Countdown. Tick, tick, tick. The Last Gasp, The Final Days. The BOS will be meeting Tuesday, July 27, to vote on accepting The Hideous Sewer Project and whether to decide to start work Sept. 2011 or March 2012. The Tribune noted that the county should find out whether they’ll get some $80 in federal stimulus money by the end of the month and so “starting the project next year instead of in 2010 could have some cost savings, [John] Waddell, [ project engineer] wrote in his report to supervisors. “Obtaining bids sooner, as opposed to later, is generally desirable because the current bidding environment on construction contracts is very competitive, and cost savings are being realized locally and throughout the state.”
The hearing is schedule to start after the lunch break. There will be an opportunity to comment. So bring lunch, a bottle of water. It’s Los Osos last swan song. So tune up those pipes for a Last Song.
Speaking of Which
The cover of the latest New Times has photos of the four men running for state Senator, with the cover title, “Turning point,” noting this special election is “One of the most important political races in recent state history is down to the wire.” This race will be interesting because it may shape up on two fronts: mere numbers – does the Monterrey area have more Democratic votes and voters – versus “favorite sons” – home-grown, popular Sam Blakeslee. It’ll also divide along Democratic/Republican, which will have an impact in Sacramento.
Especially since Blakeslee, during critical budget wrangles, took a blood oath to Grover Norquist to never raises taxes even if that meant seeing California go bankrupt and fall into the sea. Sadly, taking blood oaths to Norquist is now required for Republicans if they want to punch their tickets and advance up the political ladder. That’s how batshit crazy the Republican Party has become. And is also why Sam lost my vote. And why I will not vote for a Republican in any race, for any reason, until Grover & his Ilk have been purged from the party or the party stops being batshit crazy.
But the New Times cover is right. This is an important race if this state has any hope of doing anything to save this insane state except create pointless political gridlock and/or give tax breaks for rich yacht owners while letting the state go into the crapper. Feh.
Drink Up!
Also over at the New Times updates it notes that SLO “Undersheriff Steve Bolts pleads not guilty to charges that he was driving under the influence.” Bolts is second in command under Sheriff Pat Hedges.
I’m gonna go out on a ledge here, but I’m betting that – statistically speaking – the odds of getting pulled over on a DUI the very first time you’ve ever driven under the influence is, oh, about zero. Statistically speaking, DUIs who get caught have actually been DUI-ing a lot before they’re finally nabbed. Which means, statistically speaking, Mr. Bolts likely has a drinking problem that needs to be attended to right quick. And it’s also likely that Mr. Bolts’ colleagues and friends and family know he likely has a drinking problem. (According to the story, “Atascadero police officers arrested Bolts on the night of June 5 after receiving an anonymous call . . . had been drinking at a party earlier . . . , “ so clearly folks at the party knew something was amiss.). In the case of friends and family, (and fellow party-goers) that’s certainly a difficult situation. But if bystanders included his colleagues and/or boss, ah, well, that points in a different direction and begs a question as to whether the Sheriff’s office has an enforces a comprehensive alcohol abuse program for it’s employees?
If it doesn’t, then maybe the new Sheriff will look into that. In the meantime, I hope Mr. Bolts gets the medical help he needs. In the media, at least, alcoholism (and attendant DUIs) is too often treated like a joke instead of a terminal illness. I mean, take a look at Lindsay Lohan’s travails. Huge joke with fans cheering her on, something they wouldn’t do if she had been diagnosed with cancer and was refusing treatment. Fans would be dismayed, upset, would send her pleading Tweets to get her butt in gear and get medical help. But being an addict? Bwa-hahahah, very funny. Until she dies. Or kills someone driving.
Theatre! Theatre!
Got my PAC tickets in the mail and along with them came a “Buy One, Get One Free!” ticket telling me that I can “buy one ticket for a select Cal PolyArts subscription show (listed on the back) and receive one free companion ticket.” Then listing http://www.calpolyarts.org/ website. And on the back are a whole bunch of really great PAC shows, including the exciting Drumline Live! (if you saw the movie Drumline you’ll know that THAT’ll be a doozie of a show!) So, check it out. If it really is (see note following) a Two for One deal, then you can’t beat that. (NOTE: I checked the site given and can find zip, zero about this. So better call the phone number on the card which is 756-2787. Duh, Cal PolyArts? Why send out a card with a website then put no information on the website, eh? eh? eh?)
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Calhoun's Can(n)ons was originally published in 1990 in the (now defunct) Morro Bay, CA, Sun Bulletin, and since 1992 has continued in the various resurrections of the Los Osos, CA. Bay News, Bay Breeze, Bay News, Bay News-Tolosa Press. A few years ago, the Can(n)on was added to the Central Coast NewsMission blogsite. Ann Calhoun lives in Los Osos. You can email her at Churadogs at gmail dot com
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7 comments:
One of the comments in the Tribune story about the Supes meeting which typically disses us wacky Los Osans suggest we have to pay for fouling the Bay with our "intestinal emanations". It got me to thinkin, where does our intestinal emanations enter the Bay? Wouldn't the salt water leave the Bay through the same path? And exactly what damage are we doing to the Bay?
Sincerely, M
M, Ask Lois Capps, she took a mud sample in a much ballyhooed visit to the mud flats, I never could find out what they found in that mud sample except newspaper ink.
Anyone know what part of Los Osos Golden State Water serves? I noticed Bruce Gibson was quick to act on their proposed water rate hike.
Sincerely, M
I have seen a map of the areas covered by each purveyor, but can't recall where. Doesn't the CSD have a map on the wall in the office showing their water service area? S & T is easy to figure and the rest must be GS.
Golden State held their first (only?) meeting on the rate increase here in Los Osos last January at Monarch Grove School. I forgot about it until I saw the electric sign with a number to call regarding the increase at the corner of LOVR & South Bay. Was there another meeting? (I'm in CSD water.)
Hi “M” good questions-though previously noted here. Los osos surface and subsurface waters enter the Bay at: Questa Inlet, Marshes including Sweet Springs. CSD drainage outfall, Baywood Pier pipe, Creeks and multiple points along the Bay Coast. Bacteria are filtered mostly out by Baywood sands. Nitrates are not significant; Compare to Morro Bay Outfalls. NO telltale algal streaks.
The bottom line is Sewer or No Sewer LO has very little relative impact to the BAY.
(This would apply to a Proposed sewer up till a point where there could be significant undetected leaks.)
However “The Bay” has been USED a poster child by most Regulatory agencies, Government entities., and Environmental groups. So you may as well use a broom rather than finger pointing. “Typical statement “ We must stop Nitrate pollution of the BAY” (from a "nitrate expert" not a Los Osos expert)
Nitrates were measured by MBNEP and are being constantly measured at 4-5 monitoring stations within the Bay. The definitive Study of Bacteria was Kitts Moline but the conclusions in the Paper were typical “Sources include septic systems Etc.”
The definitive value recorded in a CSD meeting 2005 out of Kitt's mouth was “Less than 1/10 of a percent (Bacterial loading) Accept no substitutions, There is no other valid value other than “less than 1/10 of a percent”. If you hear anything else then you are going second or third hand “broken telephone”.
In spite of natural nitrates, leaky illegal wells, and horse farms, much of the Nitrate Pollution to the perched aquifer (and a miniscule amt to the Deeper aquifers) comes from septic systems, specifically from the leach pits that are dug deep and close to the (raised) sub surface groundwater. It is somewhat related to lot size and density but more to the lack of well designed and maintained leach fields.
In other words, a leach pit situated in an acre plot is not necessarily better than eight well constructed (raised) leach fields occupying most of the outdoor space of 8x1/8th acre plots, but that is the regulatory standard.
Not sure what you mean about salt water leaving. I wouldn't worry about a commenter in the trib blaming Los Osos as much as I would worry about a coastal commissioner or staff using that language.
MG I hope we never find the “Value” of the “Sample” “Collected “ by Lois Capps. At LOW Tide!
With all due respect I want these samples collected by Professionals, or at worst, Trained volunteers.
Complete with “Chain of Custody”
“If the Cap don't fit,
The nitrate value, you cannot submit”
So the point is that water leaking out into the bay is water lost (it was once lower aquifer water that has been used and then leaked out into the upper aquifer through leach fields and leach pits) and it is not available for the town to reuse. Monitoring wells have shown that the depth to groundwater has risen from levels measured in the 70's and 80's.
Actually, Toonces, the real point is that regulators too foten BELIEVE much that isn't true, declare that incorrect belief to be "fact,' and then act on that false "fact." That's where things got off the rails so badly here -- uninformed regulators being misled by folks with, uh, interesting agendas of their own, and/or being lashed into furious, often wrong conclusions and hence to bad decisions. Spin run amok and the town will be made to pay for it all. That's the real tragedy when you forget that, while this isn't rocket science, it still is SCIENCE and you'd really best have your information at least correct.
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