrested just for standing on street corner.
The ordinance does not require solicitation as part of the justification for arrest. Until now, police could only arrest people if they were actually observed soliciting for sex, said Jim Beres, code enforcement manager for the El Monte Police Department. Under the new law, violators may be punished by a misdemeanor, including a $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail, or both.
Click here for the complete story in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune
As California City News has regularly reported, the collective action of cities united can have as great an impact as any state government - perhaps even greater.
Whether its fighting for the protection of local revenues, control over land use decisions or, in this case, controlling green house gas emissions - cities working together can bring about - even force change - from the bottom up.
A perfect case in point is made in a recent NPR radio spot illustrating what can happen when cities take public policy into their own hands.
From National Public Radio:
Texas is the country's largest emitter of global warming gases. But the state's political leaders say climate change isn't a problem and have blocked even minor efforts to address the issue. That has prompted the mayors of some of the state's biggest cities — including influential Republicans — to take the issue into their own hands.
Click here for the complete story
CNN took a look at San Francisco's plastic grocery bag ban today, showing that once again, the City by the Bay makes great fodder for the mainstream press. Mayor Gavin Newsom and the California Grocers Association square off on CNN. Check it out.
the US Conference of Mayors issued an economic impact report today forecasting a nationwide loss in GDP on the scale of $166 billion owing to the "subprime mortgage meltdown." Of that figure, the report projects $8.3 billion in losses coming from Los Angeles and $5.4 billion from the Bay Area alone.
The conference of Mayors, to its credit, has been on this issue from the start, issuing a letter to the Federal Reserve back in August encouraging it to step in against predatory lending practices. That letter was signed by over 60 mayors, 9 from California.
The San Jose Merc ran an in depth look over the weekend at the impact foreclosures are having on finances at both the state and local levels. The story, titled "Foreclosures Ravage Neighborhoods and Communities," could not have stated it better. As perceived affordability enticed homebuyers into new or newly refurbished communities, so has the foreclosure wave hit those locales severely -- and may be turning many a subdvision into near ghost towns.
While personal tolls the "mortgage meltdown" will take on families throughout California will be severe, the impacts on government cannot be downplayed. If revenues continue to fall, belt tightening will be the buzzword around city halls in the coming year, and more frightening yet, in Sacramento.
NPR also aired a story this morning on this very issue, interviewing the mayor of Detroit and a Harvard professor who each gave their perspective on the impacts this crisis will have on urban centers across the country.
By Mike Madrid
Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, we used to call "climate change" initiatives by another name - energy conservation. While this was long before "An Inconvenient Truth" changed our social and political consciousness, its important to understand that with all of the recent headlines (some might suggest hysteria) surrounding the issue, what we're still basically talking about -- and hoping that consumers and public agencies alike will come to embrace -- is energy conservation.
While some people believe that Hawaii is a few years away from being submerged as a result of shrinking ice caps in Greenland and others believe that we're simply starting a natural warming cycle that our planet has been sliding in and out for a few millenia or so - there is, I believe, a lot of common ground on this issue.
Very few people I've ever talked to believe there isn't something virtuous about energy conservation. Some peope are motivated by saving money, others by the prospect of emerging technologies driving responsible change, still others believe we are well on the road to destruction if we don't radically alter our ways. Regardless, being frugal with our energy resources is widely accepted as a virtue.
In the current political climate, it's hard to separate fact from fiction. In many ways, there's too much information and too many ways to make better on the ways we live our lives. The term "green building" has become one of those terms, much like "smart growth", that sounds awful good -- but isn't too clear on meaning.
What's "green" to one may not be to another in much the same way that "smart" to one, isn't so much to the other. So what exactly is "green building" anyway?
The answer? Well, there isnt one. Not a definitve one anyway. If you want to get an idea of how many folks out there are trying to define it, take a surf through www.greenbuilding.com, or www.buildinggreen.com, or www.greenbuilder.com, or how about www.greenhomebuilding.com or even the EPA's "gateway" to green building info? Overwhelmed? We thought so. The closest California City News can get to is "it depends," or that perhaps "green is in the eye of the beholder." And how a city becomes green ususally depends on where it starts off.
This is a topic we will be writing about quite a bit in the coming months. It's certainly captured the interest of city leaders and their residents like few others in recent memory. Expect a lot more information on this blog trying to discern fact from fiction as millions of dollars are poured into trying to solve the "energy conservation" question. In the meantime, click here for an answer in the Ventura County Star
