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Response to Rustad Cartoon

February 11, 2011 by Greg

LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY JOAN COOPER IN RESPONSE TO RECENT RUSTAD CARTOON

PT member and leader of Friends of Shollenberger Park Joan Cooper’s LTE concerning Rustad cartoon was published on Petaluma 360

Cartoon is Divisive

Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 10:19 p.m.
Editor: Cartoonist Steve Rustad’s suspension was all too short for his offenses. His latest cartoon on the city and community groups suing the county to protect Petaluma’s investment in the Petaluma Wetlands and Shollenberger Park is more of the same misinformed and divisive Steve.

Fact: Building an asphalt plant next to the river and wetlands and degrading Shollenberger Park is not a positive addition to the mix at Haystack. Shollenberger is a free, accessible and healthy destination for working people, teens and young families and everyone who perhaps cannot afford health clubs or golf courses, but value exercise.

Fact: The opposition to Dutra is made up of a mix of all ages and economic levels — folks trying to make ends meet, health professionals who understand the health implications of a pollution source like Dutra, retirees and runners who need fresh air, all regular park users.

Fact: People against Dutra are also pro-business. We want to attract businesses that don’t produce excessive toxins and traffic jams and more asthma for our children to suffer. We want to create real employment opportunities, more than the seven to 10 promised jobs from Dutra’s fully automated factory.

Fact: Automation means fewer humans working, so employees of the established asphalt plants in Sonoma, you may say goodbye to your jobs, if Dutra gets in. (And Argus editors, when are you going to stop insulting women in your Rustad cartoons, portraying them as sexual objects?)

Joan Cooper, Petaluma

Filed Under: Uncategorized

PT Special Notice: Dutra and BoS Brown Act Violations

February 7, 2011 by Greg

Press Release Regarding Dutra Asphalt Plant

SONOMA COUNTY COUNCIL DENIES CLAIMS OF BROWN ACT VIOLATIONS BY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, DECEMBER 14, 2010 IN AGENDIZING AND APPROVING THE DUTRA HAYSTACK LANDING ASPHALT PLANT, PETALUMA AND REFUSES TO PROVIDE ANY ‘CURE AND CORRECT’ AS REQUIRED BY THE BROWN ACT.

Last Wednesday (February 2), the Sonoma County Deputy County Counsel, Jeffrey Brax, sent a letter (attached, “SCAN2976”) describing a decision made in closed session yesterday, Feb. 1, by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.  The letter denies claims made by the City of Petaluma, Petaluma River Council, Friends of Shollenberger Park, Moms for Clean Air, Petaluma Tomorrow and a group of individuals, that the County Board of Supervisors committed any violation of the Brown Act, California’s Open Meeting Law on December 14, 2010.

We find it both frustrating and very saddening that our new Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, with the misguided advice of County Counsel, has decided on a very narrow and cramped reading of both the letter and spirit of the law of the Brown Act and case law cited.

We strongly support the concepts and effective engagement of the public by and with our government, as described in the Brown Act’s preamble:
“The people do not yield their sovereignty to the bodies that serve them, and insist on remaining informed to retain control over the legislative bodies they have created.”

While we do not have access to the actual thoughts and considerations of the five supervisors, we had hoped that the new supervisors would have taken a significantly different view of effective and meaningful public engagement than had been demonstrated over the past four years by the previous supervisors.  We had hoped that they would have granted the public a new public hearing and the opportunity to comment on hundreds of new pages of documents, including a purported “new Final EIR” provided at the last minute prior to approving the contentious Dutra.Asphalt Plant project on Dec. 14, 2010.

We are weighing our options, and will decide what is best for the community and the environment in the near future.

For additional background information review the press release issued December 14, 2010: Dutra’s Double Document Dump; County Counsel’s Double Cross.

More supporting documentation:
Letter from County Counsel, demanding cure of Dutra violations
Exhibit A (Mitigated Impacts) to Resolution Making and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations
Exhibit B (SU Impacts) to Resolution Making and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations
Exhibit C (SOC) to Resolution Making and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations
Exhibit D (Alternatives) to Resolution Making and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations
Exhibit E (Conditions of Approval) to Resolution Making and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations
Resolution Certifying the Final EIR for the Revised Dutra Haystack Landing Facility
Resolution Making and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations

Filed Under: Board of Supervisors, News and Updates Tagged With: board of supervisors, Brown Act, dutra, dutra asphalt plant, friends of shollenberger park, haystack landing, jeffrey brax, moms for clean air, petaluma, sonoma county

PT Update: February 2

February 3, 2011 by Greg

DEADLOCKED COUNCIL — VOTERS REJECTED AS THE ANSWER

The January 31 special Council meeting to address the open seat ended, to no one’s surprise, in a deadlock. There was no agreement on applicants between the developer funded Healy-Albertson-Harris coalition and the remainder of the council.  Three attempts were made to reach a decision on the open seat before it was agreed to table the matter for another meeting.

At the January 3rd meeting HAH rejected the will of the voters by opposing the simple and democratic solution of appointing Jason Davies to the seat.  Davies was the “next highest vote getter” in the November Council election, 1.3%, 700 votes behind Albertson.  At the special meeting HAH moved to block voters from having any future say in filling the vacancy.  They opposed any opportunity to take the question back to voters in a special election.

SOMEBODY WHO DOSEN’T PARTICULARLY WANT IT

Michael Healy wrote in a letter to the Editor of the Argus that the person who might be the “right fit” for council is someone who doesn’t particularly want it.  Then he encouraged people to apply – a direct expression of someone wanting it.  What he appeared to be saying is that Mr. Davies wants the seat too much and the voters  want Mr. Davies too much. And, what we need is someone who isn’t willing to be vetted in an election, but wants the Council  seat just enough to fill out an application.

Mr. Healy has the “hunch” (apparently much more important than votes cast in November) that there is a person out there “not aligned with either perceived faction on the council” who is the “right fit.” The suggestion is that Mr. Healy and the developer funded HAH faction ( a reality, not just perception) will present us with that person.

Given his publically stated opinion, one is then forced to ask why Mr. Healy “expressed interest” (the equivalent of a vote but one that does not count) in Ray Johnson three times at the January 31st Council meeting.  Perhaps running a campaign that resulted in Mr. Johnson coming in 6th demonstrates that did not “particularly” want the seat.  Now, all Mr. Healy needs to explain is Johnson’s independence from developer interests and the politics of HAH.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

PT Update: January 28

January 28, 2011 by Greg

SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL ON JANUARY 31st WILL FOCUS ON FILLING THE OPEN COUNCIL SEAT

This is a critical meeting which will determine who, if anyone, will fill the vacant seat on the council.  This meeting will try to solve a short-term problem, the current vacancy, but leaves open the long-term problem – there is no defined process for filling vacancies, and recent practice does not reflect the will of the voters.

There is an easy short-term solution to the problem: appoint Jason Davies.  There are 6,719 reasons to appoint Mr. Davies, and at least 22 more than anyone else on the list – the votes of Petalumans. The current plan is for the Council to vet applicants based on Council defined questions. Voters have no say in what was asked and what criteria will be used to make the decision.

The long term solution: amend the city charter to reflect the will of the voters and put in place a reasoned process for filling vacancies.

Petaluma Tomorrow will spearhead a change to the charter, which will champion the role of voters and provide a reasoned and a consistent process for filling vacancies in the future.

While the voters are excluded from the process, we can at least see information about those who applied by clicking on applicants.

MASTERFUL LEADERSHIP BY MAYOR DAVID GLASS

The January 24th Council meeting was a test of whether the new City Council could agree on critical issues or would be condemned to consistent deadlock.  Fortunately, the masterful leadership of Mayor David Glass resulted in agreement regarding the appointment to commissions, including the coveted SCTA.

Glass, reintroduced, with minor revisions, the win/win recommendation for appointments he presented at the January 3rd meeting.  Those recommendations were rejected by the HAH coalition when Council Member Harris was not appointed as Director of the SCTA. The Mayor reiterated that the recommendation maximized the requests of everyone. He also made clear that he genuinely desired but did not need the cooperation of the HAH coalition. The Mayor commented that, he could and would be willing to stick with appointments as they were at last year, and fill open appointments at a future meeting.  Under this scenario not only would Council Member Harris not be appointed as Director to the SCTA but also several requests of others (including those of Healy and Albertson) would not be possible.

Mayor Glass’s leadership triumphed.  His success reflected a genuine attempt at cooperation on his, Barrett’s and Renee’s part, combined with a clear understanding on the part of HAH that getting almost everything you want is better than getting not much of what you want.  It is also likely that the pro developer coalition saw political disadvantage in continuing their obstructionism on this issue.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

PT Update: January 21

January 21, 2011 by Greg

City Council Meeting – Monday, 7:00 P.M. January 24

A key item of interest at this meeting will be City Council Liaison Appointments. At the January 3rd meeting Mayor Glass presented a win/win recommendation for appointments. The gang of three – Healy, Albertson and Harris blocked movement on the recommendation because Harris did not get appointed to the SCTA. Of particular note was Albertson’s vote against the recommendation despite having received all of his individual appointment requests. This behavior clearly signaled that H/A/H are going to be uncompromising – our own local party of no. They have an opportunity this meeting to show us differently when the appointments are discussed again at this meeting. The full agenda can be viewed via the City’s website and Granicus. Look at item 4, Unfinished business.

Please welcome Jaimey Walking Bear to the Board of Petaluma Tomorrow. Jaimey brings a history of community service and political activism to the Board as well as needed skills in social media. Jaimey has been instrumental in updating and revamping the Petaluma Tomorrow website.

Thank you to Board member Bill Phillips for Chairing the campaign to defeat Measure U. Bill Chaired Petalumans for Clean Water and Fiscal Responsibility’s efforts which led the successful opposition to the irresponsible efforts of Bryant Moynihan to pass Measure U in 2010, and led the PCWFR door hanger campaign that helped defeat Measure K in 2008. Bill’s efforts help the city avoid the inevitable bankruptcy of the city had either of the measures passed.

Petaluma Tomorrow a Plaintiff in Suit to Stop the Dutra Asphalt Plant

Petaluma Tomorrow joined with the City of Petaluma and several community groups including the Petaluma River Council, Friends of Shollenberger Park, Madrone Audubon Society and Moms for Clean Air and individuals in the suit to stop the building of the Dutra Asphalt Plant. The plant was approved by the Board of Supervisors.

The decision to become a plaintiff was a logical next step in PT’s active opposition to the plant over the past several years. PT funded 70% of a full page add in the Argus opposing the plant and has contributed additional monies and participated in strategy meetings since 2009. Our activity and participation in the suit is in keeping with a key objective for 2011 and with protection of a sustainable watershed as part of our mission. The law suit was accompanied by a letter demanding a cure to several breaches of the Brown Act regarding the plant. It points out how the BOS operated with little regard for the basic fundamentals of open government.

Click the images below to download the letter to the BOS and the full text of the law suit:

Filed Under: News and Updates Tagged With: board of supervisors, chris albertson, david glass, dutra, mayor glass, mike harris, mike healy, PCWFR, petaluma city council, petaluma tomorrow, sonoma county

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