Workers' Privacy Rights Trampled by Fox News, Department Heads

Fox News reports that the FAA Chief has shown command deficiency and totally disregard for employee privacy.

The nation's top aviation official says he has suspended a control tower supervisor while investigating why no controller was available to aid two planes that landed at Washington's Reagan airport early this week.

Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt said Thursday in a statement that the controller has been suspended from his operational duties. He said he was "personally outraged" that the supervisor, the lone controller on duty in the airport tower at the time, failed to meet his duties.

On condition of anonymity, one FAA employee stated, "the staff is outraged at Babbitt for confirming this incident happened because he has started an unfair precedent of being open with the public. If the public finds out how often this happens, we'll have to start sleeping at home."

Leucadia Action

Even the kids in Leucadia empower themselves to take action to help out fellow humans.

Bake sale to help Japan.

Credit: Chris

Public Health Issues Always Dismissible

This is Leucadia and everyone in Leucadia is crazy. This is Encinitas and everyone knows that city hall likes to bury their problems.

SD City Beat Greenhouse Soil Blamed by Neighbors for Illness

What they didn’t foresee was the danger of building on land steeped in pesticides. It was widely known that the soil contained high levels of dieldrin, an insecticide. City Ventures proposed to bury the contaminated earth. The city of Encinitas conducted an environmental study and determined that, with City Ventures’ remediation plan, the project “will not adversely affect the health, safety or general welfare of the community.”

However, during the last two weeks, as many as 16 people in the neighborhood have come down ill, complaining of a variety of symptoms that are consistent with exposure to dieldrin. 

“Dizziness and disorientation, sore throat, blisters and rashes, vomiting, severe headaches and nausea,” says Frank Delahoyde, an analyst at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, whose home backs up to the project, in an emailed statement. “And it is the ones that stay at home that have become the sickest. I’m gone for most of the day, but have experienced unusual coughing in the mornings before I leave for work.”

He adds that one of his dogs stopped eating and began experiencing seizures. His family—and his dog—have temporarily moved to alternative housing, along with several other residents. Maria Lindsay, another resident, tells CityBeat she has moved to a hotel after testing positive for dieldrin in her body.

 See Also: Buyer's Delight

Historic Leucadia Buildings

The Encinitas Historical Society ran an article on one of Leucadia's oldest and coolest homes in their Spring edition of Little Oaks newsletter.

The log cabin home is found on Hymettus Ave.

It was built in the mid 1920's using cedar telephone poles. It was built by Miles Kellogg who also built the boathouses. In 1930, the owner cut down 30+ eucalyptus trees and plants and orchard of avocados. Those trees were still productive until at least the 90's, and if root rot hasn't gotten to them they may still be productive today.

Buildings, and history, like that bring value to the Hymettus neighborhood. They are symbolic of who we are.

If you are not a member of the Encinitas Historical Society, membership is a bargain. Sign up here.

Library Comment

Libraries have taken on many roles these days. The Nixon library is as much a monument and museum.

The LA Times just ran an article on the the new exhibits at that library that remind us that even those in the highest power can't always be trusted to do the right thing when seeking to maintain personal power.

The library is a giant lesson in the mistake of trying to cover up errors. Nixon, "Its not the crime that kills you, its the cover up." While the deed may have only implicated a few, cover ups often require a much broader group of people to act, even if only by omission.

The new Nixon exhibit is titled dirty tricks.

More important than going back over Nixon's misdeeds is telling this part of the story, ran by NPR.

That scheme, and many others hatched by Nixon, never happened, says Naftali, because people in the government said no, "people who received orders that they would not, could not implement.

"That is a story that must be remembered. That is something that we have to teach students and future members of our government," says Naftali, "that you can say no when you're asked to do something that is unconstitutional or illegal [or unethical]."

That mostly untold part of the story is the part of those who put doing the right thing ahead of their fear of being kicked out of the political crony club. In hindsight, they must realize that they even their own personal interests were improved because they would have been caught up in the Nixon scandal.

The public and public employees should seek to foster and promote checks and balances in the system to make it harder for elected officials to even consider putting the public interest second to grabs at personal power. There are lots of ways to do that at the local level.

Jim Bond, Forward Thinker

When the city went big on the new library Jim Bond was ridiculed for questioning the role of libraries in the new century. He said we were overbuilding or overspending on a a fancy community coffeehouse. A taxpayer funded Barnes and Noble with a million dollar view.


San Diego's Investigative Rag Quote:

...Encinitas deputy mayor James Bond, who was less than enthusiastic about the building of his community’s elegant new library, calling it a potential “dinosaur” and saying that “in ten years, nobody will be making a trip to the library. We will be looking at a PalmPilot or a computer at home.”

Patch just ran a blurb on the library's  killer coffee cart. You can drink your nice coffee, watch the sunset and check out the city hall roof from the million dollar patio.

 Credit: Art and Enviro Politics Blog

The library was stamped environmentally friendly, just like everything else that is green-ganded these days.

Bond was before his time. Newport beach just opened a "library" with no books. Newport Beach more forward thinking than Encinitas?

 Is reading bad for the environment?

The library also functions as a cool art house. Now on display are mosaics.

Praise and Concern for EFD Management

From the Coast News Commentary

I want to thank Fire Chief Muir and his staff for an excellent and informative presentation on the issues being brought before counsel. He and his staff brought clarity to this matter with in-depth research using empirical data.

The chief and his staff were clear about the issues at hand; the areas of Olivenhain noted “in red” are at extreme risk of inadequate fire and life safety response times.

 Leuadia was looking a little orange-red in the northern parts.

 The chief was quick to document that simply shifting the proposed construction of the coastal located Fire Station 1 from its currently planned location to an area within “the red zone” would immediately provide an equitable distribution of life/safety services for all of Encinitas and its outlying communities.

Why not have a 6th fire station if public safety is the council's priority? We've got gazillions of dollars for recreation. 

Given the fact that Chief Muir’s presentation documented the areas of “Encinitas proper” experience a response time from four to six minutes AND the areas of Olivenhain are recorded to have times in excess of 14 minutes not only puts that area at risk but certainly poses a liability to the city itself.

Is the city liable for not providing adequate sports fields? Is the city liable for Leucadia's flooding?

The chief’s presentation predicatively forecasted that by simply shifting Fire Station 1, an equitable and reasonable response time of six minutes would be experienced throughout the entire area from which you reside, represent and control.

Why reduce response times for anyone? Firestation 6 should be made to fit in with the surrounding Olivenhain estates. It will need a huge swimming pool and tanning deck.

It would be very difficult to understand any decision by counsel that doesn’t protect and serve the life and fire safety of our community, including that of The Colony of Olivenhain, which resides within the city of Encinitas. We are contributors to the general fund out here in “The Red Zone.” Our community of 66 homes alone contributes in excess of $2 million in property taxes annually. We are more than willing to contribute in anyway reasonably possible to assist the council members into ensuring these essential services are provided to our community.

That $2 million was smoked by a couple department heads.

Thanks for your time and willingness to serve.

cory.crommett

Encinitas (City Hall) Forecast

Patch Op-Ed: Is Local Government Hiding the Sunshine?

Yes, most of the time, the city follows the law. Most of the time, there is no reason for the city to manipulate information being made available to the public, but the weather forecast for City Hall is always a chance of fog. Don’t assume sunshine. If you are asking about something sensitive, expect the marine layer to penetrate local government.

The biggest problem is that it's really tough to know what the city has withheld from its citizens. The city takes advantage of the public’s trust. There are many examples of things that have been withheld from the public that are known to have existed.

Here is a small sample picked from a large pool: READ MORE

 

Cardiff Envy

 Cardiff gets world famous art. Leucadia gets tree stumps.

Summer's Hope

Summer's Hope Campaign Launch Benefits Local Yoga Teacher with Cancer

March 16, 2011 - Vista, California. The grass roots campaign "Summer's Hope", http://summershope.com has launched in the Northern San Diego Yoga community, benefiting long time local yoga and fitness instructor, Summer Autio, who has been battling ovarian cancer since August, 2006. The web-based campaign targets yoga studios, businesses, and individuals interested in offering events and promotions to collect funds to help offset Summer’s staggering medical expenses incurred while battling this disease.

Despite suffering painful side effects of weekly chemo and other treatments, Summer continues to teach and inspire students at studios throughout the area.  When she shows up “on the mat”, she inspires everyone to carry on despite life’s setbacks. She has been profiled in several publications, most recently in the Coast News, September 2010. 

Summer has earned a reputation as a rigorous, yet inspirational teacher who has attracted a large and loyal following; some students have been with her for over 25 years.  

Although the campaign officially launched February 28, 2011, 30 local yoga studios, retail/service businesses, plus dozens of individuals have already signed up to participate. The campaign has grown exponentially and taken on a national and international scope through the power of social media.  Online donations and support are coming in from as far away as Germany, Belgium, Australia and South Korea.

Contact:  Sherry Zak Morris, Owner

Yoga Vista, Vista CA

sherryzakmorris@gmail.com

info@summershope.com

760.599.0055

Absurd Snowfall

USA Today 'Absurdly deep' Sierra snow great news for dry California 
After state water officials release the results of their latest snow survey Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to officially declare the drought over, said Evan Westrup, a spokesman for the governor's office. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in June 2008 and a state of emergency because of low water levels in February 2009.

Water deliveries are expected to be up this year! Yeah for water. Now poor people can afford to grow local.

Council Member Barth is known for following the rules. Jerome says the rules state that the SDWD needs to go to a weaker drought stage. The only thing absurdly deep at city hall is going to be the bull.

Firefighters Gone Wild

Valid concerns about extended fire department emergency response times in Olivenhain are overshadowing serious competency and conduct problems within the Encinitas Fire Department.

Having more fire stations or faster response times will not improve public safety if the Fire Department is negligently managed.

In January 2011, the Encinitas Taxpayers Association was informed by Fire Department insiders that numerous acts of neglect of duty and dangerous violations of San Diego County EMS protocols had taken place under the command of current Fire Chief Mark Muir and his management team. Those acts are outlined below.

Attempts were made to clarify the circumstances surrounding the misconduct with the Fire Chief, City Manager and eventually the City Council. The Fire Chief did not deny the occurrence of the incidents, but attempted to obscure the misconduct, and refused to explain what his policy was for disciplining firefighters who endangered the public.

We are suspect that the Fire Chief grossly failed to take appropriate management action.

Unlike in other jurisdictions, the City of Encinitas does not regularly report to the public information on disciplinary action. Unlike other cities, Encinitas has refused to release any information related to disciplinary, corrective action or investigations of misconduct.

All appearances from the Fire Chief, City Manager, and all five council members are of a city-wide cover up.

The taxpayers have a right to know the circumstances surrounding these acts, how this misconduct has been mitigated, and if the root cause leading to these acts has been identified and addressed. The public deserves to know whether or not negligence is rare or has become commonplace in the city’s fire department.

We are asking the citizens of Encinitas to simply contact the city council and request that they see that the fire department report their disciplinary history, just like other California cities. 

Below is a subset of acts reported to the ETA by firefighter insiders:



ACT 1. Failure to Respond / Abandonment / Neglect of Duty / Making False Statements

A Fire Captain repeatedly and maliciously neglected his responsibility to respond with his fire company to emergency medical incidents.  To avoid having to respond to emergency calls, the Captain would deliberately and intentionally place his company out of service or state that his company was located farther out than other companies by manipulating the apparatus on-board dispatch computer system.

In the fire service this action is rare and when it does happen it is call "sand bagging."  Firefighters figure this act of negligence out quickly and know when a unit sand bags. Why did it take numerous incidents to discover this misconduct?  Is this an acceptable practice in Encinitas?   In any well managed fire department the Captain would have been fired.



Act 2. Neglect of Duty / Violation of San Diego County Emergency Medical Services Protocol
A Firefighter/Paramedic assigned to a Paramedic Assessment Engine Company responded to a critical medical call and initiated Advance Life Support.  In the treatment of the patient, he was required to use drugs and other life saving equipment. 

Following the transfer of care to an ambulance crew and subsequent transport to a medical facility,  the Firefighter failed to restock the medical box with the necessary drugs and equipment as is required under the San Diego County Emergency Medical Services Protocol.

The remainder of the 24 hour work shift passed and there were no emergency responses that required use of the medical equipment.

Upon relief the following day, the on coming Firefighter/Paramedic never conducted an inventory check of the medical equipment. The medical box containing life saving drugs and equipment was depleted and not ready for service.  Responsible paramedics review the medical boxes’ inventory by upon starting a new shift. The Captain is ultimately responsible for the readiness of the apparatus, crew and equipment. 

There were no emergency responses on this shift.

By the next shift, almost 72 hours after the medical call that required Advanced Life Support intervention, the inventory of the medical box had still not been checked. The Firefighter/Paramedic during this particular shift was called to respond to a critical medical incident.  Upon arrival the Firefighter/Paramedic found that a citizen was in serious condition and would need Advanced Life Support intervention.  When the Encinitas Firefighter/Paramedic opened the medical box, he discovered that he didn’t have the necessary inventory and supplies that should have been used to help save a life.

Standing over a patient in need of emergency care is not the time for a Firefighter/Paramedic to discover he/she is out of supplies. That is why cities that value public safety are managed diligently, have strong leadership and discipline.  Fire department members should be dedicated, loyal and adhere to strict policies and protocols.  

In well run Fire Departments, emergency responders are responsible to ensure that all of their emergency equipment is ready.  They are mandated to perform daily, weekly and monthly checks of there apparatus and equipment-both medical and firefighting. Encinitas firefighters failed to do their job, they neglected their responsibility to serve the public and threatened the safety of the people they serve.

We have been informed by one fire department insider that the initial Firefighter/Paramedic who failed to restock the medical box had a history of disciplinary problems including an arrest for DUI, possession of cocaine and concealed handgun.


ACT 3. Delayed Response

A Paramedic Assessment Engine Company in the Village Park area of Encinitas regularly responds to a housing track that has access through a fire gate.  This gate greatly reduced response times to this track of homes. This company was unable to open the fire gate due to the fact they were unable to locate the keys to the lock.  The incident they were responding to was a cardiac arrest.   The unit decided to drive around to the community entrance.  This added an additional delay of over 10 minutes before vital life saving intervention could begin.  The patient died. 

The home in which the patient resided was within walking distance of the fire gate.

Again the department displayed a lack of readiness and discipline by not ensuring that the apparatus inventory is complete and prepared for emergency response.  There seems to be a pattern.


Other Acts

There are other act of unprofessional behavior, which we think the residents of Encinitas would be disappointed to discover.  We hope the city will promptly release the department’s disciplinary history to the public, as in other California cities, and once they do we will gauge the city’s reporting against the list of acts for which we have knowledge of.

Fortunately for the citizens of Encinitas there are some honest and diligent firefighters who work for the City.

It is up to you decide if we want a fire department with just some good Firefighters or a fire department that is well managed, loyal and dedicated to serving the citizens. 

Please, email your representative at city hall and ask that they release the fire department’s disciplinary history. 

The council’s email is council@encinitas.org.

Steve Meiche
Leucadia Resident, 26 years
Active Los Angeles City Firefighter/Paramedic, 31 years
Board Member, Encinitas Taxpayers Association

Planning for the Future of Encinitas

Encinitas is waaaay waaaay better than any other town. We are genetically superior and immune from poor planning because we are driven by an economic dream team.

CLAREMONT’S PENSION TIDAL WAVE IN THREE ACTS

John J. McDermott III

Prologue: “Party Like Its 1999”

The year 1999 was a heady one for California. The Internet Bubble was rocking and the stock market was shooting to the moon. In this festive mood Governor Gray Davis signed into law SB 400, which dramatically increased the pension benefits for California public workers.

Calpers assured us at the time that this generous pension party would not cost the state or cities a dime in extra taxes. As part of the sales pitch for the new pensions Calpers projected that the stock market would achieve an annual average rate of return of 8.25% in the years following1999. This allowed them to claim that the enhanced pensions would remain fully funded without taxpayer support. Implicit in the Calpers return number was that the Dow would reach 25,000 by 2009. This projection, made near the very peak of the Dot.com Bubble with the most overvalued stock market in history, was pure deception on the part of Calpers. This deception allowed them to convince gullible legislators voting on SB 400 that no new taxes would be used to fund the new pensions. But, not mentioned publicly was the fall back provision. That provision was to come to the taxpayers to fund the plan if stocks or real estate did something really crazy and unpredictable over the ensuing years, like fall back to their historical fair value.

Present Day: “The Hangover”

This is the situation our state finds it self in today: billions of dollars flowing out of the state general fund to Calpers. And this is money that will not be spent on our universities, parks, or healthcare for our poorest citizens.

It is not just the state that has to come up with more money to fund pensions due to Calipers’ malfeasance. Claremont, like all cities, has to cough up more dough as well. So where is the money going to come from?

This brings us to a recent city publication: “The Mayors Ad Hoc Committee on Economic Sustainability”. This report is obviously the product of many hours of hard work and I appreciate the authors’ frank recognition of the fiscal problems we face here in Claremont. However I disagree with the committee’s characterization of our fiscal problem as a revenue problem. Further, I disagree with the committee’s proposal to fix the problem by raising the utility tax instead of recommending that city employees immediately begin paying the employee portion of their pension. Currently the city picks up 100% of what is supposed to be the employee’s contribution.

The city’s problem really is not a revenue problem. The city reaped a windfall of taxes during the housing bubble due to its attendant effects on property tax revenue and retail sales tax. Property tax revenue to the city went up from around 2.5 Million in 2003 to close to 7 Million in 2007 (Appendix A of the Committee’s report). This was a onetime windfall based on an unsustainable housing and credit bubble. However, the city budgeted as if this boom would continue forever: city general fund spending per capita outpaced inflation by a wide margin from 2003-2009.

Much of this growth in city spending has been on increased employee compensation and benefits. I encourage you to visit the State Controller’s website to review the city of Claremont salaries. Sixty-eight city employees had an annual direct compensation of greater than $100,000 in 2009 (newest data available). These employees will be receiving pensions that will be worth up to 70 to 90% of these salaries. For example, our assistant city manager made $199,919 in 2009 and will soon be eligible for a pension based on that pay level. His pension would be worth approximately $140,000 per year if he were to retire today. An equivalent annuity would cost you or I anywhere from $2.3 to $3.5 MILLION to purchase.

Some would have us believe that Calpers will “earn” its way out of its funding hole. The chances of that occurring are slim. Even at current levels equities are far above their historical fair value based on long-term earnings and dividend yields. Astute money managers, such as Jeremy Grantham and Bill Gross, feel it is likely we will not see pension investment returns beyond 5% annually from 2011 to 2020.

Before concluding, I want to be clear on one point. The older Calpers retirees, who did not get in on the 1999 SB400 bonanza, have very reasonable pensions. Thus when you hear Calpers propaganda such as “the average Calpers pensioner only has a $25,000 annual pension” you need to remember that number includes these older retirees as well as the many other retirees that were only public employees for a few years.


The Future: “It’s In Our Hands”

In addition to requiring employees to immediately pick up 100% of the employee pension contribution, the city needs to dramatically increase retirement ages and reduce pension percentages of final pay on a going forward basis. Retirement at age 50 or 55 for city workers at 70-90% of pay is frankly ridiculous. A plan is needed that is not dependent on taxpayer bailouts or stealing funds from important budget items such as parks, after school activities for children, and senior citizen programs.

These changes will require negotiations with a variety of bargaining units. Make sure your chosen city council candidate is up to the task. The message he or she should be sending to city workers should be clear: Claremont’s citizens love their city and appreciate the work you do. But, they are in no mood to pay additional taxes to fund extravagant pensions.

Olivenhain Gets Back in the Game

General Plan Update Meeting on Monday, March 28

Encinitas Senior Center from 6:00-9:00



For more information on this and other General Plan events visit www.encinitas2035.info or contact the Encinitas Planning Department at (760) 943-2101
 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I am writing to remind you that tomorrow night (Monday, March 28) the Encinitas Planning Department will be conducting a meeting to solicit citizen input for the updated General Plan.  Although the General Plan has been in place for 30 years and is not required to be rewritten, Planning is in the process of updating the present plan and has shifted its description of the plan from the "Constitution of the City" to a "blueprint for growth"  This shift away from an original plan that protects citizens' rights with regard to new development, concerns many who were involved in the original incorporation of Encinitas in 1980.



This meeting is an important opportunity for Olivenhain residents to voice their concern over a proposal which could change Encinitas from the livable city that we all love, to a city that is more crowded, with more traffic, more noise, and more pollution.



The Planning Department has expressed a desire to create a “sustainable” growth environment that allows for a growth in tax revenue, businesses, development and population.  Although there is nothing wrong in investigating these ideas and planning for the future, Encinitas residents from all 5 communities have expressed that they wish to preserve “community character.”  How can this be achieved if there are double the number of houses and residents than what we have currently?



This particular question has been brought into focus by Olivenhain neighbors concerned about the proposed development of the Dana Rullo Stables horse ranch property, which would disregard current zoning laws and would result in an increase in traffic, noise, and a number of other problems for local residents.  For more information visit www.savedesertrose.com.



If you do attend the meeting tomorrow and if you complete a survey, please be aware that in the past, the answer, “deserves consideration” was added to the “yes” answers to determine that “citizens” were in favor of a 3-story parking structure be built in the location of the current Henry’s supermarket.  This conclusion was reached based upon the responses of fewer than 30 Encinitas residents—some of whom answered “deserves consideration.”  Some have suggested that participants should respond to surveys with yes/no answers since answers of “deserves consideration” and “I don’t know” are sometimes added to other answers when city planners evaluate survey responses.


Sincerely,



Julie