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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 03182008 - SD.1 5DI 3 l k/ok March 13, 2008 Dear Editor Fortunately, between the time your March 13, 2008 editorial regarding the pending strike by registered nurses who work for Contra Costa County was penned and published, County management came to its senses and withdrew its outrageous health care proposal that would have emaciated health care for current and future County employees and retirees. Thus, the strike has been averted, at least for now. Regrettably, your editorial accepts the County's spin about the CNA negotiations as the gospel. The truth is that County management has pursued a misguided negotiation strategy that led to an unnecessary showdown. The County's solution to our retiree health care challenge is tantamount to asking County employees to agree to amputate their collective leg and to bargain over how to do it. We believe that we need to find an appropriate treatment for the retiree medical challenge and that amputation is not that treatment. The County seemed to think that CNA would make a counter proposal- offer to amputate a toe, and then negotiate to the knee. The CNA, to its credit, refused to take the bait. It was the County's intransigence that put us on the brink of a strike. Contra Costa County residents and its workers now can hope that County management will take a more reasoned and reasonable approach to our mutual challenges. If it does not, there will be more strike votes and strike dates set as contracts for other County employees expire. Roland M. Katz Supervising Business Agent Public Employees Union, Local One "RE OUEST TO SPEAK FORM (3 Minute Limit) I wish to speak on Agenda Item#: Complete this form andplace it in the upright box near the Date: speaker's podium;and wait to be called by the Chair. ' My comments will be: 19"'General Personal information is optional. This speaker's card will be incorporated into the public record of this meeting. ❑ For Name (PRINT): RO ��- ❑ Against To ensure vow-name is announced correctly,you may want to include its phonetic spelling 1 I ❑ .I wish to speak on the subject of: Address: 1:�> City: NIZ li Phone: I am speaking for: ❑ Myself Organization: i \,(J41, ❑ Ido not want to speak but would like to leave comments for the Board to consider (Use the back of this form) REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM(3 Minute Limit) I wish to speak on Aeenda Item #: Complete this form and place it in.the upright box near the Date: J speaker's podium, and wait.to be called by the Chair. My comments will be: 6 General Personal it formation is optional. This speaker's card will be incorporated into the public record of this me ing. ❑ For R Name(PKtNT): A \: ��}�� ( � El Against To ensure your+lame is announced correctly,you n:ay wait to inchede its phonetic spe ntg I wish to speak on the subject of: Address: City: Phone: I am speaking for: ❑ Myself Organization: �� ❑ I do not want to speak but would like to leave comments for the Board(��C � oar to consider (Use the back of this form) r. . RE, QUEST TO SPEAK FORM (3 Minute Limit) l I wish to speak on Agenda Item#: �Q � Complete this,.form and place it in the upright box near the Date: speaker's podium, and waif to be called by the Chair. My comments will be: 'd—General Personal information is optional. This peaker's card will be incorporated into the public record of this meeting. ❑ For Name (PRINT) , ❑ Against To ensure your dame is ak ounced correctly,you may want to include its phonetic spelling Iwish �to;speak on the subject of: Address: 3b tAq�,r2A P&O T— City: �,x . QAIt45S3 Phoi .. 3l \` 5 I am speaking for: ❑ Myself ❑ I do not want to 'speak but would e o ld llk to Organization: t�) lb _� leave coimnents for the Board to consider (Use the back of this form) 4 . iI Consider with SDA: Public Comment f March 18,2008 Board of Supervisors Meeting "Michael Sarabia" To: comments@cob.cccounty.us <mchlsrrb@aol.com> cc: *` 03/11/2008 11:05 AM Subject: BOS Agenda Comments from Website -- --- Please respond to "Michael Sarabia" „ This message was sent from: http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us'/depart/cao/agendacomments'_form.htm Name of sender: Michael Sarabia Address of sender: 55 Pacifica-'Ave. Sp. 140 Phone of sender: (925) 709-0751. Email of sender: mchlsrrb@aol.com Agenda Date: Agenda Item1: Agenda Item2 : ,D.1 ---------------------=---- COMMENTS ------------------------- . n TO: CCC BOS From: Michael Sarabia, Bay Point I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, the Board of. Supervisors for benefits received:and in particular my Supervisor Federal Glover. > The most notable area in Contra Costa County is Transportation. Today, Mar 11, 2008, the CCTimes carried an article on oil price "Crude oil rises above $108 to record" with this comment: "As price rise, the economy will weaken and eventually hit demand." Which may mean that as gasoline prices go up, people will stop driving to work and lower oil demand." If they meant because they lost their jobs, true for many, they would, sadly, be right. If they meant beta-use they could not afford gasoline and had to quit, sadly, . they would also be right. If they meant because they had a choice and stop buying gasoline, like commuters in Contra Costa County. can, they are right but, a choice in transportation modes is best. Commuters using Tri-Delta Transit and BART, owe you a debt of gratitude, for you foresight and direction through all the obstacles that most of us are unaware, often due to our lack of .attention and failure to attend opportunities to learn about them.' Good Government Engenders Complacency may be true. >The first enemy of the people is: "Urban Sprawl" and the BOS has been very busy dealing with many challenges encountered along the way, of which I know only a few. For years, before'2. came to Contra Costa County, I thought this to be like a Godzilla that turns cities 'into shambles but, this is not true in Contra Costa County.. Your fight for the Urban Limit Line merits national and international attention because of the results. It led to a new concept that experts in the ' field have yet to analyze. Your "linear" urban development with Tri-Delta, BART and improved Highway 4 kept us out of the "concrete jungle" of Manhattan. I like businesses in tall buildings with mass transit nearby and some are beginning to appear but, somehow, I find raising families in such places inhuman and uncivil. You navigated the problem and,protected the possibility of "community. " Thank You, BOS. .That you also avoided economic stagnation is evident. >The biggest problem in California is Water. Here too, CCCounty is leading the field. At a recent Delta Vision gathering I became aware they do not know of Desalination and -the Pilot plant CCC BOS approved: Bay Area Regional Desalination Project in Bay Point (now Pittsburg) . This is the only solution to the Delta "problem";. there is no magic bullet, to be found in the Delta to heal the Delta -like some at the .Delta Vision seek. The Pilot project' is good because when it comes to the biology of water, we all stand in awe of nature,,.scientists included -mostly the older ones. That a Desalination' plants exists elsewhere (2500) tells nothing about '''the process details needed in specific locations and the location is excellent (water is not as salty and there is hope of "free" waste heat from the powerplant) . Soon, perhaps, the Mirant Powerplant will begin to work 24/7 and produce enough waste heat to power the ,desal!nation process which is key to the' economics of the process. . In the meantime; the chemistry of the problem can be refined, prior to a full scale plant design. In time, the urban areas in Pacific shores from Santa Cruz to Bodega Bay will be served by current water supplies with replacements from a desalination plant in the Mirant site. Such water will be the best and will not include the drug remnants produced in urban and rural areas. Another BIG win for Contra Costa County! At CCCounty health service meetings I learnt that some water contaminants affect the brain with undetermined long term effects. If any CCC Supervisor decides to run for Governor, I hope you will support the use of a number of huge Desalination plants near the ocean to provide water to survive for the 500,0.00 that arrive yearly. I will be honored and happy to participate in such a campaign to do the walking, etc. >Your support for The Great Delta Trail (links Martinez to the Delta) , is very much appreciated. It wili improve -the quality of life in Bay Point, to "'the degree they want to invest time, and let some of us survive a while longer. When I told people in Bay Point about a possible park nearby, they showed great interest, more interest', than on anything else I said. I passed the information in walking canvassing tours. Y >Finally, I must mention that your programs for Affordable Housing have been of great benefit to all in Bay Point and elsewhere. Your Rent Control Ordinance will allow.many to survive. the coming recession. >The issues with local schools are outside my expertise, maybe if Bay Point becomes part of Pittsburg, there will be a better future for Bay Point '! children without the commute to Concord -some feel otherwise. "tina" To: comments@ cob.cccounty.us <visualeyes108@yaho cc: o.com> Subject: [BULK] BOS Agenda Comments from Website 03/11/2008 07:58 AM Please respond to"tina" This message was sent from: http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/depart/cao/agendacomments_form.htm ------------------------------------------------------------ Name of sender: Lina Address of sender:' juarez Phone of sender: 925.-639-8563 Email of sender visualeyesl08@yahoo.com Agenda Date: 03/1108 Agenda Iteml: D.2 Agenda Item2: ------------------------- COMMENTS --------------------- It is the start of bee season and I am very Beesy. . . But, as a beekeeper, I-am very interested in control methods for other insects as the pesticides are not as selective as one would wish. This is my public statemtne in general. California's agricultural wealth was severely hit by the Medfly and subsequent: collateral damage as the bee population also fell victim to pesticide treatment. Nowa new imported pest with no local predator is threatening the interior agricultural ecology in the form of the Light Brown Apple Moth(LBAM) California is trying to do good by using a pheromone disruptor to confuse the mating cycle. The pheromone is very specific to the LBAM and is being used successfully in Australia. An Oregon company has developed a pheromone disruptor for use in the USA. There has been a media blitz against the spraying ,of this disruptor from Soquel, CA that has panicked people and town councils throughout the west coast with statements that the - - medium carrying the pheromone is toxic. . My research and inquiries have not supported this level of panic. -. California Coastal communitiesare the barrier/frontier to interior agricultural regions which are already oversprayed. If the LBAM is ! stopped at the coast, more extensive and toxic spraying will not be needed. California pesticide companies offer a new line of pesticides called nicotinoids which are less 'toxic, but still seriously toxic, to humans than previous pesticides, but lethal to bees and other pollinators... Since the LBAM breeds continuously, pesticide spraying would also be continuous, as would its residue buildup. We have all had the chance to learn how loss of bees will affect our food chain with media reporting about 'the varroa mite and now Colony Collapse Disorder. My bees service organic gardens and orchards so I am not wild about spraying in general, but I am even more concerned about the rabid reaction of the protest against use of the hormone disruptor. If spraying is cheaper and does the job, while other. methods more labor intensive have the vulnerability to drastic budget cuts, we have some serious decision making to do. Private growers and nurseries are free to use the toxic-to-bees pesticide to protect their businesses. I have already lost hives due to pesticide poisoning.. It is heartbreaking to check on a previously lively hive and .discover it full of dead bees reeking with a slightly chemical smell. The days of black and white decision making are gone, we now know we have to consider future generation with every small decision. So, are you part of the problem or part of the solution? "KarenPerkins" @,cob.cccounty.us Per s To: ..comments@,cob.cccoun y.us <kper@sbcglobal.net> cc: Subject: BOS Agenda Comments from Website 03/11/2008 11:31 AM Please respond to "Karen Perkins" This message was sent from: http://www.cccounty, us%depart/'Cao/agendacomments_form.htm Name of sender: Karen Perkins Address of sender: Walnut Creek, Ca. Phone of sender: Email- of sender: kper@sbcgloba.l.net Agenda Date: 3/11/08 Agenda Item1: D.2 Agenda Item2: ----------------------- COMMENTS •------------------------- I was unable to attend .this meeting but I hope you will follow the city councils of Albany, Berkeley, Oakland; Fairfax, who, unanimously, passed resolutions opposing the spraying. AFSCME local 2428 which represents East Bay Regional Park District employees, among others, also is opposed to the spraying1'. A recent SF Chronicle front page story quotes leading scientists saying the " apple moth is a relaively minor pest and eradication won't work. I have also read that Checkmate, ther'chemical being sprayed, is composed of microscopicjI capsules produced by nano-technology. These can be breathed in and enter the human bloodstream and there has been little or no research on their long term effect on human health. C'e;rtanly, we are seeing cancer, autoimmune disease, childhood autism-etc. at' increased rates. I have, also read that the owner of Checkmate contributed $144, 000 to Schwarzeneggers' election funds. Surely in the 21st century we can control insects without dumping chemicals on our people. ------------------------------------------------------- r r