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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporte r Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011 9B
COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE
Special exemptions won't help state's economy
WHERE I STAND
PLANNING AND
CONSERVATION LEAGUE
Two weeks ago, at the Los
Angeles Convention Center,
Gov. Jerry Brown signed
two bills with the aim of
streamlining the California
Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA).
One of the bills, SB 292
(Padilla), provides preferen-
tial treatment for the con-
struction of an NFL stadium
in downtown Los Angeles. In
exchange for developer AEG
committing to certain miti-
gation measures up-front,
any CEQA challenge to the
project would bypass the
traditional route of Superior
Court. Such a challenge
would instead go directly to
the Court of Appeals, which
would then have 175 days to
render a final decision. AB
900 (Buchanan) would pro-
vide similar judicial stram-
lining to massive ($100 mil-
lion-plus) infrastructure pro-
jects that the governor signs
off on.
The Planning and Conser-
vation League opposed both
bills. While it may seem in-
nocuous, the judicial stream-
lining could undermine pub-
lic input and proper court
review for these projects,
while further stressing Cali-
fornia's already overbur-
dened judicial system. With-
out robust court review of
CEQA cases -- which often
provides the greatest lever-
age for community groups
looking to safeguard local
air and water quality -- one
can imagine situations
where agencies and project
proponents undertake less
stringent environmental re-
view without fear of nega-
tive repercussions afforded
by judicial review.
The rushed process that
was used to approve these
bills (bath of which were in-
troduced with less than a
week left in the legislative
session by "gutting and
amending!' other legislation)
alsodidn't allow for proper
vetting and could lead to un-
intended consequences. Sev-
eral experts have already
questioned whether these
bills would hold up to a con-
stitutional challenge, which
could result in a lengthy
court case ... the opposite of
what the bills' authors and
proponents were seeking to
achieve. Perhaps
most disappointing was the
governor's rhetoric when
signing these bills among
significant fanfare, celebrat-
ing the worrisome precedent
SB 292 and AB 900 have cre-
ated. Railing that "(t)here
are too many damn regula-
tions" and that these bills
were needed to get people to
work, the governor rein-
forced the oft-repeated mis-
characterization that envi-
ronmental and community
protection are contrary to
economic development while
ignoring the fact that it is
rarely these safeguards that
stall projects.
Setting himself up as the
ultimate "decider" of what is
a good environmental pro-
ject affords the governor too
much power. And allowing
wealthy, influential corpora-
tions to tinker with the laws
that apply to them whenever
they are inconvenient opens
up a floodgate of possible
special exemptions that can
harm California's environ-
ment, undermine our quali-
ty of life and even threaten
our long-term economic
health. PCL appre-
ciates that CEQA is not
sacrosanct:-- 1
ike any law, it should be
assessed and, if needed,
altered to achieve its intend-
ed goals. And we are sympa-
thetic to the intent of the leg-
islation -- to promote infill
and renewable energy pro-
jects and provide desperate-
ly needed jobs for Californi-
ans -- though we are skepti-
cal that the approach taken
will actually yield those re-
suits.
We look forward to work-
ing with the governor and
Legislature on solutions that
we all agree will put Califor-
nians back to work in quali-
ty jobs while safeguarding
our natural resources and
communities .... and doing so
in a deliberative and
thoughtful manner that
doesn't confuse activity for
achievement.
L E T T E R S T(::) T :u E E D I T O R
Guidelines for Letters
All letters must contain an ad-
dress and a phone number.
We publish only one letter per
week, per person and only
one letter per person, per
month.regarding the same
subject. We do not publish
third-party, anonymous, or
open letters. Letters must be
limited to a maximum of 300
words. The editor wiil cut any
letter in excess of 300 words.
The deadline is Friday at 3
p.m. (Deadlines may change
due to holidays.) Letters may
be taken to any of Feather
Publishing's offices, sent via
fax to 283-3952, or e-mailed to
mail@plumasnews.com.
Mudding the waters
We should make every ef-
fort to help businesses in
Portola including our lospi-
tal. In reality and legally we
cannot. The Portola City
Council bad the opportunity
fo develop a "win-win" deal
with the hospital A poor de-
cision for the city was made.
We do not have a crystal ball
to predict the future 6f the
hospital or property values.
The loan documents drawn
up by City Attorney Steve
Gross omitted the considera-
tion to purchase the proper-
ty. The parcel could be re-
zoned and divided by the city
to help our economic devel-
opment. Jobs is our current
need.
The initial purchase offer
by Eastern Plumas Health
Cafe's chief executive officer
was to enable the hospital to
pay off a high-interest loan.
A low appraisal became one
problem. Mr. Gross' repre-
sentation of both parties be-
came another issue. The loan
documents clearly benefit
the hospital and put the city
at risk with a low-interest
loan for 15 years.
The approved loan only in
a small way helps EPHC with
current cash flow but helps
long-term cash flow. It gives
EPHC the ability to increase
the value of the property.
The city has an option to buy
the "right-of-first-refusal."
This agreement is only good
for the hospital.
Mayor Wilson claimed that
public comment was "mud-
ding the waters" when con-
cerned citizens were voicing
their opinions over the use of
public funds. This was not a
simple decision for city coun-
cil. We can be grateful for
council member Mark's dis-
satisfaction with the loan
documents. We can be dissat-
isfied with the city council's
acceptance of the revised
loan agreement.
We need to becomemind-
ful (one and all) of the use of
public funds if the city of
Portola and Plumas County
are to have an &onomic fu-
tare!
, Larry F. Douglas
Portola
Slow down
Certain Portola City Coun-
cil members appear to be
pushing through a
loan/purchase to Eastern
Plumas Health Care without
meaningful input from the
community. In the purported
and probably very sincere
interest of "helping the
hospital" they are proceed-
ing to commit crucial city
cash in what I suggest to be a
significant sub-optimal busi-
ness decision. Granted, the
hospital is. very important to
the local economy, and grant-
ed that many of us, myself in-
cluded, hold the doctors • and
staff in highest regard; how-
ever, the council needs to
slow down and receive input
on this matter.
Standard business practice
clearly expects that any prop-
er public loan be supported
by adequate collateral, and
in the case of real property, a
down payment of at least 20
percent is customary.
Wouldn't we all like to be
able to expect our bank to
give us a loan for 130 percent
of the appraised value of a
property with no down pay-
ment? This would be espe-
cially amazing if we further
told the bank that we had
problems with cash flow and
expectations of future,uncon ....
trollable negative impacts to
our earning potential.
I have asked the city man-
ager to provide information
on how much additional cap-
ital the city holds that it
might be willing to loan for
other needy businesses, and
await her reply. How is it
that the city has so.much
money to lend, but demands
dramatic increases in service
rates because they are just
too cash strapped to absorb
these costs for a while?
I hope Portola residents
will contact their elected city
officials and protest this
rushed process. At the very
least the rush to a decision is
unnecessary. The savings to
EPHC is only a couple thou-
sand dollars/month on a
multi-million dollar budget.
It appears that the advantage
to the hospital is the avoid-
ance of an inadequately
planned for bubble payment.
It also seems ridiculous for
the city to consider purchas-
ing property that is not mar-
ketable in the near future,
and decreasing in value
every day.
Daniel Harvey
Portola
Beating his noggin
So I had the misfortune of
driv.ing through the Antelope
Lake area during this spit of
a snowstorm on Oct. 5 and I
have to say be very careful!
The burned trees that those
clever minxes in the Forest
Service did not allow to be
cut are falling on and across
the roads!
What could happen is if
one of us that has spent their
life living and working in the
woods was to be injured or
worse, and then these people
who grew up and were "edu-
cated" in LA or Berkeley
would have a reason to say
it's not safe for us and close
it! See that way they could
have a nice little research
place where Americans
wouldn!t be pestering them
by oh, say, driving on the
roads, or worse yet recreat-
ing! Instead of having a liv-
ing and reproducing a viable
source of income and pride!
Mike Curran
Quincy
P.S. I know I'm just beating
my noggin on a stump ...
oops I meant to say beating
my free-thinking protrusion
on a snag, but I thought some
of you old-timers might enjoy
a "little" ribbing as we head
into winter.
Road trip
On a recent road trip we
Stayed at a delightful vaca-
tion rental in Chester where
we picked up some
brochures about Plumas
County. We were unsure as
to where we should stay on
the next leg of our journey so
we drove down to Quincy to
the visitors center. We were
greeted by Kari of the visi-
tors bureau staff who was of
great assistance to us. NOt
only did she give us advice
on a variety of places to stay
but she actually helped us to
get a booking at the Chalet
View Lodge.
Kari made us feel very wel-
come and we really enjoyed
talkingto her: We.were so
glad that we made the visi-
tors center our first stop on
our way into Quincy. After
speaking with Karl we went
into Quincyand visited the
museum and of course we
went for coffee at that de-
lightful little shop she told us
about. The museum was
wonderful and is a credit to
all those who have con-
tributed to making it a living
history of the area.
We had a lovely time stay-
ing at the lodge. We really en-
joyed being invited to join in
with the wedding celebra-
tions that were happening at
the lodge. We were really
made to feel welcome by the
owners of the resort, their
staff and all of the wedding
party and their guests.
We really had a great time
driving through the moun-
tains and the beautiful coun-
tryside in Plumas County.
We particularly enjoyed see-
ing the lakes and waterfalls
in •and around Chester.
Thank you once again for
helping us to better experi-
ence Plumas County!
Denyse White
Perth, Western Australia
No longer innocent
When school authorities
were asked to respond to
complaints regarding the
racist messages on a veMcle
parked on public school
grounds, they responded that
the owner of the vehicle was
exercising his freedom of
speech.
I agree that one of the
stickers, "white pride," could
come under the category of
free speech, which might be
no more offensive than a
sticker claiming "black
pride." Although, why a
member of the privileged eth-
nic class needs to express his
pride is unclear, unless it is
his intention to demean all
other ethnicities. A person
claiming "black pride" is
simply telling the world that
he is just as good as anyone
else.
The message that is the
most disturbing and going
beyond freedom of speech,
however, shows a Confeder-
ate soldier holding a Confed-
erate flag with the logo "For-
get, . hell!" and above that is a
hangman's noose.
If these are not clearly
against our civil rights laws,
then they certainly should
not be displayed on the
grounds of an educational in-
stitution.
I remember during the
1930s that children in our
neighborhood innocently
pla'yed cops and robbers,
cowboys and Indians, and
Civil War games. Without
understanding the implica-
tions, when playing Civil
War games, the children
would cry, "The South shall
rise againP'
When adults imply those
words they are no longer in-
nocent and take on a sinister
meaning.
Salvatore Catalano
Taylorsville
A few ideas
A sewer treatment system
that Uses wastewater to gen-
erate its own energy. It corn-
barons of the 13th century
forced King John to approve
a charter promising certain
rights to the barons and
freemen. The date was June
15, 1215, when the King's seal
was placed on the Magna
Carta. This marked the be-
ginning of English democra-
cy.
Arguably the most impor-
tant passage is: "No freeman
shall be taken, or impris-
oned, or disseized (dispos-
sessed), or outlawed, or ex-
iled, or in any way harmed --
nor will we go upon or send
upon him -- save by the law-
ful judgment of his peers or
by the law of the land." Our
heritage evolized from the
Magna Carta and old English
law, and this most fundamen-
tal human right is embodied
in our Constitution -- the
supreme law of the land.
The Fifth Amendment
states, in part, "No person
shall ... be deprived of life,
plies withall state and feder, liberty or prop.erty, without
al requirements and is easy due pl:ocess '0f law." And
to upgrade. Portable, effi-
cient' and most of all, afford-
able.
Using our Lake Davis wa-
ter allotment to develop and
utilize hydroponic farming,
creating not only jobs for lo-
Cals, but a sustainable and af-
fordable source of food for
our schools, homes and
restaurants. Cooperate with
the local school district to
create a vocational education
program that would encom-
pass all aspects of 21st centu-
ry farming, from seeds to
sales to research and devel-
opment.
Decrease water and sewer
rates drastically. Portola is
an American dream. Low
rates along with our unique
and beautiful setting could
be just the enticement a busi-
ness needs to relocate. More
people living here means
more people can share the
water and sewer burden and
prices can remain low. More
people also means a broader
tax base and revenues for the
community.
These are just a few of the
ideas brought to the city of
Portola ad hoc committee
that was formed to review
the recent water and sewer
hikes. The people of Portola
never got to hear any of those
ideas because Mayor Dan
Wilson unilaterally disband-
ed the committee without al-
lowing so much as a peep
from his colleagues. Instead,
he berated them and dis-
missed the citizen's research,
taking the patronizing stance
• that he knows what's best for
us.
Thousands and thousands
are taking to the streets all
across America; voicing
their frustration and discon-
tent. But nowhere is the frus-
tration greater than Portola.
We have been denied a voice
at every turn, and our Com-
munity suffers. Things can't
continue as they have b.een.
It's time for a real change.
It's time to take back Portola.
Jeanne Rowden Dansby
Portola
Evil precedent
People ,have been fighting
for their rights and liberties
for centuries. The English
herein lies the problem. Our
government murdered An-
war al-Awlaki, an American
citizen, without "due process
of law." There was no trial,
no evidence and no ability to
defend oneself. Our govern-
ment simply said he was a
"terrorist" and acted as
judge, jury and executioner:
It is unknown if the CIA
acted alone and/or if Presi-
dent Obama authorized it. Ei-
ther.way, this is a serious vi-
olation of not only our Con-
stitution, but to fundamental
human rights. This sets a
very evil precedent -- the
government says you are
guilty and then murders you.
Remember, it is the oath of
office to defend and protect
the Constitution.
With illegal wars, torture,
drone indiscriminate killing
machines, the murder of a
million innocent Iraqis, un-
warranted spying and now
government assassination of
Americans, the term "Ameri-
can exceptionalism" no
longer applieS. We are the 99
percent, and the Constitution
will be restored.
Mark Mihevc
Graeagle
and entertaining event and
they have a good message of
self-reliance, along with
ideas on how to make good
things happen in one's life.
Maylou Smith
Portola
Good message
I attended the 1 Life Fully
Lived conference in Portola
on Oct. 1 with three genera-
tions of my family.
I must say I was pleasantly
surprised by what I saw, and
so were the other members of
our family. There were in-
spiring speakers and practi-
cal workshops on everything
from budgeting and retire-
ment to careers in the boom:
ing tech industry. There
were youth panels on what to
expect when you get out in
the "real world" as well as
advice to those wanting to be
better mentors to their loved
ones on how best to prepare
them for when they get out
on their own.
It was great to see this
event in Portola, as there
were very talented peopl
here from all over the coun-
try. I am looking forward to
seeing what good things this
"little" nonprofit from up in
our neck of the woods ends
up doing. They put on a fun
House broken
Gene Kailing insists that,
in the 2012 elections, Ameri-
cans face a choice between
capitalism and socialism. I
disagree. I think the choice is
between free-wheeling capi-
talism and the house-broken
variety.
In the same era when the
United States won its ifide-
pendence from Great Britain,
Adam Smith became the first
person to articulate the inner
workings of capitalism. Free
enterprise, Smith discovered,
is the capacity of individuals
and institutions to react to,
anticipate and even shape
people's wants and needs.
(Apple Computer, led by its
• late CEO Steve Jobs, is an ex-
cellent example.) Smith in-
sisted that the enemy is mo-
nopoly, that is, domination
by a few institutions or per-
sons whose wealth or posi-
tion enables them to control,
distort or ignore market
forces.
Fast forward to contempo-
rary America. The Obama
administration continued the
policies of the Bush adminis-
tration in rescuing "too big
to fail" banks. Is this the pol i-
cy of an anti-business admin-
istration? Seems too busi-
ness-friendly to me --even if,
overall, the federal govern-
ment makes a profit on its
loans to the banks. Is this so-
cialism for the well connect-
ed? It's certainly not capital-
ism as Adam Smith de-
scribed it. When the federal
government then imposes
regulations on the big banks
to prevent them from.re-en-
acting the same feckless poli-
cies that produced the Great
Recession, is this socialism?
Or is it the common-sense re-
sponse of a responsible refer-
ee?
If we are to have an econo-
my that is based upon free
enterprise and opportunity,
we should ban institutions
that are too big to fail:
they're too dangerous to ex-
ist. And we need clear rules,
vigorously enforced, to in-
sure fair competition. Cer-
tainly we will argue long and
hard about what those rules
should be and how they
should be enforced. That's
the American way -- noisy,
messy and often effective.
Andy Johnston
Clio
Real story?
Regarding the "premium
check delay," something is
fishy with the Plumas Coun-
ty Fair's explanation of why
checks were not issued in a
timely manner. The whole
conceptseems to be bogus.
My observation is that in
general the number of en-
tries entered in the fair is
rather underwhelming. The
Art Barn seems to receive
the greatest number of en-
tries.
How did several premium
checks approach $400? Only
See Letters, page 10B