FIX THE MEDIA! MEDIA POLICY REFORM PANEL IN SD SEPT. 26
Printer-friendly version Media Reform Panel at San Diego Grassroots Democratic Convention Saturday September 24, 2009 San Diego)– The topics of, “Why do cities like San Diego have five or six talk radio stations with conservative viewpoints, but no progressive talk radio?” and “What can we do about it?” will be discussed by a panel of experts at the San Diego Grassroots Democratic Convention on Sept. 26 at 2:00-3:15pm at the Liberty Station Event Center (2875 Dewey Road) in Point Loma. San Diego City Council member(and former Channel 10 journalist Marti Emerald will be joined by TV/radio host Bree Walker and Brad Friedman of bradblog.com. Mike Thaller, Director of the San Diego County Democratic Party Media Relations committee and Chair of Campaign for Progressive Radio (CPR) will be the moderator. The convention is being jointly held by the San Diego County Democratic Party (representing more than a half-million registered Democrats) and the California Democratic Council, an association of Democratic clubs from throughout the state. The attendees will include Democratic volunteers, community activists, elected officials, and candidates. The inspiration for the panel discussion will be the "Resolution for Media Diversification” approved by the San Diego County Democratic Party and the California Democratic Party this year. The resolution says, in part,“…The California Democratic Party adopts a position in favor of diverse media ownership as well as improved and increased journalism by encouraging media reform and promoting activism in furtherance of this position…” The resolution was drafted by The Media Relations Committee of the San Diego County Democratic Party and CPR-SD, a grassroots outgrowth of the effort to save KLSD/AM1360 progressive talk radio in 2007. It was passed by both the San Diego and California Democratic Parties. The story of KLSD and larger issues of media concentration are explored in a forthcoming locally-produced documentary, “Save KLSD” (www.SaveKLSD.com). For more information on San Diego and national media reform visit: www.CPRSanDiego.org and www.Freepress.net. For full details and schedule of the two-day convention, visit http://sddem.org/docs/Convention_Schedule_2009.pdf. Convention registration costs $35, or $110 including meals. Attorney General Jerry Brown, candidate for Governor, will present the opening keynote address on Saturday morning. Printer-friendly version
MAGIC 92.5 HOSTS BLOCK PARTY AT VIEJAS SATURDAY, SEPT. 26
Printer-friendly version September 24, 2009 (Alpine) – Radio station “Magic” 92.5 is hosting a free block party featuring live entertainment by stars including Teena Marie, Lisa Lisa, Debbie Deb, Siren’s Crush and Rising Star. Other activities will include a car show, jumpies for children, crafts, foods, shopping and the Viejas interactive fountain. The event will be held in between the Viejas Casino and Viejas Outlet Center on Willows Road in Alpine. To get there, take the Willows Road exit south off Interstate 8. Doors open at noon and the show ends at 10 p.m. The event is free. Shuttle service provided. All ages are welcome. Cash required for food and beverages. Printer-friendly version
SOLAR ENERGY CONFERENCE SEPT. 29
Printer-friendly version September 24, 2009 – As part of Solar Energy Week, the California Center for Sustainability is sponsoring an all-day Solar Energy Conference featuring keynote speakers and high-level experts who will be exploring the latest policy, trends, technologies and other issues. Learn the latest in solar trends, and network with solar industry insiders. The conference promises something for everyone including home and business owners as well as solar industry experts. The conference takes place at the Marriott Mission Valley located at 8757 Rio San Diego Drive, San Diego on September 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration cost $25. For more information, call 858-244-1177 or e-mail events@energycenter.org. Register online at http://energycenter.org/administrator/components/com_civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=969&qid=412750 Printer-friendly version
WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF GROSSMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT? FIND OUT OCT. 3
Printer-friendly version September 24, 2009 (El Cajon) – Grossmont Union High School District will host a free public forum Oct. 3 on the future of the district. The public is invited to learn more about projects planned for each campus and school project timelines, as well as celebrate the future of Grossmont schools. Imagery of design guidelines for specialty classrooms will be on display. The event will be held Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Grossmont High School’s old gym, 1100 Murray Drive in El Cajon. The Superintendent will present a welcome address at 10 a..m. Refreshments will be served. For more information, go to http://proph.build-guhsd.com or call Debbie Murray @ 619-644-8158. Printer-friendly version
PAROLED ARSONIST IN EAST COUNTY SPARKS CRY FOR REFORM
Printer-friendly version September 24, 2009 (Boulevard) –On Monday, CAL FIRE Battalion Chief and acting Boulevard Fire Chief John Francois informed Boulevard Fire Board members that a paroled arsonist had been living in the community. The arsonist is now back in custody for violating his parole terms. “Several suspicious fires are still under investigation,” Donna Tisdale, Chair of the Boulevard Planning Group informed East County Magazine. Tisdale expressed shock that community members were kept in the dark about a potentially dangerous arsonist in their midst at the height of fire season—and she is now calling for reforms in the law to require that neighbors be notified if an arsonist is turned loose in their neighborhood. California law now requires notification of community members when a paroled sex offender moves into the area, as recently occurred in Boulevard. Tisdale believes the same should be required if an arsonist comes to town. “The extent of damage can be a lot worse from an arsonist,” she observed. Tisdale testified at yesterday’s Joint Legislative committee on Emergency Management in San Diego. She expressed concerns over fire protection and multiple major infrastructure projects that could increase fire risks to her community (including Sunrise Powerlink and major wind turbine projects). Then Tisdale revealed, “We just learned that a paroled arsonist was in our community. “ She asked Senator Kehoe (D-San Diego), chair of the committee, to consider legislation requiring notification of community members about paroled arsonists, just as the law currently requires for “sexually violent predators.” “There were some suspicious fires we had in the area—Live Oaks Springs and Boulevard,” Mark Ostrander, CAL FIRE Battalion Chief from Campo, confirmed in a phone interview with East County Magazine. He was not aware of the specific parole violations that landed the arsonist back in custody. Investigations continue into the causes of the fires. Chief Francois, who is off duty for three days, could not be reached for comments. Printer-friendly version
CALIFORNIA’S FIREFIGHTING CAPACITY IS STRESSED AND FIREFIGHTERS STRETCHED THIN BY BUDGET CUTS, FIRE CHIEFS WARN LEGISLATIVE PANEL IN SAN DIEGO
Printer-friendly version State Fire Experts Urge Adoption of Emergency Response Initiative (ERI) By Miriam Raftery September 23, 2009 (San Diego) – With major wildfires burning in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and red flag warnings locally due to high fire danger, State Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) chaired a joint legislative committee hearing on emergency management in San Diego today. Fire chiefs and legislators presented grim warnings that California’s fire and emergency preparedness has been stretched too thin by budget cuts, placing area residents in jeopardy. Here are a few samples of the dire concerns raised: ”It’s October. The winds are kicking up, and we are really challenged…There are blackouts, brownouts, and reduced strike teams.“ – San Diego Fire Chief Tracy Jarmon “Our members, they’ve all said that constraints of the budgets at state and county levels are wearing our firefighters out.” – Lou Paulson, President, California Professional Firefighers “The system is stressed…There is zero margin for error…50 engines have dropped off the grid since the Cedar Fire…San Francisco ran out of engines. There are brownouts and blackouts at fire districts around the state…We handled the Station Fire in Los Angeles because it was the only fire…Heaven forbid if we had had three or four fires in Southern California and they were wind-driven.” – Chief Sheldon Gilbert, Co-Chair, Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force and Fire Chief, Alameda County “Our fire prevention budget is shamefully low..Firefighting costs have increased 100% in the last five years…I want to see more put in at the front end.” – Senator Christine Kehoe “We have a world class mutual aid system in California….That kind of cooperation at the state and local level is in jeopardy….Our fleet needs to be doubled to 250 engines. There is no money in this budget…We are seriously at risk.” – Matthew Bettenhausen, Acting Secretary, California Emergency Management Association “Most people think it’s inconceivable that there could ever be a fire and there would be no response…but economic pressures are causing local governments to think twice about how many resources to commit [to wildfires in neighboring communities]…I don’t think people have any idea how dire the situation is.” – Assemblyman Pedro Nava The hearing, held at the Cal-Trans building in Old Town, sought to determine the effectiveness of state fire and emergency response agencies in combating fires year-round, given funding constraints. It also explored suggestion of a revived Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force for implementing recommendations made (but never implemented) in 2004 to improve Califiornia’s firefighting capabilities. The answers were far from reassuring. “Wind-driven fires have taken a terrible toll on the public,” Kehoe said. The costs of fighting wildfires in California are staggering—nearly half a billion dollars in the 2008-2009 fiscal year alone, and $4.5 billion from 2003 through 2010. From 2003-04 to 2008-09, spending on fire suppression grew 74% due to increasingly frequent and severe wildfires. “From 2003 to 2009, spending on firefighting has increased $400 million without protecting any additional areas,” Kehoe observed. “This is scientific fact,” she said, citing Scripps Institute as a source. “Wildfires will be larger, more intense, and more frequent.” That increase is due to global climate change; increased development in the backcountry is further stressing firefighting resources, Kehoe said. Yet California’s fiscal year 2009-10 is budgeted for a lower fire suppression cost. Kehoe told reporters she wants to see more spent up front on fire prevention, which currently accounts for only $78 miliion—just 2.9% of the staggering sums spent battling fires after they start. “We also need to look at evaluating the cost of year-round firefighting capabilities,” she said, noting that the state has relied on borrowing money from other sources to fund emergency firefighting. Testimony revealed that the capacity to battle the month-long Station Fire in Los Angeles has been dangerously thin—so thin that had other serious fires occurred simultaneously, there were not enough resources left to call in. CAL-FIRE has increased staffing temporarily and pre-positioned extra equipment in San Diego during this time of high winds, low humidity and high temperatures, what Kehoe termed “a recipe for wildfires.” “Our annual funding is not adequate. Our fire prevention budget is shamefully low,” said Kehoe. She also criticized local jurisdictions for allowing new construction in fire-prone rural areas without providing adequate fire protection. “There are more than 100,000 homes in the pipeline to be built in high-fire zones, yet we still have no county-wide standards for fire safety in high-fire zones in the backcountry,” Kehoe said. Chief Del Walters, Director of CAL FIRE, said the Governor has exempted CAL FIRE from furloughs that have forced other state agencies to cope with employees off work for three days a month. But the Governor could reconsider the furlough issue at year’s end. Matthew Bettenhausen, Acting Secretary of the California Emergency Management Association (EMA) said his agency is coping with furloughs and other budget issues. “It’s been a very difficult year for us all,” he said, adding that EMA wants to involve more citizen volunteers to improve preparedness for emergencies such as earthquakes, mudslides, and H1N1 flu epidemic as well as fires. “We have a world class mutual aid system in California,” he said. “No single agency is capable of handling some of these big fires or earthquakes.” But he warned, “That kind of cooperation at the state and local level is in jeopardy.” Some progress has been made, Bettenhausen said, including adding 19 fire engines that can provide search and rescue 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as well as improving communications. But the state’s fleet of 127 engines capable of surging forward to respond to a major crisis is inadequate, he said. “The fleet needs to be doubled to 250 engines. There is no money in this budget.” Currently, two-thirds of those engines are provided through mutual aid agreements that can provide 100 strike teams, each with five engines, in the first 24 hours and more subsequently. “You’re local fire departments are paying for the privilege to go help a
SDSU CUTS ENROLLMENT, CHANGES ADMISSION & TRANSFER STUDENT POLICIES: ANNOUNCEMENT DRAWS CRITICISM
Printer-friendly version September 23, 2009 – In response to “devastating budget cuts”, San Diego State University President Stephen L. Weber announced that SDSU will cut enrollment by 10.8%, or 4,588 undergraduate students. In addition, the school will make changes to its admissions policy for incoming fall 2010 freshmen and transfer students. The announcement has sparked concerns and criticisms from community leaders. “These changes are a direct result of devastating state budget cuts of $571 million to the California State University System and SDSU,” Weber wrote in an e-mail sent to faculty members yesterday. Statewide, CSU school have cut enrollment by 40,000 for this year and next. State budget cuts are “adversely and unfairly affecting not only thousands of CSU students, but many others throughout our state,” said Weber. SDSU has already cut 600 faculty and staff position, with most remaining employees taking unpaid furloughs. For first-time freshmen, SDSU is declaring all majors and pre-majors impacted (including undeclared) with a goal to “better manage enrollment and ensure students can get the classes they need to graduate,” according to Weber’s e-mail. Applicants will be required to apply to a pre-major or undeclared and will be admitted based on their CSU Eligibility Index (calculated from grades and SAT/ACT scores). Local students will be given extra eligibility index points, but first-time freshmen from outside SDSU’s service area will be required to live on campus their first year starting in fall 2010. These changes impact only freshmen, not students already enrolled. For transfer students, SDSU plans to continue honoring the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) as its first admission priority but will require applicants to complete 100% of their transfer work at local community colleges. That could leave out students who started their education elsewhere, including some military veterans. Local students who have moved back home from colleges or universities elsewhere due to financial hardship may also find the doors closed to them at SDSU, even if they have met other transfer requirements. In addition, transfer students must have completed all general education and preparation for their major, and have a minimum GPA of 2.4 or the required GPA for their major (whichever is higher). SDSU will continue to honor its “Compact for Success” with Sweetwater Union High School District and the City Heights Collaborative with Hoover High School. Grossmont Union High School Board Trustee Richard Hoy expressed concerns over the impact of reduced enrollment and other changes on East County students. “There is no doubt that the current economy coupled with state budget reductions for public education from elementary through college is having an adverse effect on East County students,” Hoy told East County Magazine. “At a time when young people need more education and technical training in order to prepare for new jobs and careers, course offerings and admissions are being cut back. My hope is that we see a rapid and robust turn around in the economy, but unfortunately, that may not be the case.” The announcement of enrollment cuts and tightened requirements for incoming students and transfers comes on the heels of hefty tuition hikes—increases which sparked protests among students last week at SDSU. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell has issued a number of statements concerning the staggering $18 billion in cuts to education in California over a two year period. In a speech on May 21, he warned, “"It doesn’t take much to realize what these cuts mean for education. School leaders are going to be doing all they can just to keep the lights on and the doors open. I fear that the progress we’ve made for seven years is likely to be completely derailed and our efforts to close the achievement gap will be an afterthought.” O’Connell called for passage of a constitutional amendment to “end gridlock and increase budget accountability,” according to a statement on the California Department of Education website. Democrats fought to stave off deep cuts in education funding, trying instead to push through budgets that would increase revenues through proposals for various fee and tax increases. But even though Democrats are the majority party in the State Capitol, the state constitution requires a two-thirds vote to pass any budget bill. Republicans have unanimously refused to increase any fee or tax, even for cigarettes or yacht sales. When a lone Republican Senator voted for a budget with revenue increases (later vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger), the California Republican Party retaliated by refusing to fund his reelection campaign. With no budget, the state ran out of money and began issuing IOUs in July. Left with no alternative, Democrats ultimately passed a budget that included education cuts proposed by Republicans. “There is a partisan element unfortunately,” State Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) told East County Magazine following a hearing on wildfire preparedness today in San Diego. “Our Republican colleagues cannot vote for any tax or fee. That is unbreakable with them.” The result, she added, “is crippling our fire and emergency services, and it’s crippling education. Just look at what’s happening with the CSU and UC systems.” Some fear that SDSU’s admission policy changes may adversely impact local students, particularly women. Leaders of We Advocate Gender Equality (WAGE) sent an open letter to Weber alleging that “We concur that SDSU is once again pursuing a strategy of “discouraging” local students from enrolling on campus.” According to the WAGE letter, benefactors of the university the chair of the Academic Senate’s Diversity and Equity Committee, and community organizations have predicted the admissions changes “will decimate the numbers of local students at SDSU.” Female students may be most adversely impacted, national and local WAGE leaders Charity B. Hirsch and Pat Washington, PHD, suggested. They contend that scholarly studies show that female students tend to be more tied to their communities because they may lack support from parents to move away and because women students earn less than young men, making it harder for them to support