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Monday, June 18, 2007

Thanks, Paavo

Paavo Ogren, the county’s deputy public works director, has a Viewpoint in Monday, June 18th Tribune, responding to Baywood Park Resident Doug Morin’s June 15th letter to the editor.

Doug’s original letter was another example of the difficulty of “getting the story right,” so he “gets the the story wrong,” and thereby muddles apples, oranges and grunion together and calls it fruit salad. It’s one of the reasons so many people outside Los Osos think we’re all “crazies,” living in Dogpatch and swilling urine with our morning lattes.

Here’s Doug’s letter. ( Paavo’s Viewpoint ishould be on the Tribune’s website at www.sanluisobispo.com):

County Let This Happen (Headings are written by Tribune staff, not the letter writer.)

I look forward to the banner being unfurled along Los Osos Valley Road: “Clark Valley Welcomes the Los Osos Sewer.” Judging from the reception they gave the proposed animal shelter a few years ago, I’m sure it will be a heart-warming experience.

Of course, property owners in the prohibition zone would still opt for Tri-W. It’s cheaper. But who cares what we think. In more than thirty years, we’ve been given an exclusive say only once, and we voted 87 percent for a gravity system at Tri-W.

That the 13th percent minority could then join forces with renters, along with voters outside the prohibition zone, and overrule our vote, well that’s the problem.

And who is responsible for setting up this Catch-22 system? The county.

Sure, the Julie Tacker brigade bears primary blame for driving the cost from less than $100 per month at the start of their lawsuits, to the $200 per month when they violated the contracts, to the estimate $300 to $4500 per month now. But the county allowed this to happen.

And are they fixing the problem? No, they’d rather knowtow to the crazies and waste even more money studying sites that will never fly.

Sigh. You see all the problems? Where does one begin?

Is the 87 percent vote Mr Morin speaks of the overwhelming vote to form the assessment district with a promise of a $38 a month Ponds of Avalon treatment plant at the Tri W site? Or the original modest assessment ballots sent to homeowners to pay for a start-up for design and land purchase only, 40% of said ballots which were never returned. Eighty-seven percent sounds really great, but not so great when 40% go missing in the first place.

Then Mr. Morin says that “property owners in the prohibition zone would still opt for Tri-W. It’s cheaper.” They would? It is? How does anyone know? During the recall and Measure B election, again, about 40% of the registered voters were a no-show. Hard to know what the majority of a community think or want when a huge chunk of them never show up to the party in the first place.

Then there’s this, “Sure, the Julie Tacker brigade bears primary blame for driving the cost from less than $100 per month at the start of their lawsuits, to the $200 per month when they violated the contracts, to the estimated $300 to $400 per month now. But the county allowed this to happen.”

Huh? The only time a sewer project even came close to pretending to be $100 a month was way back before the CSD formation when the County did have the project and their guestimates were for about that amount. When Tri W went to bid, we were told that the $200–plus a-month amount was due to rise in materials cost (remember the long discussions about how China was buying up all the cement in the world and so the costs were escalating because Tri-W required a lot of cement? And etc.) The county didn’t allow that price rise in cement to happen. The county had no say in the matter. (Indeed, in comments made by Mr. Ogren at a PZLDF meeting, it was clear he felt that the high bid increases were also the result of contractors knowing they had a naive CSD (the pre-recall CSD) snookered and over a barrel. Paavo implied that that would never happen to the County, since they were bigger, more savvy and simply wouldn’t be conned. I tend to agree with that observation. See below regarding the breach of contract lawsuit now in limbo. What really happened on those bids is also locked up in that case.)

As for the county allowing this to happen, indeed, they did, way back when. The county allowed overbuilding in the face of a growing water and nitrate pollution crisis, and even after Resolution 83-12 & 13, both they and the RWQCB permitted even more homes to be built, in weird and unexplained violation of the RWQCB’s own resolutions. The history of this whole mess does not even begin to pass the smell test.

And as for “violated the contracts,” that case is frozen so nobody knows at this point who “violated” (breached) what. (Personally, that’s the one key case to so many other things. I can only hope that that case finds a way to go forward since a whole lot of interesting beans will be spilling out of that can. Beans Los Ososians deserve to see in order to begin to “get the story right.”)

And, finally, a comment I read often in other letters to the editor: “Are they fixing the problem? No, they’d rather knowtow to the crazies and waste even more money studying sites that will never fly.”

Uh, actually, Mr. Morin, all the sites being studied now survived the rough screening process so, at this point, are all capable of flying – until further notice. And the County and the volunteer TAC, far from not “fixing the problem,” have been extraordinarily busy . . . fixing the problem.

As for Mr. Morin’s reference to knowtowing to the crazies, here’s Mr. Ogren’s partial Viewpoint reply: “First, we are not sure who Mr. Morin is referring to in his general reference to the “crazies” of Los Osos. The characterization that members of his community are “crazy” is inappropriate and disrespectful of the challenges associated with the enormously difficult wastewater project and its impacts.”

Los Osos Crazies! County doing nothing! Tri-W Cheaper! 87% Voted! County to Blame!

It’s a mantra that’s all too common, a mantra that keeps getting the story wrong. And therein lurks the ongoing danger: Stories are, in many ways, like road maps. They tell us where we’ve been and can point out where we think we want to go. Get the story wrong and you get the map wrong. Get the map wrong and you can find the path you’re building is heading for a cliff. Again.

43 comments:

Ron said...

Here's the link to Paavo's piece.... for what's it's worth. He doesn't say much, other than there are two definitions of the word "kowtow." So, we've got that going for us.

As for Morin's letter, I guess the Trib doesn't screen letters to the editor for accuracy.

Someone wake me up when the TAC starts talking about the "pros" for Tri-W. That I gotta see.

Anonymous said...

Got news for Ann on the breach of contract lawsuit...a little birdie from our CSD said they don't have the dough to pursue that case. Hmmmmm

Anonymous said...

It is extremely odd for a case to be held up in the court so long.

Anonymous said...

Typical "Ron" post. I can't tell you how much he adds to the process for me.

Shark Inlet said...

Ann,

I believe that you made a mistake. The mantra that keeps getting in the way is "$100/month", "the people decided" and "TriW is dead, get over it".

Anonymous said...

What does Morin mean by 87% voted for TRIW? We voted for the CSD, to put ponds at TRIW, I agree. At least that's what I voted for. It seems to me like he is just venting anger. First it was the recall board and now it's the county. Died in the wool Dreamer as far as I can see. One of the "crazies" on one end of the spectrum. He should talk!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Mr. Ogren, for saying that we are not crazy. The majority of Los Osos (sans Mr. Morin) support the county efforts and wish to see the best project come forward. It saddens me that Los Osians continue to be stereotyped as "crazy" just because a handful are extremely fervent in their opinions. I wonder if Mr. Morin will be at the TAC tonight to express himself to the county people? I doubt it. Thanks again, county and TAC for all of your hard work.

Anonymous said...

Hell no there are no crazies in Los Osos:


"Confirmed:

The County + RWQCB + Blakeslee = Axis of Evil

They want your home -- and you and your family out on the street.

Let the rich eat the rich.

Vote "NEVER!" on Axis of Evil 218."
----------------
or this:

"Your "NO" vote is a big "YES" for a diverse Los Osos.
The ONLY way to have an affordable sewer is to vote no on the 218. The county has given us only the very expensive and very, very expensive options. If we vote no, we can use a company like Orenco, repeat, like Orenco to put in a system for half the cost (at least.) The county has given us no other choice."
----------------------
or this:

"If you're paid by the county to blog and convince the community to vote yes on the 218 AND you heavily promote the Tri-W (with a park) that means the county is going for the Tri-W project and this is all just a big expensive "dog n' pony" show now isn't it?"
--------------------
or this:

"The middle school is the perfect location for a bogus pep talk from Paavo, Taxpayers Watch and Gordon Hensley. Maybe someday they'll graduate with a degree in honesty, and turn from frauds and liars to truthsayers.:
---------------
or this:

A "NO" VOTE ON THE 218 IS A "YES" VOTE FOR THE BEST PROJECT FOR LOS OSOS. IT'S NOT ONLY OUR ONLY CHOICE, IT ALWAYS WAS THE BEST ONE FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.

Right Paavo?
----------------
or this:

"Oh, sure, the county is real mature.

I SAY THAT YOU MUST BE:

A) CRAZY
B) STUPID
C) WORK FOR THE COUNTY
D) DON'T LIVE HERE
E) ARE JUST PLAIN "FULL OF IT"
F) STAND TO PROFIT
G) JUST WANT THE RIFF-RAFF OUT
H) OWN A VACANT LOT AND THINK THE MEGASEWER IS THE ONLY WAY FOR YOU TO BUILD
I) ARE A DEVELOPER
J) ALL OF THE ABOVE"
-----------
or my personal favorite:

"Take every single Dreamer and Taxpayers Watch member on a bus ride to Mexico, dig some shallow graves, and tell them to get on their knees and pray that God will forgive them in the end."

Nope, no crazies in Los Osos.

Anonymous said...

To 1:42

Sucker!

Yeah, thanks for all the hard work county. Paavo got a nice Mercedes. He's working hard. After the Morin letter, Paavo turned around wrote AND actually got the Tribune to print his piece and have it ready for the very next morning. Wow, he can work magic. BTW, does he earn as much as Gail Wilcox, we know she makes more than a US Senator.

Anonymous said...

You're a sucker. You believe Al Barrow over Mr. Ogren? Let's see, Barrow is a mental basket case and Ogren is a successful, well-educated public works professional that has earned enough money to drive a Mercedes if he so chooses.

Anonymous said...

To Anon at 3:22:

You left out the first part of the post (of course) - YOU SAID THE COUNTY WAS MATURE AND I RESPONDED:

"Yes, the county should dissolve the board AND PAY for the sewer. The county permitted over 1,100 homes, created any pollution, collected tax money from those 1,100 homes, permitted those 1,100 homes even though they had illegal septic discharges, allowed the developers to build those 1,100 homes and not pay a dime towards infrastructure, and failed to put a sewer in Los Osos for 20 years! And now blame the homeowners for all their mistakes, and pay big time, to a tune of how much per home? $50,000, $60,000, $80,000...when will it stop? Can you tell us please!?"

I SAY THAT YOU MUST BE:

A) CRAZY
B) STUPID
C) WORK FOR THE COUNTY
D) DON'T LIVE HERE
E) ARE JUST PLAIN "FULL OF IT"
F) STAND TO PROFIT
G) JUST WANT THE RIFF-RAFF OUT
H) OWN A VACANT LOT AND THINK THE MEGASEWER IS THE ONLY WAY FOR YOU TO BUILD
I) ARE A DEVELOPER
J) ALL OF THE ABOVE"

Sorry you think that is crazy. I think it crazy that the county has gotten away with all this and wants to come out smelling like a rose (enough though they'll tax us out of our homes.)

WHO'S CALLING WHO CRAZY?

Anonymous said...

Does Paavo make as much as Gail Wilcox?

Oh, he'll make even more money on this sweetheart MWH deal I'm sure.

...and how much of our property tax money goes to county administration? 20 some percent??

Anonymous said...

on and on it goes.........

Anonymous said...

Paavo doesn't make nearly enough to put up with the rude, inconsiderate people who ask the bulk of the questions or make the most comments at the meetings.

It isn't that these people are asking bad questions or make stupid remarks, it's just that the tone of voice is always accusatory and angry, and they always KNOW what Los Osos WANTS, or what is environmentally SUPERIOR, so if the County doesn't go with their idea of what is right, or their version of the FACTS, the County is dumb or corrupt or lying.

Poor Paavo. That C%@P is hard to take as a viewer - or worse, if a member of the audience. I also hope the County doesn't paint all of the rest of us with that effluent-crusted brush.

Anonymous said...

There's enough blame for everyone.

I wonder if the County would consider (or could be required?!) to partially offset the cost of the sewer for low-income property owners by offering a credit paid by property tax revenues? The people who really need help (fixed income) probably have lived here long enough to not to be paying property taxes jacked up by the absurd real estate market. There has to be enough County tax revenue from Los Osos by now to reasonably offer sewer credits of $100 month toward making it "affordable" for those who face losing their homes.

If Paavo can make that happen he'll have earned his salary, whatever it is.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the constructive input. If you haven't done so already, please either submit your comment and idea via the county website or write it down and submit it as a written comment tomorrow night @ the LO Middle School for the county presentation or mail it. I speak for myself but I really do appreciate comments that are solution oriented. And maybe, just maybe, a kernel is gained towards resolving the threads of our concerns.
Sincerely,
Maria M. Kelly

Anonymous said...

Tomorrow night? I thought the meeting was tonight.

Anonymous said...

Anon 4:48 PM states:

"I wonder if the County would consider (or could be required?!) to partially offset the cost of the sewer for low-income property owners by offering a credit paid by property tax revenues? The people who really need help (fixed income) probably have lived here long enough to not to be paying property taxes jacked up by the absurd real estate market. There has to be enough County tax revenue from Los Osos by now to reasonably offer sewer credits of $100 month toward making it "affordable" for those who face losing their homes."

4crapkiller states: Prop 13 fixed their evaluations as to the time of passage. They are paying very low property taxes already, their houses are not assessed at current value, and that is just fine with me. Those who bought their house recently are assessed at the selling price less discounts.

Your suggestion has merit regardless of financial need. I would be in favor of it. It would be the "right thing" for the county to do. Let the money go to homeowners who bought their homes and received permits from the county in violation of water law and have paid property taxes since.

The credit should be more than $100 a month. It should be fixed at 4/5 the cost of the sewer assessment. I own nothing that would qualify.

We shall see. The county is trying to the best of it's ability to avoid even talking about this problem. Will Kotcho and the rest of the BOS step up?

I doubt it.

They owe their office to their constituency. And the property owners within their constituency do not want to pay more property taxes to bail out LOCSD bad decisions. They would have to raise "fees" and the outcry would be large. The county could put a toll gate at Montana del Oro. Otherwise they would have to cut services. Low income people are stuck unless the courts require the county to pay. Then the county will have to do what they have to do.

The real answer to the problem is federal or state income assistance to pay sewer fees. Fat chance of that! Hard to assist people living in $400,000 homes with no way to pay sewer taxes. How do you sell that to the electorate?

The state could raise auto fees to provide a super fund to handle this. There are many things the state could do. They could even increase the sales taxes with a super majority vote to create a super fund. We could even vote to repeal prop 13. Not likely.

The name of the game is political will, and nobody wishes to hand over their George Washingtons to save Los Osos. Paavo Ogden does not think there are "crazies" here. This guy is NOT the brightest bulb on the tree or is in absolute denial. We will see if he survives this ordeal along with Ann Calhoun and Ron Crawford. I hope they survive.

I would expect straight talk and sound reason from Paavo. However, my expectations belong to me.

As far as Ann and Ron.... come up with your own expectations and conclusions. 4crapkiller is on record as to both.

There is no question as to the intent of Maria Kelly. She wants the best for the community. Listen to her. And she is probably really stuck with a recently purchased home that probably is way upside down.

For those not in the car business, upside down means that you owe more on a car than what it is worth.

A dealer will give you a trade in value to cover the difference, but will add this to the cost of your new car, or catch it in increased finance charges. There is no free lunch, however there is the perception. Perception rules.

Anonymous said...

Shades of enlightenment...

Interesting the Dreamers celebrate Paavo's "Viewpoint."

After all, Doug Morin, one of the most violent big-sewer proponents in town, a known lunatic, is one of them. He's a proud enforcer for Taxpayers Watch.

Odd, too, that all the violent in town, from Fredericks to Krizer to Moran, are, all and more, Taxpayers Watch.

Curious, also, that all the Obstructionists lobbing flaming tar balls at the CSD -- the CSD they successfully bankrupted and basically dissolved -- are Taxpayers Watch. All the Obstructionists are members of or spring from the Shamed Old Board of Recalled Crooks -- now Taxpayers Watch.

It is obvious to all exactly who the source of all the grief ignorant fools like Paavo enjoy pinning on Los Osos.

This time he pinned the tail on the right donkey. The disrespect for community propagated by the Bitter Dreamers of Taxpayers Watch has burned Los Osos clear down to the spiritual ground. And yes, no one has the guts the quit this path, and so, yes, it just keeps going on and on and on...


Tears...

Anonymous said...

4crapkiller = Doug Morin's wife/sister

Anonymous said...

You best look in the mirror, are you so sure you aren't the crazy one? Re-read your very own postings and then ask if you wrote something angry.

There are at least two sides to every story, you just might have a few items missing.

Are you quilty of spreading anger and maybe misconceptions?

Re-read what you have written over the past week. Are you so sure you are 100% correct?

Anonymous said...

To anon 7:05 PM

I respond to your false conclusions by stating: Show proof of your accusation. You have no proof of anything, no defense of reasonable speculation, and are a hit and run bomber. You are a fool with internet access. You are apparent to all reasonable people. I do not even know Doug Morin, and care not to know him, and care not to know you. I have seen nothing of value from anons unless signed below.

Let those who read this site determine your intelligence. Brain farts do not count! We sit on judgment of Ann Calhoun's opinion, and she is not doing well. It seems that she is in the company of duped fools and recently is drowning in her own spin. 20/20 hindsight is pretty powerful. Bankruptcy?

And now I respond in kind: JOOOOEY!

Anonymous said...

To anon 6:57:

Please consider who stopped the sewer without considering consequences just after their election. Can you defend their actions and "due diligence"?

And now the LOCSD is an empty shell, insolvent, and cannot even agree upon a legitimate budget. Creditors abound, there is no plan to get out of bankruptcy, they are being sued for gift of public funds.

The only reason that they have not been dissolved is that the county does not want to pick up the bankruptcy pieces. Great group you support! They have surely lived up to their oath of office. What I can't understand is how could they be so stupid.

Well, we will all pay for it.

Anonymous said...

Oh how do we get to the root of the infection...?!

4crapkiller said... To anon 7:05 PM: "I have seen nothing of value from anons unless signed below."

Then why do you choose to remain anonymous? Split personalities can't commit??

4crapkiller said: "What I can't understand is how could they be so stupid."

Could it be you can't understand because YOU ARE EVEN STUPIER THAN 4/5th OF THE BOARD?

Admit it, it's tough to live on county wages, and the extra bucks you pick up here for slamming helps
fill some of the holes, but you really don't have very much else going for yourself, do you?

Tears

Anonymous said...

I'll always remember when I visited Doug Morin's house the other day.

I rang the doorbell and a swinging axe swooped down from above and gave me a haircut. He answered the door and I shook his hand. He was carrying a butcher knife with the other.

After I shook his hand, I couldn't help but to hear the faint crying of children coming from the back of the house. He said it was the television but all the TVs were turned off.

I got to meet his wife. She gave me a cold reception. She was in the freezer. I thought, "Well, once she gets to know me, she'll thaw out in a couple of days," and that smell of decay wouldn't be as strong.

He showed me to the living room where he had framed pictures, side-to-side of Elvira and Ronald Reagan, his two idols. He was quick to show me his autographed picture of Charles Manson, which was conveniently located next to his collection of Beach Boys platinum records.

We sat down on surprisingly comfortable electric chairs. After we put our helmets on, he started talking to me about the "crazies" and I asked him, "You mean that psychotic, mentally challenged meth-loving prostitute who copies and pastes people's responses on Calhoun's Cannon?" and he corrected me. "No," he said, "My sister is no longer doing that kind of work."

I asked him if he was referring to 4crapkiller as one of the "crazies." He replied, "No, she's on disability so it's legal for her to be crazy," and I nodded my head in awkward silence. He asked me if I wanted a splash of blood and I politely declined.

He walked into the kitchen and immediately I started to hear this high-pitched drilling noise. The screams of children started to fade away into the screeching of the drill. After a few drops of blood splattered against his checkered kitchen tile floor, he asked me if I wanted to stick around for dinner. Initially, he asked me to be the dinner but I declined, bid him adieu, walked past the swinging axes.

I came to the conclusion that those who know don't speak and those who speak don't know.

Anonymous said...

http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2004/june/membrane.htm
http://www.copa.co.uk/products_detail.asp?wastewaterId=868
http://www.puron.de/en/1320_e.html

Anonymous said...

Water Sustainability and the Role of MBRs

Water sustainability requires a holistic approach to water management, one that emphasizes decentralized systems to encourage water reuse, while providing safe water to those currently unserved or underserved in developing countries. Overall, MBRs meet the water sustainability criteria, but several important improvements still are needed (see table below).

For example, although the cost of membrane processes has dropped by up to 30-fold since 1990, economic sustainability is rated as "improvement needed." Future cost reductions should come from continued technical improvements and the benefits of a growing demand for membrane production. MBRs have not been in operation long enough to have data on membrane life, so this cost is unknown; reducing water flux may increase membrane life, but it will increase the capital cost. Affordability also depends on institutional and government policies, which could include rebates or subsidies as incentives to reuse water in order to reduce freshwater demands.

Table 1. Sustainability Criteria for MBR Technology
(Balkema et al, 2002 and indicates the Team=s ratings for MBRs)

Sustainability Criteria for MBR Technology

Environmental sustainability.
Although MBRs received a "good now" rating for most environmental sustainability indicators - effluent water quality and optimal water, nutrients, and land use - improvements are needed in the system's chemical and energy use. Since MBRs primarily use chemicals and energy to control fouling found that two-thirds of the energy used in municipal MBRs is needed to generate crossflow from air sparging to control fouling], a better understanding of the fouling process might reduce their use. For example, Guibert and team found that intermittent and cyclic aeration with submerged hollow fibers reduced the air-sparging demand (and related energy use) by about 50%. Also, an anaerobic MBR could be a net energy producer due to biogas generation. MBRs also may be more sustainable than conventional activated sludge systems when considering biosolids volumes and effluent levels of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, but more research is needed to confirm these effects.

Technical sustainability.
MBRs also received a "good now" rating for most technical sustainability indicators, except ease of use. Experience suggests that membrane capacity and life can be optimized by appropriate preliminary treatment, especially removing fibrous material (such as hair) using screens with openings of 2 mm or less. However, the quantity and noxious nature of such screenings are problematic for most operations, and a proper balance has not yet been established between screening's advantages and disadvantages in MBR-based treatment facilities.

Another important unresolved technical issue is the optimum mixed-liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration that allows for acceptably high water flux and small reactor footprint, without reducing oxygen transfer so much that it limits reactor size. MLSS concentration is controlled by biomass retention time, which in turn determines biomass withdrawal volumes and the energy and costs related to treating and disposing of waste activated sludge.

Also, while rated "good now," reliability could be improved by reducing the failure rate of individual components and the need for redundancy. On-line testing (such as pressure decay tests and particle counting) is the preferred option for monitoring performance to ensure reliability. To make on-line monitoring feasible for small, decentralized facilities, test systems must be inexpensive and reliable, and their outputs must be relayed telemetrically to a centralized facility that can deploy trained technicians.
Socio-Cultural Sustainability. MBRs received "improvement needed" ratings for all three socio-cultural sustainability indicators, which are difficult to quantify and thus, overlooked. "Institutional requirements" has to do with local standards and regulations for wastewater treatment, discharge, and reuse. The acceptance of water reuse and novel sanitation methods depends on culture and facility management. Other indicators have to do with implementation issues, like the availability of technical expertise and ability to accept responsibility for operations at a more centralized level.
MBRs in Decentralized Wastewater Reuse

Lately, researchers have been noting the advantages of decentralized treatment systems over centralized ones in achieving water sustainability. The perceived benefits include less need for major infrastructure development and/or maintenance; potentially lower costs; less discharge to receiving waters; and more opportunities for water reuse because the reclaimed water is locally available and the pathogen risk is lower.

In theory, decentralized systems can be used for a single dwelling, housing cluster, subdivision, or a satellite development, but the smallest practical scale may be housing clusters. MBRs can provide significant opportunities for reuse in a decentralized wastewater management system (see image below). In decentralized water management, valuable resources in wastewater - water, nutrients, and the organic material's energy content - are "mined" and reused close to their point of generation. The water can be reused safely to flush toilets, to irrigate landscapes, in various industrial processes, and to extinguish fires. Nutrients can be reused via irrigation, and the extracted energy can be used to generate heat and electricity.

Anonymous said...

Above if from a 2002 report.

Anonymous said...

10:50 PM, June 18, 2007

Written and Posted by a certified Los Osos Crazy, aka Joey!

Churadogs said...

Anonymous sez:"After a few drops of blood splattered against his checkered kitchen tile floor, he asked me if I wanted to stick around for dinner. Initially, he asked me to be the dinner but I declined, bid him adieu, walked past the swinging axes."

Doggone, you missed a great meal, too. He was serving fava beans and a nice chianti.

Anonymous said...

Chianti never tasted good with human flesh.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Chianti never tasted good with human flesh.

10:49 AM, June 19, 2007

Great! Now we have Hannibals and cannibals to worry about in Los Osos -- as if Taxpayers Watch isn't bad enough!

Please, eat 4Crapkiller first! It might be love at first bite.

Anonymous said...

Thank God for TaxPayers Watch!

Without their watchful eyes and courage to challege the fiscal mismanagement by this CSD, we would paying for much more delay than we already will be! Nice bankruptcy Lisa and Julie! Hope you stay around to pay your fair share!!

Anonymous said...

Doug Morin’s NIMBY letter (Not in My Backyard) deceives readers is several ways and aims to make enemies out of neighbors to assist in resurrecting TRIW. So does some of comments that blame bankrupcy and delay.

Dissoluton caused delay too. so did crashing the first OCT 05 Blakeslee compromise....Thank Legros, Hensley, and TaxPayers watch out!

Property owners voted in 1998 to form a CSD after rejecting a gravity collection and centralized extended aeration plant across from a school. Ironically, one the County was building. The promise from the ‘solutions group’ was a STEP collection connected to an innovative pond process.

The new CSD bond assessment was passed to fund a “visionary 21st century technology.
Such “Bio mimicry” systems could be at TRI W. But what we know is the law says is that assessment votes are exclusively for securing the source of funding…NOT a vote for the location or type of technology.
And we learned everything can crash too when representaitives are irresponsive and iresponsible.

The technology and location was unacceptable as the "technology" bait and switch occurred. TRI W as designed with a MBR-(the fine screening says it is the only urban compatible technology) was never cheaper than any of the several other alternatives, and it is Not cheaper today.
This is confirmed and documented by Wallace and the SWRCB in the Oct 05 negotiations with the State engineers. And all subsequent reports including Ripley($328 per month versus $154 per month) the Carollo fine screening has it costing over any alternative even with permitting considered .

While 87% of property owners voted to support a sewer, the water board always considered the whole community anti-sewer.

Now Morin is doing Hensley's bidding and working to make out-of-towners the new obstructionists.

The only alternative to an out of town centralized plant is to reconsider STEP and a couple of eco friendly distributed systems in town. MBR is out of reach, unsustainble and off the table.

Morin, Hensley and the "New Obstructionists" better think about the unintended consequences of their continued battle of spite. It could crash a 218 and adecent project we could all live with.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Thank God for TaxPayers Watch!

Without them we would be cancer free.

Anonymous said...

Really? Are they that powerful that they can now create cancer?

You might want to be a bit more careful because if they can create cancer, they can also make it selective for certain activists.

Keep wringing your hands and crying that the sky is falling, one day it just might!

Anonymous said...

6:19 says:

"Really? Are they that powerful that they can now create cancer?"

YES, TAXPAYERS WATCH IS THAT POWERFUL THAT THEY CAN CREATE CANCER. THE GRAVITY SEWER AT TRI-W WILL BE AN INCUBATOR FOR IMMUNE PATHOGENS, WHICH CAN CAUSE DISEASES THAT HAVE NO KNOWN CURE.

The pathogen issue was raised at last night's TAC meeting and is serious. It is shocking that Maria's environmental committee didn't have a clue. Obviously, she and Dan Berman are just partying.

THIS IS WHAT TAXPAYERS WATCH WANTS FOR OUR CHILDREN WHO WILL SUFFER UPPER RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES THAT WILL LINGER AND DO LONG TERM DAMAGE.

THIS IS THE LEGACY OF TAXPAYERS WATCH.

Anonymous said...

OH MY GAWD! Taxpayers Watch is more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap CSD's in a single bound!

You moron, you are grasping at straws in yet another attempt to cause dissention and delay.

Your stroke is getting closer every day!

Anonymous said...

To 8:28,

Is that your final answer (above) to the pathogen issue?

You know more than the CDC?

I support the Step/Steg because of the health issues associated with the Tri-W gravity project.

Why don't you tell us what health issues/risks are associated with Step/Steg?

I can submit here to you documentation of the pathogen problem with the kind of sewer you want, or better yet, go to the CDC website and look at sewers...do your own homework...but you won't...because you THINK you'll profit more with Tri-W. Why? Do you think having Tri-W is the only way to build on an empty lot, or do you think it's the only solution to increasing your home's value?

This health issue is not as funny as you think and the county will have to deal with it. It's too serious, and this issue will not, and can not disappear.

I currently do not live in Los Osos, but own rental properties and would like to return one day, but not if that horrible sewer is in the middle of town that will make everyone sick!

Anonymous said...

An interesting piece....I'd rather have a Step/Steg/ponding system....

Chlorine cautions urged
Some worry over deliveries to regional water plant
By Chris Bowman - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, June 17, 2007

To operators of the Sacramento regional sewage treatment works skirting Elk Grove, the rail tanker that lumbers up to the sprawling plant every few days represents a delivery of disinfectant to purify wastewater.

But to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, these rail cars are potential terrorist bombs. The steel cylinders hold up to 90 tons of compressed chlorine gas, the horrific chemical weapon used in World War I by the German and British armies and, lately, in Iraq by insurgents.

A ruptured chlorine gas tanker can release a lung-searing plume up to 14 miles downwind, according to the Chlorine Institute, an industry trade group. In large urban areas such as Sacramento, thousands would risk irreversible lung damage -- or death.

Managers of the Sacramento regional plant say they keep the chlorine rail cars behind high fences and under constant surveillance to prevent theft and sabotage. Homeland security officials nonetheless are concerned because sewage treatment and drinking-water treatment plants are exempt from the national chemical security regulations that took effect June 8.

In an address to chemical industry representatives last week, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff urged plant operators to voluntarily fill the "one gap in our system of regulation."

"I don't want you to breathe a sigh of relief because you're off the hook," Chertoff told the Chemical Sector Security Summit.

"You're on the hook, because you're going to have to do this yourselves, until the time comes along that regulatory authority to address these comes to us or to some other agency."

Most chlorine gas goes to chemical and plastic manufacturing plants, which are covered under the new security rules.

Chertoff singled out chlorine as one of the "high-risk" chemicals and said the areas of "greatest vulnerability" are rail yards and sections of track where chemical cars are idle for long periods.

The Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of an estimated 3,000 sewage treatment and drinking-water purification plants that keep more than 2,500 pounds of chlorine gas on hand, according to Paul Orum, author of a report published in April by the Center for American Progress, a think tank.

The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District treats an average 165 million gallons of wastewater daily from 400,000 homes and businesses in Sacramento County.

The district takes delivery of about 70 chlorine gas tankers a year at its Elk Grove-area plant, said Wendell Kido, district manager.

A rail spur takes the chlorine tankers directly to the plant.

Railroads will not drop off these rail cars unless plant workers are on hand to immediately secure them inside the fenced facility.

Kido said the plant has had no security threats or accidents involving chlorine in its 25 years of operation.

"The treatment plant is very, very secure," Kido said. "It has a very high fence topped with barbed wire, locks on gates and surveillance cameras."

The tankers are pressurized to keep the chlorine in liquid form, economizing on space. The sewage treatment plant depressurizes the tankers and converts the liquid chlorine to gas. The gas is injected into the wastewater to kill off germs at the end of the treatment process.

The Sacramento regional plant also routinely receives rail cars of another dangerous gas, anhydrous sulfur dioxide, which is added to dechlorinate the finished wastewater before it empties into the Sacramento River just south of the Freeport bridge. Chlorine is toxic to aquatic species.

Orum, a consultant on chemical safety and security, recommends that utilities shift from chlorine gas to safer methods of disinfection, such as ultraviolet light or sodium hypochlorite, a high-strength liquid bleach.

Anonymous said...

How about the health problems of step/steg when the power is off for a few days and the crap backs up into your house? Of course you can just not shower and pee and crap in a hole in your yard - that way the poop doesn't mush up with the pee into a slurry which will spread out from the toilet all over the floor! I don't think a personal generator will help in this case. (And don't live at the bottom of a hill.)

Anonymous said...

To 11:25PM,

In all my years I can't remember losing power for a "few" days ...

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, that was one of the arguments that the step/steg or die camp used during the recall.....what if the power went out and there would be sewage pouring into the streets and down into the estuary....

Don't you remember?