2 FEDERAL AGENCIES APPROVE POWERLINK; SCHWARZENEGGER ASKS U.S. FOREST SERVICE TO EXPEDITE OK TO BUILD POWERLINK THROUGH CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery January 24, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)–In the last days of the Bush administration, two federal agencies gave a parting gift to Sempra Energy. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission designated a vast swath of San Diego’s East County as a federal energy corridor, paving the way for the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to approve Sempra’s controversial Sunrise Powerlink project one day before George W. Bush left office. For construction to commence, however, the U.S. Forest Service (a division of the U.S. Department of Agricultural) must grant approval for the high-voltage power lines to run through Cleveland National Forest, raising the possibility that President Barack Obama’s administration could intervene to halt Sempra’s plans. Meanwhile, the Center for Biological Diversity has petitioned the California Supreme Court to issue a stay halting the $2 billion project, CBC and Sierra Club have asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for a new hearing, and Lakeside residents express shock upon learning the Powerlink is slated to cross the El Monte Valley and El Capitan Mountain. Sempra and its utility, San Diego Gas & Electric, do not expect the challenges to be successful and say Sunrise will still open in 2012, Reuters has reported. "This action … can only serve to delay development of renewables in our region, which is counter to state policy," said Sempra spokeswoman Jennifer Ramp. http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2009/01/23/afx5959810.html Channel 10News interviewed Lakeside residents who expressed outrage upon learning from SDG&E contractors sent to survey the area in late January that 100-foot-tall high-voltage towers are planned for their scenic community: http://www.10news.com/video/18553209/index.html. In a letter sent to President Obama http://yubanet.com/california/Schwarzenegger-Sends-Letter-to-President-Elect-Obama-Regarding-Federal-Economic-Stimulus-Proposal.php ), ( Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the President to give priority to "establishing clear policy within the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies to prioritize renewable energy project development and transmission on federal lands" and to requiring the U.S. Forest Service to expedite the permitting and general plan amendments necessary to complete the Sunrise Powerlink transmission project just approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. On January 20th, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawssuit alleging that the California CPUC violated requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act ( CEQA). http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/sunrise-powerlink-01-22-2009.html CBD is asking the California Supreme Court to issue a stay halting construction of Powerlink pending further environmental review. In addition, the Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN) has filed a request to the CPUC for rehearing the Sunrise case today. "We question the legality of proposing a BLM Plan Amendment for Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan in the FEIS/EIR for Sunrise , a separate project document, to accommodate the new utility corridor," Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Planning Group and founder of Backcountry Against Dumps, told East County Magazine. "My non-profit Backcountry Against Dumps will be filing suit against the BLM’s Eastern San Diego County Resource Management Plan and the Record of Decision for that plan. We hope to file by the end of the month. This should impact the new Sunrise utility corridor." Tisdale added, "It is our position that BLM violated numerous federal regulations and their own procedures when they downgraded Boulevard’s McCain Valley Cooperative Land and Wildlife Management Area to Visual Resource Management Class IV from Class II. That unwarranted downgrade in zoning allows for the new utility corridor for Sunrise Powerlink and for Iberdrola Renwables 130 plus industrial wind turbine project to move forward with the permitting process." The CPUC approved Powerlink with no requirement for any of the power produced to be from green/renewable resources, despite a state law requiring that 20% of energy from utility companies be green in the near future. "Our governor is pushing for this line and I am concerned that President Obama may issue an executive order to waive all of the environmental requirements for Sunrise like Bush did for the fence. There are some powerful forces pushing for this greenwashed project "to save the polar bears" from global warming," Tisdale said. "We all know that SDG&E refused to accept conditioning of the line for renewables, and that the PUC and BLM approved Sunrise in direct contradiction to the extensive record and against advice of the ALJ and PUC staff. We are optimistic that the courts will overturn some, if not all, of the approvals." A high-level source within the Obama administration has spoken with East County Magazine and confirmed that the President Obama’s appointees have not yet completed reviews of the many actions taken by the Bush administration during its waning days. Sunrise Powerlink is among the projects still undergoing review, ECM has learned. Powerlink is supported by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, which believes the project is needed to assure a long-term energy supply for our region. Debra L. Reed, president and chief executive officer of SDG&E stated in a press release announcing CPUC approval, "Reliable transmission infrastructure is critically needed to reinforce the region’s electric system and to open up new avenues for delivering green energy to our customers." She called the permitting process for Sunrise Powerlink project "the most comprehensive ever completed for a power line in California history, adding the SDG&E expects to complete construction of the 120-mile Sunrise Powerlink in 2012, delivering up to 1,000 megawatts of "clean, green energy"; however the CPUC has not required that any of the power produced be green, leaving skeptics to raise the possibility that SDG&E could import power from its liquid natural gas facility in Mexico – a facility that was recently criticized by PBS for lax environmental standards, among other things. Opposed to Powerlink are numerous citizens’ groups, environmental advocates, and Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who have argued that the region’s needs could better be met through locally-produced, sustainable energy sources. Opponents cite concerns over fire danger, visual blight and potential health hazards caused by eletromagnetic radiation from the high-voltage power lines. "Firefighting aircraft cannot make effective water drops over a 500-kilovolt
EAST SAN DIEGO COUNTY RESIDENTS FLOCK TO BE PART OF HISTORY AT LOCAL INAUGURAL EVENTS; SHARE REACTIONS TO OBAMA SPEECH
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery Antoinette Curry and Dupreesha Jones have hope for their futures.(Leon Thompson) Sunny Farrand, San Diego Heroes To Hometown, clasps hands with fellow onlooker as Obama is sworn in. Crowd at Malcolm X shows emotion as Barack Obama is sworn in as America’s first African-American President. January 21, 2009 (San Diegoâ’s East County) — Cheers and tears of joy were evident among hundreds of local residents gathered at the Malcolm X Library in east San Diego yesterday to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama, America’s first African-American President. ”I am happy because with Barack, I know we can be anything we want,” said Antoinette Curry, a student who attended the inauguration viewing along with other 7th and 8th grade students from teacher Haroon Abdul-Mubaarik’s classes at Holly Drive Leadership Academy in San Diego. Printer-friendly version
Congressman Hunter Bill Would Prevent Transfer of Guantanamo Prisoners to Camp Pendleton
Printer-friendly versionJanuary 21, 2009 (Washington D.C.)– On his first day in office, President Barack Obama ordered that the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay be closed down within a year. Closure of the now-infamous detention facility could result in some of the 245 prisoners held there being transferred to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, according to a Pentagon study. Newly elected Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-Alpine) has introduced a bill, coauthored by San Diego Republican Congressmen Darrell Issa and Brian Bilbray, to block transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to Pendleton. Although the Marine Corps Base is not in his district, Hunter has been named to the House Armed Services Committee formerly chaired by his father. Prior to Obama taking office, Hunter sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates stating that “Any attempt to accommodate detainees at Camp Pendleton would create an unnecessary distraction for the Marine Corps and interfere with its primary mission, which is to combat terrorism.” He added, “Redirecting these detainees to Camp Pendleton would also present a serious threat to surrounding military installations and resources, as well as the community’s civilian population. San Diego is not the place to transfer these terror suspects and experiment with new detention procedures.” Hunter, a Marine combat veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has called Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo “a serious mistake,” adding, “Suspected terrorists should continue being held at Guantanamo Bay, where they can be safely contained.” But Defense Secretary Robert Gates has rejected arguments by Hunter and other area Congerssman. According to an article in the North County Times on January 22, Gates stated, “The challenge that faces us and that I’ve acknowledged before is figuring out how do we close Guantanamo and at the same time safeguard the security of the American people,” Gates said during a Pentagon news conference. “I believe that there are answers to those questions.”http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/01/22/military/z631b407c01498949882575460061d9f5.txt The U.S. prison at Guantanamo has become an international symbol of oppression and controversy following repeated allegations of prisoner abuse and torture. United Nations human rights investigators have called for the camp’s closure after announcing they found evidence that torture had occurred. In a report in May 2005, the human rights group Amnesty International called the camp “the gulag of our times” and also called for it to be shut down. Torture allegations, if true, would be a violation of international law and arguably the Geneva Convention, which requires humane treatment of prisoners. An FBI memo, reported in the New York Times, described incidents of abuse involving strangulation, beatings and the placing of lit cigarettes into detainees’ ears. A sergeant also complained of seeing an inmate’s head slammed against a cell door. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), allegations of torture or abuse included “the force-feeding of hunger strikers through nasal tubes and the simultaneous use of interrogation techniques such as prolonged solitary confinement and exposure to extreme temperatures, noise and light.” Three inmates have committed suicide and others had mental breakdowns, the BBC reported. A CIA video reportedly contained footage of “horrific injuries” inflicted by torture– including brutalized genitals, according to the UK independent. The British paper also reported that the CIA destroyed tapes allegedly containing evidence of other torture incidents. Many detainees have also claimed they were denied access to a lawyer. The Bush administration argued that the U.S. is entitled to hold prisoners indefinitely without charges as “enemy combatants” who do not have the rights afford to either prisoners or war or to U.S. citizens accused of crimes. President Bush rescinded habeus corpus, the right of detainees to seek relief in court from unlawful detainment. More than 750 prisoners have been detained since the 911 attacks in 2001; only 10 have been brought to trial. Some have been released, but 245 are still incarcerated. Those included suspected 9-11 hijackers as well as alleged enemy combatants in Afghanistan–a nation where bounties were paid, providing incentive for potential false claims by people seeking money or revenge against another person. “We need to bring a close to this sad chapter in American history,” Obama stated in May 2007. “We can close down Guantanamo and we can restore habeas corpus and we can lead with our ideas and our values.” Obama’s executive order also halts the military tribunal of an inmate held at Guantanamo until the military commission process is reviewed. The process has been criticized because the military serves as jailer, judge and jury. A judge has suspected the case for 120 days. Closure of the Guantanamo prison is expected to take up to a year. Some of the remaining prisoners could be returned to their home countries or granted asylum in other nations if their home countries refuse to take them. Prisoners not released could also be transferred to military prisons or possibly private prisons in the mainland U.S., where they could ultimately face charges in U.S. courts. During a debate with John McCain last year, Obama praised a recent Supreme Court decision allowing detainees to challenge their imprisonments in U.S. Courts (a direct repudiation by the Court of the Bush policey to hold terror suspects without the protection of U.S. law. Even when the Nazis’ atrocities were revealed after World War II, Obama observed, “We still gave them a day in court–at the Nuremburg trials. That taught the entire world who we are.” In his inaugural address, President Obama again emphasized the need to respect justice as well as rights of individuals, rejecting as â “false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” Printer-friendly version