Calhouns Can(n)ons

Uh, Kin Ah Git Mah Money Back?

O.k. kids, it's Math Time. Today's Tribune notes: "20,000 gallons of sewage flow from CMC out to Morro Bay." And in the story it also notes, "Before the upgrade, the prison's aged sewage system logged about 150 violations, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines."

150 violations and hundreds of thousands in fines. Hundreds of thousands? Yet the Los Osos CSD gets slammed with a $6 mil + fine for spilling . . . .exactly what into the Bay? Hmmmm.

Even more interesting, remember when Tri W was being hustled along and some folks said, Woa, not a good idea to build a huge sewage plant so near to Sweet Springs and the Bay, what would happen with a spill? and the Powers that Be blared, "NONSENSE! We've built in redundancies. There will be no spills, ever! Not to worry."

So poor CMC upgraded it's old, cronically spilling plant and added on redundancies and doggone, when power was lost to the main plant, the dad-blamed back-up emergency generator didn't start and, voi la! sewage flowed into the creek and hence into the bay, which was a few miles away, not a few blocks away. Dang!

Well, no matter. Individual members of the Los Osos community -- The Los Osos 45 -- face higher fines (up to $5,000 a day retroactive to 1988 and possible jail time) for "polluting" the groundwater from their individual septic tanks, so the 20,000 gallons and potential fines (under a million dollars for a total of 150 violations over the years) now faced by CMC aren't anything to worry about.

Chump change, by comparison.

Hope for the Doggies & Miaows?

In today's Tribune, a follow up on a previous story: The Humane Society has been hired by the county to do a study of our Department of Animal Services. There's been some unhappy rumblings from the facility out on Highway 1, rumblings and complaints coming from the volunteers that the shelter's being mismanaged, there's been miscommunication problems, the staff is overburdened, and even Sheriff Hedges wants to push the joint off his table and maybe make it a completely reorganized, separate, better-budgeted, stand-alone department.

The study will be ready "by June or early July," and the consultants will be seeking community input. Stay tuned for any times and places where interested parties can add their two cents. And if you don't own any pets and think you aren't an interested party, please think again. Taxpayers all pay to deal with "animal" issues. It costs all of us a bundle to pick up, hold, kill and cremate and/or ship the bodies somewhere for rendering. A big bundle.

So the question before the public is this: Are there better, cheaper ways to deal with issues of pet overpopulation, irresponsible owners, irresponsible breeders, irresponsible pet stores, humane education, public outreach, volunteer coordination, private/public cooperation, fully funded spay-neuter programs, coordinated breed rescue groups, and etc., all of which are focused on pro-actively preventing problems from escalating and costing more when they reach the Great Big Mess stage?

Stay tuned.