Tag: Sacramento

Another in the category of Things That I Just Can’t Make Up:

“I guess I’m not going to the mall, after all. Good God.”

Friday, October 22, 2010 – Outgoing Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, today proclaimed a state of emergency in Placer County, due to a major fire causing severe damage to the regional shopping mall in the city of Roseville the day before.  

Text of Proclamation from the Governor’s office:

A PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY

WHEREAS on October 21, 2010 a major fire caused severe damage to the regional shopping mall in the City of Roseville in Placer County; and

WHEREAS the fire caused extensive damage to the mall and numerous stores, and it is likely that the mall will be closed for an indefinite period of time; and

WHEREAS the fire and potential criminal activity required the evacuation of hundreds of shoppers and employees; and

WHEREAS the fire required fire agencies and other emergency responders from throughout the region to respond; and

WHEREAS the closure of the mall and the stores will likely cause the immediate loss of many jobs in the area and the need for the unemployed to quickly receive financial assistance; and

WHEREAS the fire created a substantial amount of ash and other debris that will need to be quickly removed in order to reestablish the shopping mall and jobs; and



WHEREAS on October 21, 2010, the City of Roseville declared a local emergency and requested that I declare a state of emergency; and  

WHEREAS the circumstances of this fire and subsequent damage to a regional shopping center, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county, city and county, or city and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to combat; and

WHEREAS under the provisions of section 8558(b) of the California Government Code, I find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to the fire in Placer County.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the authority vested in me by the state Constitution and statutes, including the California Emergency Services Act, and in particular, section 8625 of the California Government Code, HEREBY PROCLAIM A STATE OF EMERGENCY to exist within Placer County.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) and the State Emergency Plan, and that Cal EMA provide local government assistance under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED in accordance with the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of California, including the Emergency Services Act and in particular Government Code sections 8567 and 8571 to immediately mitigate the effects of the emergency:

1. That the provisions of Unemployment Insurance Code section 1253 imposing a one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance applicants are suspended as to all applicants who are unemployed as a direct result of the fire and damage to the regional shopping center in Placer County, and who apply for unemployment insurance benefits during the time period beginning October 21, 2010 and ending on the close of business on April 21, 2011 and who are otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance benefits in California.

1. That the statutes, rules, regulations and requirements are hereby suspended to the extent they apply to the following activities: (a) removal, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous debris resulting from the disaster; (b) necessary restoration; and (c) related activities. Such statutes, rules, regulations and requirements are suspended only to the extent necessary for expediting the removal and cleanup of debris from the disaster, and for implementing any restoration plan. The Secretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary for the California Resources Agency shall use sound discretion in applying this suspension to ensure that the suspension serves the purpose of accelerating cleanup and recovery, while at the same time protecting public health and the environment. This order shall apply to, but is not necessarily limited to, solid waste facility permits, and waste discharge requirements for storage, disposal, and emergency construction activities, along with waste discharge requirements and/or Water Quality Certification for discharges of fill material or pollutants. To the extent it is within their administrative authority and discretion, the boards, departments and offices within the California Environmental Protection Agency and California Resources Agency shall expedite the granting of other authorizations, waivers or permits necessary for the removal, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous debris resulting from the fire, and for other actions necessary for the protection of public health and the environment.

1. State and local agencies shall, as necessary for the protection of public health and the environment and pursuant to requests from local government, enter into contracts and arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and services necessary to quickly remove dangerous debris, repair damaged resources, and restore and protect the impacted area. Because strict compliance with the provisions of the Government Code and the Public Contract Code applicable to public agency contracts would prevent, hinder, or delay these efforts, applicable provisions of those statutes, including, but not limited to, advertising and competitive bidding requirements, are suspended to the extent necessary to address the effects of the fire.

I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this proclamation be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given of this proclamation.

I’m on the levees.org email list and I got a message from them today:

Thanks to you, Levees.org was featured in the New York Times!

The article focused on our success in encouraging national media to report accurately on the man-made causes of the metro New Orleans flood.

And making the true story about the flooding as common knowledge as ‘the sun rising in the east’ will help the region recover.

This fine piece of journalism by reporter Brian Stelter greatly increases the reach of Levees.org message!

And it gives evidence that your ongoing efforts are paying off.

And that’s good because when the American people understand that the flooding was a federal responsibility, they may understand that rebuilding is a federal duty.

Thank you for your support!

We’re winning!

Sandy Rosenthal

Founder, Levees.org

levees.org

Here’s the New York Times story.

Is hell freezing over ?

I look at the Sacramento CrapBee this morning, and it’s got a front page color photo of a cop trying to taser a student protester.  WTF ?  Slow news day ?  You aren’t printing whitewash for the Republican Party today ?

I look at the weather, and it’s got a link to a KCRA Channel 3 video on the students protesting at UC Davis yesterday, which is taking about a year to download for me, so I may as well write this up while waiting.  

The embedding has been “disabled by request” so here’s the YouTube link and my transcript below.

http://fwix.com/sac/share/b137…

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

News anchor intro: “More protests could be on tap today. Another big story not only in California but nationally. California’s struggling school systems certainly here in the spotlight.  It did get a bit disruptive. A group of UC Davis students are threatening more demonstrations after an already busy day of actions”

Reporter on the Scene, standing in the pre dawn dark on deserted street:  I just got off the phone with police, they have not had any official word that anything is planned for today, but they are still on standbye  in case something does erupt.   We’re on CA Ave right now, where you can see nobody is here but hundreds of students marched down the street yesterday  (she then describes the protests yesterday instead of having the video show it, so presumably somebody saw it other than the hundreds of student protesters )  The students made their way to the entrance ramp of I- 80 where they were met by a 100 police officers

Video finally shows cops firing pepper balls and using batons as students walk together down the street, as reporter says

“You can see it got a little violent there for awhile”

As a very small, limp blonde student is being dragged down the street by cop, voiceover continues  

“Davis students were amongst thousands across the nation standing up to cuts in public education, while others found the protests did more harm than good ”

Gets anti protest quote from somebody named Deji Aiyedojbon that just is one chopped off sentence “I mean like is this whole movement just to lower our tuition ?”  And an Andrew Koper “I think it’s a waste of money we have graffitti all over the streets.”  (ARC note:  Okay, you can run back to your parents for extra spending money now. )

Reporter: Police do have a plan if students protest again and at 2pm the UC Davis Student body association will meet to discuss how to move forward.

____________

I have had the pleasure of interacting with many students and graduates of UC Davis, which is an agricultural college which has one of, if not the best, veterinary schools and equine clinics on the West Coast.   Davis, CA, the town, also has a thriving Farmer’s Market and is just one of the nicest, most laid back places.

If you’ve lost UC Davis, you have a problem.  Go Student Protesters!