Calhouns Can(n)ons

RWQCB to All of Los Osos and The Los Osos 45

Here’s the meat of the RWQCB Staff Report for the Regional Board Meeting on December 7, 2007 at Aerovista Place, SLOTown. The staff report should be posted on the Waterboard site.

Because of the lawsuit filed by Shauna Sullivan on behalf of some of the Los Osos 45 (in reality on behalf all the homeowners in the PZ), the Advisory Team “recommends against scheduling a hearing to consider the Cease and Desist Orders . . ..” The Water Board can schedule regular closed sessions to discuss the ongoing litigation regarding the Cease and Desist Orders and settlement agreements and to base its decision on scheduling a hearing on the closed session legal discussions.”

Translation? NO action for the 45. They’ll be left hanging in the wind. Also, NO action concerning the rest of the homeowners in the PZ. They’re also left hanging in the wind.

Noted “staff”, “There is no compelling reason to rescind the Cease and Desist Orders and settlement agreements at this time. The Orders and settlement agreements do not require any burdensome actions now or in the near future. Parties subject to the Orders and settlement agreements are not treated differently with respect to the recent 218 assessment. The orders and settlement agreements may have a negative affect on property values; however, this possibility was known prior to adoption and is not a reason to rescind them.”

And, while rescinding the Orders “would be a good will gesture to the community considering the 218 assessment vote,” because of the Sullivan lawsuit and a possible challenge to the 218, there is “the very real possibility that attempts will be made to derail the project again.”

Translation? Bleep you, community. No “good will” for you. And if you 45 suffer property value loss (unlike your neighbor, say), well, Bleep you as well. You, dear homeowner in the PZ will remain in the gunsights of the RWQCB since the County does not have this project, the CSD does not have this project and while you, Dear homeowner may have voted overwhelmingly to support the 218, the RWQCB will not allow you to install any onsite systems to solve the problem they’re threatening you with and you individually have absolutely no power to build a community project yourself, but that doesn’t matter – You’ve been deliberately trapped in a Catch 22 and your home is still threatened and under the gun.

And finally, “the Water Board should not schedule a hearing to consider the Cease and Desist Orders and settlement agreements without first meeting in closed session to discuss the ongoing litigation. Multiple closed sessions hearings may be necessary as the court case progresses.”
PLUS this recommendation, “Regarding future enforcement actions, if any, the prosecution Team has indicated its intent to take enforcement action against all residents simultaneously. "

. . . And, “If the Prosecution Team proceeds with enforcement actions in the future, the Advisory Team my pursue the option of “paper” hearings, which means the enforcement actions would be processed entirely via written submittals, and there would be no oral hearings before the Water Board. This is a legally appropriate approach and would facilitate relatively promptly processing of the approximately 4,500 cases.”

Translation? The RWQCB has not stood down, has no intention of standing down, will not even bother with due process rights for individual homeowners, and the STAFF can, at any time, slap CAO’s on you – no hearings – and instantly retroactively fine you up to $5,000 a day since 1983 and/or institute criminal proceedings against you, anytime they wish, with Zip due process.

which is why at least some people think that Sullivan’s attempt to make sure that homeowners in this community at least get their due process rights heard in a “real court” and hopefuly protected by real judges following real laws is an important undertaking?

And for all of you in this community who think you’re “safe.” Think again.


And now, What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Front page story in the Tribune. Friends and family members of a young man killed in an accident at the Ocean Dune State Vehicular Recreation Area in 2006 expressed anger that the man being held responsible for the accident only got “30 days in County Jail and two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.” Mr. Evans pleaded”no contest to vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, a misdemeanor.” And “No evidence showed [Evans] was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, attorneys for both sides acknowledge.”

The accident was caused when a truck being driven by Sean Evans, 25, went flying off a dune and crash landed on top of a multi-passenger ATV filled with four people that was on the other side of the steep dune, and so out of sight of Mr. Evans. One of the passengers in the ATV, Jerry Carter, 27, was killed.

I can certainly understand the sorry that the family of Jerry Carter must feel. He leaves a widow and two small children behind. But here’s where I’m having trouble with this story:

The whole point of the Oceano Dune Vehicular Recreation Area is to get in cars and trucks and tippy ATVs and go roaring up and over huge sand dunes – shifty and unpredictable terrain at best – often flying up and over the top at high speeds. There is no posted speed limit in most riding places, no spotters at the top of the dunes to warn a rider that there’s something or someone at the bottom or whether the wind has undercut the tip, thereby guaranteeing a bit a airborne flight and possibly a rollover.

In short, the Dunes is a very dangerous place where about 300 people a year are injured – some permanently – and every year, like clockwork, the headlines announce a death or two. And who knows how munch grief and loss and expense will haunt families forever. All for a few hours of pleasure zooming dangerously about a dangerous place.

Yet the friends and family of Jerry Carter want Sean Evans put in prison and punished more, apparently overlooking the sad fact that in an eyeblink their dead son could just as easily have been the one who killed Evans and so would end up in the dock facing prison time.

That’s just how arbitrary, risky and dangerous the Dunes can be – lives can be ruined in an eyeblink. Yet how many people who are regular users will tolerate various safety rules and limits that could make the place less lethal? After all, isn’t the whole point of the place the thrill that comes with that danger?

Of course, when things go wrong, everyone is then very sorry and will then spend the rest of their lives in the hell of hindsight and regret, living in the dark land o . . . If Only . . .


Plus, Let’s Hear From The Department of BWA-HAHAHAHAHAH


I love this one. Story in the Nov 20 L.A. Times: “Critics reject claims of GOP health proposals: Cancer survivors – like Giuliani, McCain and Thompson – might no be able to get coverage.”

The GOP candidates are touting various health plans to ‘fix” the mess we’re in now, but it turns out that if these fine candidates didn’t already have their very nice taxpayer-paid health coverage and to go get health coverage on their own – you know, like millions of regular Americans have to do every year – it’s likely they would be denied or, if offered any plans, those plans would be highly restricted as to what would be covered or be too expensive except for the richest among us. (Which, of course, wouldn’t be a problem for these three, but sure would be a problem for normal folks.)

Why? Well, all three of these men are cancer survivors and in the insurance industry, cancer survivors are NOT welcome, and often not welcome at any price.

Continues the Times story, “All three have offered proposals with the stated aim of helping the 47millionpeople in the U.S. who have no health insurance, including those with preexisting medical conditions.

“But under the plans all three have put forward, cancer survivors such as themselves could not be sure of getting coverage – especially if they were not already covered by a government or job-related plan and had to seek insurance as individuals.

“Unless it’s in a state that has very strong consumer protections, they would likely be denied coverage,” said economist Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, who has reviewed the candidates proposals. “People would not be able to get coverage or would not be able to afford it. “

Adds, Karen Pollitz,”a Georgetown University research professor who specializes in the field, “Most companies won’t touch you if you have a cancer history within five years, and with some companies . . . if you’ve ever had cancer, you can’t get coverage.”

And there’s the problem – legislators and presidential candidates who have very nice tax-payer financed health coverage presuming that their nice policies are available for everyone. Clearly, these three boys have NO IDEA of what real people face in the real Insurance world.

Adds “Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, a health policy research group, “ People who advocate the individual market have a lot of work to do to explain how they are going to get better results than we get today. . . . One of the ironies is that that takes regulation by government and Repulbicans running in the primaries don’t like to talk about that.”

Well, let’s hope regular people can connect some dots. Meantime, millions of Mexicans head north looking for jobs and a better life, things sadly in short supply in their badly mismanaged oligarchic country. So, I keep waiting for millions of Canadians to start fleeing their country to come south to America so they can get better health care than their system allows. So far, I don’t see them coming. What’s the problem? Don’t they know we have the best health care system in the world?

And Now, Some Clarification, Please

I got the following email Press Release from Jeff Edwards. There follows my email request for clarification, followed by Scott Anastasi’s reply. In the world of Press Releases, where “spin” is the name of the game, sometimes clarification really does matter. My thanks to Scott for that clarification. Sometimes a gift really is a gift, which is why it’s important not to mix it up with things that are NOT gifts, such as mitigations and conditions.

Jeff’s email:

Los Osos-This Thanksgiving will be unlike any other in Los Osos thanks to the generosity of Anastasi Development Company, LLC. The local builder is donating a gift to the bayside community – a brand new decomposed granite sidewalk that will benefit the neighborhoods of Monarch Grove, Monarch Cove, Sunset Terrace, Cuesta by the Sea and provide a safe walkway for the school children going to Monarch Grove Elementary school and visitors to the Sea Pines Golf Resort along Pecho Road. For years locals have strolled through the eucalyptus tree lined roadway without the benefit of a safe path on this north/south artery. The trees have been trimmed, the path has been prepared and the gravel will be installed and compacted in the days before Thanksgiving, just in time to walk off that turkey and pumpkin pie. This improvement is one of the many gifts Anastasi Development Company has given as part of their commitment to the community of Los Osos over the past 10 years. Most memorable of which was the Monarch Grove Butterfly Preserve on the western edge of the community, a gift of approximately 18 acres of preserved habitat that remains a destination for nature lovers. Anastasi Development Company, a Redondo Beach-based firm with a strong sense of community and dedication as an exemplary corporate citizen. Founded in 1962, Anastasi builds each and every home with passion for excellence and enduring value. It’s for this simple commitment to excellence that so many of Anastasi homeowners come back as repeat buyers.For more information feel free to contact Scott Anastasi, Anastasi Development Company, LLC - 511 Torrance Blvd, Ste. 200, Redondo Beach, CA 90277, 310-376-8077 extension 265, cell 310-567-3866, or ScottAnastasi@Anastasi.com.

My reply:

Hi, Jeff. Thanks for the Press Release. One question: Was the butterfly preserve you describe as a "gift" really part of the legally required mitigation to offset the impacts of cutting down most of the grove in order to build those additional homes in the "new" Monarch Grove development? Ditto for the new pathway you mention. Was that also part of the original mitigation requirements or is the path part of some mitigation requirements for some other development project somewhere else?

Thanks for any clarification.


Scott’s reply:

Hello, my name is Scott Anastasi. The butterfly habitat was a condition of approval of the Monarch Grove subdivision. Besides the dedication of the land, Anastasi Development worked closely with Dr. Kingston Leong [Cal Poly biologist] to create and endow the habitat.
The new pathway is not part of any project or any mitigation requirements. Anastasi Development worked in conjunction with Sea Pines Golf Course to perform the work.
If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Scott