The Great Eucalypts Are Gone

Anybody in Los Osos who was wondering what the three CSD Directors felt about the possible wishes of this community, wishes that will be known in about 19 working days from now in the Sept. 27th recall election and sewer initiative vote, need only drive by the Tri W site on Los Osos Valley Road to get an answer.

The great trees are down, their massive roots drying in the sun, the message in their killing unmistakable: BLEEP YOU LOS OSOS AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON.

CSD Director Julie Tacker emailed CSD President Gustafson and asked for an emergency public meeting to get public input. NO! All kinds of community members called and marched and held vigils, hoping to get the three CSD Directors to listen. NO! To postpone doing anything irrevocable until the 27th. NO! No, nope, nuh-huh, not interested, talk to the hand, not listening, don't care, go away, shut up.

As an example of petty spite, a phony macho pissing contest, it was laughable. Of course, the trees and the birds they sheltered, and the beauty they brought to the community were the ultimate victims. But then they were of no more importance to the three CSD Directors than a rabbit under the wheels of an out of control, rage-fueled SVU driver. BLEEP YOU! AND BLEEP YOUR BLEEPING HORSE!

Now, it remains to be see if the people of Los Osos are listening, and understand the message. And whether they care enough to reply on Sept 27th. And what that reply will be.

When is a raven not like a writing desk? When he's a Public Information Officer, Dear.

Ah, I'm delighted to report that Los Osos' new, well-paid Public Information Officer is on the job. Apparently, Ron Crawford of theSewerwatch blog sent him several very simple, very specific "public information/historical" questions which the PIO oddly labeled as "debate" and refused to answer.

But, of course! Our PIO publicly pledged never to "spin" information or news, remember? So, I guess, if you can't spin an answer and the truthful answer would cause some people's eyes to fly wide open and their mouths to drop to their socks, the only solution is to not answer at all, which means our new PIO isn't gonna give out PI, which begs a critical question: Is refusal to answer factual public information questions a form of spin or a failure to perform your job requirements?

You can read all about it at Ron's blog at www.sewerwatch.blogspot.com Luckily, Ron's "answers" to his unanswered questions are historically correct and loaded with lots of accurate Public Information.

Mmmmm, Flies. Yummy Flies. Oh, wait, bad analogy.

In his August 28, 'o5 Tribune Viewpoint ("Los Osos these days looks a lot like 'Lord of the Flies'"), Morro Bay resident, Jeff Wheelright, alas, has the viewpoint exactly backwards. The several thousand people who signed the recall petitions were behaving like adults, not out of control, murderous children in need of a Hobbsian Controlling Authority. As adults, they had repeatedly requested from the Big Daddy CSD a voice in what kind of sewer system they were being required to "buy." That request was repeatedly denied. Instead, they were told, like good children everywhere, that Daddy knew best and they needed to shut up and sit down and eat what Daddy fed them without complaint or question.

Children usually do sit down and shut up. Adults go sign recall petitions. So, it's not "Lord of the Flies" at all. Just a whole lot of grown up bears asking the community to finally account for itself. Like adults.

I’m Late, I’m Late, for a Very Important Date, Can’t Wait, Hurry, Hurry, Hurry! More Tea! More Tea! Move Down! Move Down!

Just got conformation from our new Public Information Officer (LOCSD's PIO), Mike Drake, that the 60-some huge eucalyptus trees located on the Tri-W site in Los Osos, the planned new home of an industrial-sized sewage treatment plant in the middle of town, are officially slated to be cut down “sometime next week,” i.e. the 29 – 3rd, one month before the Sept. 27th recall election.

And if the recall is successful and the industrial-sized sewage treatment plant in the middle of town is moved out of the middle of town, what about the dead trees? Well, as Drake noted in the Bay News, “. . . they [can] be replaced by seedlings of native species.”

Well, sure! And in 80 years they might be as tall as the now destroyed eucalyptus, so not to worry.

Board member Tacker requested CSD President Stan Gustafson (he’s on the recall list) to please call a special meeting to hear public input regarding the rush to whack the trees down. Nope. Nuh-uh. No meetings. Not interested in public opinion. As for phone calls, faxes, emails to the CSD office? Fuggedaboudit. Not interested.

On an even funnier note, Sewer Chronicler Extraordinare, Ron Crawford (his sewer blog can be accessed via http://www.slocreek.com/) (and Sewerwatch blog --ed.) notes that the CSD (or elves creeping into the office in the dead of night?) keeps putting false and misleading information into official documents. For example, a recent email with a portion of the recent CSD’sValue Engineering report imbedded in it, clearly notes that the various “amenities (public restroom, parking lot, tot lot, amphitheatre, community garden) added by the CCC [California Coastal Commission] . . . . "

. . . . ADDED by the CCC? The CCC didn’t add those things. They originally demanded that they be removed by the CSD in order to shrink the footprint of the sewer treatment plant on ESHA land and the CSD – NOT the CCC – insisted that they be put back in as a critical component of the project, i.e., the much ballyhooed community-wide demand for a Tot Lot next to a sewer plant.

The CCC fell for it and put the Tot Lot & etc. back in, but it was not at the CCC’s request. Yet there it is in the recent Value Engineering report. Yep, elves.

Ron argues in an email to various officials in charge of this project, that the State Revolving Fund forbids spending any State Revolving Fund Money on “decorative elements,” i.e. things not mandated by State and/or Federal agencies, and notes correctly that the CCC didn’t mandate those decorative elements--the Tot Lot and community garden & etc. were not part of the mandated ESHA mitigation requirements--indeed, they are contraindicated as ESHA mitigation since they eat up more ESHA land, not less, and require MORE mitigation.

But, no matter, because if the CSD can “pretend” they are mitigation, then the folks in the prohibition zone can be stuck with paying for them while everyone involved pretends that a Tot Lot and a community garden are an essential requirement in running a sewer plant.

Bwa-hahahahah!

The staff of the CCC must know they’ve been diddled. Certainly at least one CCC Board member knew (he of the “bait and switchy” comment), but they did and still do nothing. Shrug. Oh, well, not my problem. More tea! More tea! Move down! Move down!

Nuh-huh, not me, I’m not in charge, no way, go ask that Other Guy. Woah! not me, you gotta call that guy over there. He’s been told not to talk to you but to call some guy named Mike? Well, don’t look at me, that’s not my problem. It’s none of my beeswax, now go away.

Alice in Wonderland has landed out here in Los Osos, and just in time for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

Seems CSD Director Tacker went through channels to request an emergency CSD meeting to take public input on whether they wanted the giant eucalyptus trees at the Tri-W site cut down before the recall election. Or whether, tree cutting being irrevocable, the CSD would tell the contractors to wait until after the election to proceed.

CSD President Stan Gustafson said, Nuh-huh, He wasn’t gonna call a special meeting, nosir. No way would the CSD take responsibility for anything having to do with cutting down those trees, nosir, nosir. Not when he can wash his hands of it all, thereby gifting the CSD board majority, which is facing a recall election, with the valuable ability to blandly deny any and all responsibility--not MY doing, not MY responsibility, none of MY business, not MY job, oh, well.

So then a member of the community was told by someone in the LOCSD office that since the cutting of the trees is no longer the responsibility of the CSD, it’s the responsibility of the contractors, citizens should contact the contractors. (Please recall that one Los Osos citizen was recently hauled into court by the CSD in order to get a restraining order slapped on the guy to get him to stop contacting the contractors. Suddenly, citizens are now told to do exactly that?)

Oh, dear, More Tea! More Tea! Move down! Move down!

So then a citizen calls a contractor and is told that they were instructed not to talk to any residents but to direct all questions back to the CSD and the new Information Officer, Mike Drake.

Yep, Flak Catching 101 out here in Sewerville has commenced. So, drink your tea, then shut up and go away. Thank you.