Richard Hall: Orwell's New Newspeak - Decoding Sustainability Rhetoric

Sustainability Spin Decoder

(Mod: I was digging around for articles so that I could concoct a "Weekend News" post last Saturday when I ran across something so good I decided to go with it alone. Written by a gentleman named Richard Hall for a SF Bay Area blog called Save Marinwood (link), it skewers a lot of the sorts of language being used by the likes of our very own EENER Commission in its efforts to coerce unwanted high density urbanization into our little tree filled low density village. The phony rationale being that block after block of stacked and packed condos are "sustainable," and will somehow save the world from climate catastrophe. Laughable, of course. But isn't that how you sell bad things in California? You tell people it will save the world? Here's the article.)

Orwell's New Newspeak: Decoding Sustainability Rhetoric

In 1984 George Orwell describes a totalitarian state that asserted control by redefining language. Advocates for urbanizing Bay Area towns have leveraged these techniques. We need to educate ourselves to cleanly understand the arguments.

George Orwell wrote 1984 about a totalitarian state that asserted control by appropriating and controlling language - a language called "newspeak" (link). This aspect of 1984 was based on an essay written by Orwell in 1946 entitled "Politics and the English language." In the essay Orwell states:

"Political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness." 

A euphemism is an expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. While we don't necessarily face a totalitarian state (although some readers may disagree with me), we face powerful political groups - developers, planners, transit advocates, social equity groups and HUD -  that have united in a way that is almost as ominous.

Language is one of the tools being used by the fast growth lobby to control the conversation, promoting high density housing and transit oriented development.

Too often we are faced with articles written to convince us that we must do something in the name of sustainability - accept high density housing, use transit instead of driving ... In these articles the true intent and meaning is concealed by tools such as euphemisms, disinformation and demonization.

Exactly How Is Our Language Being Subverted?

Here is a list of just some of the many terms being used to convince us to accept certain policies such as "transit oriented development" and "high density housing".

Affordable Housing (Euphemism) = Subsidized Housing: Lets face it, affordable housing is nothing more than subsidized housing; only instead of focusing on the cost the term focuses exclusively on the benefit. Who wouldn't want more affordable housing if it's free?

Sites like the monstrous Win Cup in Corte Madera were approved partly to meet housing quotas for affordable housing - but turn out in reality to be about making profits (Win Cup is almost entirely market rate).

European (Euphoric) = Idyllic or Nostalgic Promised Land: All too often we are sold a story that we need to be more like somewhere else where the grass is greener - like Europe (but focusing exclusively on the good aspects) or America of yesteryear where everyone would enjoy traveling on trains or trolley cars in the golden age of travel.

What is omitted is that Europe has spent vast amounts of public money to build and operate a transit network. Even now fares are very high and often out of reach to those with low incomes enabling true mobility.  Operation places substantial burdens on the state. To achieve any parallel in the US would require significant tax increases making the cost of living less affordable for all.

Smart Growth (Euphemism) = Urbanization: Remember a euphemism is an expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Transit Oriented Development (Glittering Generality) = Systematic Urbanization: Transit oriented development is heralded as the progressive future, but little evidence is produced to substantiate this approach. For instance the fact that transit usage has been in decline in our region despite massive increases in investment is conveniently dismissed. The fact that cars are the preferred form of transportation for many journeys, and that they are cleaner (lower emissions per passenger mile) than transit on all but the most popular transit lines is dismissed. Rather the car and it's tailpipe emissions are demonized.

Workforce Housing (Half truth) = Housing Presuming Commute Patterns: This sells the half truth that new housing will contain a high proportion of residents that will live nearer to their work, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In reality:

- Little or no control can be imposed over where the residents work (E.g. there is no criteria eliminating applicants who would extend their commutes).
- There is rarely any study to analyze if this is achieved. When the LA Times conducted such a study in 2007 (link) they thoroughly demolished the myth of workforce housing.

The reality is that such housing may cause people to extend their commutes, or simply have no such impact, yet it may impose substantial costs, congestion and parking issues.

Open Up the Waterfront (Big Lie, Misinformation) = Close Off with High Rises: The biggest lie that was well spotted by residents was the attempt to build high density housing across the San Francisco waterfront at Embarcadero.  Luckily San Francisco voters saw right through this masquerade (link).

Sustainable (Glittering Generality) = Superior Based on Rules We Made Up: While there are many that use this term correctly, there are a sizable number that use it as a method of convincing others that their approach is superior, and it is not to be questioned.

Community Outreach (Obfuscation) = Obtaining the Appearance of Community Support: ABAG and MTC like to state that Plan Bay Area had over 250 community meetings to collect community input - but what is omitted and obfuscated is that most of those meetings were attended by a sizable number of vocal opponents. Many supporters of PBA were organizations that received money (patronage) and contracts, and shaped the plan before community input truly began.

Vibrant (Oversimplification) = Success that will follow if you adhere to our doctrine: Vibrant describes a positive state but typically there is no concrete argument or analysis or definition of this end state. As such it is a gross oversimplification. For instance it is often stated that transit oriented development helps town centers become "more vibrant." What they may intend is "there will be more business as there will be more people walking around."

However it would be easy to argue that improving access to cars through improved roads and parking may be much more likely to achieve such an effect.  Just look at the success of malls. This Washington Post article (link) explains the quandary well ultimately surmising that a big box store like Target with car parking in a town center is what drives shoppers.

Our Ability To Judge Is Being Removed

Ultimately this double-speak is removing the ability for many of us to make an accurate judgment.  The judgement is being made for us and built into convincing words.

This is an intellectual travesty. We need to have conversations about the reality.

Orwell's Remedy Of Six Rules

Thankfully George Orwell left us with a 6 point approach to solving the issue:

1) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. The majority of the times that these types of phrases are being used, they are being used without the knowledge of what is truly being said. By using these techniques the phrases are rendered meaningless. I would say that the following terms fall into this category: smart, sustainable.

2) Never use a long word where a short one will do. Orwell describes"Pretentious diction" and "Meaningless Words". He cites “romantic, plastic, values, human, [and] dead” stating  “they not only do not point to any discoverable object, but are hardly even expected to do so by the reader”. Here I would point to: vibrant, workforce housing, social equity...

3) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. E.g. Smart growth = growth. Smart train = train.

4) Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Of all the rules this is where we are being bombarded the most with jargon like:

- Transit Oriented Development

- Walkable Communities (I can walk 10 minutes and get to shops and cinema right now, but apparently it's not walkable enough)

- Priority Development Areas - areas marked for intensive urbanization

- Workforce Stabilization

Orwell's condemns such "grand phrases".

6) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. Orwell's last rule means that the writer should break the previous rules when necessary for a proper sentence. The writer should not use the English language to manipulate or deceive the reader.

Postscript

There are many good people working to fight climate change. I for one see the need. We need to be having the right conversations following Orwell's rules, not using propaganda techniques.

We can have fact-based undistorted conversations, we can fight climate change and recognize that there are cost effective, market based transportation solutions that don't necessarily need us to make radical shifts to high density or transit. As mentioned in my prior article - car and highway technology is rapidly changing, and the car offers a degree of convenience that is hard for transit to beat. And we do need to be providing transportation ensuring that those with low incomes are provided opportunity.

Achieving these objectives should occur based on truth in conversation.

(Mod: Another article worth checking out is called "Smart Growth is Not Green. Low Density Housing Better for the Environment." Click here.) 

Interesting SCAG-centric article up on the Pasadena Star News site this morning

New report says poverty on the rise throughout Southern California (link): Speaking of the Orwellian, SCAG informs us that poverty is on the rise in Southern California. Forgive me for asking, but as our Regional Planning Organization responsible for dealing with such things as poverty and economic displacement, wouldn't SCAG have to bear some of the blame for this deplorable condition?

http://sierramadretattler.blogspot.com

Can You Believe Anything Josh Moran Says Anymore?

Bob Matheson / Josh Moran

There was an important article that ran in the Pasadena Star News back when the Bob Matheson child pornography scandal first hit in late 2011. I thought it would be a good time to cite some it, especially now that this photo has emerged. Written by Brian Charles, who is a hell of a newspaper reporter, the article is titled "Porn convict has Sierra Madre political ties," and you can link to it here.

This is how Brian Charles broke the story down for us. It is a damning snapshot of what was once this town's political and social elite, while also exposing the fecklessness of the local government agency that we entrust with our City's care.

Porn convict has Sierra Madre political ties: Police announced Thursday that they have opened an investigation into a politically connected member of the Chamber of Commerce after he was convicted in Canada of possessing child porn. On Tuesday, Robert Matheson, 66, pleaded guilty in a Canadian court to possession and smuggling of child pornography. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

Sierra Madre police Capt. Larry Giannone said the department is not aware of any local children being victimized by Matheson. Although Matheson was arrested two months ago, Giannone said he only launched an investigation this week. "We were not informed about his arrest until the (Star-News) article came out," Giannone said.

As of Thursday, Sierra Madre police had not searched Matheson's home. "We will have to see how the investigation goes," Giannone said. "We are looking into him to see whether we have any cases to file here."

In October, Matheson's laptop was searched as he passed through airport security at Halifax Stanfield Airport. Authorities said they found 2,500 pictures of naked boys, some engaged in sex acts; 280 videos of boys, some of which also showed children engaged in sex acts.

In addition to the videos and pictures, Matheson's laptop contained lurid short stories, one of which detailed a sexual relationship between a pre-teen boy and a priest.

City officials said they had no idea if any of the underage youth in the photos or videos were from Sierra Madre or surrounding communities.

Matheson maintained ties to several local politicians, including former Mayor Joe Mosca. Besides signing nomination papers for Mosca in 2010, Matheson hosted a fundraiser for Mosca at Matheson's Liliano Drive home. Mosca moved to Great Britain earlier this year and was unavailable for comment.

As bad as all that was, we now get to the part of this article that is pretty much the purpose of today's post. I've highlighted it so everything is abundantly clear.

Other politicians Thursday sought to distance themselves from Matheson. Although he was supported by Matheson and attended several functions, including one at Matheson's home, Councilman Josh Moran said the longtime resident didn't stand out.

"I didn't know him at all," Moran said. "He was just another face in the crowd."

The picture we have posted here for you today tells an entirely different story. With his arm draped around Bob Matheson's shoulder and a look of pride on his face, there can be little doubt that when this photo was taken Josh believed he was in the presence of a valued political supporter, and friend.

Can you believe anything Josh Moran says anymore?

http://sierramadretattler.blogspot.com

Sierra Madre's Lawsuit Mystery Man: Paul F. Woloski

Lawsuit Mystery Man

(Mod: You may recall that in our preview article for last Tuesday's City Council meeting we pronounced ourselves both baffled and rather intrigued by the Paul Francis Woloski lawsuit against the City of Sierra Madre. I happen to enjoy a good mystery, and here was a real live one, straight off the cold hard streets of the Foothill Village. This is how it was revealed in last week's precise City Council meeting agenda.)

CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL
Pursuant to Calif. Government Code Section 54956.9(a) The City Council/Agency finds, based on advice from legal counsel, that discussion in open session will prejudice the position of the local agency in the litigation. Existing Litigation: Paul Woloski v. City of Sierra Madre - Case No EC061376

(Mod: Of course, that told us very little. It wasn't supposed to be all that revealing, and it fulfilled its promise. Using what little information I had, here is how I wrote about this case a week ago Monday.)

As has been my lot in life for the last 5 or so years of doing this blog, I scoured the Internet in search of any evidence of the existence of a Paul Woloski, and what I found was intriguing. Apparently Paul Francis Woloski resides on Sierra Madre's legendary Orange Grove Avenue, and is the President of something called the Delta Dawgs Foundation, aka "The Dogs of War." You can view what is quite a colorful website by clicking here.

This organization purports to raise money for military veterans and their families, which would be a good thing. I am fairly sure that this has nothing to do with the lawsuit, but who knows? I guess we'll find out someday. Oh, and "Calif. Government Code Section 54956.9(a)" means litigation has been formally initiated.

(Mod: The whole "Dogs of War" thing intrigued me. Here is a guy with a really wild website, plus he claims there that his organization exists to do good things for vets. A very noble thing in my mind. So last night I decided to see if I could find out something else about the Delta Dawg that sued Sierra Madre. I found a lot. First off, Woloski has connections to a certain notorious former police officer law firm. This from the snooper website Intelius link):

Search results for Paul Woloski in Arcadia, CA: Worked at Lackie Dammeier LLP Los Angeles County

(Mod: Now as we well-informed Sierra Madreans already know, Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir was, until recently, the law firm of the Sierra Madre Police Officers Association. Or whatever it is they are calling themselves these days. And this cop law firm, which in its heyday represented around 100 similar small city police departments throughout Southern California, won them a big pay raise back in 2008. Which is the primary reason why our utility taxes are now the highest in the State of California. They really were an intimidating bunch, and while their bullying in your face style certainly cowed Sierra Madre's City Council at that time, in time it also helped to eventually bring this shady law firm down, and in a big ugly heap. The firm's greed apparently far outpacing its need to follow the law. Here is more on Woloski's smokin' hot Lackie Dammeier connection. This from ZoomInfo.com - link):

Officer Successfully Appeals Placement In Brady Alert System - Agent Paul Woloski, a ten year veteran of the Monterey Park Police Department, after an almost two year battle, has vindicated his creditability with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Due to not fully understanding certain methods used in police work, a Deputy District Attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office initiated a process to place Agent Woloski in the District Attorney's "Brady Alert System." Represented by attorneys from Lackie, Dammeier, McGill & Ethir APC, Agent Woloski has been able to successfully appeal that decision.

(Mod: While I am certain it is just mere coincidence, the Monterey Park PD is also where Sierra Madre's current Police Chief, Larry Giannone, worked before he joined us here. That one of his former colleagues should end up not just living here, but also suing City Hall for whatever reasons, is pretty innerestin' stuff. But there are other things that I found as well. This from our friends at the Sierra Madre Weekly a year or so back - link):

$10 Million Suit Against Ex-Rosemead Mayor Alleges Extortion, Death Threats - A developer who exposed ex-Rosemead Mayor John Tran in a bribery scandal is now suing Tran and the City of Rosemead for emotional distress. Seeking $10 million in damages, Tammy Gong filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jul. 6 that claims intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, extortion, and even assault and battery.

Tammy Gong is the assumed name behind the FBI informant who told federal investigators in 2009 that she was a victim of Tran’s play-to-pay scheme for her mixed-use development project in Rosemead. In the complaint filed on Jul. 6, Ms. Gong, a.k.a. Tammy Woloski, is listed as a managing member of L&G Rosemead Garden LLC. Gong is noted for having assisted federal authorities in the conviction of Tran, who pleaded guilty to fraud and extortion in U.S. District court on Mar. 20.

(Mod: So who is Tammy Gong a.k.a. Tammy Woloski? This from the Sing Tao Daily (link). Please note, this article is in Chinese, and I had to translate it using Google's at times sketchy translation service. The article details Tammy's inability to acquire the 20 legitimate signatures needed to get on the ballot in a run for Arcadia's City Council. It also shares an important marital detail with us.)

Tammy withdraw from the election, Mr Gong Asian market will be all-male election - Arcadia (Arcadia) Chinese only woman candidate for alderman Gong Tammy (Tammy Gong Woloski), said that due to discrepancies candidacy, you must exit the campaign, so the city council election once again return to the all-male election.

As each candidate must make a recommendation signature 20 sub-city residents, but for the first time Tammy Gong election, the city clerk after an audit of its application data, found that not all the signers to qualify, making it the joint candidacy is canceled.

Is preparing to start the campaign with great fanfare Gong Tammy, this result was quite regrettable, but still discouraged, which means that two years after the election or re-challenge; while she had stepped up enforcement campaign, including political, crime prevention, after-school tutoring and to avoid the creation of false childhood astray into drugs and improve the quality of life for the elderly, and supervise city budget.

Asian city to live 14 years Tammy Gong, in fact, Nikka mestizo, a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, whose Japanese name is Miyamoto Sitsuka, but also with the Chinese surname "Gong" show people; she was young, she inherited her father The real estate business, after marrying Monterey Park (Monterey Park) won the "Bravery" officer Paul Woloski.

(Mod: Paul Woloski's alleged FBI informant (former?) wife became a figure of much speculation in the press a year or two back. Tammy Gong-Woloski was a key player in the arrest and trial of former Rosemead Mayor John Tran on various bribery and corruption charges. Here is a report from The Courthouse News that lays the story out in a factual and rather shocking manner - link.)

FBI Informant Sues Disgraced Mayor - A developer who claims to be the FBI informant who helped convict Rosemead Mayor John Tran of corruption claims in Superior Court that Tran extorted her, made sexual advances and threatened to kill her.

Tammy Gong and L&G Rosemead Garden LLC sued the City of Rosemead and Tran, in Superior Court. Gong seeks $10 million for fraud and extortion, money lent, assault and battery and other charges. She claims Rosemead refused to compensate her for losses tied to the real estate project at the center of Tran's shakedown.

Gong, who claims she was an informant to the FBI and helped the investigation against Tran, says she is managing member of L&G Rosemead Garden.

Tran, 36, pleaded guilty in February to soliciting bribes from a developer while approval for a mixed use office and residential building was pending. In return for his guilty plea, federal prosecutors will not press charges for extortion and obstruction of justice, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.

Tran, a former Rosemead mayor and councilman, was running for the 49th District Assembly seat when he pleaded guilty. He has since resigned as board member for El Monte Union High School District, and withdrew his candidacy for the Assembly. He was Rosemead's first Asian-American mayor.
     
Gong claims she partnered with then-Councilman Tran and the city from 2005 to 2007 to build the mixed-use building, spent $780,000 to buy land on Rosemead's Valley Boulevard and another $700,000 to buy an adjoining parcel after the city came on board.
     
While the application for the project was pending, Gong says, she loaned Tran $38,000 for an "alleged family emergency," and that Tran also approached her to "engage in a romantic relationship."
     
Gong claims that Tran never repaid the money, and that when she rejected his advances he stalled the development project.

Elsewhere in the complaint, Gong claims that Tran "physically grabbed" her and "attempted to hold and kiss her against her will."
     
"Plaintiffs allege that Tran continued to pursue Ms. Gong for a romantic relationship and continued to try to contact her. Ms. Gong refused any further financial or personal overtures by Tran and demanded repayment of the money that she had given to him," according to the 15-page complaint.
     
"Tran refused to return the money and in or about February 2009, Tran overtly threatened to kill Ms. Gong if she ever reported him to any authorities. Ms. Gong felt extremely threatened and fearful for her life and safety and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation ('FBI') for help. Ms. Gong cooperated with the FBI in its investigation. Pursuant to the FBI's confidential investigative needs, Ms. Gong did not file a claim or civil lawsuit against Tran until completion of the FBI's investigation, which ultimately resulted in Tran's felony conviction," according to the complaint.
     
In 2009, Tran was voted off the council and the project was never approved, according to the L.A. Times.
     
Gong claims that city officials told her she would have to file a claim to recover any losses. But after Tran was charged with felony corruption charges, the city rejected her claims "without any explanation," Gong says.
     
Gong seeks damages for fraud and extortion, money lent, promissory estoppel, assault and battery, and intention infliction of emotional distress.
    
(Mod: There were other articles as well. This one appeared in the San Gabriel Tribune in February of 2012. You can link to it here.)

Developer involved in John Tran bribery scandal files $1.5 million claim against Rosemead - A developer who was solicited for bribes by former Mayor John Tran has filed a $1.5 million claim against the city, saying staff and elected officials convinced her to pursue a project that was left high and dry after Tran lost his re-election bid in 2009.

Tran, a candidate for the 49th Assembly District, agreed Friday to plead guilty to accepting more than $10,000 in bribes from the property developer while on the City Council, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In the claim the developer filed in December, she wrote that city officials forced her to buy an extra piece of property so she could build a mixed-use project they pressured her to pursue.

The city rejected the claim last month.

"The notion that they can force her to buy a property is interesting," said City Manager Jeff Allred. "That's not how it usually works. Cities don't have the authority to make someone buy something."

Prosecutors have declined to identify the developer, but records at the County Assessor's office and the claim filed with the city indicate that the developer is Tammy Gong, an Arcadia resident. In her claim, Gong lists her company as L & G Rosemead Garden LLC, which is listed at the owner of the properties at the southeast corner of Valley Boulevard and Rio Hondo Avenue.

According to Tran's plea agreement, the developer purchased a vacant lot in Rosemead for an office-building project. It says that after Tran and staff suggested a mixed-use property, the developer in 2007 purchased an adjacent lot for about $700,000. County records show that a piece of property next to the vacant lot owned by L & G is a smaller lot that was purchased by L & G for $700,000 in 2007.

And the claim filed with the city by Arcadia resident Tammy Gong suggests it was her.

In response to a question asking about the basis for claiming injury, damages or loss, Gong wrote "Crime cases ... going on by other departments against John Tran from government."

According to federal prosecutors, the developer visited City Hall in 2005, hoping to obtain permits for an office building on a vacant lot.

While there, the developer was approached by Tran, who suggested a mixed-use project would be better for the site. Prosecutors said Tran and two other city employees convinced the developer to purchase an adjacent property as part of the expanded project.

Prosecutors said that Tran later began seeking bribes from the developer and reminded the individual that he had "assisted" with the project.

Between 2005 and 2007, Tran approached the developer and a business partner several more times, eventually soliciting more than $10,000 in bribes.

In August 2007, the developer refused to hand over any more money to Tran. In 2009, Tran lost his re-election bid by one vote and left office before the developer's project was approved.

The developer then tipped off the FBI to Tran's scheme. Last week, Tran agreed to plead guilty to bribery in exchange for not being prosecuted on charges of extortion and obstruction of justice.

After Tran left city government, Gong's project languished. Part of her property remains a vacant lot surrounded by chain-link fencing and barbed wire. The extra piece of property she bought after encouragement by city officials is still a beauty salon.

"Now the city told me that I cannot build it anymore because City Council changed and Policy changed too," Gong wrote in her claim.

The project, dubbed Rosemead Garden, would have been at the corner of Valley Boulevard and Rio Hondo Avenue and would have consisted of 38 residential units and 10,586 square feet of retail space, according to a Community Development Commission staff report from April 10, 2007. The original plan was for a smaller office building.

City Manager Allred said after Tran lost his re-election, the new council made updates to the city's general plan that restricted areas where mixed-use projects like Gong's could be built. Previously, mixed-use developments were allowed along major thoroughfares in the city.

"It is true that the city approved a general plan amendment for mixed use in certain nodes," Allred said. "I believe the property in question is not in one of the nodes."

Gong was not available for comment. A phone number listed on the claim and the one she used when she ran for Arcadia City Council as Tammy Woloski in 2010 was answered by a woman who first responded as Tammy, but when questioned about Tran, she said her name was Jennifer.

Gong's business partner, Jay Jason Lai, and an individual to whom their company is registered, Jing Gong, were both in China on business, the woman said. She did not know when they would return.

Gong's company, L & G Rosemead Garden, LLC, lists its address in El Monte at a location shared by at least nine companies, many registered to Tammy Woloski, Jing Gong or Jay Jason Lai.

(Mod: A follow-up article appeared in the Whittier Daily News in November of 2012. The link to this one is found here.)

Court documents outline intimate relationship between Tran, developer in bribery case - Days before a federal judge is scheduled to decide if former Rosemead Mayor John Tran can withdraw his guilty plea in his bribery case, the defense in court documents this week said that Tran had "some limited intimate contact" with the FBI's main informant in the case.

The defense filing also claims the informant continued to pursue Tran for two years after he cut off the relationship.

The witness has been identified in court filings as Tammy Gong, the developer who provided Tran with more than $10,000 in exchange for City Council approval of mixed-use development project in Rosemead between 2007 and 2009.

The information on the pair's relationship comes as both sides grapple over whether or not Tran should be allowed to withdraw his plea amid new information the defense says it has uncovered on Gong. The defense says Gong has been involved in dozens of lawsuits, including some that accuse her of fraud, and that she uses multiple aliases.

The government had an obligation to reveal the information regarding its central witness in the case before Tran entered his plea, said Tran's attorney Michael Zweiback.

"The government's reluctance to simply acknowledge its mistakes in this case is truly troubling," according to Tran's reply this week to prosecutors' recent opposition to his client's motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

Government prosecutors say the defense isn't entitled to the identities and backgrounds of government witnesses in the plea bargaining process and if Tran were to be allowed to withdraw his plea, it would jeopardize the government's case. In addition, Tran in March swore under oath that he was guilty of the crimes.

A judge on Monday morning is scheduled to evaluate the motion.

As part of its court filing opposing the withdrawal of Tran's guilty plea, prosecutors alleged that in initial meetings with the government, Tran admitted to soliciting and accepting sexual favors from Gong.

The defense maintains that Gong initiated the advances and was persistent in her pursuit of the relationship.

Zweiback says the relationship shows Gong's motives for cooperating with the government in the bribery case.

"(The relationship) demonstrates (Gong's) bias and the fact that she's motivated by not only her civil suit, but also upon the fact that she was rebuffed in the relationship and willing to use whatever means possible to get what she wants," Zweiback said Wednesday.

Gong in July filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against the city of Rosemead and Tran, alleging that she suffered financial repercussions and emotional distress stemming from fraud, extortion and unpaid personal loans at the hands of Tran and other Rosemead staff and elected officials, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges that "Tran physically grabbed Ms. Gong and attempted to hold and kiss her against her will."

Her attorney, Mohammed Ghods, says it is Tran who pursued the relationship and the defense is trying to "character assassinate her" in an attempt to divert attention from the real issues. The allegations Tran is making against Gong don't absolve him of the crimes he's committed, Ghods said.

"At least in my view, what Mr. Tran has done is indefensible," Ghods said.

Her alleged "aliases" are due to name changes from multiple marriages and because of varying familial names stemming from her Japanese and Chinese background, Ghods said.

In addition, Gong is involved in a fraction of the lawsuits the defense alleges and they stem from her business as a developer, Ghods said.

"If Ms. Gong was a man, and he was a real estate developer and had been Donald Trump involved in 5,000 lawsuits, they wouldn't bring up any of these things," Ghods said. "When you're in business, you're going to end up in lawsuits sometimes."

(Mod: One more, this time from the Pasadena Star News - link.)

Tran could face 115 years in federal prison - A Federal Grand Jury has issued additional charges of extortion and witness tampering against a former Rosemead City Councilman accused of accepting bribes in a federal corruption case.

John Tran, who in December withdrew his promise of a guilty plea in the case, faces a 115-year federal prison sentence if convicted. He had been looking at a 10-year sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Akrotirianakis said Wednesday.

"Extortion is a powerful word," Akrotirianakis said. "But this is a case about extortion, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. It is much more serious. "

When they withdrew Tran's guilty plea, his attorneys said it was only after they had uncovered information that damaged the credibility of the FBI's main informant in the case.

Although prosecutors have declined to identify the confidential informant in their case against Tran, she has been identified in court and Rosemead city filings as Tammy Gong, a developer who provided Tran with more than $10,000 in exchange for City Council approval of her project on Valley Boulevard and Rio Hondo Avenue in Rosemead. When Tran failed to deliver, she went to the FBI, according to court documents.

(Mod: What any of this has to do with Paul Woloski's lawsuit against the City of Sierra Madre is beyond me. While certainly amusing and colorful information, I honestly don't know how it would relate to that matter. However, I thought these discoveries should be shared with you today. After all, we are The Tattler.)

http://sierramadretattler.blogspot.com

Important New Website: Stop the Monastery Housing Project & Preserve the Mater Dolorosa Monastery

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Mod: I don't know if you have seen it yet, but there is an important new website in town. Called STOP the Monastery Housing Project and Preserve the Mater Dolorosa Monastery, you can link to it by clicking here. As far as I can tell, this site came into existence on November 26, and it is already attracting quite a lot of attention. I have yet to meet the people behind this effort, but their organizing work so far has been nothing short of remarkable. Full page ads appeared this weekend in the Pasadena Star News and Mountain Views News, community meetings have been held, the website we are talking about today got up and running in less than two weeks, and yard signs! Nothing says "really serious" more loudly than yard signs. I got my order in … In the spirit of spreading the word, we are relaying their Nov 26 message here. As the owner of a website that has as its core mission the preservation of this town and protecting such Sierra Madre treasures as the Mater Dolorosa Monastery, I am going to want to help in this effort any way that I can. You should as well.

Stop The Mater Dolorosa Housing Project
As you read this, a proposal is moving forward to sell a significant portion of the Mater Dolorosa Monastery to a developer to build a housing project.  This project must be stopped before it’s too late.  The project itself will require a zoning change from institutional to residential.

For most of us, we first heard the news of this project in the Mountain Views News article of November 16th entitled: "Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center Contemplating Housing Project." Only after this news was leaked out did the Monastery send out a letter on November 19th to nearby residents to inform them of this development.

Since then, there has been a groundswell of concern and shock, that this 88 acre oasis of beauty is about to be carved up, sold to a developer and lost forever.  Amidst the increasingly frenetic pace of modern life, do we really want to lose this beautiful property with its majestic vistas and open space to another unnecessary housing project?

What makes this property special is the buffer of land separating the Monastery structures from the hustle and bustle of modern life.  Without that buffer, the essence of this property will be ruined.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!
If you have ever taken a walk on the Monastery grounds and enjoyed its natural beauty, we need your help!

If you are from a nearby Parish and have ever taken a retreat there and enjoyed the solitude and spirituality of this unique place, we need your help!

If you are a long-time Sierra Madre resident who fondly remembers the annual Fiesta and other events held at the Monastery, we need your help!· If you are a Catholic or non-Catholic who has ever made the annual pilgrimage on Good Friday and followed the Stations of the Cross, we need your help!

If you simply live in Sierra Madre and want to preserve 88 acres that has been a city landmark since 1926 and a refuge for a wide array of wildlife, we need your help!

If you are a homeowner living near the Monastery and don’t want to endure a lengthy construction project lasting for years with caravans of noisy, smelly, grinding trucks parading up to the once tranquil grounds only to end up with increased traffic and congestion, widened streets, a significant decline in your property values, and maybe Sierra Madre's first traffic light, we need your help!

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Send us your email address so that we can contact you and give you the latest information and news alerts. (The email address is Savemonastery@gmail.com)

Email us and ask for a “Stop the Monastery Housing Project!” yard sign.

Call the Mater Delorosa Monastery at 626-355-7188, Archbishop Gomez at 213-637-7534 and Father Donald Webber at 773-631-6336. Share with them what the Monastery has meant to you.

Contact your Sierra Madre City Council members and let them know how you feel.

Contact everyone you know who may share your concerns about this project.

If you have any special expertise that you can lend to the cause, let us know. We are interested in retaining formal legal representation to assist us in our efforts.

(Mod: One thing that I would like to add here. I have heard from several sources now that those presently living at the Mater Dolorosa Monastery have precious little to do with the sale of this land. Nor are they particularly thrilled about it. Apparently this is coming down from the top. Why the Office of Archbishop Gomez should be so keen on receiving the relatively few millions of dollars it would realize from the sale of this land, and at the cost of radically despoiling one of its great treasures, escapes me.)

http://sierramadretattler.blogspot.com

Tony Brandenburg: Autism Advocacy - Some of the Folks Out There

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Autism Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy
Lydia Brown (click here) is an interesting individual with strong, practical viewpoints. Ms. Brown is an Autistic and  disability rights activist, scholar, and writer. She is one of the many faces of Autism Advocacy, but that really simplifies her multifaceted life more than it should be simplified. I suggest taking a quick look at her bio, as well as at the Autism Self-Advocacy Network (click here) of which she is a member. I love her candid, sensible, and unapologetic (what do we need to apologize for?) self-affirmation.

Ari Ne'eman (click here) is the founder of the Autism Self-Advocacy Network and serves on the National Council on Disability, a federal agency charged with advising Congress and the President on disability policy issues. My wife Mary introduced me to the writings of Ms. Brown, as well as those of Lydia Brown. Mary is much more in tune to what's up, but I am starting to take note.

Mary thought I would be as enthused as she is by the voice of young, autistic activists out in the field fighting the fight from the top down. By young, politically charged college students trying to change the face of Autism in the larger American landscape. While I am definitely inspired and impressed by them, like so many things I associate with youth (passion, drive, ambition, outspoken advocacy) I found myself disjointed. I was - and am - aloof by nature,  and I felt disengaged and isolated from much of their writings. I suppose it's a generational schism- not on their part,  but on my own insecurities- compounded as much by my own Autistic behavior (whatever that is) as it is by the realization that I am out of touch with what is going on with the younger Autistic generations.

But not nearly as out of it as y'all.

John Elder Robeson (click here) is a writer with Aspergers (to simplify, a form of Autism) from the generation I am closer to in age. His brilliant book, Look Me in the Eye (click here) is an autobiography of sorts chronicling his life as son, brother (his younger brother Augusten Burroughs wrote the hilarious Running with Scissors), and eventual pyro-technician for the rock band Kiss. Robeson has been active in blogging and communicating through the media about Autism from another perspective. Mr. Robeson had been a member of the group Autism Speaks. He stepped down on November 13, 2013.

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism (click here) is as the title implies, a cross between scholarly articles and layperson advice on autism and related information.

Autism Speaks (click here) - founded in 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright - are probably the most visible of the advocacy groups active in the Autism community. They are the group who have the cute little blue puzzle piece and who raise boatloads of money through their Autism Walks which are locally held annually at the Rose Bowl.  They describe themselves thusly - Autism Speaks (is the) world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

I have done a few Walk for Autism Speaks, and even had a fundraiser/team in 2013 with Dan Root, the guitarist of the Adolescents. The Southern California Executive director of Autism Speaks is Matthew Asner, someone who I respect and whom I hold in high regard. Matthew was very supportive when my family had a falling out with our local school district and interviewed Mary and I a couple of times on his radio show.

I share this because the actions and activity of the parent group, Autism Speaks, and one of its founders has been very troubling for me personally, and has led me to look toward other theorists and thinkers in the autistic community and move away from the larger, more visible Autism Speaks.

So What is my Problem this Time?
I know, I know. I'm always going on about something, so, what is it now?

Well, a part of me feels duped, and I feel I raised money for a group that are being counter-productive and are working against me, my family, and my community. That kind of hurts. A lot.

My problem with Autism Speaks is two-fold. One is that their position on the JRC (Judge Rotenberg Center) is not as clear cut as I believed it was. The other is that the statements made last week by co-founder Suzanne Wright are personally offensive to me.

Suzanne Wright (click here) made a number of statements so offensive that it is better for me to just list them for the moment. She calls it a call for action, but it really fails the community by using hyperbole, vague generalizations, and scenarios to limit our community and our struggle. I will dissect them at a later date. But to start, here are the zingers and howlers right up front.

Suzanne Wright's Howlers of the Week

1. This is autism. Life is lived moment-to-moment.  In anticipation of the child’s next move.  In despair.  In fear of the future.

2  ...What about their parents? How much can we ask them to handle? How long will it be before the exhaustion makes them ill?  How long before they break?

3. Is there a national curriculum for our children?  Are we encouraging teachers around the country to share with each other lesson plans and methods that work for them?

4.  Close your eyes and think about an America where three million Americans and counting largely cannot take care of themselves without help.

5. Imagine three million of our own – unable to dress, or eat independently, unable to use the toilet, unable to cross the street, unable to judge danger or the temperature, unable to pick up the phone and call for help.

Robison's Resignation Response

John Elder Robison outlined his concerns on his personal blog (click here) as thus:
I celebrate the gifts autism brings us, and I have discussed at length the emerging realization that autism – as a neurological difference – confers both gift and disability on everyone it touches.  It’s the fire the moves humanity forward, while simultaneously being a fire that can burn us individuals as we try to make our way.

Robison then includes his resignation letter.

One of the things I’ve said all along is that I believe change is best accomplished from inside, through reasoned discussion.  Recent public statements from Autism Speaks have shown that my ideas have not taken hold among top leaders, despite my best efforts.

This latest op-ed piece is simply not defensible for someone who feels as I do, and I cannot continue to stand up for the public actions of an organization that makes the same mistakes over and over again by failing to connect to the community it purports to represent.

Autism Speaks says it’s the advocacy group for people with autism and their families.  It’s not, despite having had many chances to become that voice.  Autism Speaks is the only major medical or mental health nonprofit whose legitimacy is constantly challenged by a large percentage of the people affected by the condition they target.

The absence of people with autism in governing or oversight roles has crippled Autism Speaks in its efforts to connect with the community.  Any group that hopes to be accepted in service to autistic people must make autistic people its #1 priority, with no exceptions.  The priority cannot be autism parents, or autism grandparents.  It’s got to be actual people with autism.

My Decision to no longer Support Autism Speaks

When I created the team page for our team for Autism Speaks last year (click here) I must admit that I was very uncomfortable with the language that was suggested to me on their page builder, and which was eventually used by me, in order to elicit funds.

Words like disease and disorder are not generally used in my lexicon. I believed at the time it must be for a reason that the words were suggested, that perhaps Autism Speaks had a better handle on the language necessary to raise funds. So, I capitulated and gave in. It was personally offensive to me, and embarrassing because I knew better. I did it anyway.  Sometimes I do stupid stuff.

In any event, 54% of the money raised by Autism Speaks goes right back into fundraising for some more. That is the cycle. And if the cycle relies on offensive language, hyperbole, and generalizations, then for me to continue to fund raise or support Autism Speaks means I am complacent in promoting the WRONG MESSAGE.

So, I won't do it again.

http://sierramadretattler.blogspot.com

The Tattler Where Did November Go Weekend News

ISON Survives

(Mod: I don't know how things went for you over the last 30 days, but November was the quickest month I have ever lived. It just blew by, and I am not quite sure how it disappeared so soon. If you have seen it hanging around anywhere, please send it back here. I would like to get it back if at all possible. And I don't need the whole thing, either. Maybe you can just get the part that began around the 19th. That would be good enough. In the meantime, here is the Weekend News. Read it as quickly as you can, because I don't think it is going to last for long, either.)

Comet ISON, Presumed Dead, Shows New Life (New York Times link): Astronomers are marveling at the death and apparent resurrection of a comet that dove close to the sun on Thanksgiving.

NASA posted on Twitter, “It’s likely it didn’t survive.”

ISON, which spent several billion years at the frigid edge of the solar system before starting a long journey toward the sun, had been billed as a possible “comet of the century.” Its demise seemed to be an anticlimactic ending to the story.

But “then it appears again,” said Karl Battams, an astrophysicist at the Naval Research Laboratory who has been observing the comet from Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. “We see something come out.”

Images taken by spacecraft showed an increasingly bright point at the head of the comet. Dr. Battams said that current data could not offer a definitive answer, but it appeared Friday that part of ISON’s nucleus was still holding together.

“It’s definitely maybe alive,” Dr. Battams said. “There’s a strong definite chance it might be, may be alive.”

(Mod: Late Thanksgiving evening, while everyone in the house was sleeping off their turkey dinners, I sat at my computer watching videos of Comet ISON apparently being melted into vapor by the sun. Almost every expert declared its demise was certain, and that this 4 billion year old lump of ice and rocks had met its end. But now it is back, alive and kicking. There is hope for us all.)

Four out of five people stop breathing correctly when typing an email (Natural News link): Four out of five people regularly stop breathing while typing emails, according to studies conducted by former Apple executive Linda Stone. The condition, which health professionals are calling "email apnea," may lead to serious health consequences.

"If people are in a stressful situation, perhaps having to deal with some stressful communication, they might end up holding their breath," said Edward Grandi, executive director of the American Sleep Apnea Association. "It's not just email, it's email and texting."

Gizmodo blogger Adam Clark Estes wrote that he had noticed the condition in himself, whenever he was concentrating on writing an especially difficult paragraph.

"I must've slipped a little too deeply into the zone," he said. "A head shake and a couple breaths later, and I was back at it."

But the pattern is hard to break, Estes noted. "Within minutes, the same light-headed feeling was back. I'd stopped breathing, again."

(Mod: Email apnea could be one of the key reasons why the comments Steve posts here on The Tattler read the way they do.)

Black Friday Death Count (link)

(Mod: Not an article so much as a tally of Thanksgiving weekend shopping fatalities. Don't leave home without it.)

Walmart officials comfortable with security after Rialto ‘Black Friday’ brawl sends police officer to hospital (The San Bernardino Sun link): Walmart officials say they are comfortable with the security in place Thursday night, despite three fights at a store here Thursday night.

“The fight at the Rialto store was an unfortunate and isolated incident to an otherwise very safe event,” corporate spokeswoman Betsy Harden said. “Providing our customers with the best and safest shopping experience is always our top priority.”

Police officers descended on Walmart in Rialto after a brawl between two men injured a police officer who tried to break up the fight Thursday night.

The injured officer was transported to St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino with a broken wrist, police officials said. He was treated and released late Thursday night.

(Mod: There are a number of articles up about Black Friday shopping melees at Wal-Marts right now. Including this video - link. They'll need to add these to the Black Friday stats chart.)

Santa Claus got himself arrested at Wal-Mart (The Trentonian link): Santa Claus came to a California Wal-Mart on Friday — not to hand out presents or spread cheer — but to protest what company employees are calling unfair wages and working hours.

His plan was to leave in handcuffs.

“I’m going to get arrested for civil disobedience,” said Karl Hilgert of Claremont, who came dressed as Santa to support Wal-Mart workers.

Hilgert got his wish, along with nine others, who sat on the ground in a circle and refused to leave despite warnings from police.

More than 100 warehouse workers and other Wal-Mart employees from various Southern California stores gathered at the location in Ontario, Calif. at 6 a.m. for the protest.

They marched in front of the store, chanting in English and Spanish and carrying signs with messages such as “Livable Wages Over Greed.”

The group then marched to the nearby intersection and waited for police to arrive. After three loud-speaker announcements for participating in an unlawful assembly, officers in riot gear approached, read participants their Miranda rights and then arrested them. They were taken to the police department, issued citations and then released.

(Mod: At least Santa didn't become a Black Friday retail violence statistic. Sometimes being arrested is better than shopping.)   

Gunman found dead inside cell phone store after standoff in La Crescenta (Pasadena Star News link): An armed robbery suspect was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after barricading himself inside a Foothill Boulevard cell phone store Friday, officials said.

The incident began shortly after 4 p.m. at a shopping center in the 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard, just east of Raymond Avenue.

A man in his 30s showed up at the Rite-Aid Pharmacy and asked for pills, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Burton Brink said. When employees refused, he pulled out a handgun and demanded pills.

The gunman fled the pharmacy with the pills, Brink said. It was not immediately clear what type of pills were taken, or how many.

But instead of attempting a getaway, the armed man ran into a nearby cell phone store, ordered everyone out and a standoff began, Brink said.

The cell phone store is labeled with “Verizon Wireless” signage, but Verizon officials said it is an affiliated retailer operating under the name “Connect Wireless.”

The standoff lasted for more than four hours.

(Mod: Can you hear me now?)

Thanksgiving In Jail For World's Most Busted Man (The Smoking Gun link): The World’s Most Arrested Man, a Kentuckian who has been busted more than 1500 times over the past four decades, will spend another Thanksgiving in jail, records show.

Henry Earl, 64, is locked up in the Fayette County Detention Center -- which one day should bear his name -- following his arrest last month for public intoxication. Earl was collared outside a fast food joint by Lexington cops, according to jail records.

Earl is due in court for a December 5 pretrial conference and a probation revocation hearing.

Earl, whose arrests almost uniformly have involved alcohol, was first nabbed in Fayette County in July 1970, when he was 20, for carrying a concealed weapon. He would rack up 33 more arrests that decade, while adding 230 collars during the 1980s (most of which involved public drunkenness and/or disorderly conduct).

Remarkably, Earl’s arrest rate increased in the following decades, in part because he rarely spent more than a couple of days in custody before being released (to offend again). Over the past year, however, Kentucky judges have been less lenient on Earl, who has begun spending two to three month stretches in custody per conviction.

(Mod: A warm place to sleep and a good meal can motivate a man sometimes. And who knows, maybe jail is preferable to Earl than his life on the street.)

California lawmakers set for 5.3% pay hike (Los Angeles Times link): California lawmakers are set to receive a 5.3% pay raise Monday, but a dozen say they won't accept it in the wake of a tax hike approved last November and while many residents are still struggling to recover from the recent recession.

The raises were approved by the citizen panel that determines state officials' compensation. The base salary for most legislators will go from $90,526 to $95,291 — still below the $116,208 that lawmakers received in 2007, before their pay was cut during California's budget crises.

"I didn't think taking a raise … when we had just raised taxes on all Californians with Prop. 30, really made sense," said Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach), one of a dozen legislators who said they were turning down the increase.

Many rank-and-file state workers will receive pay hikes of 4.5% phased in through July 2015, but some lawmakers note that many in the private sector are hurting.

"Since California's economy continues to struggle, with many Californians unemployed or underemployed, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to accept a pay raise," state Sen. Mark Wyland (R-Escondido) wrote to the state controller, asking that no raise be included in his paycheck. Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D-Los Angeles) are taking their pay increases.

"I have accepted previous decisions by the independent Citizens Compensation Commission to adjust legislative pay and benefits," Steinberg said in a statement. "I will continue to accept their decisions now."

(Mod: It's always Christmas in Sacramento.)

Poverty in California Not so golden - America’s biggest state has America’s biggest poverty problem (The Economist link): As director of development at the Second Harvest food bank in Riverside, California, Tracylyn Sherrit is used to fielding tales of hardship. But these days they sometimes come from unexpected quarters. An elderly woman in Palm Springs, a reasonably prosperous tourist town in eastern Riverside County, recently called, desperate for help: her family were visiting for Thanksgiving and she could not afford to feed them.

Riverside County is part of the Inland Empire, a vast sprawl east of Los Angeles that was whacked by the housing bust. California’s inland areas, such as the Inland Empire and, to its north, the agricultural lands of the San Joaquin Valley, have long lagged the coast on indicators such as employment, income and education.

At the California Economic Summit, a recent gathering of state worthies, all the talk was of “two Californias”: the wealthy coastal part and the struggling inland bit. Cities like San Bernardino and Fresno reek of poverty and sadness.

But two recent reports suggest that poverty in California’s coastal areas may have been significantly understated, thanks largely to high housing costs. The US Census Bureau’s traditional measure, which pegs the poverty line at $23,492 for a family of four, ignores geographical variations in the cost of living, as well as non-cash benefits such as tax credits.

Include these and the poverty rate in Los Angeles County (America’s largest by far by population) climbs from 18% to 27%, according to a recent report from the Stanford Centre on Poverty and Inequality and the Public Policy Institute of California, a think-tank. Most other cities also see big jumps; San Francisco’s rate nearly doubles.

(Mod: I don't imagine that there will be much in the way of raises for these folks this year.)

California water woes hit hard in driest year on record (Reuters link): To nurture his acres of pistachio trees, Tom Coleman has long relied on water from California's mountain-ringed reservoirs, fed by Sierra streams and water pumped from the massive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

But the driest year on record has left the reservoirs so depleted - and the delta so fragile - that state water officials say they may be able to provide just 5 percent of the water he and others were expecting for next year.

Other sources of water, including resources from a federal project that also pumps from the delta, are also drying up, prompting cities to dip into reserves and forcing farmers to scramble.

"It's scary, because you don't know how you're going to come up with the balance of your water," Coleman said. Last week, he agreed to pay $160,000 for water from other sources - about three times the amount he usually spends.

The water districts that supply Coleman and farmers like him in the state's San Joaquin Valley were told last week that barring an unexpectedly wet winter, the state would be able to provide 5 percent of the water that districts had contracted to buy for next year.

A federal project that also controls water in the state has not yet said how much will be available in 2014, but its allocations are also expected to be low.

"We hope things improve with this winter's storms," said Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water Resources, "but there is no guarantee that 2014 won't be our third consecutive dry year. Today's allocation is a stark reminder that California's fickle weather demands that we make year-round conservation a way of life."

This year is shaping up to be the driest on record in California, officials said, and urban areas are also feeling the pinch. The Metropolitan Water District, which serves about half of heavily populated Southern California, has been using reserves to meet residents' needs, and plans to do the same next year, said spokesman Bob Muir. If 2015 is also dry, rationing may be required, he said.

(Mod: So what if Sierra Madre needed water from MWD and there wasn't any to buy?)

On that happy note, we will end it here.

http://sierramadretattler.blogspot.com

What Pat Alcorn and David Crochetiere Had to Say Tuesday Evening About the Hart Park House Affair

The Hart Park House

Mod: At last Tuesday's City Council meeting a discussion about the fate of the two outside restrooms attached to the Hart Park House became a little heated. The goal of Mayor Walsh and her clients on the Senior Commission being to gut the women's lavatory and replace it with a storage room, while converting the remaining men's lavatory into a single user unisex bathroom. Taking the other side of the argument were Pat Alcorn and David Crochetiere of the Community Services Commission. Pat delivered her statement from the public comment podium. What she presented there was something of a timeline, much of it written with the intent of setting the record straight. Here is what she had to say:

CONSIDERATION OF CONVERTING THE MEMORIAL PARK WOMEN’S RESTROOM INTO STORAGE:

1) In March of 2011, the Community Services Commission voted to use CRA monies to install a Kodiak restroom in Memorial Park and to restore the restrooms adjacent to the Hart Park House.

2) In reviewing the tape of April 12, 2011 the City Council voted for the Kodiak and for “staff to develop plans for renovating current restrooms and an alternative storage plan for the seniors for a later date.”  Councilmember Moran remarked that “the more bathrooms in that park the better” and it would be good to be able to get rid of the portable toilets. . . .

3) In May of 2013 a staff report was brought to the CSC from the Senior Services Commission requesting to replace the women’s restroom with storage for the seniors and to convert the men’s room into a family restroom.  The Commissioners  asked staff to bring back more information including alternatives to the conversion of the rest rooms, and asked that the Senior Commission look into alternative storage options, something that was asked of them in April, 2011.

4) For the CSC regular meeting in September a joint meeting was scheduled by staff to discuss this issue.  Senior Services Commissioners did not have any alternatives to suggest and firmly held the position that the conversion was necessary.

5) At that meeting Mayor Walsh spoke and declared that the CSC was disingenuous in our discussions because we were previously in favor of storage and a unisex restroom.  This is not true as evidenced in minutes of the CSC as well as reviewing the City Council April 2011 tape. We never considered a conversion to storage.

6) The majority of the CSC members object to converting to storage for the following reasons:
a - The restrooms are Community restrooms, not senior restrooms. They are used by the community using Memorial Park.
b - The CSC is responsible for parks and facilities and must consider what is best for the community as a whole, not just one segment of the community.
c - Turning a restroom into storage does not make any sense as park facilities are needed for park use and there would be a loss of three fixtures:  a men’s urinal and commode, and two women’s commodes, to be replaced with one commode in the proposed unisex restroom.
d - One facility would not be practical in that area because it would be used by day workers as well as children and families using an area designated for children ages two to five. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against day workers. However there are many who stay in the park for extended periods of time, and the men’s restroom is heavily used by them. - Pat Alcorn

Mod: Pat's Community Services Commission colleague David Crochetiere had a work obligation and could not attend Tuesday evening. Instead David sent the following letter to the City Council, which was read aloud at the meeting by Councilmember John Capoccia. Here is what he had to say:

Council Members:

I regret that I cannot be at the meeting of the City Council tonight because of work demands, but I wanted to offer my opinion as a member of the Community Services Commission on the proposed conversion of the restrooms in Memorial Park into a partial storage unit. I appreciate the time you take to read my thoughts on this matter.

As I hope you realize, I try to come before you only on issues about which I feel strongly. While the conversion of a restroom would not at first blush seem like an issue to be passionate about, when the issue came before our Commission on two separate occasions the more I looked into the proposal, the more ill-conceived it appeared. Indeed, even as I write this I remain surprised that it seems to anyone a good idea to eliminate one of the few bathrooms in a park well used by our community, and often used by crowds, to gain a little storage space for tables and chairs. I urge you to reject this proposal and look into other ways to meet the storage needs of the Senior Center without such a counter-intuitive and permanent impact on the resources we already have in the park.

So let me state the obvious:

1. It is unwise, and unprecedented, to take a space that is fully plumbed and useful as a bathroom, and turn it into a closet. Closets are improved to become bathrooms in your house, not the other way around.  There are so many other options for storage space (the lowest possible use for a space) that improved areas like a bathroom simply should not be used.

2. The balance of competing interests here clearly weighs in favor of keeping the restroom as is. There are already too few restrooms in a large park. The plan eliminates three fixtures (two commodes and a urinal) and replaces them with one commode in a unisex restroom. On the other side of the scale, though I looked hard for it, I could not see a desperate need for storage in the Hart House. The pictures we were shown showed some tables against the wall, and we have been told that some people would rather not have to cart items back and forth each week for their projects. When a member of the Senior Commission suggested at our joint meeting that a small game room be used for storage, the response was that people like to play games in there. No doubt true, but not a reason to destroy a functioning bathroom.

3. The fact that the Senior Commission will pay for the renovation is generous, but self-interested. Senior groups advocate for the interests of Seniors, and I get that. But your Council and our Commission have a broader mandate - to look out for the interests of the community as a whole. Tennis enthusiasts might pay to pave the park to put up more courts, but we need to strike the balance we cannot expect them to strike.

4. The idea that we will get a brand new updated restroom (albeit with one stall) and save on the cost of renovations of the existing restrooms is nice, but too costly in other ways. Many of our facilities need renovations, and outside money is nice, but renovation of the park restrooms now is not an emergency. We can wait until we have the money to maximize the value of what we have already invested in, not sell off more than half of it to improve what is left.

5. It became apparent when I started asking questions at our meetings discussing this project that it had not been thought through carefully. Some examples:

-  Men would use the unisex bathroom along with women and families. No one had considered how the new unisex restroom will look, and how attractive it will really be to families after a few months of use. I know what men rooms in parks can look like.

- The door of a unisex restroom will have to be locked to avoid the other sex coming in. If you are parent at the play structure with a little girl, do you trust her to use a bathroom that a man can walk in if she fails to lock the door? In other words, would you feel safer sending her off to a women's only bathroom? Interestingly, with all the discussion of how desirable a unisex bathroom would be to parents with small children, no one seems to have consulted them on the project.

- No one had really studied how much these bathrooms are actually used, and whether one fixture instead of four would really suffice. How about concerts in the park? The problem is the renovation proposed is permanent, destroying the existing fixtures, and it unlikely we will have money anytime soon to rebuild them after a mistake.

6. There is apparently a political history behind this proposal which came up at our joint meeting and which, frankly, I am not interested in. The issue is whether this project makes sense today, and it does not.

I have spent a lot of time over the past few years on the Commission taking stock of what resources we have in our parks, and how we can maximize the benefit of them with the budget restraints we have. Severely reducing the number of bathrooms in our main park so that a few tables and chairs can be stored is, frankly, foolish and a decision we will regret almost immediately.

So please ask the Senior Commission to really think about storage alternatives, not just pay lip service to the issue. Ask them if they would generously spend their money on a storage shed, or shelving in the building, or renovation of the game room. You, and we on the Commission, are charged with balancing interests for the benefit if everyone in the community, and this proposal fails that test. Its not even close. It benefits the users of the Hart House and no one else. That's why they are willing to pay for it.
- David P. Crochetiere

Mod: The City Council vote was a 2 to 2 tie. The 5th City Councilmember, Chris Koerber, was absent because of a flu. Josh Moran, who was expected to vote with the Mayor, in the end declined to support her position. It was both a telling moment and a significant defeat for Nancy. The entire matter was then sent back to the drawing board. Expect this to return to the City Council at a future date. 

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Dr. Reese Halter: Humans and Animals - An Inseparable Bond

Greyfriars Bobby

(Mod: Reese Halter forwarded me this article a few weeks back, and I've been hanging on to it because I thought it would make a great Thanksgiving Day post. I also believed that it might strike home here in Sierra Madre, a town where so many enjoy the companionship of their dogs, cats, birds and other animal friends. Not to mention those many interesting visits we receive from all the wild animals who live in our hills. Especially the bears, our celebrity creatures who somehow always manage to bring their paparazzi news choppers along with them. Have a great Thanksgiving!) 

This week as the brutal 'War Against Nature' rages on - the conscious world fought back as hundreds of thousands of people from around the globe united in their disgust of a meaningless, callous woman named Melissa Bachman as she gleefully boasted of killing a lion. Apparently, she has an aversion to owning a digital camera and a fear of being unarmed and up-close with a wild beast.

Hundreds of millions of people around the globe love and protect animals. And animals know it and show their unstinting respect and love for humans. I dedicate this story to each and every person who believes it's time for an amnesty with the Animal Kingdom - now!

Over 150 years ago a Skye Terrier named Bobby became an icon known as 'Greyfriars Bobby' for mourning his master's loss. Bobby belonged to John Craig an Edinburgh policeman who was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery. For 14 years Bobby sat on his master's grave until he too died, and was buried close to his master. How's that for loyalty?

In 2006 Miguel Guzman died in Central Argentina, his German Shepherd named Captain ran away from home and has not left his graveside since. How's that for faithfulness?

How did these dogs know where their respective master's were buried?

Renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony died on March 2, 2012. He dedicated his life to rescuing and rehabilitating elephants in Zululand bush, South Africa. Anthony was famous for his gift of calming these magnificent beasts when they were upset, earning the moniker: "Elephant Whisperer."

Two distinct herds, which had not visited Anthony's home for at least a year and a half walked, singled filed, for over 12 hours and arrived within less than a day of one another to say good-bye to the man they loved. Elephants are known to grieve and mourn their dead for many days.

At least twice in our short history (that I am aware of) honeybees have attended their beekeepers funerals. In 1934 when Sam Roger's died in Shropshire, England - his bees paid their farewell at his graveside funeral. They landed on a nearby tombstone and as soon as he was buried they departed.

When John Zepka of Berkshire Hills near Adams, Mass. died on April 27, 1956 - thousands of his bees clustered inside the tent at the open grave site to pay their respect to the beekeeper who never wore any protective gear. As his coffin was lowered into the earth - the bees left the tent and returned to their hive on Zepka's farm.

How did the elephants and bees know their trusted and loyal human friend had perished and furthermore where to go to mourn their loss? Their collective consciousness knew -- that's how.

Humans currently have dominion on Earth but unless we agree to stop 'The War Against Nature' there will be no elephants, tigers, lions, rhinos, orangutans, polar and grizzly bears, bluefin tunas, seahorses, sharks, rays, dolphins or whales left. And as Chief Seattle of the Suqwamish and Duwamish so eloquently put it: "If all the animals were to vanish mankind would die from a great loneliness of spirit."

Moreover, without apex predators to remove old and weak prey, diseases become epidemics and ecosystems collapse, quickly.

There's a nauseating sense of entitlement by certain inconsequential, male, big-game hunting, billionaires and their offspring i.e. Bob Parsons of GoDaddy and Donald Jr. and Eric Trump; and the nation of Japan -- who on December 1 intends to launch its tenth consecutive campaign to slaughter whales in the Great Southern Ocean within an international whale sanctuary in contempt of the Australian court's ruling that whaling is illegal.

It's clearly time for 'The War Against Nature' to end because if all the animals die, we die!

This holiday season please give the ultimate gift - life - by supporting any or all of these worthy organizations: Sea Shepherd Australia - Operation Relentless, Peta, Humane Society, Orangutan Project, International Elephant Project and Wolf Song of Alaska.

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Fact Checking Nancy Walsh and Josh Moran

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It was the Prevaricator Playoffs at last night's City Council meeting, with Nancy Walsh and Josh Moran duking it out to see who could deliver the biggest whopper of the evening.

Perhaps it was the absence of Chris Koerber (out with the flu) that caused them to believe they could play so fast and loose with the facts. Without that adult supervision, their imaginations did run wild. And the contest was very close. We're calling it a draw, but perhaps you will not agree. We will detail here how this all came down, and why it really matters.

First off we'll discuss Mayor Walsh's moment of unvarnished reality creation. An honor I will bestow upon her because she got quite angry with me for bringing up the error of her ways. Apparently when Nancy is in the process of fact invention, she demands your undivided attention.

As you all know, Nancy's great passion these days is to bring a single user unisex bathroom to Memorial Park. The idea being that the Hart Park House, which has become mainly the domain of this community's seniors, needs a storage room for pingpong tables and other similarly sized items. And in order to accomplish this goal the external women's room there would need to be taken out. And for some reason, the remaining men's lavatory would need to be reduced to a single user unisex affair.

This single user unisex restroom would service the playground side of Memorial Park, which is heavily used by the town's children. How parents of the hundreds of little kids who frequent this place weekly would feel about this change, or having their children share a bathroom with day laborers and whatever other random dudes happen to be in the area, was never properly considered. Apparently they were not asked.

As Pat Alcorn pointed out, the City needs to take into account the needs of all of its residents. It is sad to think that this very basic responsibility escaped our Mayor.

In order to drive her rather sketchy point home, Nancy delivered one of her famous tirades. The message this time being that by denying seniors their storage room, they would be victimized and discriminated against by the rest of us. A rather unsettling "Shame on Sierra Madre!" being loudly repeated several times. It was at this heated moment that she claimed, and also more than once, that 70% of the population of this town are seniors.

Here is how the Wikipedia page detailing the demographics of Sierra Madre describes the age differentials here in town (link). This information is taken from the 2010 United States Census.

The population was spread out with 2,095 people (19.2%) under the age of 18, 539 people (4.9%) aged 18 to 24, 2,524 people (23.1%) aged 25 to 44, 3,864 people (35.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,895 people (17.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.6 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

Quite obviously Nancy was just making it all up. When I attempted to point this out to some others in the room (I lugged around my laptop with this census information up on the screen), I was called out by the Mayor and publicly reprimanded. Which just goes to show, Nancy will not tolerate the intrusion of actual fact into any conversation where it is not convenient for her.

Josh Moran's moment of feckless fallaciousness came about during a conversation regarding the UUT do-over ballot initiative, which looks like it will be up for a vote by the residents next April. Apparently the 2012 voter decision on this matter is not being recognized by the City. Celebrated meeting gadfly Barbara Leigh Kline had just brought up a fairly well-known (and for some inconvenient) fact here in town. We are not paying down our water bond debt as we should be, and she asked the City Council when this will ever be properly dealt with.

For those who might not be aware, our 2003 water bond issue, which started out as a $6 million dollar sale, has since ballooned to over $15 million in debt. The reason for this being that we are making only the interest payments, and will continue doing so through the year 2020. It is only then that the City of Sierra Madre will begin to start paying down some of the principal. An act of egregious fiscal irresponsibility that is at the core of Sierra Madre's financial woes, and what is helping to drive the city's need to repeatedly ask for higher taxes and service rates.

But Josh was having none of that. Cocking a sneer in the direction of Barbara Leigh, Josh snorted derisively about some vast conspiracy of residents in town who have created and are spreading rumors about how this city has mishandled its water bond debt finances. It was then that he stated something to the effect that:

"Anyone can look at the record and see that we are paying down our bond debt every month."

Unfortunately, this just isn't true. On the largest portion of this City's nearly $20 million dollars in crippling long term debt, the 2003 water bonds, we are making interest only payments. Which pays down nothing. Sadly, it is all that this City can afford to do, and these bonds are at the heart of the city's financial crisis. That is what Barbara Leigh had brought up, and what Josh Moran apparently doesn't want you to trouble your pretty little head over. So much so that he is willing to state things that are just not true.

It is sad to think that during one of the most difficult periods in this City's history, our fate is in the hands of people who think that all they need to do is manufacture reality as they go along, and somehow politically convenient fibs represent effective leadership.

And as far as Nancy and Josh go, the truth is apparently beneath them. It is a very strange kind of arrogance.

Much of the rest of the meeting was dedicated to spending money that is not in the budget, and would have to come out of General Fund reserves. $2,500 was spent to join Bart Doyle's rather superfluous San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. Along with SCAG, the SGVCOG and The League of California Cities, this would be yet another unnecessary group of oddly interested parties that we will be sending money to year after year. For what possible good purpose I really don't know. Maybe they just wanted to give Bart a Christmas present.

One claim that needs to be brought up here. MPT* Haribedian was of the belief that joining the SGVEP will somehow cause businesses to want to set up shop in Sierra Madre's somewhat troubled downtown area, and that therefore the $2,500 spend was justified.

But isn't that why we spent $30,000 for Buxton's so-called "Market Demand Study" a year or two back? How much money do we have to keep throwing at this problem, and to no good effect?

The City Council is also contemplating spending $42,500 of unbudgeted General Fund reserve money on something called "wayfinding signs." Pasadena has them, and apparently imitating our much larger neighbor to the west is seen as a solution to our downtown woes. Just in case you cannot find the downtown of a three square mile city.

Here is the point. In a City where we are being asked to pay more in utility taxes, along with increased water and sewer rates, plus myriad other rates and fees, the City Council here cannot seem to control its spending. You cannot go screaming poverty and demanding more money on the one hand, and then go seeking approval on idiosyncratic cash outlays that are just not essential.

It was not a particularly good meeting last night, and I don't think that the majority faction of the City Council quite comprehends just how bad of a job they're doing.

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