Copenhagen, global warming and our due diligence

There has been a lot of talk about the recent leak of British scientists’ emails, which discussed frustration over a slowdown in global warming… The theme of these talks: global warming is bogus. Well, I don’t believe that. While I am sure catastrophes like Katrina and other hurricanes have been going on for millenia, the overarching issue is that we are polluting our environment with poisonous toxins every day, which has been proven to lead to asthma and other lung-related diseases. I lived in one of the poorest air quality cities in the country–Fresno–and there was no doubt my neighbors’ kids’ asthma was due, in part, to bad air… as well as numerous other children who came down with the disease.

I know many people want to just forget about global warming–that we shouldn’t look for alternatives to the limited supply of fossil fuels, that we should skip gingerly down the road as we pay upwards of $3 a gallon for gas… but as we come back down to planet Earth–there is a serious issue you. Fossil fuels pollute, hurt our delicate organs and don’t econically make sense.

While I am certain none of us are too stoked about buying new vehicles, and I am certain none of us will see global climate change so severe that we will see the end of the world, we as a civilized society must do our due diligence and think of our children, think of our future and think of our wallets. Fossil fuels will only bury us, whether or not we see catastrophic weather changes.

For the love of libraries (How far would you go to save a library)

In all my years I have never seen such a ruckus as what is going on over Wright Library. Conspiracies theories, Grand Jury involvement, city officials losing their tempers, bashing writers in the blogosphere. And this is all because of some books… and mind you, there are two –three?–other libraries open in this town.

I guess I just don’t get it… Knowledge is power and books are the key to inspiration and education.–I am very aware of this, but the fervor surrounding the Wright Library is beyond comprehension. What about the 30,000 more troops being sent to Iraq, what about the health care bill and insurance for all? What about global warming?

I guess those things are just too big  really to get fired up about. And Wright Library, tangible–an innocent casualty affecting many families, specifically the local elderly community and the young children who use it as a resource for learning. But rumors, speculation, outright animosity, chaos!

I just don’t get it.

Maili Brocke and the Wright Library

When VC library director announced that Wright Library would be closed due to the budget shortfall, many residents of Ventura reacted boldly and swiftly. There has been a lot of anger and animosity toward the officials in charge of the maintaining the library, saying much could be done to save it from closing. Maili Brocke of Ventura happened to be one of the most outspoken.

Over the past few months, she has sent us two letters. One was published in February  and the other is in the VCReporter this week.  Just last week, another letter was published from what appears to be Maili’s camp. No one made a peep about the two first letters, but this last one got people’s attention.

Why? I can’t be too sure. Maili has been touting the same thing and no one had anything to say about it. Other people backed Maili but her assumptions were only half truths–or so I have been told. 

The purpose of our letters section is to allow people to vent, speak their mind, voice their opinions and even their misinformed conclusions. We have printed many controversial letters–readers who feel they have been done wrong. Very few people react. But Wright Library, NOW, seems to have taken on a life of its own.

I look forward to what the community has to say. It would have been nice if someone had rebutted her almost a year ago. But alas, that never happened. Hopefully, now the community will voice their concerns with Maili’s accusations and end the tirade for good–if that is what she has been carrying on.

Also, just an FYI: It didn’t occur to me to make this a news story. Maili’s conclusions were clearly a conspiracy theory, which would have been nearly impossible to prove. But, she got her chance to spew out her theory. I look forward to what the community has to say.

Mammogram conspiracy–an out for insurnace companies?

Last year, the VCReporter did a story on survivors of breast cancer. On the cover, we had eight bold women who were willing to shed their tops despite their disfigurements and scar tissue. Some were in their 50s and older. But most were still in their 40s.
When I found out about this government conspiracy, telling wome they don’t need to get mammograms until the age of 50… I was floored.
Is this a government conspiracy in cahoots with the insurance companies to FORCE women to pay for their mammograms on their own? Or maybe this is a sick and disgusting attempt at population control. After all, if women can’t afford to pay for mammograms, if not caught, the cancer will spread… and well…
I am severely disappointed. I believe in preventative medicine and mammograms are surely the best way for women to avoid catastrophic consequences.
I am disappointed and appalled. I hope this opinion is reversed–and am willing to do whatever it takes to help the cause.

Election season is over–NO MORE SIGNS! Hooray!

For the last couple of months, there was nothing more irritating than riding my bike down Pierpont Blvd. Say yes to A, No on B–unneccessary, Mareen O’Hara for City Council, Phil Mechanick for Council…
While I understand how important it is that people see one’s name or issue over and over, hoping that seeing that name or issue will equal votes come election time, I am certainly glad this is all over.
This morning there was nothing more pleasurable than seeing Measure C’s Stop Traffic sign in someone’s garbage.
Maybe money would be better spent with pop ups on our computers and text messages on our phones… But these signs are just unneccesary…
And for all the money Brennan didn’t spend marketing and still winning proves these signs are unnecessary.
While marketing is important, election signs are antiquated and harmful to our environment, never mind the fact they are just plain garish.
Next election season, let the failures of Measures A, B and C, along with so many council candidates who lost, winning only minimal votes–think outside the box. Let your reputation and hard work in the community be your sign. Let clear and concise leadership win votes for you. Let measures be beneficial to all and not have prejudice and become laws we could not pass up.
It is amazing to me all the time and energy and money that went into an election where 11 candidates and three measures failed miserably at the polls.
Thank goodness 2009 election season is over.

VCReporter endorsement of Measure A, Ventura’s half-cent sales tax increase

If you are here, reading my blog, it is probably because you are curious as to the typo regarding the endorsement of Measure A, or perhaps you are outraged that we endorsed it, or perhaps you are confused and wondering if we really endorsed Measure B.
Well, first, I would like to introduce myself, I am Michael Sullivan, the managing editor of the Reporter.
And I would like to apologize for any confusion the typo might have caused anyone–but if you only read the paper online, then you have no idea what I am talking about.
But if you read today’s print edition, I wrote the endorsement for Measure A. There were two versions… My first version was a bit too critical for being an endorsement. I focused heavily on the last year of what seemed to be one heavy burden on us taxpayers after another. I had a heavy hand on this endorsement, and decided if voters were going to feel comfortable with this new sales tax increase, it was necessary to lighten up a bit. And I did.
 And the reason we endorsed it is because Venturans need to shoulder this burden to get us through some of the toughest times this country has seen in almost a century.

But somewhere, somehow, for some inexplicable reason, I redid the bolded last sentence and replaced A with B. And surely, it was not a Freudian slip. And the reason for that was in my heart of hearts, as well intentioned as Camille Harris and other concerned citizens are in protecting our viewsheds, what makes Ventura great is the fact people of the lower and middle class can live here. And I hope that for years to come, we can develop responsibly, creating housing and an urban environment to attract young, and often, underpaid creative types to the area and provide them adequate housing. Also, since our green space is so valuable, building up is the smartest decision to plan a responsible urban environment. Measure B, if passed, would be the antithesis of responsible building.
I was born and raised here and have relished in our beautiful views all my life… from the hills to the panoramic views of the ocean.
But after having lived in places such as Atlanta, Fresno, Montgomery, AL, and Northridge, the one thing that matters to me the most, is access to the ocean. Having lived hours from the beach and often not seeing it for years at a time, I am excited about the possibility of having young adults move here to experience what so few get to- being able to get to the beach in 10 minutes–unlike many of the towns I used to live in.

Measure B was great in theory, but poor in execution. Not only would it have long term unintended consequences for building adequate housing for younger creative types who are just beginning their careers, but it gives too much power to people who have no background in developing or planning. That would be like having the trashman teach my son’s 1st grade class because his son is also in the class and it is his right to not only know what is going on, but to control what he and his classmates are learning as well.

It is the epitomy of the democratic process, but just too overzealous.

So the VCReporter’s endorsements for the local measures are as follows: Yes on Measure A, No on Measure B and C, and Yes on E.

There you have it. And look for the clarification in next week’s print issue as well.

The Ventura pier–not a place for loitering any more

On Monday night, the Ventura City Council decided to make it illegal to jump off the Ventura pier and/or loiter near or under it. In 30 days, the amendment will become law.

This brings me back to a great movie–Fletch. Chevy Chase played the role of a charismatic, wisecracking investigative journalist who spent many days affiliating himself with the vagrants who used a pier (Santa Monica, I believe) as a home away from home. There Fletch would get great leads  to stories about drug dealing and other wrongdoings. There Fletch could mesh in and overhear conversations about various activities happening in the city. There Fletch would make or break his story.

Well, here in Ventura, I cannot, as a journalist, go to the pier any longer to find those stories or overhear those conversations. Homeless people can’t loiter, no daring teenager can jump off the pier in a midnight rendezvue, no more inspiring journalists to find a lead to the next great story.

C’est la vie. You win some, you lose some.

The question that is plaguing me the most though is… enforcement. How exactly do they plan on enforcing these new regulations? How will you know if I jump off the pier at 3 a.m.? And how many people had been jumping off the pier throughout the day or night? I have lived in this town 75 percent of my life and have never seen or heard of one person jumping off. And the vagrants? Come on now. The pier provides shade and shelter. Do we just plan on ushering them over to the parking garage or the bushes? I really don’t see that this is a great fix…

I just wonder who in the world was complaining about it in the first place. Vagrants are going to be, for the most part, wherever they want to be and making a law about it won’t help much.

Maybe give some relief to those citizens who wanted such laws implemented, but I don’t think things are going to change much and for sure, I would rather have the police tending to crimes of burglaries, thefts, rapes and murders rather than worrying about some people who are homeless or other wise loitering at or near the pier.

I don’t know about you, though, but I think Ima grab my swimsuit and go for a pier jump!

CHP shame–Don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch

I understand that we are human, prone to making mistakes and are completely fallible. I know that everyone at some point in their lives have formed opinions on others based on surface values–race, gender, weight, level of education, etc.  It is hard to obstain from obscene behavior when we feel justified in thinking a particular way. But that doesn’t mean it is impossible to obstain. And for CHP officer Seth Taylor, well, keeping his mouth shut would have been in his best interest.

Taylor pled guilty to four counts of hate-crime allegations, including yelling ethnic epithets at two Latinos and even threatening to shoot another man. And what is his punishment? Termination? Nope… Office duty.

Hmmm… Office duty–the punishment doesn’t seem to fit the crime. Not only that, but CHP administrators tried to block Taylor’s name from being released. So if and when he should do it again, it would just get swept under the carpet and the victims would see no justice? Even minor Brian McInerney’s name was released… though his hate-crime was beyond fathomable.

The point is the public shouldn’t have to deal with public servants who are outright racists and our public agencies should not protect them. Those who commit crimes are criminals, even if they have a squeaky clean record.

It is so disappointing to hear of corrupt officers and corrupt agencies we look to protect and serve us. We have enough hatred and corruption in the world… the last place we need it is in law enforcement.

$70K for needy women and mother assistance programs in VC

It is so great to hear, that in the midst of a recession, that no matter how bad it gets financially, that there is still money to go around.

On Sept. 17, the Ventura County Women’s Legacy Fund donated $70,000 to nonprofits who provide free health care to uninsured women, aid victims of domestic abuse and shelter homeless mothers.

“Established at the Ventura County Community Foundation in 1995, the Women’s Legacy Fund has awarded from its endowment a total of $650,000 to local organizations with proven strategies to help women and girls improve their chances of leading fulfilling lives…”

With The Arnold making severe cutbacks for just about every social service, it is an amazing thing to see that hope and charity is still alive and, apparently, very well. 

Everywhere we turn, banks are closing, shelters are being boarded up, unemployment insurance beenfits are drying up–but still, we pull together and help those who need it the most.

I am overly impressed and filled with hope.

Long term answer to overpopulation in our prisons: Education

Many people, especially those of the conservative moniker, are extremely concerned with the prospect of letting thousands of prisoners loose. It is understandable–I don’t want to be raped, mugged, beaten or murdered. And if these are the people who are being let loose, the chances of them repeating the same offense is pretty high, at least statistics say so. Punishment is far from treatment.

But if punishment is not treatment and many criminals are doomed to repeat  such offenses, what is our solution? Keep them locked up? Well we can’t afford that. So then what?

Education. Education is the key to life. It is the key to mental health and stability. It is fundamental to the success of our youth. It is the long term answer on how to keep people out of prison.

If we spent as much time and energy on educating our youth and making sure we reached all of them as we do incarcerating criminals, there is no doubt in my mind that the prison population would dwindle over time, making the issue of overpopulation null and void. Get them while they are young–not lock em up because we didn’t care about them then.