FRIENDS OF THE
CONSTITUTION
SAN BENITO CHAPTER
News Items and Opinions
BIG GIVE-A-WAY
May 3 – Remember when President Obama placed a ban on drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico then turned around a loaned Brazil the money to drill in deeper water off their coast?
Remember when President Obama killed the Keystone Pipeline that would bring oil from Canada?
Now, the State Department is giving Russia seven islands in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. One island is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The Russians are also to get the tens of thousands of square miles of oil-rich seabeds surrounding the islands. The Department of Interior estimates billions of barrels of oil are at stake.
President Obama is not stopping this maritime boundary adjustment. Then, neither did the Bush or Clinton administrations stop this actions.
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BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
May 1 – It seemed there would be a very routine meeting of the Board of Supervisors this morning. Not so. But first – …
It is common knowledge the county does not have enough money for next year’s general fund. Estimates of up to $5 million dollars have been discussed as being what is needed. There have been reduction-in-force cuts in the past. The Supervisors and Department Heads have taken pay cuts. Some labor groups have agreed to contribute more to the cost of benefits.
Today, the Supervisors stepped up for the third time. They agreed to contribute an additional 4% toward their benefits.
There was an emergency addition to the agenda. There was not any written information on the item.
Each year, the county applies for a block grant in the health services area. This is a federal grant that is administered by the state. Same thing this year, the application was submitted along with the required audit.
It seems some of the documentation this year was to go to the state where it had gone to the federal government in previous years. It may have been the other way around. In any case, the documentation was sent to last year’s destination. Thus, the grant was ruled non-responsive. It will not be considered.
The size of the expected grant was not revealed. Not only does it hurt the Health and Human Services department, it hurts the General Fund. The general fund will not receive the “administrative costs” for administering the grant. These often run about 18%. Hollister recently increased its administrative costs for one task to 35%.
Eighty of the 96 grants were sent to the correct location, 16 were not. The 16 delinquent
Agencies want to be reconsidered and the Board was requested to let San Benito County join in the reconsideration attempt. The Board approved.
This is the third or fourth time within the last year that some department did not follow instruction and let reimbursements, grants, or other tasks become delinquent. Last time, the staff forgot to request reimbursement from the state in a timely manner and the state refused to honor the late claims.
There does not seem to be any consequence when some department does not do its job. Ho Hum. Same old same old. If we do not do our job, so what?
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&nabs FIRST AMENDMENT RESTRICTIONS
April 24 – The First Amendment, and others, were greatly restricted when the house and senate passed and President Obama signed HR 347, “Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011.” Read the short bill here.
Fox News ANALYSIS HERE.
It was not surprising that Sam Farr voted for this bill. But so did Jeff Denham and a majority of the Republicans.
We are soooo screwed!!!
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GLOBAL WARMING SKEPTICS BEWARE
April 23 – Steve Zwick believes that Global Warming is caused by the actions of humans. He suggests that skeptics of man-made global warming be tracked, hunted down, and have their homes burned to the ground. According to Paul Watson, Zwick wrote these recommendations in Forbes Magazine. Watson’s report is here.
Depending on your source of information, there may be global warming or there may be global cooling. There is little scientific information to suggest the changes are due to the actions of humans.
Maybe in 20 to 40 years, we will have a better definition which way the climate has been going. Keep it in mind the direction may change any decade.
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City Council, Board of Supervisors
April 20 – Hollister City Council lasted about 45 minutes on April 16. It was hard to stay awake. Nothing of significance happened.
San Benito Board of Supervisors was not much better. The county did upgrade (?) their web page last year. However, the agenda for the April 17 meeting is not yet posted 3 days after the meeting. This happened for the first meeting of the year, which was cancelled, and things have not improved.
The Board did approve the submission for a grant from the Health Foundation (up to $150,000) to study/justify a Special Assessment District (SAD) for recreation and the library. If successful, there will be a referendum based upon Proposition 218 for a SAD tax. Such a tax for the library would violate the conditions of Proposition 218. Proposition 13 rules would apply.
A county-wide Proposition 13 assessment for the library only would be beneficial. Piggyback a library tax on the back of a Proposition 218 recreation tax would be bad.
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CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL
April 15 – The High Speed Rail project has become somewhat of an unknown entity. The original referendum was for a $10 billion bond to start the project. When the cost estimate hit $99 billion, even the proponents became concerned that that was too much. Now the estimate is somewhere around $50 to $60 billion. It is not clear if that is just for the stretch between Bakersfield and Fresno or not.
There is a bill in the California Assembly, AB 1455 (Harkey), that “would reduce the amount of general obligation debt authorized for high-speed rail purposes pursuant to the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century to the amount contracted as of January 1, 2013.” THE LEGISLATIVE DIGEST CAN BE READ HERE. That is, the high speed rail project would end.
A similar bill, AB 1574 (Galgiani) would repeal all of the provisions of the California High-Speed Rail Act. The bill would enact a new California High-Speed Rail Act. The bill would continue the High-Speed Rail Authority in existence with limited responsibilities and would place the authority within the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. THE LEGISLATIVE DIGEST CAN BE READ HERE.
This would end the high speed rail project but keep the high speed rail authority. This would provide another place for ‘termed-out’ legislators to ‘work.” California has hundreds of these non-productive individuals.
If either pass and is signed by the governor, maybe California will have a chance of straightening up its act. If not and the high speed rail project continues, as least we can have the satisfaction of knowing we are complying with the UN Agenda 21 transportation recommendations.
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Population Control
April 8 – Wendell Cox wrote in The Wall Street Journal how California is implementing the “stack and pack” approach to population control advocated by the United Nations Agenda 21. Read his analysis here.
Cox gave AB-32 (the Global Warming Solutions Act) and SB-375 (Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act) credit. Both these laws are patterned after Agenda 21 recommendations.
See how Agenda 21 has come to San Benito County here.
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UN COMES TO SAN BENITO COUNTY
April 7 – It was in 1976 when the United Nations presented its ‘VISION OF A NEW WORLD ORDER’ when it released its report, UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, often referred to as HABITAT I. It advocates (government) control of all land and resources, even the distribution of population.
It was in 1992 when the United Nations presented its AGENDA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY when it released its report REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT.
A more readable report with references was presented by the DIVISION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. The opening paragraph says:
“Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.”
President Clinton established the PRESIDENTS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. It sounds good on the surface. However, it requires more government control of your private lives.
And President Obama has signed Executive Order 13575 establishing the Rural Council. Fox News has a 6-minute video explaining the order. IT CAN BE SEEN HERE.
In California, we have AB-32, GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT OF 2006 and SB-375, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES AND CLIMATE PROTECTION ACT OF 2008 . These direct how you can use your private property, even how much carbon dioxide your automobile can produce each year. The carbon dioxide generated by the County Transit busses that have few passengers does not count. Nor does the 2 pounds of carbon dioxide each individual exhales each day. At least not yet.
Note - Seven billion people exhale a lot of carbon dioxide each day. Some of the UN documents note the impact of population.
San Benito County is updating the General Plan. It will change from one house per 40 acres of Range Land or 1 house per 5 acres of Agriculture Land to “clusters” or five or more per acre. Hollister is considering "infill only." This is consistent with the recommendations of the United Nations.
Hollister has changed from low-cost housing that includes yards for children to the “Stack and Pack” approach recommended by the United Nations Sustainable Development. See the latest 4-story units on the west side, near Line Street.
Government control is becoming a way of life in the United States.
We are soooo screwed!!!
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BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
April 1 – An item on the agenda for the April 3 meeting of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors states “Review Fire Proposals for Fire Protection Services and direct staff to negotiate a contract for Fire Services with City of Hollister.”
The county has a lengthy report of a study, including history, of fire protection in the county. The report can be found on page 55 of the REGULAR MEETING AGENDA as posted on the county’s web page here.
This change of fire protection from CalFire to the City of Hollister should help both the county and Hollister during their financial difficulties. Hopefully, there will be no decrease in services.
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NATIONAL SECURITY
ARE YOU LISTENING AMERICA!!!!!!????
March 29 – Earlier this week, president Obama was talking to Russian President Medvedev. There was an open microphone.
President Obama asked Russian President Medvedev for “Space” on Missile Defense – “After my election I have more flexibility.”
President Obama said that he would have “more flexibility” to deal with controversial issues (such as missile defense) but incoming Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to give him “space.”
The exchange: President Obama: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.”
President Medvedev: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…”
President Obama: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”
President Medvedev: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir”.
Why does Obama feel the President of Russia is entitled to know more about Obama’s plans than the American public? The thing that bothers us is that Obama sees the Russians as being more of his allies than he does the American people!!!
There is NO TIME to spare – this man (Obama) wants that “flexibility” after the election is over, so he can do………? You fill in the blank!
We are soooo screwed!!!
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HOLLISTER CITY COUNCIL
March 7 – The March 5 meeting of the Hollister City Council expanded an old money stream.
Hollister contracts with Precision Inspection Company (PIC) for building inspections within the city. Several months ago, Hollister issued a Request for Proposal for the same services. The only change was the Hollister ‘Administrative Costs,’ or fee, would increase from 25% to 35% of the amount a business has to pay.
Last Monday, the council voted (3 to 2) to terminate the contract with PIC and initiate a contract with 4Leaf Inc. for the same Building Department functions.
It was revealed during discussions that 4Leaf charges from 5 to 25% more per hour than PIC. Hollister chose the more expensive provider for the same service. And raised the fee Hollister receives.
So, Hollister will be obtaining a larger fee on a higher inspection charge from anyone that needs the service to do business. So much for a business friendly environment is Hollister.
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COST TO OPERATE A CHEVY VOLT
March 4 – Eric Bolling (Fox Business Channel's Follow the Money) test drove the Chevy Volt at the invitation of General Motors.
For four days in a row, the fully charged battery lasted only 25 miles before the Volt switched to the reserve gasoline engine.
Eric calculated the car got 30 mpg including the 25 miles it ran on the battery. So, the range including the 9 gallon gas tank and the 16 kwh battery is approximately 270 miles.
It will take you 4 1/2 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph.
According to General Motors, the Volt battery holds 16 kwh of electricity. The cost for the electricity to charge the Volt is never mentioned. Check you electric bill. My baseline is $1.00161 per kwh, $1.29785 over baseline. Eric used $1.16 per kwh. So, 16 kwh x $1.16 per kwh = $18.56 to charge the battery. $18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the Volt using the battery.
Compare this to a similar size car with a gasoline engine only that gets 32 mpg. At $3.19 per gallon divided by 32 mpg = $0.10 per mile. (Need to add 30% or $0.03 for $4.00 gasoline.)
The gasoline powered car cost about $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000.
So the government wants us to pay 3 times as much for a car that costs more than 7 times as much to run and takes 3 times as long to drive across country.
Remember that when you vote in November.
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Board of Supervisors
February 23 – The Board of Supervisors meeting last Tuesday was mostly routine. One report of interest was the annual report on Impact Fees.
It appears Impact Fees can be imposed on most anything. Each represents a revenue stream. There are impact fees for:
Drainage
Traffic
Road Equipment
Fire Mitigation
Capital Improvement
Habitat Conservation
Parks and Recreation
The Habitat Conservation Impact Fee was initiated because of the federal Endangered Species Act. It started the FY 2011-2012 year with a balance of $1,321,254 and collected $2,198 in fees.
The “Project Costs” were $206,432. That is about the generally accepted costs for “Administration Fees.” It cost over $200,000 for the county to collect about $2,200. We are probably fortunate they did not collect more.
Budegt Hearings start next Tuesday, February 24, at 6:00 PM in the Board of Supervisors Chambers.
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COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
February 23 – The February meeting of the Council of Governments (COG) was last Thursday, February 16.
The directors were discussing the absence of monies for street and road repairs in next years budgets for Hollister, San Juan Bautista, and San Benito County. A member of the COG staff mentioned that COG has a fund for such repairs that contains $700,000. The brief silence was deafening. There is a formula for dividing the money between the three jurisdictions.
The money has been available since 2009. COG had annually notified each of the three local governments of the money. Maybe the streets and roads will receive some repairs now, maybe not.
The Airport Land Use Authority presented a report on their Land Use Master Plan. They have assumed jurisdiction for land use from north of Highway 156 to south including parts of Hollister. This will add another layer of permits, fees, and obstacles for any project that might provide jobs and commerce in the area within miles of the airport.
The Land Use Plan made an effort to be compatible with the existing General Plans of San Benito County and Hollister. However, the county General Plan is in the process of being updated. And the General Plans are often updated several times a year to accommodate various projects.
There is a potential problem. The Airport Land Use plan can be updated only one time a year. That creates another impediment to economic development in the county. Just what San Benito and Hollister need!
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THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
February 4 – The United Nations is still advocating their Sustainable Development agenda. A “PLANNING PAPER” (REFERENCE)
issued over a year ago couches the UN’s agenda behind convoluted semantics and happy-clappy globalist rhetoric. The mission is to use the fraudulent science of climate change, which the UN’s own IPCC has been caught manipulating time and time again, to completely eviscerate the middle class, is laid bare.
A 2012 paper, “ RESILIENT PEOPLE, RESILIENT PLANET - A FUTURE WORTH CHOOSING” (REFERENCE) lists one of its visions :
The current global development model is unsustainable. We can no longer assume that our collective actions will not trigger tipping points as environmental thresholds are breached, risking irreversible damage to both ecosystems. The document goes even further.
To achieve sustainable development, we need to build an effective framework of institutions and decision-making processes at the local, national, regional and global levels. That includes San Benito County.
To fund this scam, the UN wants a tax on all financial transactions.
(REFERENCE). Such a tax would require a global government.
And there are individuals in our government that favor such a global government.
We are soooo screwed!!!
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City Council
January 19 – Hollister City Council met on Tuesday, January 17. Monday was a holiday.
Most items were routing until the report of the study to consolidate the Hollister Police Department into the San Benito County Sheriff Department. That is, the county sherrif would perform police duties in Hollister.
The study concluded both departments had equivalent capabilities. The cost savings would not be enough to justify the consolidation.
It seemed from the discussion, the loss of control by City Council was the main reason for rejecting the consolidation.
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First Meeting of 2012
January 19 – The first meeting of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors in 2012 was mostly routine until the agenda item about CalFire came up. For several years, CalFire has been asking for training records for volunteers that respond to resident fires plus other documentation. The information has not been provided. Late last year, CalFire notified San Benito County their contract will not be renewed after the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2012.
San Benito had been talking with Hollister for fire coverage in the county, as though CalFire was not needed. The cost of a contract with Hollister had even been discussed. There was no indication of any study to evaluate Hollister's cpabilities.
The tone toward CalFire was different at the January 17 meeting.
The Supervisors seemed to take the position that CalFire would be the way to go and formed a committee to negotiate with CalFire. CalFire said they were receptive to extending the contract if the necessary documentation is received. CalFire would still respond to brush and/or range fires year round.
CalFire will respond to resident fires during the fire season but not in the rainy season. It was interesting that residences in the county are not covered during the off-season.
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OOPS!!!
January 3 - The schedule for meetings of the San Benito Board of Supervisors was posted as the first and third Tuesdays of each month. This was down from three meetings a month a year or so ago. This was to allow staff more time to prepare for the meetings, one week was not long enough.
The schedule, agenda, and support information can be found at the County’s web page. FIND IT HERE. As of January 1, 2012, the only item listed on the schedule was the Planning Commission on January 18. The information for the Board of Supervisors was not listed.
Apparently, there was not enough time in 2011 to complete the schedule for January 3, 2012. The Board was caught short again. Hopefully, the web page will be up and running for the January 17 meeting.
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